The legal guarantee is the seller’s statutory liability for defects that existed at delivery: in the EU at least two years from delivery, free of charge for the customer, and impossible to exclude for consumers. A commercial warranty is a voluntary extra promise, usually from the manufacturer, on whatever terms its text sets. It comes on top of the legal guarantee and can never shorten it.
“My product stopped working” is the most expensive sentence in a hardware brand’s inbox, and the one where merchants make the costliest mistakes, usually because exactly these two things get mixed up. We run two hardware brands ourselves; this distinction decides who pays, for how long, and what the customer can demand.
Legal guarantee vs. warranty at a glance
| Legal guarantee | Commercial warranty | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Law (EU Directive 2019/771 and national law) | Voluntary promise, terms set by its own text |
| Who is liable | The seller: you | Whoever gives it, usually the manufacturer, sometimes you |
| Duration | At least 2 years from delivery for new goods | Whatever the warranty text says |
| Burden of proof | First 12 months in the customer’s favour (2 years in some countries), then the customer must show the defect existed at delivery | Per the warranty terms |
| Voluntary? | No, cannot be excluded for consumers | Yes |
| Cost to customer | None: shipping, parts and labour are on the seller | Depends on the warranty terms |
The two tracks, in one minute
The legal guarantee (conformity liability) is statutory and yours as the seller. In the EU it runs at least two years from delivery for new goods. If the product turns out defective in that window, the customer has rights against you, regardless of who manufactured it.
A warranty is a voluntary promise on top, usually the manufacturer’s, sometimes yours (“3-year warranty”). It has whatever terms its text defines, and it can be generous or stingy. The one thing it can never do is shrink the legal guarantee: “1 year manufacturer warranty” does not shorten your two-year statutory liability by a single day.
Practical consequence most merchants miss: “please contact the manufacturer” is not a lawful answer to a defect claim inside the legal guarantee. The customer chose their contract partner: you. You may mention the manufacturer’s warranty as an extra option, but not as a requirement. You can pursue the manufacturer afterwards (your supplier recourse), but that’s your project, not the customer’s.
The reversed burden of proof: the 12 months that decide cases
If a defect shows up within 12 months of delivery (extended from 6 months in 2022; some EU countries apply the full two years), the law presumes the product was already defective at delivery, and it’s on you to prove otherwise. In practice, proving a five-month-old electronics failure was caused by the user is near-impossible and not worth the fight for standard cases.
Translation into policy: inside 12 months, dispute only clear user-damage cases (drop damage, water, visible abuse), which is why a photo or video at intake is worth so much. Outside 12 months, the burden flips to the customer, and your judgment calls get real.
What the customer can demand, in this order
- Repair or replacement (“cure”), and the customer chooses. You may refuse the chosen option only if it’s impossible or disproportionately expensive compared to the other (replacing a €400 device over a €15 part, say), and then deliver the other one.
- Refund or price reduction, but only after cure has failed (typically after two failed attempts) or is unreasonable. A defect usually does not entitle the customer to an instant refund on first contact. The exceptions: you refuse to remedy, you don’t remedy within a reasonable time, the defect persists despite your attempt, or it’s serious enough to justify an immediate refund. And you can’t loop repairs forever.
- All of it free. Shipping both ways, parts, labor, your logistics: inside the legal guarantee every cent is on you. This is the mirror image of the withdrawal right, where the customer often pays the return. Mixing up the two tracks (here’s that guide) means paying costs you don’t owe, or charging ones you may not.
Right to repair: what changed on 31 July 2026
The EU right-to-repair directive (2024/1799), which EU countries had to implement by 31 July 2026, adds an incentive inside the legal guarantee: if the customer chooses repair, the liability period is extended once by 12 months (countries may go further). Germany, for example, has done this in § 475e(5) BGB for contracts concluded from 31 July 2026. The customer still chooses between repair and replacement. You can offer repair and make it attractive, but you can’t impose it.
There is also a new information duty: before you remedy a defect, you have to tell the customer that they can choose between repair and replacement, and that repair extends the period. The easiest place for that is your first reply to a defect report (see the sample reply below). For hardware brands with spare parts, repair is often the margin-friendly option, and the longer period gives you a real reason to offer it.
Edge cases that reach every inbox
- Used / refurbished goods: the liability period can be shortened to one year in several countries (Germany included), but only with an explicit agreement, not a line hidden in the terms.
- B2B buyers: the consumer protections don’t apply; warranty terms can be limited contractually.
- “But it was on sale”: discounts change nothing about defect liability.
- Wear parts: batteries and consumables age; normal wear is not a defect. The line is whether the part underperformed reasonable expectations: a battery dead after four months is a defect case, not wear.
Running defect tickets so they stop eating margin
For a hardware brand the legal side is only half the cost. The other half is process: a defect case touches diagnosis, purchase-date check, the repair/replace decision, a label, possibly a replacement order, and the shop backend. Ours used to run across a helpdesk, a spreadsheet and the shop: eleven, twelve minutes per case (the ONNOA & LOVETALES numbers). The fix was the same as everywhere in post-purchase:
- Structured intake. Ask for order number, symptom, and a photo/video up front: one templated request, not three email round-trips.
- Automatic date math. Delivery date → inside 12 months? Inside two years (three after a repair, where that rule applies)? Inside a voluntary warranty? That determines the track before a human ever reads the ticket.
- A written decision policy. Under which conditions do you repair, replace, refund, including the cost thresholds. If it’s written down, a system (or a new hire) can execute it; if it lives in the founder’s head, the founder stays in the inbox.
- Execution in one pass. Label, replacement order, shop update, customer message: one flow, one audit trail.
That’s the category where we kept human approval the longest at our own brands (warranty judgment calls deserve it), but the intake and the date math never needed a human at all, and the execution comes fully prepared, so we release it with one click. Here’s how that works for warranty and defect claims.
Two sample replies for defect claims
Defect inside the legal guarantee (covers the new information duty; the sentence on the extension applies where the repair rule is in force):
“Hi Lena, thanks for the photos, the fault at the charging port is clearly visible. This is covered by the legal guarantee, so all costs are on us. You can choose: we repair your device, or you get a new one. If you choose the repair, your guarantee period is extended once by 12 months. Just let us know which you prefer and we’ll send you a free return label.”
Manufacturer warranty as an option, not a requirement:
“You can handle the defect directly with us, and we’ll take care of it. If you prefer, you can use the manufacturer’s warranty instead; the terms are here: […]. Your statutory rights against us are not affected.”
Frequently asked questions
What applies when both the warranty and the legal guarantee cover a defect?
The customer picks the route. The warranty applies in addition to the legal guarantee, and the statutory rights stay untouched, so the customer can come to you even while a manufacturer warranty is running.
Can the customer demand a refund straight away?
Usually not. Repair or replacement comes first. A price reduction or refund becomes available if you refuse or fail to remedy within a reasonable time, if the defect persists despite your attempt, or if the defect is serious enough to justify it immediately.
Does a repair extend the legal guarantee?
Under the EU right-to-repair rules, yes: if the customer chooses repair, the liability period is extended once by 12 months. Check the national rule and its start date for the country you sell to. In Germany it applies to contracts concluded from 31 July 2026.
Do I have to offer a warranty, and what must it say?
No, a warranty is voluntary. If you give one, the warranty statement must be in plain language and include a clear statement that the customer is entitled by law to free remedies from the seller and that the warranty does not affect them, the guarantor’s name and address, the claims procedure, the products covered, and the warranty terms. The customer must receive it on a durable medium no later than delivery.
This article is a practical overview for merchants, not legal advice. National implementations differ in the details. Have your warranty texts and terms reviewed by a lawyer.