Consumer rights

When you make purchases at a flea market

• Examine the goods before making a purchase. You generally will not have an opportunity to withdraw from the purchase afterwards simply because it is hard to reach the seller after the transaction is concluded.
• Remember that the consumer protection legislation does not protect your rights as a buyer when you buy goods directly from a private individual. If, however, you buy goods from an intermediary or a flea market where individuals have left their goods to be sold by the flea market operator, the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act and Product Safety Act will apply to the transaction. This means that the business will be liable for any defects in the goods.
• Carefully examine the goods before buying. You generally can't make claims based on defects that could have been noticed in a normal examination of the goods. 

By law, goods are considered defective if they are in worse condition than the buyer could reasonably expect considering the price.  

Goods are also considered defective if

• they do not correspond to the information provided by the seller prior to the transaction regarding the properties or use of the goods 
• the seller has failed to mention properties of the product that could have been expected to influence your purchase decision. 

You may be entitled to withdraw from the transaction if, for instance, an appliance you bought does not work despite the seller's promises that it does. If an item has this kind of a substantial defect which you could not have discovered during the pre-purchase examination, notify the business of the defect without delay. If you delay making the complaint you lose your rights to make claims in the matter.

You are entitled to demand that the business rectifies the defect if the defect is substantial. If the defect is not rectified within a reasonable time, you may demand a price discount. As a last resort in the case of a substantial defect, you may be entitled to cancel the transaction. Note that with certain goods, such as second-hand clothing, you may not appeal to this provision. Therefore, you should always carefully examine items of clothing before purchasing them.

Only safe products may be sold

According to the Product Safety Act a product may not pose a hazard to consumers' health or property. This requirement covers both new and second-hand consumption goods.

The Product Safety Act applies to transactions between consumers and businesses. The legislation provides for a special responsibility regarding product safety for businesses, which also applies to businesses selling second-hand goods. Compliance with the Product Safety Act is supervised by the Consumer Agency, the provincial governments and municipal health inspectors.