Dunedin eCommerce Legal Help: Contracts Checklist

Jess runs a small Dunedin skincare brand from a studio in South Dunedin. Her website looks polished, her supplier is ready to ship 500 units, and her first paid ads are scheduled for Friday.

Then a customer asks, "What happens if my order arrives damaged?" A supplier asks for a 50% deposit with no delivery date in writing. Her email platform also asks whether she has permission to contact everyone on her list.

If that sounds familiar, you aren't behind. Online stores can move quickly, and the legal documents often get left until the last minute. The good news is that a few well drafted documents can do a lot of heavy lifting for your business.

What Legal Documents Does A Dunedin eCommerce Store Need If It Sells Across New Zealand?

It depends, but if your online store is taking payments, collecting customer information, relying on suppliers or running marketing campaigns, getting tailored legal help is usually worth it.

A Dunedin based online store generally needs to comply with New Zealand laws whether your customers are in Otago, Auckland, Wellington or overseas. The location of your website visitors, payment provider, suppliers and fulfilment partners can all affect what your documents need to say.

When people search for ecommerce legal support in NZ or online business legal help in Dunedin, they're usually trying to solve one of these practical problems:

• Customer expectations: What are customers agreeing to when they buy from you?
• Returns and refunds: What can you say without breaching the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or Fair Trading Act 1986?
• Privacy: What personal information are you collecting, and how are you using it?
• Supplier risk: What happens if stock is late, faulty or different from the sample?
• Marketing compliance: Can you send email or SMS promotions to your list?

You don't need a different set of documents just because you're based in Dunedin. What you do need is a set of online shop terms and other online store documents that match your actual sales process, products, suppliers, payment flows and customer journey.

A generic template can be a useful starting point, but it often misses the details that matter, such as preorder timing, made to order products, subscription renewals, international shipping and how you handle faulty goods.

What Terms And Conditions Does Your Online Store Need?

Your online store terms and conditions should explain the rules for buying goods or services from you, paying you, receiving goods or services, and using your website.

Think of your terms as the main contract between your business and your customer. They should be easy to find on your website, accepted during checkout where possible, and consistent with what your product pages, FAQs and marketing emails say.

For an ecommerce store in New Zealand, your terms usually cover:

• Who your business is, including your company name, NZBN if you have one, and contact details
• How customers place orders and when you can accept or reject an order
• Prices, GST treatment, payment methods and payment failures
• Shipping timeframes, delivery risk and what happens if an address is wrong
• Preorders, backorders and made to order items
• Returns, refunds, exchanges and faulty products
• Discount codes, gift cards and promotions
• Website terms of use, account security and customer content such as reviews
• Limits on liability, while still respecting the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993

Online Store Terms Outline

Here is a practical outline you can use to check what your terms should deal with. This isn't a finished legal document, and it should be tailored before you use it.

1. Business Details: Write your legal business name, trading name, NZBN and contact details.
2. Customer Eligibility: State who can buy from you, including any age or location limits.
3. Orders: Explain how orders are placed, confirmed, changed or cancelled.
4. Pricing And Payment: Set out prices, GST, payment timing, failed payments and pricing errors.
5. Shipping: Describe delivery areas, estimated timeframes, tracking and lost parcels.
6. Returns And Faults: Explain your process for returns, exchanges and faulty goods.
7. Promotions: Set the rules for discount codes, bundles, gift cards and limited offers.
8. Customer Accounts: Explain passwords, account misuse and when you can suspend an account.
9. Intellectual Property: Protect your website content, images, branding and product descriptions.
10. Liability: Set sensible limits that don't remove rights you can't legally exclude.

Do You Need An eCommerce Privacy Policy In New Zealand?

Yes, if your online store collects personal information, you should have a privacy policy that complies with the Privacy Act 2020.

Most ecommerce stores collect personal information from day one. That can include names, delivery addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, payment related details, customer service messages, website analytics, account logins and purchase history.

Your privacy policy should explain, in plain English:

• What personal information you collect
• Why you collect it
• How you collect it, including through cookies, analytics tools or website forms
• Who you share it with, such as payment processors, couriers, email platforms and accountants
• Whether information may be sent or stored overseas
• How customers can access or correct their information
• How customers can contact you about privacy concerns

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you also need to think carefully before sending personal information overseas. If you use overseas platforms for email marketing, customer support, analytics, hosting or fulfilment, your policy should say that clearly and your business should take reasonable steps to protect that information.

If a privacy breach is likely to cause serious harm, it will usually be a notifiable privacy breach. In that case, you must notify the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals as soon as practicable, unless an exception applies. A breach can include something as simple as sending a customer list to the wrong recipient, a compromised admin account, or a lost device containing customer data.

For example, say Jess exports a spreadsheet of 1,200 customers to send to her fulfilment partner, but accidentally emails it to the wrong supplier. The spreadsheet includes names, addresses, phone numbers and order history. Jess should act quickly to recall or delete the email, record what happened, assess the risk of serious harm, and decide whether notification is required.

What Should Your Returns And Refunds Policy Say?

Your returns and refunds policy should explain your process clearly, but it can't take away customer rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.

For consumer sales, the Consumer Guarantees Act gives customers guarantees that goods will be of acceptable quality, fit for purpose, match their description, match any sample, and arrive within a reasonable time if you arrange delivery. Services also need to be carried out with reasonable care and skill.

You can set practical return rules for change of mind purchases, such as:

• Whether you offer exchanges, store credit or refunds for change of mind
• How many days a customer has to contact you
• Whether items must be unused, unopened or in original packaging
• Who pays return shipping for change of mind returns
• Whether sale items, personalised items or hygiene sensitive items have special rules

However, if a product is faulty or doesn't match what you promised, you can't simply say "no refunds". You need to handle the issue in a way that matches the customer rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

The Fair Trading Act 1986 also matters. Your returns policy, product pages and ads must not mislead customers about what they're buying or what rights they have. Phrases like "all sales final" can be risky if they suggest customers have no rights for faulty products.

A Simple Example

Jess sells a moisturiser online for $49. Her policy says change of mind returns must be requested within 14 days and the product must be unopened. That's usually a business choice she can make.

But if a customer receives a bottle with a broken pump and the product can't be used properly, Jess should treat that as a faulty product issue, not a change of mind return. Her policy should tell the customer how to contact her, what photos or information to provide, and what remedy may be available.

What Supplier And Fulfilment Contracts Should You Have?

You should have written contracts with key suppliers, manufacturers, fulfilment providers and contractors if your store depends on them to deliver customer orders.

Online stores often feel simple from the customer side, but behind the scenes there may be several moving parts. A supplier may make the goods, a warehouse may store them, a courier may deliver them, a developer may maintain your site, and a marketing contractor may access your customer database.

Without written agreements, you may struggle to recover prepaid amounts, enforce delivery expectations or stop a supplier using your designs.

Your supplier and fulfilment contracts should cover:

• Products or services: What exactly is being supplied, including specifications, materials, packaging and quality standards.
• Delivery timing: Dates, lead times, delays and what happens if deadlines are missed.
• Payment: Deposits, milestone payments, invoices, late payment and refunds for undelivered work.
• Minimum orders: Minimum order quantities, stock holding and reorder rules.
• Faults and recalls: Who is responsible for defective products, replacements, refunds and customer complaints.
• Intellectual property: Who owns product designs, photos, branding, copy, packaging and custom development work.
• Confidentiality: How product plans, customer lists and pricing information must be protected.
• Privacy: What a fulfilment partner can do with customer names, addresses and order details.

For example, Jess orders 500 units from a manufacturer and pays a 50% deposit. The invoice says "delivery soon", but there's no firm date, no product specification and no quality process. If the order arrives six weeks late and 80 units are unusable, Jess has a harder job proving what was agreed.

A better setup is to attach the final product specification, state the delivery date, include an inspection process, and explain what happens if a batch fails the agreed standard.

If you engage individuals under contractor agreements for website development, customer service or marketing, keep an eye on employment classification too. New Zealand's Employment Relations Act 2000, including the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 contractor gateway test, can affect when a worker is treated as a contractor rather than an employee. The label in the contract helps, but the working relationship still needs to match it.

How Do You Keep Your Marketing And Website Compliant?

You keep your marketing and website compliant by making sure your claims are accurate, your emails and texts have consent, and your intellectual property is protected.

For ecommerce, marketing compliance isn't just about avoiding fines. It also builds trust. Customers are more likely to buy when your product claims, delivery promises and refund information are clear.

Email And SMS Marketing

The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 applies to commercial electronic messages, including many marketing emails and texts. In practice, you usually need:

• Consent from the recipient
• Clear sender identification
• A working unsubscribe function

If someone unsubscribes, you need to action that within 5 working days. Your privacy policy and sign up forms should also match what you actually do with marketing data.

Advertising Claims

The Fair Trading Act 1986 applies to product descriptions, pricing, reviews, influencer posts and promotions. Be careful with claims such as:

• "Made in New Zealand"
• "Organic" or "natural"
• "Limited stock"
• "Was $120, now $79"
• "Delivery in 2 days"

If you can't back it up, don't say it. If a delivery estimate depends on a third party courier or rural delivery, say that clearly.

Brand Protection

If you have a distinctive brand name, logo or product line, consider whether you should register a trade mark with IPONZ. A Companies Office registration or NZBN doesn't automatically give you trade mark rights.

Copyright can also matter. Make sure you have permission to use product photos, website copy, illustrations, music, videos and user generated content. If a freelancer creates your brand assets or website, your contract should clearly say who owns the final work and what you can do with it.

Key Takeaways

• A Dunedin online store usually needs nationally relevant ecommerce documents, not a separate Dunedin only legal setup.
• Your online store terms should cover orders, payment, shipping, returns, promotions, website use, intellectual property and liability.
• If you collect customer information, your privacy policy should reflect the Privacy Act 2020 and the tools you actually use.
• Your returns policy can set change of mind rules, but it can't remove customer rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.
• Supplier, fulfilment and contractor agreements help protect your stock, customer data, timelines and brand assets.
• Your marketing needs to comply with the Fair Trading Act 1986 and the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007, especially for product claims and email or SMS promotions.

If you'd like help with your online store terms, privacy policy, supplier contracts and marketing compliance, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.