In short and in plain language
Many shops give more time for returns at Christmas. Often this lasts until mid-January.
The law gives customers only 14 days. The time starts when the parcel arrives. With a gift, the time is often over before it is unwrapped.
The longer return time is a free choice of the shop. The shop may advertise it. It must say which orders it covers and until which day.
The shop may not advertise the 14 days from the law. Every customer has these days in every shop.
The shop should save the date for each order. Then the same date is in the email and in the customer account.
Many online shops extend returns in December well into January. The reason is obvious: a present ordered in early December sits wrapped in a cupboard until Christmas Eve, and by the time it is unwrapped, the statutory withdrawal period may already have run out. A longer return window takes that worry away from customers and makes buying early easier, which in turn relieves the warehouse and shipping in the last days before the holiday. Legally, though, the single sentence “Returns until 15 January” holds more than the store banner reveals. It touches the statutory right of withdrawal, a voluntary contractual right of return and the legal guarantee for defects, and each of the three follows its own rules. Anyone who mixes them up or advertises the statutory right as a special feature runs into a provision that German competition law classifies as always prohibited toward consumers. This article shows how the three rights differ, which wording Annex no. 10 UWG prohibits, which conditions belong in a voluntary return policy, how the withdrawal notice and the confirmation email fit in and how the store system calculates the deadline reliably. It places the legal situation in the context of online shop work and does not replace legal advice in an individual case.
Key takeaways
- The statutory withdrawal period is 14 days and, for goods, starts when the goods are received (Section 355(2) and Section 356(2) no. 1 BGB). A customer who receives a delivery on 3 December can only withdraw until 17 December.
- Withdrawal, voluntary returns and the legal guarantee are three separate rights. Claims for defects in a purchase generally become time-barred after two years (Section 438(1) no. 3 BGB) and do not depend on the return deadline.
- Presenting statutory rights as a special feature of the offer is always prohibited toward consumers (Annex no. 10 and Section 3(3) UWG). “Now with a 14-day right of withdrawal” does not belong in an ad banner.
- A voluntary return policy states the order period, a fixed end date, the condition of the goods, costs and the refund method. It must not reduce the right of withdrawal (Section 361(2) BGB); the later deadline applies.
- The withdrawal notice stays with the statutory model. Returns until 15 January sit separately next to it and as a date in the confirmation sent no later than delivery (Section 312f(2) BGB).
- For every order, the store system saves the delivery date plus the statutory and the voluntary deadline and shows the later date in emails, customer account, return form and customer service.
Why early presents have a deadline problem
German law gives consumers a right of withdrawal for distance contracts (Section 312g(1) BGB). The withdrawal period is 14 days (Section 355(2) BGB) and, for the purchase of goods, starts as soon as the consumer or a third party named by them who is not the carrier has received the goods (Section 356(2) no. 1(a) BGB). The general rules on time periods apply: the day of delivery is not counted (Section 187(1) BGB), and the period ends when its last day expires (Section 188(1) BGB).
For the Christmas season, this has an awkward consequence. A sweater delivered on Thursday, 3 December 2026, can be withdrawn from until the end of 17 December. It is only unwrapped on Christmas Eve, a week later. If the size is wrong or the recipient already owns the book, the statutory window has closed. Early buyers therefore carry a risk that a purchase on 20 December would not have, and precisely this risk pushes orders into the last days before the holiday, when the warehouse and shipping are already heavily loaded. How to plan the season as a whole is covered in the article on preparing an online shop for Christmas; this article is about the one promise that only gets a brief mention there in stage 6.
Two details belong in every calculation. If several items from one order are delivered separately, the period only starts when the last item is received (Section 356(2) no. 1(b) BGB). And sending the withdrawal in time is enough to meet the deadline (Section 355(1) sentence 5 BGB): a withdrawal sent in the evening of the last day that arrives the next morning is on time. If the last day of a period within which a declaration of intent has to be made falls on a Sunday, a public holiday or a Saturday, the next working day takes its place (Section 193 BGB). Around Christmas and New Year, an unusually large number of such days lie close together.
| Delivery | End of statutory withdrawal | End of Christmas returns | Date that applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, 3 December 2026 | Thu, 17 December 2026 | Fri, 15 January 2027 | 15 January 2027 |
| Mon, 21 December 2026 | Mon, 4 January 2027 | Fri, 15 January 2027 | 15 January 2027 |
| Mon, 4 January 2027 (delayed December order) | Mon, 18 January 2027 | Fri, 15 January 2027 | 18 January 2027, the statutory period ends later |
Three rights the shop has to keep apart
In online retail, the word “return” covers three rights with different legal bases. Withdrawal is a statutory right of the consumer and does not need to state any reasons (Section 355(1) sentence 4 BGB). Voluntary returns are a contractual promise by the retailer, whose content the retailer defines. The legal guarantee, finally, governs what happens when the goods are defective; it has nothing to do with liking or disliking them.
The difference is more than a matter of terminology. The provisions on withdrawal may not be deviated from to the consumer's detriment (Section 361(2) sentence 1 BGB), and they also apply if they are circumvented by other arrangements (Section 361(2) sentence 2 BGB). A condition such as “only in original packaging” can therefore only apply to the voluntary extension, not to the first 14 days. For the legal guarantee, in turn, it makes no difference whether a return deadline is running. If the item is defective, the buyer can demand subsequent performance, withdraw from the contract, reduce the price or claim damages, provided the requirements are met (Section 437 BGB). For purchases, these claims generally become time-barred after two years (Section 438(1) no. 3 BGB), counted from delivery of the item (Section 438(2) BGB).
| Feature | Statutory withdrawal | Voluntary returns | Legal guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Statute (Section 312g(1) and Section 355 BGB) | Promise by the retailer | Statute (Section 437 BGB) |
| Deadline | 14 days from receipt of the goods | set by the retailer, for example until 15 January | Time-barred after 2 years from delivery |
| Reason | not required | may be asked on a voluntary basis | a defect must exist |
| Condition of goods | Inspection as in a store, otherwise compensation for loss in value | own conditions possible, clearly stated | the goods are defective |
| Return shipping costs | Customer, if informed in advance | set by the retailer | Retailer bears the costs of subsequent performance |
| Advertising it | not as a special feature | permitted, with complete conditions | not as a special feature |
The last column in particular is often overlooked. A defective present is not a case for Christmas returns but for the legal guarantee, and that also applies after 15 January. If, in a consumer sale, a non-conforming condition appears within one year of the passing of risk, it is presumed that the goods were already defective when the risk passed (Section 477(1) BGB), and the seller bears the expenses required for subsequent performance, such as transport costs (Section 439(2) BGB). A return form that only knows “don't like it” and “doesn't fit” and rejects every request after the cut-off date sorts defects into the wrong bucket.
There is also an information duty with a fixed format: the mandatory information in distance selling includes pointing out the existence of the statutory guarantee right for goods and its main elements, including its minimum duration of two years, in a prominent manner and using the harmonized notice under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960 (Art. 246a Section 1(1) no. 11 EGBGB). This mandatory notice is the opposite of an advertising promise: it says that the right applies to everyone. That is exactly why the shop may not also sell the same right as a benefit of its own.
What Annex no. 10 UWG prohibits in advertising
The German Act against Unfair Competition lists commercial practices in its annex that are always prohibited toward consumers (Section 3(3) UWG). Number 10 covers exactly the case of the Christmas banner: “die unwahre Angabe oder das Erwecken des unzutreffenden Eindrucks, gesetzlich bestehende Rechte stellten eine Besonderheit des Angebots dar”, that is, falsely stating or creating the impression that rights existing by law are a special feature of the offer (Annex no. 10 UWG). The general rule for advertising to consumers asks whether a practice falls short of professional diligence and is likely to materially distort the consumer's economic behavior (Section 3(2) UWG). For the cases in the annex, the statute does not require this test; they are “always prohibited”.
What is prohibited is not informing customers about the right of withdrawal. The law even requires it: the shop has to provide information about the conditions, time limits and procedure for exercising the right of withdrawal (Art. 246a Section 1(2) sentence 1 no. 1 EGBGB). What is prohibited is the staging, such as the header badge “Now with a 14-day right of withdrawal!”, the seal “14-day money back” next to the cart or the line “including a 2-year guarantee” as a selling point in the product description. All three create the impression that the customer is getting something they are entitled to anyway as a special favor from this shop.
The general ban on misleading practices also remains. Among other things, a commercial practice is misleading if it contains untrue or otherwise deceptive information about the rights of the consumer (Section 5(2) no. 7 UWG). And providing material information in an unclear, unintelligible or ambiguous manner also counts as withholding it (Section 5a(2) no. 2 UWG). A return promise whose conditions only show up after the third click, or a banner that does not say which orders the extension applies to, can therefore cause trouble even if the promise itself is genuine. Competition law takes an equally close look at price advertising in the same season; the rules for strike-through prices are covered in the article on the 30-day rule for discounts.
| Phrasing | Assessment | Better version |
|---|---|---|
| “Now with a 14-day right of withdrawal!” | Statutory right presented as a benefit (Annex no. 10 UWG) | Mention withdrawal factually in the notice and mandatory information |
| “14-day money back” | Statutory refund deadline (Section 357(1) BGB) presented as a service | Leave it out or explain it factually as part of the return process |
| “Including a 2-year guarantee” | Statutory rights for defects (Section 438(1) no. 3 BGB) as an extra | Use the mandatory guarantee notice, do not advertise it as a benefit |
| “Christmas returns extended” | Unclear which orders and until when (Section 5a(2) no. 2 UWG) | “Return orders from 1 to 24 Dec until 15 Jan 2027, conditions here” |
| “Return gifts until 15 Jan, conditions here” | Voluntary benefit with linked conditions | Permitted if the conditions are complete and one click away |
If you also mention the extended return window in ads, use the same wording there as in the store, so that ad, landing page and conditions do not drift apart. How to plan campaigns for the weeks before Christmas is shown in the article on Google Ads for Black Week.
Wording voluntary returns the right way
Unlike the statutory right of withdrawal, the voluntary extension is a genuine special feature of the offer and may be advertised as such. To keep it that way, the wording needs four building blocks: which orders it applies to, until what date, under what conditions and how it relates to the statutory right of withdrawal. A notice in the cart may be short, as long as it refers to the complete conditions and these are one click away. Where the notice works best on the product page and in the cart without disrupting checkout is a question of conversion optimization.
Sample text for the conditions page
Legally, there are two possible routes. The retailer can extend the withdrawal period itself, because Section 361(2) BGB only prohibits deviations to the consumer's detriment. Anyone taking this route should expect the rules of withdrawal to apply for the entire extended period: no reasons, no conditions on the state of the goods beyond compensation for loss in value, refunds via the same payment method. For the Christmas case, the second route is usually easier to handle: a separate, voluntary right of return with its own conditions next to the unchanged right of withdrawal. In that case, the word “withdrawal” does not belong in the campaign. “Christmas returns” or “return until 15 January” keep things clearly apart, while “right of withdrawal extended” blurs exactly the line that matters.
- Order period with start and end date, for example 1 to 24 December 2026
- End date for returns as a calendar date, not as a number of days from delivery
- Whether the date of sending or the date of receipt of the return counts
- Condition of the goods, such as unused, complete, with tag
- Who pays for return shipping and which label or portal the customer uses
- How and to where the refund is made, including the time frame for the refund
- Which items are excluded, listed in full
- Who may return an item if it was sent as a gift
- The sentence stating that the statutory right of withdrawal remains unaffected and the later deadline applies
Conditions: condition, deadline and costs
In a statutory withdrawal, the customer may inspect the goods as they would in a store. They only owe compensation for a loss in value that results from handling the goods in a way that was not necessary to establish their nature, characteristics and functioning, and only if they were properly informed about their right of withdrawal (Section 357a(1) BGB). Apart from the exceptions for certain sealed goods, the statute does not make withdrawal dependent on original packaging or unopened goods. For voluntary returns, the retailer may be stricter and require unused, complete goods, as long as this is stated clearly and the condition only applies after the statutory period has ended.
For the deadline, the promise needs a fixed calendar date instead of a duration. “Until 15 January 2027” is understood by everyone, while hardly anyone recalculates “30 days from delivery” in December. The conditions should also say whether the date of sending or the date of receipt counts. For withdrawal, sending it in time is enough (Section 355(1) sentence 5 BGB). For voluntary returns, the simplest approach is to adopt the same rule, so that customer service does not have to apply two standards in January.
Withdrawal also differs when it comes to costs. There, the customer only bears the direct costs of returning the goods if the retailer has informed them of this beforehand (Section 357(5) sentence 1 BGB), and not even then if the retailer has agreed to bear them (Section 357(5) sentence 2 BGB). Payments received have to be refunded no later than after 14 days (Section 357(1) BGB), generally using the same means of payment the customer used (Section 357(3) BGB). The retailer can withhold the refund until it has received the goods back or the customer has provided proof of sending them (Section 357(4) BGB). For voluntary returns, the retailer sets costs and refund method itself. The easiest rule to explain is one that is the same for both routes: the same costs, the same refund method, the same processing time.
Order period
Which orders the promise applies to, with start and end date. Without it, customers will rightly ask in January whether their November order is included.
End date
A fixed date such as 15 January, plus the rule on whether sending or receipt counts. The same date later appears word for word in emails and the customer account.
Condition
Unused, complete, with tag: conditions of this kind only apply to the voluntary part, not to the statutory 14 days.
Return shipping
Who pays the postage and how the label gets to the customer. A rule that is the same for withdrawal and Christmas returns is the easiest to explain.
Refund
To which payment method and within what time frame the refund is made. For withdrawal this is set by law, for voluntary returns it is a decision.
Exclusions
Personalized items, sealed hygiene products, clearance stock: whatever is not taken back is listed in full on the conditions page.
Some goods are already excluded from statutory withdrawal, for example goods made to the customer's specifications, goods that spoil quickly and sealed hygiene products whose seal was removed after delivery (Section 312g(2) nos. 1 to 3 BGB). These exclusions apply unless the parties have agreed otherwise (Section 312g(2) BGB). Voluntary returns can adopt them, deliberately lift individual ones or add further ones, for example clearance stock. What matters is that the list is complete on the conditions page and does not only appear when the item is sent back. Which levers reduce the number of returns overall is described in the article on reducing online shop returns.
Withdrawal notice, withdrawal function and confirmation email
The withdrawal notice can stay as it is. The statutory model starts with the sentence “Sie haben das Recht, binnen vierzehn Tagen ohne Angabe von Gründen diesen Vertrag zu widerrufen”, meaning you have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason (Annex 1 to Art. 246a Section 1(2) sentence 2 EGBGB). Anyone who sends the model, correctly completed, in text form fulfills their information duties on withdrawal (Art. 246a Section 1(2) sentence 2 EGBGB). Christmas returns sit next to it as a separate, clearly headed section, for example on the shipping and returns page, and not as an insertion in the model text. Section 356 BGB shows why a correct notice matters: the withdrawal period does not start before the trader has properly informed the consumer (Section 356(3) BGB), and the right of withdrawal then only expires at the latest twelve months and 14 days after the regular start of the period (Section 356(4) BGB).
The confirmation email is where the promise is recorded for each individual order. For distance contracts, the retailer has to confirm the contract on a durable medium within a reasonable time, at the latest on delivery of the goods (Section 312f(2) sentence 1 BGB). This confirmation has to contain the information under Art. 246a EGBGB, unless it was already provided on a durable medium before the contract was concluded (Section 312f(2) sentence 2 BGB). In practice, this is the order confirmation email with the withdrawal notice and form. That is where Christmas returns belong as a specific date: “You can return this order until 15 January 2027, conditions: [link]”. The same date appears in the shipping confirmation, on the delivery note and, if the shop offers one, on the gift receipt.
Then there is the electronic withdrawal function. For distance contracts concluded via an online interface, it must be clearly labeled “Vertrag widerrufen” (withdraw from contract) or with an equivalent unambiguous wording (Section 356a(1) sentence 2 BGB) and must be permanently available, prominently placed and easily accessible while the withdrawal period is running (Section 356a(1) sentence 3 BGB). After submission, the retailer immediately sends an acknowledgment of receipt with content, date and time on a durable medium (Section 356a(4) BGB). For Christmas returns, this means: the withdrawal function stays as it is, and voluntary returns get their own, differently labeled path, for example “Return items” in the customer account. Customers who withdraw within the statutory period are not redirected into the voluntary path with its conditions.
Mandatory “reason for return” field
Storing the deadline in the store system
A promise that only exists in a banner lasts until the first customer question. It only becomes reliable once the store system knows, for every order, until when it can be returned. That requires three pieces of data: the delivery date for each shipment, the statutory deadline derived from it and the end date of the campaign. For the customer, the later of the two end dates applies, because voluntary returns must not shorten withdrawal (Section 361(2) sentence 1 BGB). Both are saved nonetheless: until the statutory end, the rules of withdrawal apply, after that the conditions of the Christmas returns.
The delivery date usually comes from the carrier's shipment tracking. If it is missing, the shipping date plus the usual transit time is only an approximation that should include a generous buffer. For partial deliveries, the last shipment of the order counts (Section 356(2) no. 1(b) BGB). If the start of the withdrawal period is disputed, the burden of proof lies with the trader (Section 361(3) BGB), which is another reason to store the delivery date with the order. Anyone calculating the deadline automatically should also reflect the shift under Section 193 BGB or calculate generously in the customer's favor during the holiday season.
- Create the order period and end date as a setting, not as fixed text in templates, so that next year they only need adjusting.
- Keep a “return until” field for every order that calculates the later date from delivery date, statutory period and campaign end.
- Output the date via text block in the order confirmation, shipping confirmation and delivery note.
- Show in the customer account for each order until when a return is possible, and offer the right path: withdrawal or Christmas returns.
- Show a clear notice in the return form once both deadlines have passed, instead of silently accepting or rejecting the request.
- Show customer service both end dates in the order view, so that questions in January can be answered without recalculating.
- Hide banners, cart notice and product notices automatically when the order period ends.
In a store based on Shopware, such information can be mapped with custom fields, text blocks and email templates, complemented by a small extension that calculates the date for each order. Which route fits depends on how shipping and inventory management are connected and where the delivery date comes from. How we build stores of this kind is shown on the page about our online shop with Shopware. Ongoing adjustments before the season, from text blocks to email templates, are handled by website care.
Roadmap to Black Week
Christmas returns only work if they are in place at the start of the main season, that is, before the first big promotion weeks at the end of November push order numbers up. Counting backward results in a short and easily plannable sequence.
- End of October: decide whether to extend, for which order period and until what date.
- Early November: write the conditions page with order period, end date, condition, costs, refund, exclusions and the sentence on statutory withdrawal.
- By mid-November: set up fields, text blocks and email templates and run test orders for deliveries in December and in January.
- Before Black Week: bring banner, cart notice and ad copy in line with the same wording and read them against Annex no. 10 UWG.
- From 1 December: campaign live, customer service equipped with reply templates for the most frequent questions.
- After 15 January: analyze returns, handle late shipments according to the sending rule and record lessons for next year.
Extended returns remain legally manageable if they appear as what they are: a voluntary promise with clear rules next to the statutory right of withdrawal. For retailers who run a physical store alongside the online shop, it is worth giving both the same rule; how a website for retail brings the two together is shown on the industry page. Anyone also planning an Advent calendar in December will find the rules in the article on the Advent prize draw. And if you want to implement returns with conditions page, deadline field and email templates in one go, the starting point is the page about our online shop.
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