The claims you can't make in a resale listing
A description is not marketing copy. It is a statement about goods, made by a seller, that a buyer relies on when deciding to pay. Consumer protection rules across the UK and the EU take a dim view of statements that turn out to be misleading — and a marketplace's own dispute process does not wait for a court to decide anything.
In practice, almost every problem traces back to one of five claims. Here they are, with phrasing that keeps the sale and drops the risk.
1. The maker
The single most expensive word in resale is a name. Attaching one to an unattributed object changes what the buyer thinks they are buying and what they think it is worth, and it is the claim most likely to end in a forced refund.
The rule
If the name is not physically on the object — a mark, a label, a stamp, a signature — it does not go in the listing. Not as an attribution, not as “attributed to”, and not as “in the style of”, which platforms and buyers routinely read as an attribution regardless of intent.
Don't
Ercol-style elm dining chair, attributed to the Windsor range.
Do
Elm-toned bentwood dining chair with a spindle back and splayed legs, in the mid-century Windsor manner. Unmarked.
If the mark is there, quote it exactly as it reads and say where it is: “stamped MADE IN ITALY to the underside”. That is an observation, it is photographable, and it is worth more to a serious buyer than any amount of confident prose.
2. The date
A specific year is a claim you cannot support and gain almost nothing from. It also has no search value — nobody types “1962”.
- Never: “circa 1890”, “made in 1962”, “dates to the war years”.
- Instead: “estimated 1950s–1970s”, with the reason attached — the hardware, the construction, the finish.
3. The material
This is the quiet one. “Solid walnut” on a veneered piece, “marble” on cast composite, “sterling” on unhallmarked plate — all common, all honest mistakes, all grounds for a not-as-described claim. A photograph cannot establish what something is made of.
Don't
Solid marble and brass side table, 1970s Italian.
Do
Side table with a marble-look stone top and a brass-toned metal frame. Estimated 1960s–1980s from the tubular construction.
4. Authenticity
Do not assert it, and do not hedge it either. “I believe this to be genuine” is still a representation about authenticity, and on many platforms an authenticity claim shifts the burden onto you to prove it.
The correct move is to remove the claim entirely and describe the object. If you have real documentation — a receipt, a certificate, a provenance chain — that is different: say what the document is, say what it says, and photograph it.
5. Value and rarity
“Worth £400”, “rare”, “investment piece”, “one of only a few known”. These are the claims most likely to be read as an inducement to buy, and the hardest to defend, because value is whatever someone pays and rarity is a claim about the whole world's supply.
If comparable items have sold at a price, you can say that as a fact about those sales — “similar examples have sold in the £300–400 range” — but you are on much safer ground simply pricing the item and letting the market answer.
What's left is a better listing
Strip those five out and you have not lost your description; you have lost the filler. What remains is form, surface, construction, hardware, condition and dimensions — every one of which is specific, photographable, and searchable. Buyers search for those. Nobody searches for “authentic”.
How this tool enforces it
These five are hard rules in VitrineList, not preferences. It will not name a maker unless a mark is legible in a photo, will not produce an exact year, hedges materials by default, and leaves authenticity and value out completely. Anything it can't establish is shown to you in the assessment panel and barred from the copy itself. See the full rule set.
Note: this is general guidance for sellers, not legal advice, and consumer protection rules differ by country. If a listing involves real money or a disputed sale, take advice for your own jurisdiction.
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