Article
Most Common Legal Mistakes When Running an E-shop
In today's digital age, setting up and running an e-shop is easier than ever. However, many entrepreneurs sooner or later encounter legal shortcomings that can have unexpectedly serious consequences. Here you will find the most common mistakes that lawyers encounter most often when operating e-shops.
Published on: 13.11.2025 • Written by: Team Launify Reading Time: 15 min
Why is law so complicated for e-shops?
It is not easy to understand the legal obligations arising from Czech and European legislation. Add to that running a business and taking care of customers — no wonder there is often no energy left for legal obligations. However, ignoring them can lead to fines, problems with authorities, or loss of customer trust.
In this article, we will look at areas where e-shops make mistakes most often.
1. Business license & separation of private and business assets
Operating an e-shop is a business — and that means having the correct business license. If you sell a specific assortment (e.g., alcohol or medicines), additional permits may be required.
A very common problem is also mixing business and private assets. However, the company's assets belong to the company — not to the entrepreneur. Repairs to a private house or a family vacation "on the company" can thus mean serious accounting and tax problems.
2. E-shop documentation
Well-prepared documents are essential, especially:
- General Terms and Conditions (GTC)
- Complaints procedure
- Form for withdrawal from the contract
- Complaint form, if applicable
Documents must be adapted to the specific e-shop — assortment, transport, payment methods. Copied documents from the Internet usually do not meet legal requirements, poorly set rights and obligations, and can legally endanger you.
3. Ordering process & e-shop requirements
The customer must be clearly informed before submitting the order about:
- total price including taxes,
- method of transport and costs,
- GTC, complaints procedure and principles of personal data protection.
Consent to commercial communications must never be pre-checked. It is also important to follow the rules for discounts, reviews, product labeling and other mandatory elements of consumer law.
4. Personal data protection & cookies
The processing of personal data is governed by the GDPR. Every e-shop must have:
- personal data protection policy,
- internal security measures,
- records of processing activities,
- clearly defined legal bases and data processing time.
Cookies must be correctly divided — necessary, analytical, marketing — and different rules apply to each category. The customer must be clearly informed and must give consent for most cookies.
5. Advertising on the Internet
Online advertising must not mislead, contain false information or deliberately discredit the competition. In addition, some types of goods (e.g., alcohol, tobacco or medicines) have strict advertising rules, the violation of which can be severely sanctioned.
6. Selling abroad
Expanding abroad is great, but legally demanding. It is necessary to solve:
- local licensing obligations,
- different regulations for specific products,
- tax obligations in the EU (e.g. OSS regime),
- possible VAT registration in other countries.
Before selling abroad, we recommend consulting with experts — it is often a complex combination of legal, accounting and tax obligations.
7. Regular updating of documents & processes
Legal regulations often change. What was okay yesterday may be illegal in a month. It is therefore worthwhile to continuously monitor legislation or have your e-shop regularly checked by an expert.
Conclusion
Legal obligations must be taken seriously — not only because of fines, but also because of customer trust. Regular e-shop checks and consultations with experts can save you a lot of money, time and nerves.
