Selling to American consumers: the FTC, the states and the rules that decide what you may promise, charge and ship

A European online shop launching in the US often makes the same first observation: there is no general right to return goods bought online, no mandatory two-year guarantee, no single consumer code. That impression is accurate and also misleading. American consumer law is built on one broad prohibition of deception, a set of targeted federal rules, fifty state statutes and, above all, private lawsuits with multiplied damages and attorney's fees. For an honest seller it is a manageable system. For one that copies its European marketing habits without checking them, it can be expensive.

Three enforcers instead of one

In most European countries a consumer authority and the courts carry consumer law. In the US three groups enforce it, and a seller has to keep all three in mind:

• The Federal Trade Commission, which enforces the FTC Act and a series of trade regulation rules nationwide.
• State attorneys general, each with a consumer protection division and a state statute of its own. In Texas the consumer protection division can seek injunctions and civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation, with an additional amount of up to $250,000 where the practice targeted consumers aged 65 or older.
• Consumers and their attorneys, through private lawsuits and class actions. This is the part Europeans underestimate. Many state statutes award multiplied damages and require the losing seller to pay the consumer's attorney's fees, which makes even small claims worth pursuing.

Federal and state law apply side by side. Complying with the FTC's rules does not shield a seller from a stricter state law in the state where its customer lives.

The core rule: deception and unfairness

Section 5 of the FTC Act declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce unlawful. Two short words carry almost the entire system.

Deceptive, in the FTC's long-standing policy statement, means a representation, omission or practice that is likely to mislead a consumer acting reasonably in the circumstances, about something material: price, performance, origin, health effects, environmental benefits, scarcity. The FTC also expects advertisers to have a reasonable basis for objective claims before they are published, so the test results come before the slogan.

Unfair has a statutory definition. A practice is unfair only if it causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers that they cannot reasonably avoid themselves and that is not outweighed by benefits to consumers or competition.

Penalties depend on the route. Where the FTC proceeds under a trade regulation rule against a seller who knew the conduct was prohibited, the statute sets a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation; adjusted for inflation, the FTC's figure since January 2025 is $53,088 per violation. In an online shop, every order can be a separate violation.

Reviews, testimonials and influencers

Reviews are where we see European sellers stumble most often, usually by importing practices that are tolerated at home.

The FTC's review rule

Since 21 October 2024 a federal rule on consumer reviews and testimonials has been in force. It prohibits:

• writing, creating or selling fake reviews or testimonials, including ones attributed to people who do not exist or never used the product;
• buying positive or negative reviews;
• reviews by officers, managers or employees without clear disclosure of the relationship, in the situations the rule describes;
• company-controlled websites that pretend to review independently;
• suppressing negative reviews through threats or false accusations;
• selling or buying fake indicators of social media influence such as bought followers or views.

Some of these duties apply only where the seller knew or should have known the review was false. Creating a fake review needs no such knowledge.

Contract terms and influencers

The Consumer Review Fairness Act makes void any clause in a form contract that bars customers from posting reviews, penalizes them for it, or takes their intellectual property in the review; offering such a contract is itself unlawful. And the FTC's endorsement guides require influencers and other endorsers to disclose clearly and conspicuously any material connection with the seller, whether payment, free products or a family tie.

Subscriptions, fees and the rule that did not survive

Subscription businesses had a turbulent 2025. The FTC's negative option rule, known as click to cancel, was vacated in full by the Eighth Circuit on 8 July 2025, a week before its main compliance date. That did not leave subscriptions unregulated. The Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act still requires an online seller using a negative option to:

1. disclose all material terms clearly and conspicuously before collecting billing information;
2. obtain the consumer's express informed consent before charging;
3. provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges.

State consumer statutes apply on top, and several states regulate automatic renewals specifically. New York and Virginia, for example, require a cancellation method as easy to use as the sign-up, available through the same channels, and advance reminders before certain renewals. Check the rules of the states where your subscribers live. In our experience a subscription that is easy to start and hard to end is the design pattern that draws complaints fastest.

Price presentation has its own rule. The FTC's rule on unfair or deceptive fees requires sellers of live-event tickets and short-term lodging to show the total price, including mandatory fees, more prominently than other pricing information. Outside those two industries, drip pricing remains exposed to the general deception standard and to state law.

Shipping, returns and cancellation

Here the American system is lighter than the European one, with one rule every e-commerce seller must know.

The Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule. When it solicits an order, a seller must have a reasonable basis to expect that it can ship within the time it states. If it states none, it must ship within 30 days of receiving a properly completed order, or within 50 days if the customer applies for credit to pay at the time of ordering. If the seller cannot ship on time, it must promptly offer the customer the choice of agreeing to the delay or canceling for a prompt refund. European sellers shipping from a warehouse in Europe, with customs clearance now required for every parcel, should state realistic times.

Returns. Federal law contains no general right to withdraw from an online purchase of the kind EU consumers have. Returns are a matter of the seller's own policy, which then becomes binding as stated.

Cooling-off rule. One exception exists for sales made in person away from the seller's place of business, such as at the buyer's home or a hotel event: for purchases of $25 or more at the buyer's residence, or $130 or more elsewhere, the buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale.

Warranties and origin claims

The US does not impose a fixed statutory guarantee period. It regulates what happens when you give a warranty, and it protects the warranties the law implies.

The origin rule surprises European manufacturers who assemble in the US from European parts. A label such as assembled in the USA from imported components is the safer path. Product safety is a separate regime: if you learn that a product may be hazardous, the CPSC expects a report within 24 hours. Our pages on product liability in the US and on CPSC compliance and recalls go into both.

A state statute up close: the Texas DTPA

Every state has its own consumer protection law. We use Texas as the example because it is our home and because the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act is a typical, sharply drafted one.

• Who is protected. A consumer is an individual, partnership, corporation or the state that acquires goods or services by purchase or lease. Business buyers with assets of $25 million or more are excluded, so most small business customers are protected too.
• What a consumer can sue for. False, misleading or deceptive practices from the statutory list that the consumer relied on, breach of an express or implied warranty, and unconscionable conduct.
• What they can recover. Economic damages; if the conduct was knowing, mental anguish damages and up to three times the economic damages; if intentional, up to three times both. A prevailing consumer is awarded court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
• Notice first. A consumer seeking damages must give the seller written notice at least 60 days before filing suit, describing the complaint and the amount claimed. This is the seller's window to settle.
• Time limit. Actions must be brought within two years of the deceptive act or of its discovery.
• Waivers. A consumer's waiver of the act is void unless it is in writing, signed, and the consumer had independent legal counsel and no significantly weaker bargaining position.

Treat a DTPA notice letter as an opportunity rather than a threat. A sensible offer within the 60 days often ends the matter at a fraction of what litigation would cost.

Email, phone and children

How you reach customers has its own federal rules.

• Email (CAN-SPAM Act). Commercial emails need truthful header information, clear identification as an advertisement unless the recipient opted in, a valid physical postal address of the sender, and a working opt-out that is honored within 10 business days.
• Calls and texts (TCPA). Calls using an automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice need the called party's prior express consent, subject to narrow exceptions. Consumers can sue for $500 per violation, and a court may treble that for willful or knowing violations.
• Children online (COPPA). Websites and apps directed at children, defined as individuals under 13, must meet the FTC's parental consent and data rules.

For an online shop the technical side matters as much as the legal one; our guide to US market entry for e-commerce and our page on selling to the US with Shopify cover the setup.

Before the first American order ships

Most of this comes down to a short review of your shop and your marketing before launch. The questions we go through with clients:

1. Can every advertising claim be backed with evidence today?
2. Are all reviews genuine, and are connections with reviewers and influencers disclosed?
3. Does the subscription flow disclose terms before payment, take explicit consent, and offer easy cancellation?
4. Is the stated delivery time realistic, including customs?
5. Are the return policy and warranty written, clear and honored exactly as written?
6. Do origin claims meet the Made in USA standard, or avoid it?
7. Do email and SMS campaigns have the consents and opt-outs the law requires?

The rest of the regulatory map for a new US business, from licenses to hiring, is in our guide to federal and state business regulations.