Can You Return a Product Bought Online?

1. Which purchases carry a right of return?

This guide concerns online purchases from a seller for your personal needs. In distance sales, a consumer’s ability to withdraw from a contract without giving a reason is the “right of withdrawal”. You need not prove a fault or wait for the seller to accept your reason for changing your mind. The legal basis is Article 48 of Law No. 6502 and the Regulation on Distance Contracts. [1] [2]

Transactions through an online shop, shopping app or social media account used as a sales system may fall within this scope. Cash on delivery does not by itself change a transaction’s status as a distance sale. In contrast, merely browsing online and concluding the purchase in a physical shop does not automatically create the same right to withdraw without a reason.

An individual occasionally selling their own used belongings differs from a business selling in a professional or commercial capacity. Purchases for your business may also fall outside consumer transactions. First consider the seller’s status and the purpose of the purchase.

2. When does the 14-day period begin?

For goods, the relevant date is generally delivery, not the order or payment date. Delivery to you or a third party designated by you is relevant. Handing the parcel to the carrier is not delivery to you. Keep proof of delivery. [2]

Do not treat this as 14 working days. Notify your decision before the last day. Where the right exists, you may also withdraw before the product arrives; you do not need to accept delivery first merely to return it.

Track your own notice, not the seller’s response. What matters is sending a clear withdrawal notice in time. A response saying “your request is under review” does not automatically invalidate timely notice.

3. How should I notify the seller?

Use the platform’s returns system, email or another method that allows the content and transmission to be retained. Identify the order and product concerned. The model form in the Regulation is not compulsory; a clear withdrawal statement suffices. Since the consumer bears the burden of proving notification, do not rely solely on a telephone call. [2]

Keep the request number, sent email and platform confirmation screen. If redirected to another channel, retain evidence of the original notification date. A return code facilitates shipping, but failure to provide one does not remove your ability to give timely, valid withdrawal notice.

Rather than simply refusing delivery or returning the parcel without explanation, expressly notify your intention to withdraw. This reduces disputes about why it was returned and when you exercised the right.

4. When and how should I send the product back?

Withdrawal notice and return shipping are separate steps. Unless the seller offers to collect the product, you must send it back to the seller or an authorised recipient within 14 days of sending your notice. Do not confuse the notification period running from delivery with the shipping period running from notice. This explanation reflects the rules applicable in 2026. [2] [4]

• Check the address and carrier in the pre-contractual information or verified return instructions.
• Pack the product securely with its accessories and components.
• Photograph its condition and the package contents before sending; record serial numbers for electronics.
• Keep the carrier receipt and tracking number, and monitor delivery.
• If the seller refuses delivery, retain tracking records and correspondence.

Do not let the shipping period expire while waiting for the seller. Record address or shipping obstacles in writing and request a solution within the period.

5. Who pays return shipping?

If you use the carrier designated for returns in the seller’s pre-contractual information, return costs cannot be charged to you. Nor can the seller charge them if no carrier was specified. If the designated carrier has no branch where you are, the seller must arrange collection without an additional charge. These rules are expressly provided for in the amendment effective from 1 January 2026. [3]

If you choose a different carrier, do not automatically assume the same result for costs. Clarifying the free return method before shipping helps avoid a later dispute over charges.

An intermediary service provider may also have obligations where carrier information is missing because of the platform or no branch is available. A blanket statement that “the consumer always pays return shipping” does not reflect the current rule.

6. When must I receive my refund?

The seller’s refund period is also 14 days, but it does not always start with the withdrawal notice. For delivered goods, the return method matters. [2] [4]

The refund covers payments collected, including delivery costs where applicable. The seller must refund in a single payment, without charges, using a method appropriate to the original payment method. It cannot force you to accept a voucher or another product instead. For card purchases in instalments, the seller’s refund and how the bank reflects it on your statement are separate matters; you may request the refund transaction record.

If the refund period has expired without payment, request repayment in writing with the withdrawal notice and shipping receipt. If you purchased through a platform, open a record there too; the platform’s refund liability depends on matters such as collection and transfer of payment to the seller.

7. Can I return an opened or tried product?

Opening the box does not remove the right of withdrawal for every product. The law protects consumers regarding changes and deterioration resulting from ordinary use during the withdrawal period. Examination in accordance with instructions differs from damaging the product or removing parts. [1] [2]

For example, trying on an ordinary garment for size differs from wearing it out. However, breaking a protective seal on goods unsuitable for return for hygiene reasons may fall within a specific exception. Consider the nature of the product, not simply the statement “the packaging was opened”.

Can phones, tablets or computers be returned?

The provision excluding mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets and computers solely because they belong to those product categories has been repealed. As of 2026, the right of withdrawal can also be exercised for these products. Ordinary use within the period does not automatically eliminate that right; actual damage and other exceptions require separate assessment. Back up personal data, remove accounts and document the device’s condition before returning it. [3] [4]

8. Which products are excluded from withdrawal?

Not every online purchase carries an unconditional right of return. Article 15 of the Regulation sets out exceptions applicable unless the parties agree otherwise in the consumer’s favour. Main examples include: [2] [3]

• Personalised goods: Items engraved with your name or made to your measurements. Selecting a standard size of a ready-made product does not alone make it personalised.
• Perishable goods: Goods such as fresh food or flowers liable to deteriorate quickly.
• Hygiene products: Goods with opened protective packaging, tape or seals that are unsuitable for return for health or hygiene reasons.
• Certain packaged content: Books, digital content on a tangible medium and computer consumables whose protective elements have been opened.
• Immediately supplied digital goods and services: Services performed instantly electronically or intangible goods delivered instantly.
• Date-specific services: Contracts such as hotel reservations, vehicle rental or entertainment activities on a specified date.
• Services begun with your consent: Services whose performance begins with your consent before the withdrawal period ends.
• Other special cases: Certain goods priced according to market fluctuations, inseparably mixed goods, live auctions, vehicles requiring registration and goods installed in the manner specified by legislation.

This list does not allow each product to be assessed by name alone. Rather than automatically excluding all cosmetics as “hygiene products”, for example, consider whether the protective element was opened and whether the goods are genuinely unsuitable for return.

The absence of a right of withdrawal does not mean you must accept a defective product. Defective-goods provisions may apply, for example, to a custom-made table delivered in the wrong dimensions.

9. What if the product is faulty, incomplete or incorrect?

Simply disliking a product differs from its failure to conform to the contract. A non-working device, missing component, absent promised feature or wrong product may give rise to rights concerning defective goods. Saying “the 14-day return period has passed” does not by itself remove those rights. [1]

Article 11 of Law No. 6502 provides four options, subject to their requirements:

• Offer to return the product, rescind the contract and seek a refund.
• Keep the product and seek a price reduction proportionate to the defect.
• Request free repair where it would not entail excessive expense.
• Request replacement with a defect-free product where possible.

Statutory limits, such as disproportionate difficulty of repair or replacement, must also be considered. A seller cannot simply insist that you must always accept repair first. State your chosen remedy clearly in writing; retain photographs of the defect, service records and the product description.

Liability for defective goods is generally subject to a two-year limitation period from delivery. Different rules apply to second-hand sales, longer undertakings and defects concealed through gross fault or fraud. Defects appearing within the first six months are presumed to have existed on delivery, except where inconsistent with the nature of the goods or defect. This does not mean “any used product can be returned without a reason for two years”.

10. What if the order has not arrived or the return period has passed?

If the product has not arrived

Where a right of withdrawal exists, you may exercise it without waiting for delivery. Separately, the seller must deliver within the promised period; the general maximum for goods is 30 days, with an exception for goods prepared to personal wishes or needs. Failure to deliver may give rise to termination and repayment of collected sums with statutory interest. A product merely being out of stock does not constitute legal impossibility. [1] [2]

If 14 days have passed

If the goods are not defective, proper withdrawal information was given and the seller promised no longer return period, the statutory period for changing your mind may have expired. Rights concerning defects and any additional returns commitment must be considered separately.

If you were not properly informed about withdrawal, you are not bound by the ordinary 14-day period. The right nevertheless ends one year after the ordinary withdrawal period expires. If the missing information is provided within that year, the 14-day period starts from that notification. The issue is compliance with the withdrawal-information obligation, not every minor defect in a form. [2]

11. Where can I apply if the seller refuses?

First request the reason for refusal in writing and gather the withdrawal notice, delivery and return dates in one file. A platform complaint is useful but differs from applying to a consumer arbitration committee. Such an application should not be used as a substitute for timely withdrawal notice to the seller.

In 2026, disputes valued below TRY 186,000 are submitted to a consumer arbitration committee. You may apply through TÜBİS on e-Devlet or in writing. The competent committee at your place of residence or where the consumer transaction occurred may be used. The threshold changes annually; use the amount applicable in the year of application. [5] [6]

For disputes of TRY 186,000 or more, the route for this type of consumer dispute is generally mandatory pre-action mediation followed, if no agreement is reached, by proceedings before a consumer court, rather than the committee. Committee applications do not require prior mediation.

• Invoice, order and payment records.
• The seller’s trading name and address; do not confuse the platform with the actual seller.
• Pre-contractual information and the distance sales contract.
• Delivery record, withdrawal notice, proof of sending and return shipping receipt.
• The refusal, correspondence and, where needed, defect photographs and service records.
• A clear request: the product and refund amount claimed, or the remedy you are exercising.

The seller’s and platform’s liability are not identical in every case. Who collected the payment, whether it was transferred and which transaction caused the problem matter in identifying the correct respondent.

12. Final checklist before returning a product

1. Distinguish your reason: Have you changed your mind, or is the product defective?
2. Find the delivery date: Use the relevant delivery record, not the order date.
3. Check for exceptions: Personalisation, a hygiene seal or the nature of a service may matter.
4. Send withdrawal notice: Notify before the deadline in a way that proves its content and transmission.
5. Return the parcel in time: Use the designated carrier and retain the receipt.
6. Track the refund period: Establish whether it starts on handover to the carrier or receipt by the seller.
7. If unresolved, apply with evidence: Clearly state the refusal and the amount claimed.

The strongest records in a return process are the delivery date, clear withdrawal notice and shipping receipt. Keeping them makes it easier to show where the process has stalled.