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Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Sale of goods - Formation of contract - Conditions and warranties

139: Implied condition that goods are of merchantable quality

You could also call this:

“Items sold should be good enough to sell, unless you saw problems before buying”

When you buy something from a seller who normally sells that type of item, there’s an unwritten rule that the item should be of good enough quality to be sold. This rule applies even if the seller didn’t make the item themselves.

But if you look at the item before you buy it, you can’t use this rule to complain about any problems that you should have noticed when you looked at it.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844330.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection Business > Fair trading
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138: Implied condition that goods are reasonably fit for purpose, or

"Goods should work for what you need them for when you buy them"

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140: Implied warranty or condition by usage of trade, or

"Unwritten promises about what you buy based on common business practices"

Part 3 Sale of goods
Formation of contract: Conditions and warranties

139Implied condition that goods are of merchantable quality

  1. There is an implied condition in a contract of sale that the goods are of merchantable quality if the goods are bought by description from a seller who deals in goods of that description (whether or not the seller is the manufacturer).

  2. However, if the buyer has examined the goods, there is no implied condition with respect to defects that the examination ought to have revealed.

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