According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, judgemnt of 4 October 2018 , in case C-105/17 , a person who publishes a number of sales advertisements on a website is not automatically a ‘trader’ . That activity may be regarded as a ‘commercial practice’ if that person is acting for purposes relating to his or her trade, business, craft or profession

The Court clarified  that the meaning and scope of the concept of ‘trader’ must be determined in relation to the concept of ‘consumer’, which refers to any individual not engaged in commercial or trade activities. 

The Court found on this point, that it is for the national court to determine, in each case, on the basis of all the facts in its possession, whether a natural person was acting for purposes relating to his or her trade, business, craft or profession by verifying, in  particular, whether the sale was carried out in an organised manner, whether it was a regular occurrence or was for profit, whether the offer was concentrated on a small number of goods, and to consider the legal status and technical experience of the seller. 

Moreover, in order for the activity analyzed in the case to be regarded as a ‘commercial practice’, the national court must establish that that activity originates from a ‘trader’, and, secondly, that it constitutes an act, omission, course of conduct or commercial communication ‘directly connected with the promotion, sale or supply of a product to consumers’. 

In those circumstances, the Court concluded that a natural person who simultaneously publishes on a website a number of advertisements offering new and second-hand goods for sale must be classified as a ‘trader’, and such an activity can constitute a ‘commercial practice’, only if that person is acting for purposes relating to his or her trade, business, craft or profession. 

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