Q: If a product I am selling has a defect, is there a requirement for me to point it out to the customer? Is there a difference in the halachic ruling if the defect is clearly visible to my customer?

A: According to the Shulchan Aruch, it is prohibited to cheat people in business or mislead them in any way during a business transaction. For example, if there is a defect in an item being purchased, the vendor must inform the customer before the sale is made (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 228:6).

The SM"A (#7) adds another point to this rule: even if the seller will offer a discounted price on a defective item so that he is not actually cheating the purchaser, he still must inform him that the item is imperfect. The reason for this is that otherwise the seller would be misleading the buyer into thinking that he is getting a bargain.

However, if the defect in question is something that the purchaser can clearly see on his own, some say that there is no need to point it out to him.

Q: Can I give a fresh paint job to an old car to give the impression of a relatively new one? What about polishing or waxing a new item?

A: "One may not paint … old objects so that they should look new … nor may one soak meat in water to make it look white and robust." (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 228:9)

Thus, one may not try to mislead his potential customers by making a car look newer than it actually is. However, the SM"A (#15) explains that this refers to a case where the owner overcharges for an old item while the buyer is under the false impression that it is relatively new. However, if he charges a price which is fair for the old item and paints it just to make it more visually appealing, it is allowed.

Similarly, one may shine a new item to draw the customer's attention and make the item more attractive. Furthermore, if the new paint job actually adds value to the car, the seller can paint it and charge accordingly.

Q: If my competitor has a superior product than mine or offers a better price, can I try to convince a potential customer to buy from me despite the superiority of my competitor’s offer?

A: A seller is allowed to mention the positive aspects of his product in order to drive the sale, provided he does not mislead or misinform the customer. For example, he can enumerate all the positive aspects of his product or say that the price is a good one, but he cannot falsely state that he is offering the top-rated brand or the best price in the area.

It is only considered misleading the buyer if there is some element of falsehood or false impression in his sales pitch. If the customer decides to buy based on truthful statements of the seller without investigating the matter further, that sale is halachically permitted.

Furthermore, we can assume that the consumer entered the store or read the advertisement with the clear understanding that the seller will try to convince him to buy his product.

Q: Can I avoid notifying customers about specific defects in my merchandise by making a general disclaimer, e.g. "These refurbished products perform properly, but may have fine cracks, weak connections, internal rust, chipped paint, missing screws, and/or broken plastic casing"?

A: The Gemara (Bava Metzia 80a) teaches that if someone who is selling a cow tells the customer, "This cow has a tendency to gore, bite, kick, and lie down [during work]," and the cow had only one of the imperfections included in the list, the customer can still void the sale with a fraud claim. Although he was notified of the fault, the customer did not take the seller seriously since he was presented with an entire list of faults – the rest of which were clearly untrue. Therefore, we cannot assume that he waived his rights and accepted the defect that proved true. However, if some of the faults are visibly factual, the disclaimer is valid even for faults that are not visible, since the customer saw that there was truth to the disclaimer (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 232:8).

Q: Can I prepare baskets of strawberries or blueberries by placing high-quality fruit on top and inferior quality fruit on the bottom?

A: The Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 228:10) forbids mixing a few fruit of inferior quality amongst high-quality fruit and selling it all at the higher price. It seems, though, that if the price is fair for average-quality fruit and there is no implication that the entire basket is high-quality, it is permissible. This is because the customer expects each basket to contain some good fruit and some inferior ones.

This is especially true if the common practice of all fruit stores is to prepare berry baskets in this manner, since then the customer knows that despite the high-quality impression of the top, the bottom is likely to contain berries of a lower quality (see SM"A #16).

However, if high-quality berries are packed all around, giving the basket the impression of containing only high-quality fruit, and the inferior ones are "hidden" in the middle – it would be prohibited.