A pram listed on a big online marketplace looks as trustworthy as one in a high-street shop, but the seller is often a separate business, sometimes overseas. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the UK Government, publishes short checks for people shopping online. This guide applies that advice to prams and pushchairs, and explains where the general advice needs adjusting for these products. It covers the UK. It is general information, not legal advice.
The marketplace is not always the seller
An OPSS campaign message from November 2021 warned that many consumers may be unaware that online platforms are not always the seller of the products on their websites. Its advice was to check whether the buyer is dealing directly with the platform or with a third-party seller, and whether that seller is UK-based and provides contact details, including a name and address. A later OPSS guidance page, "My safety: online shopping", published on 27 November 2025 and updated on 19 February 2026, says that even the most trusted online marketplaces sometimes sell unsafe products.
For a pram, this matters because the seller is the party a buyer will deal with over a refund or a fault. The rights and routes are explained in the site’s guides to faulty pushchairs and buying a pram from an overseas website.
OPSS’s checks before buying
The OPSS guidance suggests these checks:
- Check the seller: how long they have been selling, their UK contact details and their overall rating.
- Check the listing: look for clear instructions, safety warnings and UK contact details.
- Read reviews for detail: look for mentions of quality or safety and detailed comments, not just star ratings.
- Check for recalls before purchasing.
The separate consumer product safety advice page, last updated on 29 July 2024, adds that products from outside the UK may lack proper safety compliance or labelling and that buyers should look for the manufacturer’s name and address. It also says users should obtain missing instructions from the manufacturer’s website. Review quality has its own legal angle, covered in the guide to fake and incentivised reviews.
Where the general advice needs adjusting for prams
The OPSS page tells shoppers to look for recognised safety markings such as UKCA and CE. Prams and pushchairs are different: they are covered by the General Product Safety Regulations rather than by rules that require a CE or UKCA mark, so a genuine pram normally carries no such mark. The explanation is in the guide to why UK prams carry no CE or UKCA mark. A buyer should therefore look for the markings that a pram does carry, such as the reference to BS EN 1888 and the fire safety label, described in reading a pram’s labels.
Instructions, warnings and contact details
The OPSS advice puts weight on clear instructions, safety warnings and a way to contact the business. For a pushchair, a listing without instructions or safety information, or a seller who gives no address or UK contact details, fails those checks. The 2021 OPSS message specifically told shoppers to check whether the seller is UK-based and gives a name and address.
Check recalls and register the product
The OPSS advice says to check the consumer product recalls list, and that registering a product means the buyer can be directly informed if there is a safety issue; registration applies to second-hand items as well. The site’s guide to pram and pushchair recalls explains how to check a particular model.
If a pram turns out to be unsafe
GOV.UK says to report unsafe products to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland in Scotland, or the local district council in Northern Ireland. Reports are passed to local Trading Standards or Environmental Health teams. The details are covered in the guide to reporting an unsafe pram or pushchair.
Frequently asked questions
Is a pram sold on a marketplace checked by the marketplace? OPSS says even trusted marketplaces sometimes sell unsafe products, so the buyer should check the seller and listing.
Should a pram have a UKCA or CE mark? Not normally; prams fall under the General Product Safety Regulations and the relevant markings are the BS EN 1888 reference and the fire safety label.
Who do I contact about an unsafe pram? Citizens Advice in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland in Scotland, or the district council in Northern Ireland.
The bottom line
When buying a pram online, find out who the actual seller is, check they are UK-based with contact details, read reviews for detail and look for the markings that prams really carry, not CE or UKCA. Check recalls before buying and report anything unsafe to the right helpline.