As e-commerce sellers enter Efsane Cuma week, there is one more topic on their agenda: the Ministry of Trade’s regulation amendment on advertising and unfair commercial practices. According to news reports, the amendment was published in the Official Gazette on July 1, 2026 and came into force on August 1, 2026. Many topics are mentioned within the scope of this amendment, such as how the discount price is shown, how consumer reviews are published, how influencer posts are marked and how AI-generated content is used.
An important warning: this article is not legal advice. The information below is based on press reports; the sources give different figures and wording on some details. Read the exact text in the Official Gazette and the Ministry of Trade announcements, and consult your legal adviser or the relevant professional body on application. Here we explain what a seller can check on their own pages before a campaign. For the general campaign preparation plan see our Efsane Cuma seller plan.
What Changed? Headlines in the News
According to the summaries in the press, the regulation amendment brings changes in several areas that concern e-commerce sellers. Read them as “according to the news”; verify the article numbers and details from the official text.
- Discount price: It was reported that the lowest price applied in the 10 days before the start of the discount will be used as the reference. According to the news, this reference period used to be 30 days. Conditional campaigns are also said to be subject to the same rules.
- Consumer reviews: It is written that only reviews whose purchase process can be verified will be allowed to be published, and that selecting reviews or manipulating their order will be prohibited.
- Reply to complaints: One source says the seller’s response time to complaints was reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours, and that reviews may be published if there is no reply.
- Influencer content: It is written that a post must be marked with the word “advertisement” or “promotion” if there is a benefit in return.
- AI content: The clear labeling of AI characters that are hard to tell from humans, and a ban on the misleading use of digital copies of real people, are on the agenda.
- Environmental claims: It is stated that expressions such as “carbon neutral”, “recyclable” and “eco-friendly” must rest on verifiable data.
Which item concerns you depends on what you sell and how you advertise. Not every seller is affected by every item; but the discount and review items are topics that nearly everyone will meet on their campaign page.
Discount Price: How Should the “Previous Price” Be Shown?
The most common problem in campaign periods is writing an artificially high figure as the “previous price” to make the discount look bigger. According to the rule reported in the news, the lowest price applied in the last 10 days before the discount will be used as the basis. This means that raising the price just before the campaign and then showing a “discount” will now cause problems.
The practical consequences for a seller are these. First, record your price history: which product was at which price on which day? This record is evidence both for your own control and for a possible inquiry. Second, when setting the campaign price, calculate the previous price from real data. Third, instead of vague phrases such as “up to 70% off”, write the clear previous price and campaign price per product. Fourth, when joining campaigns on marketplaces, also read the platform’s price rules; the platform may apply its own rules separately.
If you show prices on your own site, check that the struck-through price on the product page is consistent with structured data (price markup) and Merchant Center product data. A price appearing differently in different places can affect both user trust and ad approvals. For the Merchant Center side see our product upload post.
Reviews: Verifiable and Not Selected
The changes on reviews aim to increase the reliability of consumer reviews. According to the news, only reviews whose purchase process can be verified will be published, and sellers or platforms cannot filter out negative reviews just because they are negative.
If you show reviews on your own site, check the following. Does your review plugin let only customers who ordered write reviews, or can anyone write? Are negative reviews also published, or are only high ratings shown? Could showing reviews in a certain order (for example only five-star ones on top) be interpreted as “manipulating the order”? After asking a customer for a review, are you sending the link only to those who look satisfied?
The practices a seller should avoid are clear: buying reviews, having employees or acquaintances write reviews, writing fake negative reviews on competitor products, giving a discount or gift in return for a review. These practices are risky under both legislation and platform rules. For collecting real reviews see our 30-day review plan post, and for the risks of reviews our post on buying reviews.
Be careful when replying to reviews too: instead of trying to delete a review you think is fake, use the platform’s reporting routes. Keep your replies respectful and factual. For reply templates see our post on replying to Google reviews.
Reply Time to Complaints and Customer Service
One detail in the news is that the reply time to complaints was shortened and that complaints left unanswered may be published. Verify the scope of this information (on which platforms, for which kinds of complaints) from the official text; but whichever duration is finalized, replying quickly is good practice for both customers and legislation.
In campaign week the volume of complaints and questions rises. A realistic routine for a small seller might be: collect the channels where complaints arrive (marketplace panel, email, phone, social media, WhatsApp) in a single list; set a daily check time; give the first reply short and clear (“your request has been received, we will get back within this time”); record the resolution. Ready reply templates (shipping, returns, invoice, product information) shorten reply time and provide consistency.
To measure reply time problems see our first response time post. Topics where complaints repeat are a sign of missing information on the product page or a hitch in operations; instead of only replying, fixing the source reduces the number of complaints in the long run.
Influencers and the Advertising Label
It is stated in the news that in influencer collaborations the post must be clearly marked as advertisement or promotion if there is a benefit in return. This rule also concerns small brands that send products and ask for posts; the assumption “I sent a free product, it doesn’t count as advertising” may be risky.
What the brand should do: write the obligation to use the advertising label into the collaboration contract (a written agreement or one recorded by message); ask that the word “advertisement” or “promotion” be in a visible place at the start of the post; make sure the influencer does not make unverifiable claims about the product (especially for health, cosmetics and food supplement products); check the published content and ask for correction if needed.
Micro and nano influencer collaborations suit small budgets but are subject to the same rules. For types and ways of working see our influencer post and our nano influencer post. We cover labeling for AI-generated content in a separate article.
A 10-Point Checklist for Your Campaign Page
The list below is not a legislative text but a practical checklist derived from the headlines in the news. If you cannot answer “yes” to an item, fix it before the campaign.
- Is the pre-campaign price history of the products (including the last 10 days) recorded?
- Is the figure shown as the “previous price” a real price?
- Is a clear price per product written instead of vague discount phrases (“up to”)?
- Is the struck-through price consistent with structured data and Merchant Center data?
- Do reviews come only from real customers, and are negative ones shown too?
- When asking for reviews, are you selecting only customers who look satisfied? (Do not select.)
- Are complaint and question channels collected in one list and is reply time tracked?
- Is the advertising label in the contract and in the content in influencer collaborations?
- Are environmental claims (such as “eco-friendly”) provable and explained?
- Are product claims (especially health, cosmetics, food supplements) verifiable?
Filling in the list once is not enough; check again before the campaign starts and whenever prices change during the campaign. Sellers who change prices often during the day should record their changes.
If You Sell on a Marketplace: Platform Rules Apply Too
If you sell on marketplaces such as Trendyol and Hepsiburada, the platform’s own campaign and price rules apply in addition to the legislation. The platform can check the price history of products joining the campaign, reject prices that violate the rule or remove a product from the campaign.
So read the campaign terms in the marketplace panel together with the regulation changes. Note the price and discount rules the platform announces; make the campaign application before the deadline, checking your price history. Because review and complaint management on marketplaces is done through the platform’s panel, follow the panel’s notifications daily. For basics for a marketplace seller see our selling on Trendyol post.
If you also sell from your own site, keep price and campaign consistency between the two channels. A contradiction between the price shown as discounted on one channel and the figure shown as the “previous price” on the other increases both customer distrust and inspection risk.
Common Mistakes
Raising the price right before the campaign. Because the previous-price reference is the lowest price in recent days, this practice becomes risky.
Not keeping records. If price history and the review flow are not recorded, defending yourself becomes harder.
Publishing reviews selectively. Showing only positive reviews can cause problems under both legislation and trust.
Not telling the influencer about the “advertisement” label. A collaboration post that is not marked concerns both the brand and the influencer.
Treating news as the official text. News-based summaries like this article do not replace the official text.
Leaving everything to one person. Legislation, advertising and operations should be handled together; the views of a legal adviser or accountant should also be taken.
How Does Soft Ajans Help on This Topic?
At Soft Ajans we run SEO, product and category page structure, Merchant Center and product data, ad account setup and measurement work for e-commerce sites. Before a campaign we can check page and product data consistency and help you set up the technical display of prices and reviews. We do not give legal advice; your legal adviser should be the reference for compliance decisions. We do not guarantee sales or rankings.
For details take a look at our e-commerce SEO service page and our e-commerce packages page, and you can request a free preliminary analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the regulation amendment come into force?
According to the news, the amendment was published in the Official Gazette on July 1, 2026 and came into force on August 1, 2026. For the exact text and article details look at the Official Gazette and the Ministry of Trade announcements.
How should the pre-discount price be determined?
According to the news, the lowest price in the 10 days before the start of the discount is used as the basis. Record your price history and set the campaign price against this reference. For the exact calculation look at the official text and your legal adviser.
Do I have to show reviews on my own site?
Rather than whether it is mandatory, what matters is how you show them if you do. Show only the reviews of real customers, do not filter out negative ones and do not manipulate the order.
Does a post by an influencer I sent a free product to count as advertising?
It is stated that if there is a benefit in return, an advertisement or promotion label is needed. A free product can also be a benefit, so it is a risky area; ask your legal adviser and write the label requirement into the collaboration contract.
Do these rules concern marketplace sellers too?
Yes, the legislation applies to the relevant commercial advertising and practices. In addition the platform has its own campaign and price rules; read the two together.
Can I rely on this article to comply with the legislation?
No. This article is general information based on news sources. For compliance, read the text in the Official Gazette and work with your legal adviser.
