Justin Sevier and Kelli Alces Williams have just written Consumers, Seller-Advisors, and the Psychology of Trust, Boston College Law Review  . They make excellent points the challenge the adequacy of caveat emptor. Here’s an excerpt from the abstract:

Sellers and advisors are usually regarded separately by the law; therefore, consumers interacting with them are protected by different rules. As a result, a false dichotomy has arisen between (1) a doctrine of caveat emptor, subject to liability for fraud and applying to consumers interacting with sellers, and (2) fiduciary duties protecting consumers interacting with advisors. This Article is the first attempt to study consumer trust in the many common transactions that fall somewhere in the space between. Second, in reporting the results of an original psychology experiment, this Article offers empirical evidence of how consumers’ decision making is influenced by the trust they place in seller-advisors. Finally, it explores how consumer trust in seller-advisors arises and how it can be manipulated in an effort to understand how legal policy should respond to both the ubiquity of seller-advisors and the consequences of consumer reliance on, and vulnerability to, their advice.