May One Buy Chometz That Was Sold Prior to Pesach?

Rav Ariel Ovadia

Question: Is there a reason to be machmir not to buy chometz after Pesach from a store that sold its chometz over Pesach? 

Answer: It is said that the Vilna Gaon was machmir not to buy any chometz that was sold over Pesach out of concern that perhaps the mechirah wasn’t valid. 

In our times, the mechiros are done with many kinyanim to ensure that the sales are valid; therefore, it is not necessary to be machmir. Rav Moshe Feinstein adds that since a person made a good kinyan, even if in his heart he did not really intend to do a mechirah, it is still valid. Accordingly, there is no reason to suspect that it is invalid. 

Thus, it is permissible to purchase chometz after Pesach from a store that sold it, unless one wants to be machmir like the Gaon.