Terms of service

 

Table of Contents

Scope of Application
Conclusion of Contract
Prices and Payment Terms
Delivery and Shipping Conditions
Force Majeure
Delay of Performance at the Customer's Request
Retention of Title
Liability for Defects / Warranty
Liability
Limitation Period
Retention, Assignment
Special Conditions for the Processing of Goods According to Specific Customer Instructions
Applicable Law, Jurisdiction, Contract Language

1) Scope of Application

1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter "GTC") of Claudia Iffert (hereinafter "Seller") apply to all contracts for the delivery of goods concluded by an entrepreneur (hereinafter "Customer") with the Seller using means of remote communication (e.g., telephone, fax, email, letter) exclusively through individual communication. The inclusion of the Customer's own terms and conditions is hereby rejected unless otherwise agreed.

1.2 These General Terms and Conditions also apply exclusively if the Seller executes the delivery to the Customer without special reservation, being aware of conflicting or deviating terms and conditions of the Customer.

1.3 An entrepreneur, within the meaning of these GTC, is a natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity who, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of their commercial or self-employed professional activity.

2) Conclusion of Contract

The Customer may make a non-binding request to the Seller for an offer via telephone, fax, email, letter, or possibly through an online contact form available on the Seller's website. In response to the Customer's request, the Seller will send a binding offer for the sale of the goods previously selected by the Customer from the Seller's range of goods, via email, fax, or letter. The Customer may accept this offer by submitting an acceptance declaration to the Seller via fax, email, or letter, or by paying the purchase price offered by the Seller within a reasonable acceptance period specified in the offer, with the day of the offer's receipt not being included in the calculation of the period. For acceptance by payment, the date of receipt of the payment by the Seller is decisive. If the last day of the acceptance period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a state-recognized public holiday at the Customer's location, the next business day will replace such a day. If the Customer does not accept the Seller's offer within the aforementioned period, the Seller is no longer bound by the offer and can dispose of the goods freely.

3) Prices and Payment Terms

3.1 The prices stated by the Seller are net prices and are exclusive of the statutory value-added tax. Packaging and shipping costs, loading, insurance (especially transport insurance), customs duties, and other fees may be charged separately.

3.2 The Customer has various payment options available, which will be communicated to them in the Seller's offer.

3.3 Payment is considered to have been received as soon as the equivalent amount has been credited to one of the Seller's accounts. In case of delayed payment, the Seller is entitled to charge default interest at a rate of 10 percentage points above the applicable base interest rate. The Seller's other legal rights in case of the Customer's payment delay remain unaffected. If claims are overdue, incoming payments will first be applied to any costs and interest, then to the oldest claim.

3.4 If unforeseeable cost increases occur (e.g., exchange rate fluctuations, unexpected price increases by suppliers, etc.), the Seller is entitled to pass on the price increase to the Customer. However, this only applies if the delivery is agreed to take place more than four months after the conclusion of the contract.

4) Delivery and Shipping Conditions

4.1 The delivery of goods will take place via shipping to the delivery address provided by the Customer, unless otherwise agreed.

4.2 The Seller is entitled to partial deliveries, as long as this is reasonable for the Customer. In the case of permissible partial deliveries, the Seller is also entitled to issue partial invoices.

4.3 The Seller reserves the right to withdraw from the contract in the event of incorrect or improper self-supply. This only applies if the non-delivery is not the fault of the Seller and the Seller has concluded a specific supply transaction with the supplier with due care. The Seller will make all reasonable efforts to obtain the goods. In the case of non-availability or only partial availability of the goods, the Customer will be informed immediately, and the payment will be refunded promptly.

4.4 The risk of accidental loss or accidental deterioration of the sold goods passes to the Customer as soon as the Seller hands the goods over to the carrier, freight forwarder, or other person or institution designated to carry out the shipment. This also applies if the Seller bears the shipping costs. Transport insurance will only be provided at the Customer's special request and at the Customer's expense.

4.5 If the shipping of the goods to the Customer is delayed for reasons attributable to the Customer, the risk transfer will already occur when the readiness for shipment is communicated to the Customer. Any storage costs incurred after the transfer of risk must be borne by the Customer.

5) Force Majeure

In the event of force majeure events that affect the fulfillment of the contract, the Seller is entitled to postpone the delivery for the duration of the hindrance and, in case of longer delays, to withdraw from the contract, without any claims against the Seller arising from this. Force majeure includes any events that are unforeseeable for the Seller or those that – even if they were foreseeable – lie outside the Seller's control and whose impact on the fulfillment of the contract cannot be prevented by reasonable efforts by the Seller. Any legal claims of the Customer remain unaffected.

6) Delay of Performance at the Customer's Request

If the shipment or delivery of the goods is delayed at the Customer's request by more than one month after the notification of readiness for shipment, the Customer may be charged storage fees of 0.5% of the purchase price for each additional month, but no more than 5% of the purchase price in total. The proof of a higher or lower damage remains open to both parties.

7) Retention of Title

7.1 The Seller retains ownership of the delivered goods until the full payment of the purchase price. Furthermore, the Seller retains ownership of the delivered goods until the fulfillment of all claims from the business relationship with the Customer.

7.2 In the case of processing the delivered goods, the Seller is deemed the manufacturer and acquires ownership of the newly created goods. If the processing occurs together with other materials, the Seller acquires ownership in relation to the invoice values of his goods to those of the other materials. In the case of the connection or mixing of the Seller's goods with an item of the Customer, if the latter is considered the main item, the co-ownership of the item passes to the Seller in relation to the invoice value of the Seller's goods to the invoice or, if no such value exists, to the market value of the main item. The Customer is considered the custodian in such cases.

7.3 The Customer may not pledge or transfer ownership of items subject to retention of title. Only as a reseller is the Customer allowed to resell the goods in the ordinary course of business, on the condition that the Customer has effectively assigned the claims against its buyers to the Seller and the Customer transfers ownership of the goods to the buyer under retention of title. The Customer assigns its claims in connection with such disposals to the Seller as security, which the Seller simultaneously accepts.

7.4 The Customer must immediately inform the Seller of any access to the goods owned or co-owned by the Seller or of the assigned claims. The Customer must immediately transfer to the Seller any amounts collected in connection with the assigned claims, as long as the Seller's claim is due.

7.5 If the value of the Seller’s security rights exceeds the secured claims by more than 10%, the Seller will release a corresponding share of the security rights upon the Customer's request.

8) Liability for Defects / Warranty

If the goods are defective, the statutory provisions on liability for defects apply. The following deviations apply:

8.1 A minor defect does not give rise to claims for defects and does not entitle the Customer to refuse to accept the goods. If part of the goods has a non-insignificant defect, this does not justify rejecting the entire delivery. This is only different if the partial delivery is of no interest to the Customer. Furthermore, the Customer may only withhold payments in proportion to the defect that occurred. If the goods are provided free of charge, the Seller is only liable for defects if it was intentional or grossly negligent.

8.2 Claims for defects do not arise from normal wear and tear or damage that occurs after the transfer of risk due to incorrect or negligent treatment, excessive use, unsuitable operating equipment, or from special external influences that were not anticipated by the contract. If the Customer or third parties carry out improper modifications or repairs, no claims for defects exist for these and the resulting consequences, unless the Customer can prove that the defect was not caused by these changes or repairs.

8.3 For new goods, the limitation period for defect claims is one year from delivery of the goods.

8.4 For used goods, rights and claims for defects are excluded.

8.5 The above liability limitations and limitation periods do not apply

• to items that have been used for a building according to their usual use and caused its defects,
• to claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses by the Customer,
• if the Seller has fraudulently concealed the defect, and
• to the recourse claim under § 445a BGB.

8.6 In the case of supplementary performance, the Seller has the choice between rectification or replacement delivery.

8.7 If the Seller carries out a replacement delivery in the context of liability for defects, the limitation period does not restart.

8.8 If supplementary performance is carried out by means of a replacement delivery, the Customer is obligated to return the initially delivered goods to the Seller within 30 days. The return package must contain the reason for the return, the Customer's name, and the number assigned to the purchase of the defective goods, enabling the Seller to assign the returned goods. As long as and to the extent that the assignment of the return is not possible due to reasons attributable to the Customer, the Seller is not obligated to accept the returned goods or refund the purchase price. The Customer bears the cost of the new shipment.

8.9 If the Seller provides a defect-free item for the purpose of supplementary performance, the Seller may claim compensation for use according to § 346 (1) BGB. Other statutory claims remain unaffected.

8.10 If the Customer acts as a merchant within the meaning of § 1 HGB, they are obliged to carry out a commercial examination and complaint according to § 377 HGB. If the Customer fails to meet the reporting obligations specified there, the goods are considered approved.

9) Liability

The Seller is liable to the Customer for all contractual, quasi-contractual, and statutory, including tort claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses as follows:

9.1 The Seller is liable without limitation

• for intent or gross negligence,
• for intentional or negligent injury to life, body, or health,
• based on a guarantee promise, unless otherwise agreed,
• due to mandatory liability such as under the Product Liability Act.

9.2 If the Seller negligently violates an essential contractual obligation, the liability is limited to the typical, foreseeable damage, unless there is unrestricted liability according to the preceding section. Essential contractual obligations are those duties that the contract imposes on the Seller to achieve the purpose of the contract, whose fulfillment enables the proper execution of the contract and on whose compliance the Customer can regularly rely.

9.3 In all other cases, the Seller's liability is excluded.

9.4 The above liability regulations also apply to the Seller's liability for their agents and legal representatives.

10) Limitation Period

The Customer's claims against the Seller become time-barred – with the exception of claims under the section "Liability for Defects / Warranty" – one year after knowledge of the facts giving rise to the claim, but no later than five years after performance, unless there is unrestricted liability according to the preceding section.

11) Retention, Assignment

11.1 The Customer’s rights of retention and refusal of performance are excluded unless the Seller does not dispute the underlying counterclaims or they have been legally established.

11.2 The assignment of claims from the contract concluded with the Customer, especially the assignment of any defect claims, is excluded.

12) Special Conditions for the Processing of Goods According to Specific Customer Instructions

12.1 The Customer indemnifies the Seller against third-party claims arising from an infringement of their rights due to the contractual use of the Customer's content by the Seller. The Customer also bears the necessary costs of legal defense, including all court and attorney's fees. This does not apply if the Customer is not responsible for the legal infringement. The Customer is obliged to provide the Seller with all necessary information for the examination of the claims and defense if the Seller is held liable by third parties.

12.2 The Seller reserves the right to refuse processing orders if the content provided by the Customer violates legal or official prohibitions or good morals. This particularly applies to providing content that is unconstitutional, racist, xenophobic, discriminatory, offensive, harmful to youth, or glorifying violence.

13) Applicable Law, Jurisdiction, Contract Language

13.1 The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies to all legal relationships between the parties, excluding the laws on the international sale of movable goods.

13.2 If the Customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special public asset with its registered office within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the exclusive jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract is the Seller's place of business. If the Customer has its registered office outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Seller's place of business is the exclusive jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract, provided the contract or claims from the contract can be attributed to the Customer's professional or commercial activity. In the aforementioned cases, the Seller is, however, entitled to bring the case before the court at the Customer's registered office.

13.3 The contract language is English.