General Terms and Conditions
General Terms and Conditions with Customer Information
1. Scope
2. Offers and Service Descriptions
3. Ordering Process and Conclusion of Contract
4. Prices and Shipping Costs
5. Delivery, Availability of Goods
6. Payment Modalities
7. Reservation of Ownership
8. Customer Account
9. Warranty for Material Defects and Guarantee
10. Liability
11. Storage of the Contract Text
12. Final Provisions
1. Scope
1.1. For the business relationship between Gratus Art Oue, Pärnu mnt. 139c – 14 3317 Tallin Estonia (hereinafter referred to as “Seller”) and the customer (hereinafter referred to as “Customer”), the following General Terms and Conditions apply exclusively in their version valid at the time of the order.
1.2. A consumer in the sense of these GTC is any natural person who concludes a legal transaction for purposes that predominantly are outside their trade, business, or profession. An entrepreneur is a natural or legal person or a legal partnership that acts in the exercise of their trade, business, or professional activity when concluding a legal transaction.
1.3. Differing conditions of the customer are not recognized, unless the Seller expressly agrees to their validity.
2. Offers and Service Descriptions
2.1 The presentation of products in the online shop is not a legally binding offer, but an invitation to place an order. Performance descriptions in catalogs and on the Seller’s websites do not have the character of an assurance or guarantee.
2.2 All offers are valid “while stocks last,” unless otherwise noted on the products. Furthermore, errors are excepted.
3. Ordering Process and Conclusion of Contract
3.1. The customer can non-bindingly select products from the Seller’s assortment and add them to a so-called shopping cart using the [Add to cart] button. Within the shopping cart, the product selection can be modified, e.g., deleted. Then, the customer can proceed to complete the ordering process within the shopping cart via the [Proceed to checkout] button.
3.2. By clicking the [Place a binding order] button, the customer submits a binding request to purchase the goods in the shopping cart. Before sending the order, the customer can always change and view the data and can return to the shopping cart using the browser’s “back” function or cancel the ordering process entirely. Necessary details are marked with an asterisk (*).
3.3. The Seller then sends the customer an automatic acknowledgment of receipt by email, which lists the customer’s order again and which the customer can print out using the “Print” function (order confirmation). The automatic acknowledgment of receipt only documents that the customer’s order has been received by the Seller and does not constitute acceptance of the request. The contract is only concluded when the Seller dispatches the ordered product to the customer within 2 days, hands it over, or confirms the dispatch to the customer within 2 days with a second email, explicit order confirmation, or by sending the invoice. The acceptance can also be made by a payment request directed by the Seller to the customer, and at the latest by completing the payment process. In case of multiple acceptance processes, the earliest acceptance time is decisive. If the Seller does not accept the customer’s offer within the acceptance period, no contract is concluded, and the customer is no longer bound to their offer.
3.4 In the case of customers who are businesses, the aforementioned period for dispatch, handover, or order confirmation is seven instead of two days.
3.5. If the Seller enables prepayment, the contract is concluded with the provision of the bank details and payment request. If the payment is not received by the Seller despite being due, even after a repeated request, within a period of 10 calendar days after sending the order confirmation, the Seller withdraws from the contract, with the consequence that the order is null and void, and the Seller has no obligation to deliver. The order is then settled for both the buyer and the Seller without further consequences. Therefore, a reservation of the item for prepayments is made for a maximum of 10 calendar days.
4. Prices and Shipping Costs
4.1. All prices stated on the Seller’s website are inclusive of the applicable statutory value-added tax.
4.2. In addition to the prices indicated, the Seller charges shipping costs for delivery. The shipping costs are clearly communicated to the buyer on a separate information page and during the ordering process.
5. Delivery, Availability of Goods
5.1. If prepayment is agreed upon, delivery will occur after receipt of the invoice amount.
5.2. If the delivery of the goods fails due to the buyer’s fault despite three attempts to deliver, the Seller may withdraw from the contract. Any payments made will be promptly refunded to the customer.
5.3. If the ordered product is not available because the Seller is not supplied with this product by their supplier through no fault of their own, the Seller may withdraw from the contract. In this case, the Seller will promptly inform the customer and may suggest the delivery of a comparable product. If no comparable product is available or the customer does not wish to receive a comparable product, the Seller will promptly refund any consideration already provided by the customer.
5.4. Customers are informed about delivery times and delivery restrictions (e.g., restrictions on deliveries to certain countries) on a separate information page or within the respective product description.
5.5 In the case of customers who are businesses, it applies that the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods passes to the buyer as soon as the Seller has delivered the item to the carrier, the freight forwarder, or the person or establishment otherwise intended to carry out the shipment; the specified delivery dates and periods are subject to other promises and agreements, not fixed dates.
5.6 Delivery and performance delays due to force majeure and due to unforeseeable events that significantly impede or make impossible the delivery for the Seller, are not to be represented by the Seller towards customers who are businesses, even in the case of bindingly agreed deadlines and dates. In this case, the Seller is entitled to postpone the delivery or service for the duration of the impediment plus a reasonable start-up period. The right to postpone the deadline also applies to customers who are businesses in cases of unforeseeable events that affect the operation of a pre-supplier and are neither represented by him nor by the Seller. During the duration of this impediment, the customer is also released from their contractual obligations, in particular payment. If the delay is unreasonable for the customer, they can withdraw from the contract after setting a reasonable deadline or after consensual consultation with the Seller by written declaration.
6. Payment Modalities
6.1. The customer can choose from the available payment methods within and before completing the ordering process. Customers are informed about the available means of payment on a separate information page.
6.2. If payment by invoice is possible, the payment must be made within 30 days after receipt of the goods and the invoice. For all other methods of payment, the payment must be made in advance without deduction.
6.3. If third parties are commissioned with the payment processing, e.g., Paypal, their terms and conditions apply.
6.4. If the due date of the payment is determined according to the calendar, the customer is already in default by missing the deadline. In this case, the customer has to pay the statutory default interest.
6.5. The customer’s obligation to pay interest on arrears does not exclude the Seller from claiming further damages caused by delay.
6.6. The customer is only entitled to offset if their counterclaims have been legally established or are recognized by the Seller. The customer can only exercise a right of retention if the claims result from the same contractual relationship.
7. Reservation of Ownership
Until full payment is made, the delivered goods remain the property of the Seller.
For customers who are entrepreneurs, the following also applies: The seller retains title to the goods until all claims arising from an ongoing business relationship have been settled in full; the buyer is obliged to treat the purchased item with care as long as title has not yet been transferred to him. In particular, he is obliged to insure them adequately at his own expense against theft, fire and water damage at replacement value, insofar as this is appropriate or customary in the industry. If maintenance and inspection work has to be carried out, the buyer must carry this out in good time at his own expense. The processing or transformation of the reserved goods by the customer shall always be carried out for the seller. If the reserved goods are processed with other items not belonging to the Seller, the Seller shall acquire co-ownership of the new item in the ratio of the value of the reserved goods to the other processed items at the time of processing. In all other respects, the same shall apply to the item created by processing as to the reserved goods. The customer also assigns the claim to secure the claims against him which arise against a third party through the combination of the reserved goods with a property. The customer must immediately notify third parties of any seizure of the goods owned or co-owned by the seller. The customer shall bear any costs arising from such interventions for a third party action or costs for an out-of-court release. The customer is entitled to resell the reserved goods in the ordinary course of business. By way of security, the customer assigns to the seller in full all claims arising from the resale or other legal grounds with regard to the reserved goods (including all current account balance claims). The seller revocably authorizes the customer to collect the claims assigned to the seller for his account and in his own name. This direct debit authorization can be revoked if the customer does not properly meet his payment obligations. The seller undertakes to release the securities to which the seller is entitled at the customer’s request if their total sales value exceeds the sum of all outstanding claims of the seller from the business relationship by more than 10% (by more than 50% if there is a realization risk). The selection of the securities to be released is incumbent on the seller. Ownership of the goods subject to retention of title and the assigned claims shall pass to the Buyer upon settlement of all claims of the Seller arising from delivery transactions. The selection of the securities to be released is incumbent on the seller.
8. Customer account
8.1 The seller shall provide the customer with a customer account. Within the customer account, customers are provided with information about the orders and their customer data stored with the seller. The information stored in the customer account is not public.</p
8.2 In order to place an order, customers must create a customer account. A guest order is not possible
8.3 Customers are obliged to provide truthful information in the customer account and to adapt the information to changes in the actual circumstances, insofar as this is necessary (e.g. the changed e-mail address in the event of a change or the changed postal address before placing an order). Customers are responsible for any disadvantages arising from incorrect information.</p
8.4 The customer account may only be used in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions, in particular the provisions on the protection of third-party rights, and in accordance with the seller’s GTC using the access masks and other technical access options provided by the seller. Any other type of use, in particular by external software such as bots or crawlers, is prohibited.
8.5. To the extent that customers store, specify, or otherwise enter content or information (hereinafter referred to as “Content”) within the customer account, the customers are responsible for this information. The Seller does not endorse the content of the customers. However, the Seller reserves the right to take appropriate measures depending on the degree of legal infringement risk posed by the content, especially the risk to third parties. The measures, taking into account the criteria of necessity, appropriateness, diligence, objectivity, as well as reasonableness and the interests of all parties involved, particularly the fundamental rights of the customers, can include (partial) deletion of content, requests for action and statements, warnings, and legal notices, as well as bans from the premises.
8.6. Customers can terminate their customer account at any time. The Seller can terminate the customer account at any time with a reasonable period, which is usually two weeks. The termination must be reasonable for the customer. The Seller reserves the right to terminate for extraordinary reasons.
8.7. From the time of termination, the customer account and the information stored in the customer account will no longer be available to the customer. It is the customer’s responsibility to secure their data when terminating the customer account.
9. Warranty for Material Defects and Guarantee
9.1. The warranty (liability for defects) is determined by statutory provisions, subject to the following regulations.
9.2. A guarantee exists for the goods delivered by the Seller only if it was expressly issued. Customers are informed about the terms of the guarantee before initiating the ordering process.
9.3 If the customer is a business, they must immediately inspect the goods and, irrespective of statutory obligations to notify defects, immediately report any recognizable material defects to the supplier, at the latest within two weeks of delivery, in writing, and non-recognizable material defects immediately, at the latest within two weeks of their discovery. Commercially customary, permissible according to quality standards, or minor deviations in quality, weight, size, thickness, width, finishing, patterning, and color do not constitute defects.
9.4 If the customer is a business, the choice between rectification or replacement of defective goods is made by the Seller.
9.5 Material defects, notwithstanding the liability regulations of these GTC for customers who are businesses, generally expire one year after the transfer of risk, unless longer periods are mandatorily prescribed by law, in particular special provisions for the entrepreneur’s right of recourse. For used goods, the warranty is excluded for customers who are businesses.
9.6 If the customer, who is a business, has installed the defective item into another item or attached it to another item according to its nature and intended use as per § 439 para. 3 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the Seller is, subject to an explicit agreement and notwithstanding other warranty obligations, not obliged within the framework of subsequent performance to reimburse the customer for the necessary expenses for removing the defective item and installing or attaching the improved or delivered defect-free item. Accordingly, the Seller is also not obliged to reimburse expenses for removing the defective item and installing or attaching the improved or delivered defect-free item within the framework of recourse by the customer within the supply chain (i.e., between the customer and their customers).
10. Liability
10.1. The Seller’s liability for damages, notwithstanding other statutory claim requirements, is subject to the following exclusions and limitations of liability.
10.2. The Seller is liable without limitation if the cause of the damage is based on intent or gross negligence.
10.3. Furthermore, the Seller is liable for the slightly negligent breach of essential duties whose breach endangers the achievement of the purpose of the contract, or for the violation of duties whose fulfillment is essential for the proper execution of the contract and on whose observance the customer regularly relies. In this case, however, the Seller is only liable for the foreseeable, contract-typical damage. The Seller is not liable for the slightly negligent breach of duties other than those mentioned in the preceding sentences.
10.4. The aforementioned limitations of liability do not apply in the event of injury to life, body, and health, for a defect after assuming a guarantee for the quality of the product, and for fraudulently concealed defects. Liability under the Product Liability Act remains unaffected.
10.5. Insofar as the Seller’s liability is excluded or limited, this also applies to the personal liability of employees, representatives, and vicarious agents.
11. Storage of the Contract Text
11.1. The customer can print out the contract text before submitting the order to the Seller by using the print function of their browser in the last step of the order.
11.2. The Seller also sends the customer an order confirmation with all order data to the email address provided by them. With the order confirmation, but at the latest upon delivery of the goods, the customer also receives a copy of the GTC including the cancellation policy and information on shipping costs as well as delivery and payment conditions. If you have registered in our shop, you can view your placed orders in your profile area. In addition, we store the contract text but do not make it accessible on the Internet.
11.3 Customers who are businesses can receive the contractual documents by email, in writing, or by reference to an online source.
12. Final Provisions
12.1. If the buyer is a business, subject to other agreements or mandatory statutory provisions, the place of performance is the Seller’s place of business, while the jurisdiction is at the Seller’s location if the customer is a merchant, legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law, or if the buyer does not have a general jurisdiction in the Seller’s country. The Seller’s right to choose another permissible jurisdiction remains reserved.
12.2 In the case of entrepreneurs, the law of the Republic of Estonia applies, excluding UN sales law, as long as no mandatory statutory provisions contradict this.
12.3. The contract language is German.
12.4. Platform of the European Commission for Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) for consumers: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. We are not willing or obliged to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.