Terms of service

Scope
Conclusion of Contract
Right of Withdrawal
Prices and Terms of Payment
Delivery and Shipping Terms
Retention of Title
Liability for Defects (Warranty)
Liability
Special Terms and Conditions for Assembly/Installation Services
Governing Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution

1) Scope

1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter ‘GTC’) of Dirk Simmig, trading as ‘12Fret Guitars’ (hereinafter ‘the Seller’), apply to all contracts for the supply of goods concluded between a consumer or business (hereinafter ‘the Customer’) and the Seller in respect of the goods displayed by the Seller in its online shop. The inclusion of the Customer’s own terms and conditions is hereby excluded, unless otherwise agreed.

1.2 A consumer within the meaning of these T&Cs is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly neither commercial nor related to their self-employed professional activity.

1.3 An ‘entrepreneur’ within the meaning of these General Terms and Conditions is a natural or legal person, or a partnership with legal capacity, who, when entering into a legal transaction, is acting in the course of their commercial or self-employed professional activity.

2) Conclusion of the Contract

2.1 The product descriptions contained in the Seller’s online shop do not constitute binding offers on the part of the Seller but serve to enable the Customer to make a binding offer.

2.2 The Customer may submit the offer via the online order form integrated into the Seller’s online shop. In doing so, after placing the selected goods in the virtual shopping basket and completing the electronic ordering process, the customer submits a legally binding contractual offer in respect of the goods contained in the shopping basket by clicking the button that finalises the ordering process. Furthermore, the customer may also submit the offer to the Seller by email, via the online contact form, by post or by telephone.

2.3 The seller may accept the customer’s offer within five days,

by sending the customer a written order confirmation or an order confirmation in text form (fax or email), in which case the date on which the order confirmation is received by the customer is decisive, or
by delivering the ordered goods to the customer, in which case the date on which the goods are received by the customer is decisive, or
by requesting payment from the customer after the customer has placed their order.

If several of the aforementioned alternatives apply, the contract is concluded at the time when one of the aforementioned alternatives occurs first. The period for accepting the offer begins on the day after the customer sends the offer and ends at the end of the fifth day following the sending of the offer. If the seller does not accept the customer’s offer within the aforementioned period, this shall be deemed a rejection of the offer, with the consequence that the customer is no longer bound by their declaration of intent.

2.4 When an order is placed via the Seller’s online order form, the text of the contract is stored by the Seller after the contract has been concluded and sent to the Customer in writing (e.g. by email, fax or letter) once the Customer has submitted their order. The Seller shall not make the text of the contract available in any other way. If the customer has set up a user account in the Seller’s online shop prior to submitting their order, the order details will be archived on the Seller’s website and may be accessed by the customer free of charge via their password-protected user account by entering the relevant login details.

2.5 Before submitting a binding order via the Seller’s online order form, the Customer can identify any input errors by carefully reading the information displayed on the screen. An effective technical aid for better identifying input errors can be the browser’s zoom function, which enlarges the display on the screen. During the electronic ordering process, the customer may correct their entries using the standard keyboard and mouse functions until they click the button that completes the ordering process.

2.6 Various languages are available for the conclusion of the contract. The specific language options are displayed in the online shop.

2.7 Order processing and communication generally take place via email and automated order processing. The customer must ensure that the email address provided for order processing is correct so that emails sent by the seller can be received at this address. In particular, if the customer uses spam filters, they must ensure that all emails sent by the seller or by third parties commissioned by the seller to process the order can be delivered.

3) Right of withdrawal

3.1 Consumers are generally entitled to a right of withdrawal.

3.2 Further information on the right of withdrawal can be found in the seller’s withdrawal policy.

3.3 The right of withdrawal does not apply to consumers who, at the time the contract is concluded, are not nationals of a Member State of the European Union and whose sole place of residence and delivery address, at the time the contract is concluded, are outside the European Union.

4) Prices and Terms of Payment

4.1 Unless otherwise stated in the seller’s product description, the prices quoted are total prices that include statutory value added tax. Any additional delivery and postage costs, where applicable, are specified separately in the relevant product description.

4.2 For deliveries to countries outside the European Union, additional costs may arise in individual cases for which the seller is not responsible and which are to be borne by the customer. These include, for example, costs for money transfers via credit institutions (e.g. transfer fees, exchange rate charges) or import duties and taxes (e.g. customs duties). Such costs relating to the transfer of funds may also arise even if the delivery is not to a country outside the European Union, but the customer makes the payment from a country outside the European Union.

4.3 The payment option(s) will be communicated to the customer in the Seller’s online shop.

4.4 If payment in advance by bank transfer has been agreed, payment is due immediately upon conclusion of the contract, unless the parties have agreed on a later due date.

5) Delivery and Shipping Terms

5.1 If the seller offers to dispatch the goods, delivery shall be made within the delivery area specified by the seller to the delivery address provided by the customer, unless otherwise agreed. The delivery address specified in the seller’s order processing system shall be decisive for the execution of the transaction.

5.2 If delivery of the goods fails for reasons for which the customer is responsible, the customer shall bear the reasonable costs incurred by the seller as a result. This does not apply to the costs of the initial dispatch if the customer effectively exercises their right of withdrawal. Where the customer effectively exercises their right of withdrawal, the provisions set out in the seller’s withdrawal policy shall apply to the costs of returning the goods.

5.3 If the customer is a business, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods sold shall pass to the customer as soon as the seller has handed the goods over to the forwarding agent, the carrier or any other person or organisation designated to carry out the dispatch. If the customer is a consumer, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods sold shall, as a general rule, not pass to the customer until the goods have been handed over to the customer or to a person authorised to receive them. Notwithstanding this, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods sold shall pass to the customer, even in the case of consumers, as soon as the seller has handed over the goods to the forwarding agent, the carrier or any other person or organisation designated to carry out the dispatch, provided that the customer has commissioned the forwarding agent, the carrier or any other person or organisation designated to carry out the dispatch, and the seller has not previously named this person or organisation to the customer.

5.4 If the customer is a consumer resident in Germany or a business, the seller reserves the right to withdraw from the contract in the event of incorrect or improper supply to the seller. However, this applies only if the seller is not responsible for the non-delivery and has, with due care, concluded a specific covering transaction with the supplier. The Seller shall make every reasonable effort to procure the goods. In the event that the goods are unavailable or only partially available, the Customer shall be informed immediately and the payment shall be refunded without delay.

5.5 If the seller offers the goods for collection, the customer may collect the ordered goods during the business hours specified by the seller at the address provided by the seller. In this case, no delivery charges will be incurred.

6) Retention of title

If the seller makes an advance delivery, they reserve title to the goods delivered until the purchase price owed has been paid in full.

7) Liability for defects (warranty)

Unless otherwise specified in the following provisions, the statutory provisions on liability for defects shall apply. Notwithstanding this, the following shall apply to contracts for the supply of goods:

7.1 If the customer is a business,

the seller may choose the form of subsequent performance;
for new goods, the limitation period for rights arising from defects is one year from delivery of the goods;
in the case of second-hand goods, rights arising from defects are excluded;
the limitation period does not recommence if a replacement delivery is made under the liability for defects.

7.2 If the customer is a consumer, the following applies to contracts for the supply of second-hand goods, subject to the restriction set out in the following paragraph: The limitation period for claims for defects is one year from delivery of the goods, provided this has been expressly and separately agreed between the parties in the contract and the customer was specifically informed of the shortened limitation period before submitting their declaration of contract.

7.3 The limitations of liability and shortened limitation periods set out above shall not apply

to the customer’s claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses,
in the event that the seller has fraudulently concealed the defect,
to goods which have been used in accordance with their normal intended use in a structure and have caused its defectiveness,
to any existing obligation on the part of the seller to provide updates for digital products, in the case of contracts for the supply of goods containing digital elements.

7.4. Furthermore, in the case of business customers, the statutory limitation periods for any existing statutory right of recourse remain unaffected.

7.5 If the customer acts as a trader within the meaning of Section 1 of the German Commercial Code (HGB), they are subject to the commercial duty to inspect and give notice of defects in accordance with Section 377 HGB. If the customer fails to comply with the notification obligations set out therein, the goods shall be deemed to have been accepted.

7.6 If the customer is a consumer, they are requested to lodge a complaint with the delivery agent regarding any goods delivered with obvious transport damage and to inform the seller thereof. Failure by the customer to do so shall have no effect whatsoever on their statutory or contractual claims for defects.

8) Liability

The seller shall be liable to the customer for all contractual, quasi-contractual, and statutory claims, including tortious claims, for compensation for damages and expenses as follows:

8.1: The seller shall be liable without limitation on any legal ground

in cases of wilful misconduct or gross negligence,
in cases of wilful or negligent injury to life, limb or health,
on the basis of a guarantee, unless otherwise stipulated in this regard,
on the basis of mandatory liability, such as under the Product Liability Act.

8.2 If the customer is a consumer resident in Germany or a business, the following limitations of liability shall apply:

If the seller negligently breaches an essential contractual obligation, their liability shall be limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract, provided that they are not liable without limitation in accordance with the preceding clause. Essential contractual obligations are obligations which the contract imposes on the seller, by virtue of its content, in order to achieve the purpose of the contract; the fulfilment of which is essential for the proper performance of the contract; and on the observance of which the customer may reasonably rely. In all other respects, the seller’s liability is excluded, unless the seller is liable without limitation in accordance with the preceding clause.

8.3 The above liability provisions also apply with regard to the Seller’s liability for its vicarious agents and legal representatives.

9) Special Terms and Conditions for Assembly and Installation Services

If, under the terms of the contract, the Seller is obliged not only to deliver the goods but also to assemble or install them at the Customer’s premises, as well as to carry out any necessary preparatory work (e.g. taking measurements), the following shall apply:

9.1 The Seller shall perform its services, at its discretion, either personally or through qualified personnel selected by it. In doing so, the Seller may also make use of the services of third parties (subcontractors) acting on its behalf. Unless otherwise specified in the Seller’s description of services, the Customer shall have no right to select a specific person to carry out the requested service.

9.2 The Customer must provide the Seller with all the information required for the performance of the service owed, in full and truthfully, provided that the procurement of such information does not fall within the Seller’s scope of obligations under the terms of the contract.

9.3 Following the conclusion of the contract, the Seller shall contact the Customer to agree on a date for the performance of the service owed. The Customer shall ensure that the Seller or the personnel commissioned by the Seller have access to the Customer’s relevant premises on the agreed date.

9.4 The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods sold shall not pass to the customer until the installation work has been completed and the goods have been handed over to the customer.

10) Governing Law

10.1. All legal relationships between the parties shall be governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, to the exclusion of the laws on the international sale of goods. In the case of consumers, this choice of law shall apply only to the extent that it does not deprive the consumer of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the consumer has their habitual residence.

10.2 Furthermore, with regard to the statutory right of withdrawal, this choice of law does not apply to consumers who, at the time the contract is concluded, are not nationals of a Member State of the European Union and whose sole place of residence and delivery address, at the time the contract is concluded, are outside the European Union.