General Terms and Conditions with Customer Information

Table of contents

  1. Area of application
  2. Conclusion of contract
  3. Prices and terms of payment
  4. Delivery and shipping conditions
  5. Force majeure
  6. Delay in performance at the request of the customer
  7. Retention of title
  8. Liability for defects / warranty
  9. Liability
  10. Limitation
  11. Retention, assignment
  12. Special conditions for the processing of goods according to certain specifications of the customer
  13. Applicable law, place of jurisdiction
  14. Code of Conduct

1) Scope of application

1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as "GTC") of cotton ART GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "Seller") shall apply to all contracts for the delivery of goods concluded by an entrepreneur (hereinafter referred to as "Customer") with the Seller with regard to the goods presented by the Seller in its online shop. The inclusion of the Customer's own terms and conditions is hereby objected to, unless otherwise agreed.

1.2 These GTC shall also apply exclusively if the Seller makes the delivery to the customer without any special reservation in the knowledge that the customer's terms and conditions conflict with or deviate from these GTC.

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 his commercial or independent professional activity.

1.4 For the purposes of these GTCs, an entrepreneur is also a public authority or other institution under public law if, when concluding the contract, it is acting exclusively in accordance with private law.

2) Conclusion of contract

2.1 The product descriptions presented in the Seller's online shop do not constitute binding offers on the part of the Seller, but serve for the submission of a binding offer by the customer.

2.2 The customer can submit the offer via the online order form integrated in the Seller's online shop. In doing so, after placing the selected goods and/or services in the virtual shopping basket and going through the electronic ordering process, the customer submits a legally binding contractual offer with regard to the goods and/or services contained in the shopping basket by clicking the button that concludes the ordering process. Furthermore, the customer can also submit the offer to the seller by e-mail, by fax, by 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 e-mail), in which case the receipt of the order confirmation by the customer is decisive, or
  • by delivering the ordered goods to the customer, in which case the receipt of the goods by the customer is decisive, or
  • by requesting payment from the customer after the customer has placed the order, or
  • if payment by direct debit is offered and the customer chooses this method of payment, by collecting the total price from the customer's bank account, in which case the time at which the customer's account is debited is decisive.

If several of the aforementioned alternatives exist, the contract shall be concluded at the time at which one of the aforementioned alternatives occurs first. The period for acceptance of the offer begins on the day after the customer sends the offer and ends with the expiry 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 to be a rejection of the offer with the consequence that the Customer is no longer bound by his declaration of intent.

2.4 If a payment method offered by PayPal is selected, the payment will be processed via the payment service provider PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg (hereinafter: "PayPal"), subject to the PayPal terms of use, available at https://www.paypal.com /de /webapps /mpp /ua /useragreement-full or - if the customer does not have a PayPal account - subject to the terms of payment without a PayPal account, available at https://www.paypal.com/de /webapps /mpp /ua /privacywax-full. If the customer pays by means of a payment method offered by PayPal that can be selected in the online ordering process, the seller already declares acceptance of the customer's offer at the time the customer clicks the button that completes the ordering process.

2.5 If the payment method "Amazon Payments" is selected, the payment will be processed via the payment service provider Amazon Payments Europe s.c.a., 38 avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg (hereinafter: "Amazon"), subject to the Amazon Payments Europe User Agreement, which can be viewed at https://payments.amazon.de/help / 201751590. If the customer selects "Amazon Payments" as the payment method during the online ordering process, he also issues a payment order to Amazon by clicking the button which completes the ordering process. In this case, the seller already declares acceptance of the customer's offer at the time when the customer triggers the payment process by clicking the button that concludes the order process.

2.6 When an offer is made via the Seller's online order form, the text of the contract will be stored by the Seller after the conclusion of the contract and transmitted to the Customer in text form (e.g. e-mail, fax or letter) after the Customer has sent his order. The Seller shall not make the text of the contract accessible beyond this. If the customer has set up a user account in the Seller's online shop before sending his order, the order data will be archived on the Seller's website and can be accessed by the customer free of charge via his password-protected user account by providing the relevant login data.

2.7 Before bindingly placing the order via the Seller's online order form, the Customer can identify possible input errors by carefully reading the information displayed on the screen. An effective technical means for better recognition of input errors can be the enlargement function of the browser, with the help of which the display on the screen is enlarged. The customer can correct his entries during the electronic ordering process using the usual keyboard and mouse functions until he clicks the button which completes the ordering process.

2.8 Only the German language is available for the conclusion of the contract.

2.9 Order processing and contacting usually take place via e-mail and automated order processing. The customer must ensure that the e-mail address provided by him for order processing is correct, so that e-mails sent by the seller can be received at this address. In particular, when using SPAM filters, the customer must ensure that all e-mails sent by the seller or by third parties commissioned by the seller to process the order can be delivered.

2.10 If the parties have agreed on special conditions, these shall not apply in principle to simultaneously ongoing and future contractual relationships with the customer.

2.11 In the event of the customer's economic inability to fulfil its obligations towards the seller, the seller may terminate existing exchange contracts with the customer by withdrawing from them without notice. This shall also apply if the customer files for insolvency. § Section 321 of the German Civil Code (BGB) and Section 112 of the German Insolvency Code (InsO) shall remain unaffected. The customer shall inform the seller in writing at an early stage of any impending insolvency.

3) Prices and terms of payment

3.1 Unless otherwise stated in the Seller's product description, the prices quoted are net prices which are subject to statutory value added tax. Packaging and shipping costs, loading, insurance (in particular transport insurance), customs duties and levies will be charged separately where applicable.

3.2 In the case of deliveries to countries outside the European Union, further costs may be incurred 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 the transfer of money by credit institutions (e.g. transfer fees, exchange rate fees) or import duties or taxes (e.g. customs duties). Such costs may also be incurred in relation to the transfer of funds if the delivery is not made to a country outside the European Union, but the customer makes the payment from a country outside the European Union.

3.3 Various payment options are available to the customer, which are indicated in the seller's online shop.

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

3.5 If a payment method offered via the payment service "PayPal" is selected, the payment shall be processed via PayPal, whereby PayPal may also use the services of third party payment service providers for this purpose. If the seller also offers payment methods via PayPal for which he makes advance payments to the customer (e.g. purchase on account or payment by instalments), he assigns his payment claim to PayPal or to the payment service provider commissioned by PayPal and specifically named to the customer. Before accepting the Seller's declaration of assignment, PayPal or the payment service provider commissioned by PayPal shall carry out a creditworthiness check using the transmitted customer data. The seller reserves the right to refuse the customer the selected payment method in the event of a negative check result. If the selected payment method is approved, the customer must pay the invoice amount within the agreed payment period or in the agreed payment intervals. In this case, he can only make payment to PayPal or the payment service provider commissioned by PayPal with debt-discharging effect. However, the seller remains responsible for general customer enquiries, e.g. regarding the goods, delivery time, dispatch, returns, complaints, revocation declarations and deliveries or credit notes, even in the case of assignment of the claim.

3.6 If the payment method "SOFORT" is selected, the payment will be processed via the payment service provider SOFORT GmbH, Theresienhöhe 12, 80339 Munich (hereinafter "SOFORT"). In order to be able to pay the invoice amount via "SOFORT", the customer must have an online banking account that has been activated for participation in "SOFORT", must identify himself accordingly during the payment process and must confirm the payment instruction to "SOFORT". The payment transaction is then immediately carried out by "SOFORT" and the customer's bank account is debited. More detailed information on the payment method "SOFORT" is available to the customer on the Internet at https://www.klarna.com /immediately /.

3.7 If the payment method delivery on account is selected, the purchase price shall become due after the goods have been delivered and invoiced.

3.8 If you choose the payment method purchase on account, the purchase price is due after the goods have been delivered and invoiced. In this case, the purchase price is payable within 14 (fourteen) days of receipt of the invoice without deduction, unless otherwise agreed. The Seller reserves the right to offer the payment method purchase on account only up to a certain order volume and to reject this payment method if the specified order volume is exceeded. In this case, the seller will inform the customer of a corresponding payment restriction in his payment information in the online shop. The Seller also reserves the right to carry out a credit check when selecting the payment method purchase on account and to reject this payment method in the event of a negative credit check.

3.9 If the credit card payment method is selected, the invoice amount is due immediately upon conclusion of the contract. The credit card payment method is processed in cooperation with secupay AG, Goethestr. 6, 01896 Pulsnitz (www.secupay.ag) to which the Provider assigns his payment claim. Secupay AG collects the invoice amount from the customer's specified credit card account. In the event of assignment, payment can only be made to secupay AG with debt-discharging effect. The credit card shall be debited immediately after the customer's order has been sent in the online shop. Even if the payment method credit card payment via secupay AG is selected, the provider shall remain responsible for general customer enquiries, e.g. regarding returns, complaints, revocation declarations and deliveries or credit notes.

3.10 If a payment method offered via the payment service "Stripe" is selected, the payment will be processed via the payment service provider Stripe Payments Europe Ltd, 1 Grand Canal Street Lower, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin, Ireland (hereinafter "Stripe"). The individual payment methods offered via Stripe will be communicated to the customer in the seller's online shop. Stripe may use other payment services for the processing of payments, for which special payment conditions may apply, to which the customer may be informed separately. Further information on Stripe is available on the Internet at https://stripe.com /en.

3.11 A payment is deemed to have been received as soon as the equivalent amount has been credited to one of the Seller's accounts. In the event of late payment, the Seller shall be entitled to interest on arrears at a rate of 10 percentage points above the respective base rate. The Seller's other statutory rights in the event of a default in payment by the customer shall remain unaffected. If claims are overdue, incoming payments shall first be credited against any costs and interest, then against the oldest claim.

3.12 Should unforeseeable cost increases occur (e.g. currency fluctuations, unexpected price increases by suppliers, etc.), the seller is entitled to pass on the price increase to the customer. However, this shall only apply if the delivery is to be made later than four months after the conclusion of the contract as agreed.

4) Delivery and shipping conditions

4.1 Unless otherwise agreed, goods shall be delivered by dispatch to the delivery address specified by the customer. The delivery address specified in the Seller's order processing shall be decisive in the processing of the transaction.

4.2 The Seller is entitled to make partial deliveries insofar 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-delivery. This shall only apply in the event that the Seller is not responsible for the non-delivery and the Seller has, with due diligence, concluded a specific covering transaction with the supplier. The Seller shall make all reasonable efforts to procure the goods. In the event of non-availability or only partial availability of the goods, the customer will be informed immediately and the consideration will be refunded without delay.

4.4 The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods sold shall pass to the customer as soon as the seller has delivered the goods to the forwarding agent, the carrier or any other person or institution designated to carry out the shipment. This shall also apply if the seller bears the costs of transport. Transport insurance shall only be taken out at the special request and for the account of the customer.

4.5 In the event that the dispatch of the goods to the customer is delayed for reasons for which the customer is responsible, the transfer of risk shall take place as soon as the customer is notified that the goods are ready for dispatch. Any storage costs incurred after the transfer of risk shall be borne by the customer.

4.6 In the case of self-collection, the seller shall first inform the customer by e-mail that the goods ordered by him are ready for collection. After receipt of this e-mail, the customer can collect the goods by arrangement with the seller. In this case, no shipping costs will be charged.

5) Force majeure

In the event of force majeure affecting the performance of the contract, the Seller shall be entitled to postpone delivery for the duration of the hindrance and, in the event of longer-term delays, to withdraw from the contract in whole or in part, without this giving rise to any claims against the Seller. Force majeure shall be deemed to be all events unforeseeable by the Seller or such events which - even if they were foreseeable - are beyond the Seller's control and whose effect on the performance of the contract cannot be prevented by the Seller's reasonable efforts. Any statutory claims of the customer shall remain unaffected.

6) Delay in performance at the request of the customer

If dispatch or delivery of the goods is delayed at the customer's request by more than one month after notification of readiness for dispatch, the customer may be charged storage costs of 0.5% of the purchase price for each additional month or part thereof, but not more than a total of 5% of the purchase price. The contracting parties shall be at liberty to prove higher or lower damages.

7) Retention of title

7.1 The seller retains ownership of the delivered goods until the purchase price owed has been paid in full. Furthermore, the seller retains ownership of the delivered goods until all his claims arising from the business relationship with the customer have been fulfilled.

7.2 In the event that the delivered goods are processed, the seller shall be deemed to be the manufacturer and shall acquire ownership of the newly created goods. If the processing takes place together with other materials, the seller acquires ownership in the ratio of the invoice values of his goods to that of the other materials. If, in the event of the Seller's goods being combined or mixed with an item belonging to the customer, the latter is to be regarded as the main item, co-ownership of the item shall pass to the Seller in the ratio of the invoice value of the Seller's goods to the invoice value or, in the absence of such, to the market value of the main item. In such cases, the customer shall be deemed to be the custodian.

7.3 The customer may neither pledge nor assign by way of security any items subject to retention of title or reservation of rights. The customer is only permitted to resell the goods in the ordinary course of business as a reseller on condition that the customer has effectively assigned to the seller its claims against its customers in connection with the resale and the customer transfers ownership to its customer subject to payment. By concluding the contract, the customer assigns its claims against its customers in connection with such sales to the seller by way of security, and the seller accepts this assignment at the same time.

7.4 The customer shall immediately notify the seller of any access to the goods owned or co-owned by the seller or to the assigned claims. He shall immediately pay to the seller any amounts assigned to him and collected by him, insofar as the seller's claim is due.

7.5 If the value of the Seller's security interests exceeds the amount of the secured claims by more than 10%, the Seller shall release a corresponding proportion of the security interests at the request of the customer.

8) Liability for defects / warranty

If the purchased item is defective, the provisions of the statutory liability for defects shall apply. The following shall apply in deviation from this

8.1 Claims for defects shall not arise in the event of natural wear and tear or damage occurring after the transfer of risk as a result of incorrect or negligent handling, excessive stress, unsuitable operating materials or as a result of special external influences which are not assumed under the contract. If the customer or third parties carry out improper modifications or repair work, there shall also be no claims for defects for these and the resulting consequences, unless the customer can prove that the defect complained of was not caused by these modifications or repair work.

8.2 In the case of new goods, the limitation period for claims for defects is one year from delivery of the goods. In the case of used goods, the rights and claims due to defects are excluded.

8.3 The above-mentioned limitations of liability and shortening of the period of limitation do not apply to

  • to items which have been used for a building in accordance with their customary use and have caused its defectiveness,
  • to claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses of the customer,
  • in the event that the seller has fraudulently concealed the defect, and
  • for the right of recourse according to § 445a BGB.

8.4 In the event of subsequent performance, the Seller shall have the right to choose between repair or replacement.

8.5 If a replacement delivery is made within the scope of liability for defects, the limitation period shall not start again.

8.6 If the supplementary performance is carried out by way of a replacement delivery, the customer is obliged to return the goods first delivered to the seller within 30 days. The return package must contain the reason for the return, the customer's name and the number assigned for the purchase of the defective goods, which enables the Seller to assign the returned goods. As long as and insofar as the assignment of the return is not possible for reasons for which the customer is responsible, the seller is not obliged to accept returned goods and to refund the purchase price. The customer shall bear the costs of a new shipment.

8.7 If the Seller delivers a defect-free item for the purpose of subsequent performance, the Seller may claim compensation for use from the customer pursuant to Section 346 (1) BGB. Other statutory claims remain unaffected.

8.8 If the customer acts as a merchant within the meaning of § 1 of the German Commercial Code (HGB), he shall be subject to the commercial duty of inspection and notification of defects pursuant to § 377 of the German Commercial Code (HGB). If the customer fails to comply with the notification obligations regulated therein, the goods shall be deemed to have been approved.

9) Liability

The seller is liable to the customer for all contractual, quasi-contractual and statutory, including tortious claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses as follows:

9.1 The Seller shall be liable without restriction for any legal reason

  • in the event of intent or gross negligence,
  • in the event of intentional or negligent injury to life, limb or health,
  • on the basis of a guarantee promise, insofar as nothing else is regulated in this respect,
  • on the basis of mandatory liability such as under the Product Liability Act.

9.2 If the Seller negligently breaches a material contractual obligation, liability shall be limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract, unless liability is unlimited in accordance with the preceding clause. Material contractual obligations are obligations which the contract imposes on the Seller according to its content in order to achieve the purpose of the contract, the fulfilment of which makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and compliance with which the customer may regularly rely on.

9.3 Otherwise, any liability on the part of the Seller is excluded.

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

10) Limitation

The customer's claims against the seller shall become statute-barred - with the exception of the claims regulated under the item "Liability for defects / Warranty" - within one year of knowledge of the defect.claims of the customer against the seller - with the exception of claims regulated under "Liability for defects / warranty" - shall become statute-barred one year after knowledge of the facts giving rise to the claim, at the latest, however, five years after performance of the service, unless unlimited liability is assumed in accordance with the above section.

11) Retention, assignment

11.1 The customer's rights of retention and rights to refuse performance are excluded, unless the seller does not dispute the underlying counterclaims or these have been legally established.

11.2 Assignment by the customer of claims arising from the contract concluded with the customer, in particular assignment of any claims for defects by the customer, is excluded.

12) Special conditions for the processing of goods according to certain specifications of the customer

12.1 If, according to the content of the contract, the seller, in addition to the delivery of the goods, also owes the processing of the goods according to certain specifications of the customer, the customer must provide the seller with all the content required for the processing, such as texts, documents, drawings, etc.if, according to the content of the contract, in addition to the delivery of goods, the customer is also obliged to process the goods according to certain specifications of the customer, the customer shall provide the seller with all content required for the processing, such as texts, images or graphics in the file formats, formatting, image and file sizes specified by the seller and grant the seller the necessary rights of use. The customer alone shall be responsible for the procurement and acquisition of rights to this content. The customer declares and assumes responsibility that he has the right to use the content provided to the seller. In particular, he/she shall ensure that no third-party rights are infringed thereby, especially copyrights, trademark rights and personal rights.

12.2 The customer shall indemnify the seller against claims of third parties which the latter may assert against the seller in connection with an infringement of their rights by the contractual use of the customer's content by the seller. In this context, the customer shall also assume the necessary costs of legal defence, including all court costs and lawyers' fees in the statutory amount. This shall not apply if the customer is not responsible for the infringement. In the event of a claim by a third party, the customer is obliged to provide the seller immediately, truthfully and completely with all information required for the examination of the claims and a defence.

12.3 The Seller reserves the right to refuse processing orders if the content provided by the customer for this purpose violates legal or official prohibitions or offends common decency. This applies in particular to the provision of anti-constitutional, racist, xenophobic, discriminatory, offensive, youth-endangering and/or violence-glorifying content.

13) Applicable law, place of jurisdiction

13.1 The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply to all legal relationships between the parties to the exclusion of the laws on the international purchase of movable goods.

13.2 If the customer acts as a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law with its registered office in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract shall be the Seller's registered office. If the customer has its registered office outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Seller's registered office shall be the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract if the contract or claims arising from the contract can be attributed to the customer's professional or commercial activity. In the above cases, however, the Seller shall in any case be entitled to bring the matter before the court at the Customer's place of business.

14) Code of Conduct

The seller has submitted to the following code of conduct:

- The Seller has submitted to the Trusted Shops quality criteria, which can be viewed on the Internet at https://www.trustedshops.com /tsdocument /TS_QUALITY_CRITERIA_en .pdf.