General terms and conditions
Table of Contents
- Scope of Application
- Conclusion of Contract
- Right of Withdrawal
- Prices and Payment Terms
- Delivery and Shipping Conditions
- Retention of Title
- Warranty
- Liability
- Applicable Law
- Place of Jurisdiction
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
1. Scope of Application
1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter “GTC”) of IME GmbH (hereinafter “Seller”) apply to all contracts for the delivery of goods that a consumer or entrepreneur (hereinafter “Customer”) concludes with the Seller regarding the goods presented by the Seller in their online shop. The inclusion of any terms and conditions of the Customer is hereby expressly rejected unless otherwise agreed.
1.2 A consumer within the meaning of these GTC is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly neither commercial nor self-employed.
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, is acting in the exercise of their commercial or self-employed professional activity.
2. Conclusion of Contract
2.1 The product descriptions contained in the Seller’s online shop do not constitute binding offers from the Seller but are intended to enable the Customer to make a binding offer.
2.2 The Customer can submit the offer via the online order form integrated into the Seller’s online shop. After placing the selected goods into the virtual shopping cart and completing the electronic ordering process, the Customer submits a legally binding offer regarding the goods contained in the shopping cart by clicking the button to complete the order process. Additionally, the Customer may also submit the offer via email to the Seller.
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), with the access of the order confirmation to the Customer being decisive, or
- Delivering the ordered goods to the Customer, with the delivery of the goods to the Customer being decisive, or
- Requesting payment from the Customer after the order has been placed.
If multiple of the above alternatives are present, the contract is concluded at the time when one of the aforementioned alternatives occurs first. The period for accepting the offer begins the day after the offer is sent by the Customer and ends with the expiration 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 is considered a rejection of the offer, with the result that the Customer is no longer bound by their declaration of intent.
2.4 When submitting an offer via the Seller’s online order form, the contract text is stored by the Seller after the conclusion of the contract and sent to the Customer in text form (e.g., email, fax, or letter) after the order has been sent. There is no further provision of the contract text by the Seller. If the Customer has set up a user account in the Seller’s online shop before sending their order, the order data will be archived on the Seller’s website and can be accessed by the Customer free of charge via their password-protected user account using the relevant login data.
2.5 Before submitting a binding 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 recognizing input errors can be the browser’s zoom function, which enlarges the display on the screen. The Customer can correct their entries within the electronic ordering process using the usual keyboard and mouse functions until they click the button that completes the order process.
2.6 Different languages are available for concluding the contract. The specific language selection is displayed in the online shop.
2.7 Order processing and contact generally occur 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. In particular, the Customer must ensure, when using spam filters, that all emails sent by the Seller or by third parties commissioned by the Seller for order processing are 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 of the conclusion of the contract, do not belong to a Member State of the European Union and whose sole residence and delivery address at the time of the conclusion of the contract are outside the European Union.
4. Prices and Payment Terms
4.1 Unless otherwise stated in the Seller’s product description, the prices indicated are total prices that include the statutory value-added tax. Any additional delivery and shipping costs will be specified separately in the respective product description.
4.2 For deliveries to countries outside the European Union, additional costs may arise that are not covered by the Seller and are to be borne by the Customer. These include, for example, costs for money transfers by credit institutions (e.g., transfer fees, exchange rate fees) or import duties or taxes (e.g., customs duties). Such costs may also arise in relation to money transfers even 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.
4.3 The payment option(s) will be communicated to the Customer in the Seller’s online shop.
4.4 If advance payment by bank transfer is agreed, payment is due immediately after the conclusion of the contract, unless the parties have agreed on a later due date.
5. Delivery and Shipping Conditions
5.1 If the Seller offers shipping of the goods, delivery will be made within the delivery area specified by the Seller to the address provided by the Customer, unless otherwise agreed. The address provided by the Seller in the order processing is decisive for the transaction.
5.2 If delivery fails due to reasons attributable to the Customer, the Customer bears the reasonable costs incurred by the Seller. This does not apply to costs for the initial delivery if the Customer effectively exercises their right of withdrawal. For return shipping costs, the regulation in the Seller’s withdrawal policy applies in case of effective exercise of the right of withdrawal by the Customer.
5.3 If the Customer is an entrepreneur, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the sold goods passes to the Customer as soon as the Seller has handed over the goods to the carrier, freight forwarder, or other person or institution designated for the execution of the shipment. If the Customer is a consumer, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the sold goods generally passes to the Customer only upon delivery of the goods to the Customer or to a person authorized to receive them. Deviating from this, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the sold goods also passes to the Customer in the case of consumers as soon as the Seller has handed over the goods to the carrier, freight forwarder, or other person or institution designated for the execution of the shipment, if the Customer has commissioned the carrier, freight forwarder, or other person or institution designated for the execution of the shipment and the Seller has not previously named this person or institution to the Customer.
5.4 The Seller reserves the right to withdraw from the contract in the event of incorrect or improper self-supply. This applies only if the non-delivery is not attributable to the Seller and the Seller has concluded a specific covering transaction with the supplier with due care. The Seller will 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 any consideration paid will be refunded immediately.
5.5 If the Seller offers the goods for collection, the Customer can collect the ordered goods at the address specified by the Seller during the Seller’s business hours. In this case, no shipping costs are charged.
6. Retention of Title
6.1 The Seller retains ownership of the delivered goods until full payment of the purchase price due from the consumer.
6.2 The Seller retains ownership of the delivered goods until full settlement of all claims arising from an ongoing business relationship with entrepreneurs.
6.3 If the Customer is an entrepreneur, the following also applies:
In the event of processing of the delivered goods, the Seller is considered the manufacturer and acquires ownership of the newly created goods. If the processing occurs together with other materials, the Seller acquires ownership in proportion to the invoice values of their goods to that of the other materials. If the goods of the Seller are combined or mixed with a property of the Customer and this is to be considered the main item, the co-ownership of the item in the ratio of the invoice value of the Seller’s goods to the invoice or, in the absence of such, to the market value of the main item – passes to the Seller. In these cases, the Customer is considered the custodian.
Items subject to retention of title or legal rights must not be pledged or assigned as security by the Customer. The Customer is only entitled to resell the goods subject to retention of title in the ordinary course of business. All resulting claims against third parties are assigned by the Customer to the Seller in advance in the amount of the respective invoice value (including VAT). This assignment applies regardless of whether the goods subject to retention of title have been resold without or after processing. The Customer remains authorized to collect the claims even after the assignment. The Seller’s right to collect the claims itself remains unaffected. However, the Seller will not collect the claims as long as the Customer fulfills their payment obligations to the Seller, does not fall into arrears, and no application for insolvency proceedings has been filed.
The Customer must immediately notify the Seller of access to the goods owned or co-owned by the Seller or to the assigned claims. The Customer must immediately pay any amounts collected from the assigned claims to the Seller if the Seller’s claim is due.
If the value of the Seller’s security rights exceeds the secured claims by more than 10%, the Seller will release a corresponding portion of the security rights at the Customer’s request.
7. Warranty
Unless otherwise specified in the following regulations, the provisions of statutory warranty apply. Deviating from this, in contracts for the delivery of goods:
7.1 If the Customer is an entrepreneur,
- the Seller has the choice of the type of subsequent performance;
- the statute of limitations for defects in new goods is one year from delivery of the goods;
- for used goods, rights and claims due to defects are excluded;
- the statute of limitations does not start anew if a replacement delivery is made under the warranty.
7.2 The above-mentioned limitations of liability and reductions in the limitation period do not apply
- for claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses by the Customer,
- if the Seller has fraudulently concealed the defect,
- for goods that have been used for a construction project according to their usual use and caused its defectiveness,
- for any obligation of the Seller to provide updates for digital products, in contracts for the delivery of goods with digital elements.
7.3 Additionally, for entrepreneurs, the statutory limitation periods for any legal recourse claims remain unaffected.
7.4 If the Customer is a merchant in the sense of § 1 HGB (German Commercial Code), they are subject to the commercial duty of inspection and complaint according to § 377 HGB. If the Customer fails to fulfill the notification obligations regulated there, the goods are considered accepted.
7.5 If the Customer is a consumer, they are requested to report any visible transport damage to the carrier and to notify the Seller. Failure to do so does not affect their statutory or contractual warranty claims.
8. Liability
The Seller is liable to the Customer for all contractual, quasi-contractual, and statutory claims, including tort claims, as follows:
8.1 The Seller is fully liable
- for intent or gross negligence,
- for intentional or negligent injury to life, body, or health,
- based on a guarantee promise, unless otherwise stipulated,
- based on mandatory liability such as under the Product Liability Act.
8.2 If the Seller negligently breaches a significant contractual obligation, liability is limited to typical and foreseeable damages, unless unlimited liability is provided according to the above section. Significant contractual obligations are those duties that the contract imposes on the Seller to achieve the contract’s purpose, whose fulfillment enables the proper execution of the contract in the first place, and on which the Customer regularly relies.
8.3 Otherwise, the Seller’s liability is excluded.
8.4 The above liability provisions also apply to the Seller’s liability for their vicarious agents and legal representatives.
9. Applicable Law
9.1 For all legal relationships between the parties, the law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the laws on the international sale of movable goods. For consumers, this choice of law applies only insofar as the granted protection is not removed by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the consumer has their habitual residence.
9.2 Furthermore, this choice of law does not apply to the statutory right of withdrawal for consumers who, at the time of the conclusion of the contract, do not belong to a Member State of the European Union and whose sole residence and delivery address at the time of the conclusion of the contract are outside the European Union.
10. Place of Jurisdiction
If the Customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special public fund with its seat in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract is the Seller’s place of business. If the Customer is located outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Seller’s place of business is 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. However, in the aforementioned cases, the Seller is entitled to call the court at the Customer’s place of business.
11. Alternative Dispute Resolution
11.1 The EU Commission provides an online platform for alternative dispute resolution at the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr
This platform serves as a contact point for out-of-court settlements of disputes arising from online purchase or service contracts involving a consumer.
11.2 The Seller is neither obligated nor willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.