General Terms and Conditions

 

Table of Contents

1. General
2. Conclusion of contract in the web shop/distance selling
3. Conclusion of contract outside of distance selling/cost estimates/general information about the conclusion of the contract
4. Right of withdrawal
5. Prices and payment terms
6. Repairs
7. Delivery and shipping conditions
8. Reservation of ownership
9. Guarantee
10. Special conditions for the processing of goods according to specific customer specifications
11. Liability
12. Duty to co-operate
13. Applicable law/jurisdiction
14. Alternative dispute resolution

1) General

1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter “GTC”) apply to all contracts concluded between the customer, buyer or client (hereinafter “Customer”) and us Gritsch Guitars (hereinafter “Supplier”) regarding our goods and/or services, in particular sales contracts, work contracts or other commissioned services (commissioning, assembly, etc.) are completed. The inclusion of the customer’s own terms and conditions is hereby objected to, unless otherwise agreed. If the supplier has a long-term business relationship with the customer, these General Terms and Conditions apply even if their validity is not specifically pointed out. The General Terms and Conditions also apply to subsequent orders, even if they are not separately agreed verbally or in writing.

1.2 Consumer is any natural person who carries out a transaction that is not part of the operation of their company. 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 concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of their commercial or independent professional activity. Stock corporations, limited liability companies, commercial and economic cooperatives, mutual insurance associations, savings banks, European Economic Interest Groups (EEIG), European Companies (SE) and European Cooperatives (SCE) are entrepreneurs by virtue of their legal form.

1.3 A trader pursuant to 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.

2) Conclusion of contract in the web shop/distance selling

2.1 The product and service descriptions contained in the supplier’s online shop do not represent binding offers, but are intended to enable the customer to submit a binding offer.

2.2 The Client may submit the offer via the online order form integrated into the Seller’s online shop. In doing so, after having placed the selected goods and/or services in the virtual basket and passed through the ordering process, and by clicking the button finalizing the order process, the Client submits a legally binding offer of contract with regard to the goods and/or services contained in the shopping cart. The Client may also submit his offer to the Seller by e-mail or telephone.

2.3 The Seller may accept the Client’s offer within five days,

• by transferring a written order confirmation or an order confirmation in written form (fax or e-mail); insofar receipt of order confirmation by the Client is decisive, or
• by delivering ordered goods to the Client; insofar receipt of goods by the Client is decisive, or
• by requesting the Client to pay after he placed his order.

Provided that several of the aforementioned alternatives apply, the contract shall be concluded at the time when one of the aforementioned alternatives firstly occurs.
Should the Seller not accept the Client’s offer within the aforementioned period of time, this shall be deemed as rejecting the offer with the effect that the Client is no longer bound by his statement of intent.

2.4 When submitting an offer via the Seller’s online order form, the text of the contract is stored by the Seller after the contract has been concluded and transmitted to the Client in text form (e.g. e-mail, fax or letter) after the order has been sent. The Seller shall not make the contract text accessible beyond this.

2.5 Prior to submitting a binding order via the Seller’s online order form, the Client may recognize input errors by reading attentively the information displayed on the screen.
The enlargement function of the browser to enlarge the display on the screen may be an effective method for better recognizing input errors.
The Client can correct all the data entered via the usual keyboard and mouse function during the electronic ordering process, until he clicks the button finalizing the ordering process.

2.6 The German and the English language are exclusively available for the conclusion of the contract.

2.7 Order processing and contacting usually takes place via e-mail. It is the Client’s responsibility to ensure that the e-mail address he provides
for the order processing is accurate so that e-mails sent by the Seller can be received at this address. In particular, it is the Client`s responsibility, if SPAM filters are used, to ensure that all e-mails sent by the Seller or by third parties commissioned by the Seller with the order processing can be delivered.

3) Conclusion of contract outside of distance selling/cost estimates/general information about the conclusion of the contract

3.1 Verbal communications from the supplier – even at the request of the customer – are non-binding, even if they contain prices, dates and other technical specifications.

3.2 The contract is concluded when the supplier’s order confirmation is sent to the customer or, in the absence of this, when the delivery to the customer is carried out. In any case, the contract is concluded even without sending an order confirmation if the customer accepts the supplier’s offer in writing

3.3 If the order confirmation signed by the customer differs from his order, in case of doubt the order confirmation applies unless the customer is a consumer. In this case, no contract is concluded with a consumer.

3.4 Our cost estimates are only binding if they were created specifically for a customer and submitted in writing. Furthermore, all of our written cost estimates are free of charge, especially if they include detailed planning requested by the customer. This fee will be deducted from the order total when the order is placed. We are bound to these cost estimates for 30 days from the date of submission.

3.5 Offers and cost estimates will be reimbursed based on the best expertise; No consideration can be given to order-specific circumstances that are beyond the control of our company. If the need for further work or cost increases arises during the execution of the order, our company will inform the customer immediately. If the customer does not make a decision within a week regarding the continuation of the interrupted work or does not accept the cost increases, our company reserves the right to invoice the partial service provided and to withdraw from the contract.

3.6 Insignificant, reasonable deviations in the dimensions and designs (color and structure), especially in the case of repeat orders, remain reserved – regardless of the type of contract concluded – insofar as these are in the nature of the materials used and are common. In particular, material-related changes are considered objectively justified, e.g. in dimensions, colors, wood and veneer appearance, grain and structure, etc.

4) Right of withdrawal

4.1 Consumers resident in the EU have the right to withdraw from contracts if

• 1. the contract is concluded with the simultaneous physical presence of the entrepreneur and the consumer at a location that is not the entrepreneur’s business premises,
• 2. for which the consumer is under the conditions in 1 has made an offer,
• 3. which is concluded on the business premises of the entrepreneur or by means of distance communication, immediately after the consumer has made a purchase at a location other than the business premises of the entrepreneur with the simultaneous physical presence of the entrepreneur or his representative and the consumer in person and addressed individually, or
• 4. which is concluded on an excursion organized by an entrepreneur or his agents with the intention or with the result that the entrepreneur promotes the sale of goods or the provision of services to the consumer or advertises and concludes corresponding contracts with the consumer;
• 5. the contract is concluded between an entrepreneur and a consumer without the simultaneous physical presence of the entrepreneur and the consumer within the framework of a sales or service system organized for distance selling, whereby only means of distance communication are used up to and including the conclusion of the contract;
• 6. the consumer has not submitted his contractual declaration either in the rooms permanently used by the entrepreneur for his business purposes or at a stand used by the entrepreneur for this purpose at a trade fair or market, or the entrepreneur or a third party working with him has not contacted the consumer as part of a promotional trip, on an excursion or a similar event or by personal, individual approach on the street to the rooms used by the entrepreneur for his business purposes and the contract does not fall under points 1 – 5.

The right of withdrawal according to Z.6. the consumer is not entitled to:

• a. if he himself initiated the business relationship with the entrepreneur or his agent for the purpose of concluding this contract,
• b. if no discussions between the parties involved or their representatives preceded the conclusion of the contract or
• c. for contracts in which the mutual services are to be provided immediately if they are usually concluded by entrepreneurs outside their business premises and the agreed fee is 25 euros, or if the company is not, by its nature, operated on permanent business premises and the fee does not exceed 50 euros
• d. for contractual declarations that the consumer made in the physical absence of the entrepreneur, unless he was pressured to do so by the entrepreneur.

Furthermore, the right of withdrawal does not apply to services if the entrepreneur has begun to fulfill the contract due to an express request from the consumer before the withdrawal period has expired and if the consumer

• a) has either confirmed before the start of the service provision that he has taken note of his The right of withdrawal is lost with full fulfillment of the contract, or
• b) has expressly requested the entrepreneur to visit in order to have repair work carried out.

If the consumer withdraws from a contract for services after he has declared a demand for contract fulfillment through his order before the withdrawal period has expired and the entrepreneur has then begun to fulfill the contract, he must pay the entrepreneur an amount that is in comparison to the contractually agreed amount. The total price corresponds proportionately to the services provided by the entrepreneur up to the withdrawal.

The consumer also has no right to withdraw from contracts that are concluded outside of business premises (lines 1-4) and for which the fee to be paid by the consumer does not exceed the amount of 50 euros.

4.2 Further exceptions and further information on the right of withdrawal can be found in our cancellation instructions and waiver

5) Prices and payment terms

 

5.1 Our offers are available to all customers with a residence or registered office in a member state
open to the European Union

5.2 Unless our product description states otherwise, this is:
the stated prices to the final prices. According to Section 19 UStG, sales tax does not apply
and therefore does not need to be shown. Any additional delivery and shipping costs that may arise will be stated in the respective product description or when the contract is concluded
stated separately.

5.3 For deliveries to countries outside the European Union, additional charges may apply in individual cases
Costs arise for which we are not responsible and which must be borne by the customer. For this
These include, for example, costs for transferring money through 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 the transfer of money,
if delivery does not take place to a country outside the European Union, the customer
but makes the payment from a country outside the European Union.

5.4 Unless otherwise agreed, 10% of the order amount shall be due upon receipt of the order confirmation; any agreed delivery period shall not commence until the payment date. A further 40% of the order amount is due
start of the work. The remaining 50% must be paid before delivery. If the customer does not fulfil this obligation, the supplier is entitled to withhold the start of the work and the delivery. Any agreed delivery period shall not commence until the date of payment. Invoices are due for payment within 14 days.

5.5 In the event of default, the customer undertakes to reimburse the dunning and collection expenses necessary for appropriate legal prosecution, insofar as these are in reasonable proportion to the claim being pursued, and to pay default interest at a rate of 8% per annum. The statutory default interest for entrepreneurs remains unaffected.

5.6 If the customer does not fulfill its payments, suspends its payments or if bankruptcy or composition proceedings are opened against its assets, the entire remaining debt shall become due. In the case of consumer transactions, this shall only apply if the supplier has already rendered its services, at least one outstanding service of the customer has been due for at least six weeks and the supplier has unsuccessfully reminded the customer under threat of the loss of the deadline and setting a grace period of at least two weeks unsuccessfully.

6) Repairs

6.1 If the Supplier owes the repair of an item of the Customer according to the content of the contract, the following shall apply:

6.2 The Supplier shall provide its services at its own discretion either in person or through qualified personnel selected by it. In doing so, the Supplier may also utilise the services of third parties (subcontractors) acting on its behalf.
Unless otherwise stated in the Supplier’s service description, the Customer shall not be entitled to select a specific person to perform the desired service.

6.3 The customer shall provide the supplier with all information necessary for the repair of the item, unless the procurement of such information is not within the supplier’s scope of duties according to the content of the contract. In particular, the customer shall provide the supplier with a comprehensive description of the defect and inform the supplier of all circumstances that may be the cause of the defect found.

6.4 Unless otherwise agreed, the customer shall ship the item to be repaired to the supplier’s
costs and risk to the Supplier’s registered office. The supplier recommends
the customer to take out transport insurance for this purpose. Furthermore, the
Supplier recommends the Customer to ship the item in suitable transport packaging in order to reduce the risk of transport damage and to conceal the contents of the packaging. The Supplier shall inform the Customer immediately of any obvious transport damage so that the Customer can assert any rights it may have against the carrier. The goods shall be returned at the customer’s expense. The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods shall pass to the customer when the goods are handed over to a suitable carrier at the supplier’s place of business. At the customer’s request, the supplier shall take out transport insurance for the goods.

6.5 These provisions do not limit the customer’s statutory warranty rights in the event of the purchase or order of goods from the supplier.

6.6 The Supplier shall be liable for defects in the repair service provided in accordance with the provisions of the statutory warranty.

6.7 The Supplier shall draw the Customer’s attention to the uneconomical nature of a repair if the Customer does not expressly insist on restoration at any price. If it only becomes apparent in the course of carrying out the repair and without this being recognisable to the Supplier on the basis of its specialist knowledge when the contract was concluded that the item is unsuitable for repair, the Supplier must inform the Customer of this immediately. In this case, the customer shall pay the costs incurred up to that point or, if the customer insists and this is still technically possible, the costs for the assembly of disassembled items.

6.8 The supplier grants customers a free setup for an instrument that was not purchased from the supplier in the course of a repair, as well as free repairs for damage caused by the supplier. Excluded from this are damages caused by the fault of the customer. This also includes incorrect storage of the instruments – the instruments manufactured by Gritsch Guitars may only be stored in rooms with a relative humidity of between 40%-60%.

7) Delivery and shipping conditions

7.1 Unless otherwise agreed, goods shall be delivered by dispatch to the delivery address specified by the customer. The delivery address specified in the supplier’s order processing is decisive for the processing of the transaction.

7.2 If the transport company returns the dispatched goods to the supplier because delivery to the customer was not possible, the customer shall bear the costs for the unsuccessful dispatch. This does not apply if the customer effectively exercises his right of cancellation, if he is not responsible for the circumstance that led to the impossibility of delivery or if he was temporarily prevented from accepting the service offered, unless the supplier had given him reasonable advance notice of the service.

7.3 If the customer is acting as an entrepreneur, the risk of accidental loss and accidental
accidental deterioration of the goods sold shall pass to the customer as soon as the
Supplier has delivered the goods to the forwarding agent, carrier or other person or organisation designated to carry out the shipment. If the customer is acting as a consumer, the risk of loss of or damage to the goods shall not pass to the consumer until the goods have been delivered to the consumer or to a third party other than the carrier designated by the consumer. However, if the consumer has concluded the contract of carriage himself without making use of a choice proposed by the carrier, the risk is transferred to the carrier as soon as the goods are handed over. Unless otherwise agreed, the consumer acquires ownership of the goods at the same time as the risk is transferred.

7.4 In the case of self-collection, the supplier first informs the customer by e-mail that the goods ordered by him are ready for collection. After receiving this e-mail, the customer can collect the goods from the supplier’s premises by arrangement with the supplier. In this case, no shipping costs will be charged.

8) Reservation of ownership

8.1 The Supplier shall retain title to the delivered goods/work vis-à-vis the Customer until the purchase price owed has been paid in full.

9) Guarantee

In the event of defects, the provisions of the statutory warranty shall apply. The supplier shall be liable for ensuring that the goods have the objectively required properties in addition to the contractually agreed properties. This does not apply if the consumer expressly and separately agrees to the deviation of a certain characteristic from the objectively required characteristics when the contract is concluded, which he does by placing his order after he has been specifically informed of this deviation in the product description.

The following applies in deviation from this:

9.1 For Entrepreneurs:

• a. an insignificant defect shall in principle not give rise to any warranty claims;
• b. the supplier has the choice of the type of rectification;
• c. the limitation period shall not recommence if a replacement delivery is made within the scope of liability for defects.

9.2 If the customer is acting as a consumer, he is requested to complain to the deliverer about delivered goods with obvious transport damage and to inform the supplier of this. If the customer fails to do so, this shall have no effect on his statutory or contractual warranty claims.

9.3 The customer is advised that maintenance work may have to be carried out on his part. This work is not part of the scope of the order unless expressly agreed otherwise. Failure to carry out maintenance work may impair the service life and functionality of the instruments without this giving rise to claims for defects against the Contractor.

9.4 Wood is a living material. It swells and shrinks in different weather conditions. In principle, instruments should not be stored outside a relative humidity of 40-60%. If damage occurs to instruments due to incorrect storage, the customer has no claims for defects for this damage.

10) Special conditions for the processing of goods according to specific customer specifications

10.1 If, according to the content of the contract, the Supplier is also responsible for the production/processing of the goods according to certain specifications of the Customer in addition to the delivery of the goods, the Customer must provide the Supplier with all content required for processing, such as texts, images or graphics in the file formats, formatting, image and file sizes specified by the Supplier and grant the Supplier the necessary rights of use. The customer is solely responsible for the procurement and acquisition of rights to this content. The customer declares and accepts responsibility for the fact that it has the right to use the content provided to the supplier. In particular, the customer shall ensure that no third-party rights are infringed, in particular copyrights, trade mark rights and personal rights.

10.2 The Customer shall indemnify the Supplier against any claims by third parties which they may assert against the Supplier in connection with an infringement of their rights by the contractual use of the Customer’s content by the Supplier. The
customer shall also assume the necessary costs of legal defence, including all court and lawyer’s fees in the statutory amount. This shall not apply if the customer is not responsible for the infringement.

10.3 If, according to the content of the contract, the Supplier is also responsible for the manufacture and planning and/or design of the goods in addition to the delivery of the goods, both plans, drawings etc. and the manufactured goods themselves are subject to the protection of copyright law and all provisions of industrial property law.
The (potential) customer is not permitted to utilise, use or process the plans and drawings or to reproduce or illustrate the goods without the supplier’s consent, if only on the basis of copyright law.

11) Liability

The Supplier shall be liable to the Customer for all contractual, quasi-contractual and statutory claims for damages, including claims in tort, as follows:

11.1 The supplier shall be liable without limitation for any legal reason:

• in the event of willful intent or gross negligence,
• in the event of willful or negligent injury to life, limb or health.

11.2 If the supplier negligently breaches a contractual obligation, liability shall be limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract.

11.3 Any further liability of the supplier is excluded

11.4 If the customer provides plans or measurements, he shall be liable for their correctness unless their incorrectness is obvious or unless natural measurements have been agreed. If a plan, measurement specification or instruction of the customer proves to be incorrect, the supplier must inform the customer immediately and request appropriate instructions within a reasonable period of time. The costs incurred up to that point shall be borne by the customer. If the instruction is not received within a reasonable period of time, the customer shall bear the consequences of the delay.

12) Duty to co-operate

12.1 The customer (ordering party) shall arrange for any necessary third-party authorisations, notifications to authorities and obtaining of permits in due time and at his own responsibility and expense. Furthermore, the customer must check whether the goods to be delivered or services to be performed comply with the applicable legal provisions.s.

12.2 If the customer fails to carry out a corresponding check or obtain the necessary authorisations, the supplier shall not be liable for any resulting damage or delays in execution and shall also be entitled to claim from the customer any additional expenses and costs arising from the delay caused by the customer. If the customer is a consumer, the applicability of the provision of § 1168a ABGB remains unaffected.

13) Applicable law/jurisdiction

The law of the Republic of Austria shall apply to all legal relationships between the parties to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. In the case of consumers, this choice of law shall only apply insofar as the protection granted by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the consumer is domiciled is not withdrawn.

If the customer is an entrepreneur within the meaning of clause 1.2, the exclusive place of jurisdiction shall be the place of the supplier’s registered office.

14) Alternative dispute resolution

The EU Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution on the Internet at the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr

This platform serves as a contact point for the out-of-court settlement of disputes arising from online purchase or service contracts in which a consumer is involved.