Terms and Conditions
General terms and conditions with customer information
1. Scope
2. Conclusion of contract
3. Prices and payment terms
4. Delivery and shipping conditions
5. Right of withdrawal
6. Retention of title
7. Liability for defects
8. Liability
9. Indemnity in case of infringement of third-party rights
10. Redemption of gift vouchers
11. Applicable law
12. Information on online dispute resolution
1. Scope
1.1. These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as "GTC") of "Merle Steinweg" (hereinafter referred to as "Seller") apply to all contracts concluded between a consumer or entrepreneur (hereinafter referred to as "Customer") and the Seller regarding the goods offered by the Seller in its online shop. The inclusion of the Customer's own terms and conditions is excluded unless otherwise agreed.
1.2. These Terms and Conditions apply accordingly to the purchase of vouchers, unless expressly agreed otherwise.
1.3 A consumer is any natural person who concludes a legal transaction for a purpose that cannot be predominantly attributed to his or her commercial or independent professional activity.
1.4. An entrepreneur is a natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity who, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of his or her commercial or independent professional activity.
2. Conclusion of contract
2.1. The presentation of the goods, particularly in the online shop, does not constitute a binding offer by the seller.
2.2. First, the customer places the selected item in the shopping cart. The next step begins the ordering process, during which all necessary data for order processing is recorded.
At the end of the ordering process, a summary of the order and contract data appears.
Only after confirming these order and contract data by clicking on the button that concludes the order process does the customer make a binding offer to purchase the goods contained in the shopping cart.
2.3. The Seller accepts the Customer’s offer through the following possible alternatives:
- Sending a written order confirmation or an order confirmation in text form (fax or email)
or
- Request for payment to the customer after placing the order
or
- Delivery of the ordered goods
The first alternative that occurs is decisive for the time of acceptance.
The period for accepting the offer begins on the day after the customer sends the offer and ends on the expiry of the fifth day following the date of dispatch of the offer. If the seller does not accept the customer's offer within the aforementioned period, this constitutes a rejection of the offer. The customer is then no longer bound by their declaration of intent.
2.4. If the payment method "PayPal" or "PayPal Express" is selected, payment processing will be carried out by the payment service provider PayPal (Europe) S.à rl et Cie, SCA, 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg (hereinafter: "Paypal"). The PayPal Terms of Use apply. These are available at https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full or, for customers without their own PayPal account, at https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/privacywax-full.
If the customer selects "PayPal" or "PayPal Express" as the payment method for their purchase, or if the customer pays using one of the PayPal payment methods, they submit their offer by clicking the button that completes the order process. If the customer simultaneously submits the payment order to PayPal by clicking this button, the seller declares, in deviation from the above provisions, acceptance of the customer's offer at the time the payment order is issued.
2.5. The contract text of each contract concluded between the seller and the customer is stored by the seller. The contract text is stored on the seller's internal systems. The customer can view the general terms and conditions at any time on this website. The order details, the cancellation policy, and the general terms and conditions will be sent to the customer via email. After completing the order, the contract text is accessible to the customer free of charge via their customer login, provided they have opened a customer account.
2.6. All entries made will be displayed before clicking the order button. They can be reviewed by the customer before submitting the order and corrected by pressing the browser's back button or using the usual mouse and keyboard functions. In addition, buttons for correction, where available, are available to the customer and are labeled accordingly.
2.7. The contract language is German.
2.8. It is the customer's responsibility to provide a correct email address for contact and order processing, as well as to configure the filter functions so that emails concerning this order can be delivered.
3. Prices and payment terms
3.1. The prices displayed are final prices unless otherwise agreed.
The seller is a small business owner within the meaning of Section 19 Paragraph 1 of the German Value Added Tax Act (UStG), therefore his sales are exempt from VAT.
If additional shipping costs apply, this will be stated in the product description.
3.2. The customer can select the payment methods available in the online shop.
3.3. When paying by SEPA direct debit, the purchase price is due after the expiry of the deadline for providing advance payment information and after the issuance of a SEPA direct debit mandate.
Advance notice is the seller's notification to the customer that his account will be debited by SEPA direct debit and can, for example, be in the form of an invoice or a contract.
The amount will be collected when the goods leave the warehouse and the advance notice period has expired.
If the direct debit cannot be honored due to insufficient funds or incorrect bank details, the customer must bear the costs of the chargeback if they are responsible for this. The same applies if the customer objects to the chargeback without the right to do so.
3.4. When paying via PayPal, payment is processed by PayPal (Europe) S.à rl et Cie, SCA, 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg. PayPal's terms of use apply. These can be viewed at https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full.
3.5. Paypal Checkout
If you pay via PayPal Checkout, payment processing will be carried out by PayPal payment service provider PayPal (Europe) S.à rl et Cie, SCA, 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg (hereinafter: "Paypal"), whereby PayPal may also use the services of third-party payment providers, which you can select, where offered.
If payment methods are offered on this website that require the seller to make advance payments (such as purchase on account or installment payments), the seller declares the assignment of its payment claim to PayPal or to the payment service provider commissioned by PayPal and specifically selected by the customer. PayPal or the selected third-party provider will first conduct a credit check before accepting the seller's offer of assignment. The selected payment method may be refused if the credit check is negative.
After the selected payment method has been approved, payment is only possible to PayPal or the respective commissioned payment service provider with debt-discharging effect.
3.6. When paying with a Klarna payment method (if offered, purchase on account, installment purchase, direct debit, credit card), payment processing is carried out via Klarna BANK AB (publ) (https://www.klarna.com/de , Sveavägen 46, 111 34 Stockholm, Sweden (hereinafter "Klarna").
When paying by credit card, your credit card account will be charged immediately after the purchase is completed. When paying by direct debit, you grant Klarna a SEPA direct debit mandate when you place your order. Klarna will inform you of the date your account will be debited (so-called pre-notification). Upon submitting the direct debit mandate, Klarna will request your bank to initiate the payment transaction. The payment transaction will be processed automatically, and your account will be debited. Your account will be debited after the goods are shipped.
For payment processing via Klarna, Klarna's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply – in addition to these Terms and Conditions. Further information on the seller's Klarna payment methods and Klarna's terms and conditions can be found in the seller's payment information.
When paying with "Sofortüberweisung," payment processing is carried out by the payment service provider SOFORT GmbH, Theresienhöhe 12, 80339 Munich (hereinafter "SOFORT"). To use this payment method, you need an online banking account with a PIN/TAN procedure, which you can use to authenticate yourself during the payment process and confirm the payment order with "SOFORT."
The payment will be processed immediately after the payment transaction is completed by "SOFORT" and debited from your bank account. Further information about the "SOFORT" payment method can be found online at https://www.klarna.com/sofort/ .
3.7. When paying via Klarna Purchase on Account or Klarna Installment Purchase, payment processing is carried out by Klarna BANK AB (publ) [https://www.klarna.com/de], Sveavägen 46, 111 34 Stockholm, Sweden (hereinafter "Klarna"). Further information on Klarna Purchase on Account and Installment Purchase, as well as Klarna's terms and conditions, can be found in the seller's payment information at the following link:
https://admin.shopify.com/store/lieblingshaustier/settings/payments
4. Delivery and shipping conditions
4.1. Goods will be delivered to the delivery address provided by the customer. Exception: When paying via PayPal, the delivery address provided by the customer to PayPal at the time of payment is decisive.
4.2. If the Seller incurs additional costs due to the provision of an incorrect delivery address or recipient, or other circumstances that make delivery impossible, these costs must be reimbursed by the Customer, unless the Customer is not responsible for the incorrect information or impossibility. The same applies if the Customer was temporarily prevented from accepting the service, unless the Seller has given the Customer reasonable advance notice of the service. Excluded from this provision are the costs of delivery if the Customer has effectively exercised their right of withdrawal. In this case, the statutory provisions or the provisions made by the Seller apply.
4.3. Self-collection is not offered.
4.4 Vouchers will be provided to the customer in the following form:
- by email
- via download
- by post
5. Right of withdrawal
5.1 If the customer is a consumer, he or she is generally entitled to a right of withdrawal.
5.2. The Seller's cancellation policy applies to the right of cancellation.
6. Retention of title
If the seller makes advance payments, the goods remain the property of the seller until the purchase price has been paid in full.
7. Liability for defects
7.1 With regard to the warranty, the provisions of statutory liability for defects shall apply unless otherwise agreed.
7.2. The customer is requested to report any goods delivered with obvious transport damage to the delivery company and to notify the seller of this. Failure to do so will not affect the customer's statutory or contractual claims for defects.
8. Liability
The seller's liability for all contractual, quasi-contractual, statutory and tortious claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses is determined as follows:
8.1. The Seller shall only be liable without limitation for damages resulting from intentional or grossly negligent conduct.
In the event of injury to life, body or health and the breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), the seller is liable even in cases of slight negligence.
A material contractual obligation is one whose fulfilment makes the proper execution of the contract possible in the first place and on whose compliance the contractual partner regularly relies and may rely.
As stated above, the seller is also liable based on a guarantee promise, unless otherwise agreed.
This also applies to indirect consequential damages, such as lost profits, and to mandatory liability such as under the Product Liability Act.
8.2. Except in cases of intentional or grossly negligent conduct, damages resulting from injury to life, limb, or health, and the breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), liability is limited to the damages typically foreseeable at the time of conclusion of the contract and, in all other cases, to the average damages typical for the contract. This also applies to indirect consequential damages, such as, in particular, lost profits.
8.3. Otherwise, the Seller's liability is excluded.
8.4. The above liability provisions shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the Seller’s employees and vicarious agents.
9. Indemnity in case of infringement of third-party rights
If, in addition to delivering the goods, the seller is contractually obliged to process the goods according to the customer's specific specifications, the customer must ensure that the content provided to the seller for this purpose does not infringe the rights of third parties. The contracting parties agree that the customer will indemnify the seller against any claims made by third parties in this regard, unless the customer is not responsible for the infringement. This indemnification also includes assuming the reasonable costs of necessary legal defense, including all court and attorney fees, up to the statutory amount. In the event of a claim by third parties, the customer is obligated to promptly, completely, and truthfully provide the seller with all information necessary for examining the claims and for a defense.
10. Redemption of gift vouchers
10.1. Vouchers purchased through the Seller's online shop ("Gift Vouchers") can only be redeemed in the Seller's online shop.
10.2. Gift vouchers and any remaining balance on gift vouchers can be redeemed until the end of the third year following the year of purchase. Any remaining balance will be credited to the customer's voucher account until the expiration date.
10.3 Gift vouchers can only be redeemed before the order process is completed. They cannot be redeemed afterward.
10.4. Only one gift voucher can be redeemed per order. Redeeming multiple gift vouchers in one order is not possible.
10.5. Gift vouchers can only be redeemed for the purchase of goods.
The purchase of additional gift vouchers cannot be paid for with a voucher.
10.6. If the value of a gift voucher is insufficient to pay for the respective order, one of the other offered payment methods can be used to settle the difference.
10.7. Gift card balances are non-refundable and do not accrue interest.
10.8. Gift vouchers are generally transferable.
The seller may discharge the customer's liability by making a payment to the customer who redeems the respective gift voucher. This shall not apply if the seller has knowledge or grossly negligent ignorance of the respective holder's potential ineligibility, incapacity, or lack of authority to represent the customer.
11. Applicable law
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the laws on the international sale of movable goods.
The statutory provisions restricting the choice of law and the applicability of mandatory provisions, in particular those of the country in which the customer as a consumer has his or her habitual residence, remain unaffected.
12. Information on online dispute resolution
The EU Commission’s online dispute resolution platform is available online at the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr
Although we are not obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board, we are generally willing to do so.