Preamble
When operating the “buyonline.shop” platform, a contract is created between the platform operator and the merchant regarding the merchant’s placement of goods on the platform. The following General Terms and Conditions exclusively govern the relationship between the platform operator and the merchant.
§ 1 General, scope, amendments
(1) These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) shall apply exclusively to the relationship between the platform operator and the merchant. Any General Terms and Conditions of the trader that conflict with these GTC are hereby rejected. These shall not become part of this contract.
(2) The platform operator reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time. The trader shall be notified of any changes to the terms and conditions by e-mail or post at least four weeks before they come into force. For this purpose, instead of enclosing the full text, a reference to the address on the Internet where the current version can be accessed shall be sufficient. If the amendments are not objected to within one month of notification, they shall be deemed to have been accepted. If the changes are to the disadvantage of the trader, the trader may terminate the contractual relationship without notice within one month of receipt of the notice of change.
§ 2 Conclusion of contract and duration, remuneration, termination
(1) The contract between the platform operator and the trader shall be concluded in accordance with general rules by means of a contract offer and acceptance. The written form shall apply.
(2) By registering online, the trader submits a contract offer by sending the fully completed registration form. The platform operator shall activate the trader and his product range after successful verification. By activating the trader, the contract is deemed to be accepted.
(3) No fees are charged for the registration of users, shops and product feeds. Feeds, shops and user accounts can be deleted at any time free of charge via the Online Manager.
(4) Extraordinary termination is permissible if there is good cause which makes it unreasonable for the contracting party concerned to adhere to the contract until the next ordinary termination date.
§ 3 Services of the operator
The Operator shall make the Platform available and offer the Traders support in setting up and managing the Platform. He provides the merchants with a backend (online manager) for the administration of his master data and the product stream URL.
§ 4 Admission to the platform.
The trader applies for admission to the platform within the scope of the online registration pursuant to § 2 paragraph 1, to which the trader has no legal claim. Admission to the platform is declared after express admission on the part of the platform operator. Admission may be refused after exercising due discretion in the event of good cause. Such reasons exist, for example, if the trader offers goods that are not permitted by law, such as weapons, Nazi symbols, pornographic articles, etc. The decision of the operator regarding admission is not contestable. Once granted, an authorisation may be revoked if there is good cause.
§ 5 Access to the platform
Access to the platform shall take place by dialling into the online manager of the platform by means of an identification and password. The Trader shall keep the identification and password secret and protect them against unauthorised disclosure. The identification and password must not violate any rights to a name, legal regulations or morality. Trading under another person’s name or with another person’s identification is prohibited. Likewise, misuse of the identification is prohibited; in particular, no orders may be placed under another person’s name or by or for third parties. In the event of an infringement, a contractual penalty appropriate to the individual case shall become due. In addition, the operator is entitled to terminate the contract without notice, to revoke the admission to the platform and to immediately block the platform for the trader. This applies analogously to all violations that would result in a refusal of admission to the platform pursuant to § 4.
§ 6 Duties of the traders
(1) The merchant is obliged to maintain its master data and the product feed URL in the online manager always up-to-date and correct. Products of the trader are marked and linked with his shop URL.
(2) The merchant’s product offers must be described correctly. In particular, the pricing, a possible basic price, the shipping costs and the delivery times must be correctly stated.
(3) The traders are obliged to place products on the platform according to the specifications of the platform operator. All articles of the trader shall be assigned to a specified category. If a desired category does not exist, it will be set up by the Operator free of charge after prior consultation.
§ 7 Mediation of shop visits via the platform
The platform sees itself as a product search engine. Platform visitors do not purchase products via the platform, but can specifically search for products by selecting a region, category or search terms. By clicking on products in the search results, platform visitors are linked to the article pages of the online shops of the offering retailers. Sales are concluded outside the platform between the merchant and his shop visitor.
§ 8 Liability of the operator; exemption from liability.
(1) The platform operator shall be liable, irrespective of the legal grounds, for material damage and financial loss only if the platform operator or its vicarious agents have caused such damage by intent, gross negligence or negligent breach of material contractual obligations. Material contractual obligations, so-called cardinal obligations, are those obligations with which the contract equally “stands and falls”. In the event of negligent breach of duty by the platform operator or its vicarious agents, liability for property damage and financial loss shall be limited to the foreseeable, direct average damage typical of the contract. Liability under the Product Liability Act for warranted characteristics and guarantees shall remain unaffected. The platform operator shall be liable without limitation for attributable damages due to injury to life, body and health.
(2) Furthermore, the operator shall not be liable in the event of breaches by the trader of the legal obligations listed by way of example in § 6 paragraph 2, in particular obligations to provide information, advice and labelling. In the event of a claim against the Operator due to such a violation, the Merchant shall unconditionally and irrevocably indemnify the Operator against all claims and recourse claims of third parties. The indemnification shall also include the costs of legal prosecution and enforcement.
(3) The platform operator is not liable for the accessibility of the platform.
(4) Any liability of the platform operator under the aforementioned provisions shall be limited to the average monthly platform fee with the trader concerned.
§ 9 Rights of Use, Intellectual Property, Trader Contributions
(1) The texts, images and other media used by the traders in the product advertisements and product descriptions may be used by the operator in all media of the operator and its affiliated companies. In the case of the use of texts and photos/media, the trader assures that he owns the necessary rights to the texts, photos and/or media with regard to publication. Copyright notices for photos shall be indicated in the product description. The aforementioned regulations apply analogously to all other property rights, such as trademark rights, design rights, patent rights, etc. By placing the goods on the platform, the traders guarantee that they have the right to sell the goods online on the platform.
(2) In the event that the trader does not have the rights assured or guaranteed in paragraph 1, he shall unconditionally and irrevocably release the platform operator in full from all claims and recourse claims of third parties raised in this context. This also includes indemnification against any legal prosecution and enforcement costs.
§ 10 Data protection and data security
The platform operator shall conclude separate order processing agreements with the merchants. The operator undertakes to comply with the applicable provisions of data protection law. In this respect, reference is made to the operator’s data protection declaration.
§ 11 Offsetting
Offsetting is only possible with claims recognised by the operator or claims that have been legally established against the operator.
§ 12 Final provisions
(1) These terms and conditions and the relationship between the trader and the platform operator shall be governed exclusively by German law, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
(2) The exclusive place of jurisdiction is the registered office of the platform operator.
(3) Should any provision of these terms and conditions be or become invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The ineffective provision shall be replaced by a legally effective provision that comes as close as possible to the economic purpose recognizably pursued by the ineffective provision. The same shall apply to the filling of any loopholes.
(4) The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution, which can be accessed at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. The platform operator is not obliged or willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.
Status: 01.06.2021
