§ 4 Set-Off and Retention

You are only entitled to offset our claims if your counterclaims have been legally established, acknowledged by us, or are undisputed. This also applies if you make complaints of defects or assert counterclaims.
As the buyer, you may only exercise a right of retention if your counterclaim is based on the same purchase contract.

§ 5 Delivery Periods and Delay in Delivery

Delivery dates or deadlines are exclusively non-binding information unless they are explicitly agreed between you and us as binding.
The commencement of delay in delivery is determined by statutory provisions. In any case, however, a reminder by you is required.
If we negligently fail to meet a delivery period that has been expressly agreed as binding, or if we are otherwise in delay, you must set us an appropriate grace period for performing our services. If we allow this grace period to expire fruitlessly, you are entitled to withdraw from the purchase contract.
If we cannot meet binding delivery deadlines for reasons beyond our control (non-availability of service), we will inform you immediately and at the same time inform you of the expected new delivery period. If the service is also not available within the new delivery period, we are entitled to withdraw from the contract in whole or in part; any consideration already rendered will be refunded immediately.
If the delay in delivery is due to a culpable breach of a substantial contractual obligation or due to a culpable breach of an obligation that is essential for the proper performance of the contract and whose fulfillment you as the buyer regularly rely on, and we are responsible for this breach of duty, we shall be liable in accordance with statutory provisions. In the case of simple negligence, our liability is, however, limited to foreseeable, typically occurring damage.
Print jobs can be blocked/reserved in writing in advance.
If the order cannot be executed at least three days before the printing date (due to missing information, unpaid prepayment, missing goods, etc.), we can complete the order at the next possible time or withdraw from the order.
There is no guarantee that an unclear order will be processed at the reserved time.

§ 6 Delivery, Transfer of Risk, Acceptance, Default of Acceptance

Delivery is made ex works Dortmund, where the place of performance is also located. At the buyer's request, the goods will be shipped to another destination (shipment purchase). We are entitled to make partial deliveries and provide partial services at any time, provided this is reasonable for you.
The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods shall pass to the buyer upon handover, in the case of a shipment purchase upon delivery of the goods to the carrier, freight forwarder, or the person or institution otherwise designated to carry out the shipment. If acceptance has been agreed upon, it is decisive for the transfer of risk. Otherwise, the statutory provisions of the contract law for work and services (§§ 631 ff. German Civil Code) shall apply accordingly. Handover or acceptance is equivalent if the buyer is in default of acceptance.
If you are in default of acceptance, fail to cooperate, or delay our delivery for other reasons for which you are responsible, we are entitled to demand compensation for the resulting damage, including additional expenses (e.g., storage costs).

§ 7 Retention of Title

We retain ownership of the sold goods until full payment of all our current and future claims arising from the purchase contract and an ongoing business relationship (secured claims).
The customer hereby assigns to us all claims, including securities and ancillary agreements, arising from or in connection with the resale of reserved goods against the end customer or third parties. The customer may not make any agreements with their customers that in any way exclude, impair, or nullify our rights.
In the event of conduct in breach of contract, in particular in the event of default of payment, we are entitled—without having to withdraw from the contract beforehand—to take back all goods subject to retention of title. In this case, the customer is obligated to surrender the goods without further ado and already now grants us access to their business premises during usual business hours.
A logistics service provider appointed by us may also collect the goods on our behalf.

§ 8 Color and Size Designations

The color and size descriptions in our publications (catalog, internet, etc.) are not subject to standards.
Conclusions regarding specific measurements or color representations are not possible based on this information. Even within a brand, different items (e.g., polo shirts and t-shirts) can have completely different measurements despite having the same size description. Especially with so-called slim-fit/body-fit shirts, sizes may not correspond with the unisex items of the same brand. The same applies to women's and men's shirts from the same manufacturer. Naturally, women's shirts are cut differently than the corresponding men's shirts, even though the size designation may be identical.
The same color designation may look entirely different with different brands or even different items of the same brand. Unfortunately, this problem cannot be solved by the color bars printed in the catalog. Every printed color bar in the catalog appears differently under various light sources, and it is nearly impossible to reproduce textile colors 100% accurately on paper. Therefore, deviations in size and color generally do not justify claims for defects.
It should also be expressly noted here that each textile item made of cotton or a cotton-polyester blend must be washed before first wear. Due to (completely harmless and safe) chemical residues in textiles, immediate wearing without washing can lead to chemical reactions between body sweat and the residues, especially under UV exposure. The resulting color changes remain even after later washes. Complaints or claims related to this are generally excluded.
For items that have been refined by us (e.g., via screen printing), the washing instructions (30-degree wash) must be followed.
Deviating treatment of the textiles can lead to damage to the refinement. We exclude any liability for this. Washing instructions are usually enclosed with the delivery or can be requested from us. After your acceptance of the goods, we are not responsible for further communication of washing instructions.
Production-related variations of a production result (e.g., in screen printing—bleeding, color variations, detail changes, etc.) do not constitute a defect and do not entitle the buyer to any deductions.

§ 9 Buyer’s Claims for Defects

If the delivered item does not meet the quality agreed between you and us or is not suitable for the use we specified or for normal use, we are obliged to subsequent performance. This does not apply if we are entitled to refuse subsequent performance due to legal provisions.
You must give us an appropriate period for subsequent performance.
A shortage of up to 15% of the agreed total quantity is production-related and does not constitute a defect nor obligate us to remedy. Any positions billed or paid too much will be promptly credited or refunded to your account.
An over-delivery of up to 15% of the agreed total quantity is production-related and must be accepted by you.
Your claims for defects require that you have complied with your statutory inspection and notification obligations (§§ 377, 381 German Commercial Code). Complaints must be made without delay, at the latest within 3-4 working days—in the case of hidden defects, immediately after discovery—in writing to us.
Complained goods must be made available to us at an agreed time and place. If the goods have already been forwarded or distributed to multiple recipients, the costs of collecting the complained goods shall not be borne by us.
Subsequent performance shall be made at our discretion either by remedying the defect (repair), by delivering an item free of defects (replacement), or by crediting the value of the defective item if prepayment has been made. You are not entitled to reduce the purchase price or withdraw from the contract during subsequent performance.
If we have made three unsuccessful attempts at subsequent performance, it shall be deemed to have failed. If subsequent performance fails, you are entitled, at your option, to reduce the purchase price or withdraw from the contract.
You may assert claims for damages due to a defect only after subsequent performance has failed. Your right to assert further claims for damages under the following conditions remains unaffected.

§ 10 Liability

Unless otherwise stipulated in these GTC, including the following provisions, we are liable for breaches of contractual and non-contractual obligations in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions.

We are liable for damages—regardless of the legal grounds—in cases of intent and gross negligence. In cases of simple negligence, we are only liable: a) for damages resulting from injury to life, limb, or health; b) for damages resulting from the breach of a significant contractual obligation (an obligation whose fulfillment is essential for the proper performance of the contract and on whose fulfillment the contractual partner regularly relies and may rely); in such a case, our liability is, however, limited to compensation for the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.

The liability limitations resulting from paragraph 2 do not apply if we have fraudulently concealed a defect or have assumed a guarantee for the quality of the goods. The same applies to claims by the buyer under the Product Liability Act.

The buyer may only withdraw from or terminate the contract due to a breach of duty that does not consist of a defect if we are responsible for the breach of duty. The buyer’s unrestricted right of termination (in particular under §§ 651, 649 BGB) is excluded.

As a general rule, only textiles from our offer are refined. If we accept delivered goods from our customers in exceptional cases, we reserve the right to disclaim any liability for these goods. We cannot accept any liability for loss, misprints, damage, or any other occurrences.

Otherwise, the statutory requirements and legal consequences shall apply.

§ 11 Return of Goods

If the reason for returning the goods is an accepted complaint, we will collect the goods from you. Alternatively, you may return the goods yourself. We will cover the costs of returning the goods, provided that they do not exceed the costs of a collection.

§ 12 Limitation Period

The reciprocal claims of the contracting parties are subject to the statutory limitation periods unless otherwise stipulated below.

Contrary to § 438 (1) No. 3 BGB, the general limitation period for claims arising from material and legal defects is one year from delivery. If acceptance has been agreed, the limitation period begins with acceptance.

Statutory special regulations for third-party proprietary claims (§ 438 (1) No. 1 BGB), for claims under supplier recourse (§ 479 BGB), and for the claims for damages specified in § 10 paragraphs 2 and 3 remain unaffected. In these cases, only the statutory limitation periods apply.

§ 13 Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property rights may exist for the products we offer or manufacture, either held by us or by third parties, for which we—where known—have acquired any necessary permission for use. The customer is obliged to respect these intellectual property rights.

Our contractual partner may resell the purchased products and/or use them for their own promotional purposes. Any further use beyond this requires a separate agreement.

Our contractual partner grants us the right to create up to 10 sample copies of their order for our archival purposes and to use these copies for our promotional purposes. This is done free of charge on both sides.

§ 14 Copyright

The client is solely responsible if the execution of the order violates the rights, particularly copyrights, of third parties. You are obliged to indemnify the contractor from all claims by third parties due to such violations of rights.

§ 15 Choice of Law and Jurisdiction

These GTC and all legal relationships between us and you are subject to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding all international and supranational (contractual) legal systems, in particular, the UN Sales Convention. The requirements and effects of the retention of title pursuant to § 7 are, however, subject to the law at the respective location of the goods, insofar as the choice of German law is inadmissible or ineffective according to that law.

If the buyer is a merchant as defined by the German Commercial Code, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law, the exclusive—also international—jurisdiction for all disputes arising directly or indirectly from the contractual relationship is our place of business. However, we are also entitled to bring an action at the buyer’s general place of jurisdiction.

§ 16 Severability Clause

If individual provisions of these GTC are wholly or partially invalid or become invalid, or if they contain a loophole, the validity of the remaining provisions or parts of such provisions shall remain unaffected. In place of the invalid or missing provisions, the respective statutory regulations shall apply.

FINE ARTS MERCHANDISE