Terms of service

§ 1 Scope

The following General Terms and Conditions (GTC) apply to all orders placed via this website.

Our range of goods is intended exclusively for consumers. A consumer is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that can predominantly be attributed neither to their commercial nor to their self-employed professional activity (§ 13 BGB – German Civil Code).

Aquariums offered by the manufacturer Terra-Natur which are not part of Terra-Natur’s standard range and are marked as custom sizes are generally not prefabricated but are manufactured only after an order has been placed. This generally applies to all aquariums with covers as well as Optiwhite aquariums. The same applies to aluminium modular shelving systems and aquarium bases.

§ 2 Warranty / Guarantee / Tolerances / Rectification

Unless expressly agreed otherwise below, the statutory liability for defects applies.

As the buyer, you are requested to check the goods immediately upon delivery for completeness, obvious defects and transport damage and to notify us of any complaints as soon as possible, documented with photographs.

In the case of delivery by freight carrier, any obvious damage must be reported immediately to the delivery driver.

Failure to do so does not affect your statutory warranty rights.

As Terra-Natur aquariums / terrariums are handmade, dimensional deviations may occur due to the manufacturing process. Deviations of 1–3 mm per metre of edge length are within the permitted tolerance range.

Due to the manufacturing process, silicone smears or silicone residue may be visible.

Glass overhangs of up to half the thickness of the glass used are within the permitted tolerance range.

Air inclusions may occur in silicone bead joints and butt joints; these may be particularly visible when transparent silicone is used.

For any type of rectification work, we reserve the right to grant our partner Terra-Natur a processing period of up to 3 months. This period must be accepted by the buyer.

§ 3 Liability

The seller shall not be liable for damage caused by simple negligence on the part of the seller, the seller’s legal representative or vicarious agents.

This applies irrespective of the legal nature of the claim asserted, in particular claims arising from delay, other breaches of duty or tort.

This limitation of liability does not apply to damages resulting from injury to life, body or health or from the breach of essential contractual obligations.

§ 4 Prices

Unless otherwise stated in the seller’s product description, the prices quoted are total prices including all applicable taxes.

§ 5 Retention of Title

We retain title to the goods until the purchase price has been paid in full.

§ 6 Payment Disputes

If the customer opens a payment dispute in relation to an order, for example a buyer protection claim, payment reversal or chargeback, or refuses to provide cooperation required for processing the order, this may result in a disruption of the relationship of trust.

In such a case, we are entitled to suspend further processing until the matter has been clarified.

If the order has not yet been fully completed, we may withdraw from the contract and cancel the order after an unsuccessful request to withdraw the dispute or resolve the matter within a reasonable period.

Any payments already received will, subject to any existing counterclaims, be refunded without undue delay via the original payment method.

§ 7 Conclusion of Contract

All offers contained in brochures, advertisements, social media, messenger services or other platforms are non-binding and subject to change, including with regard to prices.

The presentation of goods in our online shop does not constitute a legally binding offer to conclude a purchase contract, but rather a non-binding invitation to the customer to place an order.

By submitting the order, the customer makes a binding offer to conclude a purchase contract.

The order confirmation or acknowledgement of receipt automatically sent immediately after receipt of the order merely confirms that the order has been received and does not yet constitute acceptance of the contractual offer.

A purchase contract is only concluded when we expressly accept the order by means of a separate order confirmation or when we deliver the ordered goods to the customer or confirm their handover, dispatch or collection.

We are entitled to reject the customer’s contractual offer in whole or in part within 10 working days of receipt of the order. We are not obliged to provide reasons.

Any payments already made will in this case be refunded without undue delay via the payment method originally used.

Once the purchase contract has been concluded, rejection or cancellation of the order is only possible on the basis of statutory rights, by mutual agreement with the customer or on the basis of a right of withdrawal expressly and validly agreed in these General Terms and Conditions.

Orders will not be rejected for reasons that violate statutory prohibitions on unequal treatment or discrimination.

§ 8 Payment Methods

The following payment methods are generally available:

– Cash payment upon collection
– Bank transfer
– Additional payment methods provided by external payment service providers, provided that these are offered during checkout and are available for the respective order

§ 9 Delivery, Delivery Times and Shipping Conditions

Where delivery by our own delivery service is provided for the respective order, the delivery time within Germany is generally approximately 1–3 weeks, depending on the availability of the ordered goods.

Delivery times for international shipping are stated in the shipping conditions.

Delivery is carried out according to our route planning. A specific delivery date will be agreed with the customer or communicated in good time.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, stated delivery periods are non-binding guideline periods. Delays resulting from a lack of product availability or circumstances for which we are not responsible may lead to an appropriate extension of the delivery period.

Orders for collection will be held ready for collection for 14 days from the date on which the customer is notified that collection is possible.

If the order has not been collected after 14 days, the order will be cancelled.

For aquariums with an edge length of 100 cm or more, we charge a flat-rate storage fee of 10% of the value of the goods.

§ 10 Right of Withdrawal

There is no right of withdrawal for contracts concerning the supply of goods that are not prefabricated and for the manufacture of which an individual selection or specification by the customer is decisive, or which are clearly tailored to the customer’s personal needs.

This applies in particular to aquariums / terrariums, base cabinets, covers, sump tanks or other components manufactured to measure, according to individual technical specifications or in accordance with special equipment requests from the customer.

This includes all aquariums manufactured by Terra-Natur that do not correspond to Terra-Natur’s standard range.

The goods must be returned unused, complete and, where possible, in their original packaging.

Any loss in value of the goods must only be compensated if the loss in value is due to handling that was not necessary to inspect the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

The buyer shall bear the cost of return shipping.

The exclusion of the right of withdrawal is based on § 312g (2) No. 1 BGB (German Civil Code).

§ 11 Dispute Resolution

The European Commission provides an online dispute resolution platform at the following link:

https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr

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

We are neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.