Terms of service

As at 11 August 2026

1. Scope and Contracting Party

These General Terms and Conditions apply to all contracts for goods and gift vouchers concluded via the Empathikon online shop.

The contracting party is:

Claudia Mehmel-Broadhurst, trading as Empathikon
, Große Nübelstraße 5
, 25348 Glückstadt
, Germany
Telephone: +49 4124 937890
Email: info@empathikon.de

Any conflicting or deviating terms and conditions of a customer shall only apply if we have expressly agreed to their validity.

A consumer is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly neither commercial nor related to their self-employed professional activity. A trader is a natural or legal person, or a partnership with legal capacity, who, when entering into a legal transaction, is acting in the course of their commercial or self-employed professional activity.

2. Conclusion of the Contract

The presentation of products in the online shop does not constitute a legally binding offer, but rather an invitation to place an order.

You may initially add goods to your basket without obligation and amend your details using the correction options provided during the ordering process before submitting your order. By clicking the final ‘Place Order’ button, you are making a binding offer to purchase the goods contained in your basket.

We may accept your offer within five days by sending you an explicit order confirmation in writing, by processing or collecting payment, or by dispatching the goods. The decisive factor is the time at which the first of these actions takes place. A purely technical acknowledgement of receipt merely confirms that your order has been received, unless it also expressly states that the order has been accepted.

If we do not accept the offer within five days, you are no longer bound by it. In this case, any payments already initiated will be refunded immediately.

The contract is concluded in German. The order details and these Terms and Conditions will be provided to you on a durable medium, in particular by email, as part of the order processing. If you have created a customer account, you can view the order information provided by Shopify there.

3. Right of withdrawal

Consumers are generally entitled to a statutory right of withdrawal. Full details, including the statutory exceptions and the model withdrawal form, can be found in our separate withdrawal policy.

You may also exercise your right of withdrawal by clicking the ‘Withdraw from the contract’ button, which is always available in the shop.

4. Prices and payment terms

All prices quoted in the online shop are total prices and include statutory VAT. Any additional delivery and postage costs will be displayed before the order is placed.

The payment methods available during the respective ordering process are displayed before the order is placed. Payment can be processed via Shopify Payments, PayPal and the card or wallet services offered at checkout. When using a payment service, that service’s terms of use and privacy policy also apply.

Unless otherwise stated for the selected payment method, the invoice amount is due upon conclusion of the contract.

5. Delivery and Dispatch

We deliver to the countries selectable at checkout. Delivery is made to the delivery address specified during the ordering process. Delivery times and delivery charges are displayed in the relevant offer or, at the latest, at checkout.

For deliveries to countries outside the European Union, customs duties, import VAT or other charges may apply. We do not collect these, and they are to be borne by the customer.

If delivery fails for reasons for which the customer is responsible, the customer shall bear the reasonable additional costs incurred as a result. This does not apply to the original delivery costs if the customer effectively exercises their right of withdrawal.

For consumers, the risk of accidental loss or accidental deterioration of the goods generally passes only upon handover of the goods to the consumer or an authorised recipient. If the consumer themselves instructs a carrier not designated by us, the risk passes upon handover to that carrier. For business customers, the risk passes upon handover to the forwarding agent, carrier or any other person designated for dispatch.

6. Retention of title

The delivered goods remain our property until full payment has been made.

7. Liability for defects

The statutory provisions regarding liability for defects apply.

If the customer is a business, we may choose the form of remedial performance. The limitation period for claims for defects in new goods against businesses is one year from the date of delivery. Claims for defects in second-hand goods by businesses are excluded.

These limitations do not apply in the event of wilful or fraudulent concealment of a defect, where a guarantee has been given, for claims arising from injury to life, limb or health, for claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses, in cases of mandatory liability under the Product Liability Act, or where mandatory statutory rights of recourse apply.

For traders, the duty to inspect and give notice of defects under Section 377 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) applies.

Consumers are requested, where possible, to raise a complaint about goods with obvious transport damage with the delivery agent and to inform us. Failure to do so shall not affect their statutory or contractual rights.

8. Liability

We shall be liable without limitation in cases of wilful misconduct and gross negligence, in the event of intentional or negligent injury to life, limb or health, on the basis of an expressly undertaken guarantee, and on the basis of mandatory statutory liability, in particular under the Product Liability Act.

In the event of a breach of a material contractual obligation due to slight negligence, liability is limited to the damage typical of the contract and foreseeable at the time the contract was concluded. Material contractual obligations are those the fulfilment of which is essential for the proper performance of the contract and on the observance of which the customer may reasonably rely. Otherwise, liability for slight negligence is excluded.

These liability provisions apply mutatis mutandis to our legal representatives and vicarious agents.

9. Gift vouchers

Gift vouchers may be redeemed in the Empathikon online shop, unless otherwise stated on the relevant voucher. They may not be used to purchase further gift vouchers.

Gift vouchers and remaining balances may be redeemed within the statutory limitation period. If the balance is insufficient to cover the full payment, the remaining amount may be settled using another payment method offered at checkout.

No interest is paid on voucher balances, and they are not, as a rule, redeemable for cash. Statutory rights, in particular following a valid cancellation of the voucher purchase, remain unaffected.

Gift vouchers are transferable unless they have been expressly issued to a specific person.

10. Applicable Law

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. In relation to consumers, this choice of law shall apply only insofar as it does not deprive them of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which they have their habitual residence.

11. Consumer Dispute Resolution

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