Terms & Conditions

General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of Heraeus Metals Hong Kong Limited, 18 Sung On Street, Peninsula Square, 21st Floor, Room 2111-2113, Hong Kong, for the website https://www.heraeus-gold.hk/

1 Scope of application, definitions

(1) The business relationship between Heraeus Metals Hong Kong Limited (hereinafter "Provider") and the customer (hereinafter "Customer") in relation to the use of the platform heraeus-gold.hk shall be governed exclusively by the following General Terms and Conditions in the version valid at the time of the order. Deviating terms and conditions of the Customer are not recognized unless the Provider expressly agrees to their validity in writing.

(2) A customer is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly outside his trade, business, or profession. The Customer hereby warrants to the Provider that he/she has reached the age of 18 and has full legal capacity, that he/she is a resident in Hong Kong, and that he/she is not acting commercially but privately, that he/she is acting in his/her own name and for his/her own account and not as a representative or other authorized agent of a third party.

2 Sale of goods by the Provider

(1) The Customer can select goods, in particular precious metals, from the Provider's product range and collect them in a so-called shopping cart using the "Add to cart" button. As the prices of the goods are subject to the commodity price and daily exchange rate fluctuations and only certain quotas of certain goods are available [every day], the contents of the shopping cart will only be made available to the Customer at a particular price for a certain period of time. This period is indicated to the Customer on the website by a "countdown" timer. After the "countdown" period has expired, the prices may be updated and refreshed prices would apply.

By clicking the "Submit Order" button, the Customer submits an irrevocable binding offer (hereinafter may also be referred to as “Order”) to purchase the goods in the shopping cart. The Customer can change and view the data at any time before submitting the Order. However, an order can only be submitted and transmitted if the Customer accepts these contractual conditions by checking off that he/she has read and accepted these General Terms and Conditions, thereby including them in his/her Order to purchase the goods. For the avoidance of doubt, the Order is concluded and binding on the Provider subject always to compliance of Clauses 2(2), 2(3) and 3 herein.

(2) The Provider saves the text of the contract and after the Order has been received upon the Customer clicking the “Submit Order” button, the Provider shall send to the Customer an automatic order confirmation by e-mail, in which the acceptance of the Order is declared and in which the Customer's Order details are listed again in detail for Customer’s information. The Provider is not obliged to accept the Order of the Customer. The Customer can print out the Order confirmation using the "Print" function on the page.

(3) Precious metals are subject to strong price fluctuations, which the Provider must take into account when purchasing the goods and onward selling them to the Customer. The Provider cannot reasonably be expected to adhere to the contract if the Customer defaults on payment. Therefore, if the Customer is in default of payment two business days after the Order confirmation has been sent, the Provider has the right to withdraw from the purchase contract without giving any further notice to the Customer. Once payment has been credited to the Provider's account, the Customer will receive a dispatch confirmation by e-mail.

(4) The language available for the conclusion of the contract is in English. [In the event that the Customer submits his/her Order on the Chinese version of our website, the language available for the conclusion of the contract may be in Chinese. However, in the case of discrepancies between the English version and the Chinese version of the GTC, the English version shall always prevail.]

3 Availability of goods

(1) If the goods selected by the Customer are not available at the time of the Customer's order, the goods will be marked as "unavailable" on the order page. The Provider may inform the Customer of the "unavailable" status of such goods by e-mail or by telephone as the Provider deems appropriate. If the goods are permanently unavailable, the Provider shall refrain from issuing a declaration of acceptance. In this case, a contract is not concluded. If a declaration of acceptance has nevertheless been sent by the Provider, but the goods become permanently unavailable through no fault of the Provider, the Provider has the right to withdraw from the purchase contract arising from such Order. The Provider shall inform the Customer of the circumstances promptly within a reasonable period of time by e-mail or by telephone. Amounts already paid by the Customer for such Order will be refunded in full within [1] business day to the Customer via the same payment route.

(2) If the goods specified by the Customer in the Order are only temporarily unavailable, this will be indicated accordingly on the order page. In the event of a delay in delivery of more than four weeks after the stated expected delivery date, the Customer has the right to withdraw from the contract. In this case, the Provider is also entitled to withdraw from the contract. Amounts already paid by the Customer for such Order will be refunded in full within [1] business day from the date of receipt of such withdrawal by the Provider to the Customer via the same payment route. The term “business day” shall refer to any day (excluding Saturdays and Sundays) on which licensed banks generally are open for business in Hong Kong.

(3) In view of the fluctuating commodity prices and exchange rates for the Provider's goods, the Provider and the Customer agree that in the event of a delay in delivery under Clause 3(2), the applicable commodity price and exchange rates of the goods shall remain the same on the Customer's order date.

4 Prices / Dispatch

(1) The prices for purchase and sale transactions shall be valid on the day the contract is concluded during the Provider's normal trading hours as stipulated on the Provider's website.

(2) The corresponding shipping costs are indicated to the Customer in the order form and are to be borne by the Customer in full. Furthermore, the shipping costs are also stated on the Provider's website.

(3) Before delivery, the forwarding agent will send a SMS notification to the Customer’s mobile phone as provided on the Order in order to verify name, mobile phone number and secret key (6-digit password signifying the receipt) with the Customer. When handing over the parcels of the goods, the forwarding agent will request the Customer to sign the acknowledgement of receipt via certain electronic devices as a proof of delivery. If Customer has any suspicion of loss/damage (total or partial shipment), Customer must not sign the shipment receipt without reporting such loss/damage.

If the delivered goods could not be delivered to the delivery address specified by the Customer after two attempts, although the days of delivery were notified to the Customer with reasonable prior notice, the delivery to the Customer shall be deemed impossible and the Customer shall bear all the costs incidental to such unsuccessful delivery and return. The Customer shall bear the costs for the reshipment. The goods shall only be reshipped if the Customer has first paid the additional costs for reshipping to the Provider. If the additional costs are not paid by the Customer within two days of being requested to do so, the Provider may withdraw from the contract. In this case, the Provider shall reimburse the Customer for the purchase price less all the costs incurred as soon as practicable.

(4) The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods shall pass to the Customer as soon as the Provider has handed the goods to the forwarding agent, the carrier or the person or institution otherwise designated to carry out the shipment.

(5) All shipments of goods as purchased by the Customer and issued by the Provider will be fully insured under the Provider`s insurance policy. The insurance policy covers products purchased by the Customer against loss or damage whilst in transit from the Provider’s facility to the delivery address specified by the Customer. Neither the Provider nor the insurance company are liable for any packages requested to be handed over to anyone else aside from the Customer.

(6) In the case of any unsuccessful shipments, the Customer agrees to support in the investigation and filing of any claims that are required by the insurer of the Provider under Clause 4(5). The Customer must provide notification of any loss and/or damage within two days of his/her initial receipt of the shipment to the Provider by way of [email], as well as all necessary documentations including but not limited to photos of the damaged products, shipping documentation, invoices and such other information and/ie documents as requested by the Provider and/or the insurer from time to time.

5 Right to cancel in the event of prices not in line with the market

(1) The Provider shall have a contractual right of rescission in the event that the contract for the sale or purchase of the goods was concluded at a price not in line with the market (so-called "mistrade"). A mistrade exists if the price deviates significantly and obviously i.e. more than 2% from the market price at the time the contract was concluded. The cause of a mistrade may be occasioned either by errors in the technical system of the Provider and its contractual partners or errors when entering a price or a price indicator.

(2) The Provider must notify the Customer in writing of the rescission of the contract no later than three business days after the mistrade. This does not affect the Provider's right to contest the contract within the statutory periods provided for this purpose.

(3) The Customer agrees that he/she shall not be entitled to compensation for any damages suffered in reliance on the existence of or arising from the canceled contract.

6 Identification

The Provider has the right at any time to have the Customer's identity established beyond doubt by means of an identification procedure proposed by the Provider from time to time. If the Customer refuses to provide proof of identity or if the identity could not be established, the Provider shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract and any sale or purchase orders shall be canceled. In the case of a canceled purchase order, the Customer's goods shall remain with the Provider until the Customer has identified himself in accordance with the Provider's required specifications. In this case, the costs of withdrawal and continued storage shall be borne by the Customer. Please refer to the scale of the aforesaid costs as promulgated at the Provider’s website from time to time.

7 Retention of title

The object of purchase remains the property of the Provider until full payment has been made. Prior to transfer of ownership, pledging, transfer by way of security, processing or transformation is not permitted without the express consent of the Provider.

8 Terms of payment

(1) The Customer can make the payment in HKD or USD. The following payment methods are accepted by the Provider: Bank transfer, Credit Card, AlipayHK and WeChat Pay HK.

(2) Orders paid by bank transfer in immediately available funds and free of bank charges may enjoy certain discount as may be announced by the Provider from time to time, which, however, the Provider, has no obligation to provide, and reserves the right to adjust at its sole discretion provided that the Provider shall keep Customers informed of such adjustment(s) from time to time. Bank information must be filled with the exact details provided to the Customer. Any fees incurred due to rejected bank transfers or otherwise will be assumed by the Customer. The Provider holds the right to cancel said order if bank transfer is not successfully processed within 2 days of the order placed by the Customer.

9 Warranty for material defects, guarantee

(1) The Provider is liable for material defects to consumers in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions.

(2) The Customer must inspect the delivered goods immediately for deviations in quality and quantity and notify the Provider in writing of any recognizable defects within a period of one week from receipt of the goods; otherwise, the assertion of the warranty claim is excluded. Hidden defects must be reported to the Provider in writing within one week of discovery. Timely dispatch shall suffice to meet the deadline. In this case, the Customer shall bear the full burden of proof for all claim requirements, in particular for the defect itself, for the time of discovery of the defect and for the timeliness of the notice of defect. In the event of defects, the Provider shall, at its own discretion, provide warranty by repair or replacement. The Customer’s claims for defects with his/her right for repair and/or replacement as aforementioned shall become time-barred after one year. For the avoidance of doubt, the said limitation period does not apply to claims for damages.

(3) A guarantee only exists for the goods delivered by the Provider if this was expressly stated in the order confirmation for the respective article.

10 Withdrawal

(1) The Provider is entitled to withdraw from the contract subject to the terms and conditions of these GTC. The Provider is also entitled to withdraw from an outstanding part of the delivery or service if false information has been provided about the Customer's creditworthiness or objective reasons have arisen regarding the Customer's inability to pay or actual and/or potential involvement of criminal activities, e.g. the existence of any bankruptcy proceedings against the Customer and/or the majority of his/her assets or the opposition of such proceedings due to a lack of assets to cover the costs and/or any indebtedness. At the sole discretion of the Provider, the Customer may be given the opportunity to make an advance payment or provide adequate security to the satisfaction of the Provider before withdrawing from the contract.

(2) Notwithstanding any claims for damages, in the event of partial withdrawal, partial services already rendered shall be invoiced and paid for in accordance with the contract and these GTC.

11 Limitation of liability

(1) Subject to the applicable laws in Hong Kong, the Provider shall only be liable for damages arising from and/or occasioned by any intentional or grossly negligent action or on culpable breach of a material contractual obligation by the Provider and/or or its vicarious agents. A material contractual obligation is an obligation whose fulfillment is essential for the proper execution of the contract and on whose compliance the Customer may regularly rely. Any further liability for damages is excluded to such extent as permitted under the applicable laws in Hong Kong. Claims arising from a guarantee given by the Provider for the quality of the object of purchase remain unaffected by this.

(2) The Provider shall not be liable for loss or damage caused by any of the following events:

- Ionizing radiation, radioactivity or events with similar contaminating effects from whatever source;

- wars of aggression or defence, acts of war without war having been declared, civil war, revolution, insurrection, nationalization or confiscation, damage or destruction caused by state intervention, terrorism.

-any force majeure events, such as (a) acts of God; (b) flood, fire, earthquake or explosion; (c) government order or law; (d) actions, embargoes or blockades; (e) action by any governmental authority; (f) national or regional emergency; (g) strikes, labor stoppages or slowdowns or other industrial disturbances; (h) epidemic, pandemic or similar influenza or bacterial infection; (i) emergency state; (j) shortage of power or transportation facilities; and (k) other similar events beyond the reasonable control of the Provider.

(3) The Customer acknowledges that according to the current state of technology, data communication via the Internet cannot be guaranteed to be error-free and/or available at all times. The Provider is therefore not liable for the availability of the Internet store at all times.

12 Offsetting and retention rights

The Provider is entitled to the right of set-off and retention in case of any non-performance of the contract by the Customer to the extent permitted by the applicable laws.

13 Final provisions

(1) These GTC and all legal relationships between the Provider and the Customer shall be governed exclusively by the law of Hong Kong SAR. The conditions and effects of the retention of title are subject to the law at the respective storage location of the item, insofar as the choice of the law of Hong Kong SAR is not inadmissible and/or ineffective.

(2) Customer confirms that he/she has read the Privacy Policy and agrees with its content.

(3) Should a provision be or become invalid or unenforceable or should the agreements made contain a loophole, this shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.

(4) The Provider is entitled to amend and/or modify these GTC from time to time, provided that this does not affect any essential provisions of the contractual relationship and this is necessary to adapt to developments that were not foreseeable at the time the contract was concluded and whose non-consideration would noticeably disturb the balance of the contractual relationship. Material provisions are, in particular, those relating to the type and scope of the contractually agreed services and the term, including the provisions on termination. In addition, changes may be made in order to close regulatory gaps that have arisen after the conclusion of the contract, such as in the case of changes in case law. The Provider shall expressly inform the Customer of the amendment. The Customer may object to the amended GTC within a period of six weeks. The Provider shall expressly inform the Customer of this right of objection with each amendment. If the Customer does not object to the amendment within this period, the new GTC shall apply from the day on which the period expires.