Information about ESG Edelmetall-Service GmbH & Co. KG

1. Scope, general

1.1. These terms & conditions (hereinafter also referred to as “T&Cs” or “Conditions”) apply to all legal transactions between the company ESG Edelmetall-Service GmbH & Co. KG (hereinafter also referred to as “we”) and the customer (hereinafter the “Customer” or “you”), whereby the relevant version at the time of the order shall be applicable. Any agreements are subject exclusively to these T&Cs; conflicting provisions or terms & conditions drawn up by the Customer are expressly excluded. This applies even if the Customer’s bid or accepted offer refers to their own overriding T&Cs, or if we perform the delivery/service without reservation, in full awareness of Customer conditions that contradict or deviate from these T&Cs.

1.2 These T&Cs apply to all deliveries, services (sales, purchases, valuations of precious metals and diamonds) and offers that are processed via the websites belonging to ESG Edelmetall-Service GmbH & Co. KG.

1.3. In commercial dealings with traders, these Terms and Conditions shall also apply to any future legal transactions, even if they are not expressly agreed once again.

1.4. For the purposes of these Terms and Conditions, Customers are understood to mean both consumers and traders. A consumer is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly outside the consumer’s trade, business or profession (Section 13 BGB [Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch: German Civil Code])

A trader is a natural or legal person or a partnership with legal personality who or which, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in exercise of their trade, business or profession. (Section 14 BGB).

2. Contract conclusion, contract implementation for PURCHASE by ESG

2.1. We buy and recycle the precious metals gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium then return these substances to the raw material cycle. We buy these precious metals (e.g. in the form of jewellery, dental gold, ingots, coins, silverware, etc.) from private individuals as well as from companies. We also purchase diamonds.

2.2. You can send in your material to us via a postal service provider with a printout of the shipping cover letter provided for this purpose on our homepage. From a material value of 2,500.00 euros, you can also have your material collected at our expense by a secure transport company appointed by us. A secure transport order form for this purpose is also available on our homepage. You will receive an email or letter confirming that we have received the material.

You can also drop off the material in person by appointment at our ESG precious metal collection centre in Rheinstetten.

2.3. By sending your material to us, you are making us an offer to purchase these items. At the same time, you affirm that you are legally competent and have unrestricted ownership of the material and that these items are neither pledged nor subject to any other third party rights. In addition, you affirm that the material does not originate from illegal activity — particularly any criminal conduct — nor could it be traced back to any such activity, nor could such an activity could be the purpose of the sale. You are also declaring that, to the best of your knowledge, no dangerous components, particularly toxic substances, are contained in the material (e.g. arsenic, mercury, etc.).

2.4. By sending the material to us, you are issuing irrevocable consent for us to analyse it in our precious metal test laboratory in order to establish its value, and you understand that this process may, where required, involve mechanical, thermal or chemical processing or changes to the material. This can result in damage to or the destruction of the object and the material. You are not entitled to claim compensation due to damage to or the destruction of the objects and the material.

Packaging material, secondary packaging, transportation boxes and the original packaging will be disposed of on receipt of the goods and cannot be returned in case of complaints.

2.5. For material that can be analysed straight away (jewellery, ingots, coins, silverware, etc.) we will establish the value of the material immediately — within two working days (Monday to Friday) — once the material is received in our precious metal test laboratory, and we will share this information with you by post or, if desired, by telephone or email. If you would like a consultation before the final remuneration, please indicate this explicitly in the shipping cover letter. For postal submissions, the effective purchase price at around 8 a.m. on the date the items are received will be applied, even if the material does not arrive until after 8 a.m. Once the material has been received, we will immediately — within two working days — issue you with a settlement statement and transfer the credit amount to the account specified by you in the cover letter.

2.6. If you brought the material to us in person, you can be present during the analysis and can decide based on the results of this analysis whether you would like to sell your material to us. When settling the amount owed in the event of a sale, you can receive an immediate cash payment for a value up to EUR 10,000.00, or a personal cheque for a value over EUR 10,000.00, which can be cashed at the firm’s bank, located nearby.

2.7. By issuing the settlement we are accepting your offer. In doing so, the contract between us becomes effective and ownership of the supplied material is transferred to us.

2.8. For materials that require processing or reworking in order to establish their value (e.g. residues, filter material, sludge, slag, powder, etc.) we will notify you of this separately or with the confirmation of receipt in writing or in person. As soon as we have the results of the analysis, we will be in contact with you in order to accept the offer and arrange the settlement formalities.

2.9. Material sent in from third countries (outside the EU) by private individuals and companies must be cleared through customs. If customs duties are not paid for the material, retrospective customs payments will be made via ESG. The resulting costs, plus a processing fee to cover the work involved, will be charged or deducted from the sum to be paid.

2.1. Right of withdrawal on purchase

2.1.1. For recycling materials: if you were not present in person during the analysis of the items you submitted for precious metal evaluation, you can withdraw from the contract without giving reasons. Excluded from this provision are contracts covering e.g. electronic waste, electrical contacts, metal stamping waste, etc., and any contracts in which the supplied materials have to be mechanically, thermally or chemically processed or modified in order to establish their value. The withdrawal is instigated by you notifying us in writing (e.g. by email, fax, letter, etc.) within five working days (Monday to Friday) of our receipt of the materials — whereby the crucial deadline is the date on which we receive your notification — and by you returning the amount paid for the purchase within five working days of our receipt of the materials — whereby the crucial deadline is the date on which this sum is received in our bank account.

2.1.2. For investment metals: if you were not present in person during the examination and valuation of your coins or ingots, you can withdraw from the contract without giving reasons by notifying us in writing (e.g. by email, fax, letter etc.) within one working day (Monday to Friday) of being informed of the purchase value — whereby the crucial deadline is the date of receipt by us — and by returning the amount paid for the purchase within five working days of our receipt of the materials — whereby the crucial deadline is the date on which this sum is received in our bank account. For investment metals the withdrawal period is shorter than for recycling materials because in this case the price of the metals must be hedged immediately by ESG on the exchange.

2.1.3. Should you fail to adhere to the deadlines specified in 2.1.1. or 2.1.2 the withdrawal shall not be effective.

2.1.4. In case of an effective withdrawal, after receiving the purchase price in our account, we will return your material to you at your expense within one week (DHL service costs charged to you). The risk of accidental loss or impairment to the material is transferred to you as soon as we have handed the item over to the shipping company.

3. Contract conclusion, contract implementation for SALE by ESG, essential characteristics of the goods

3.1. The representations of our goods in the online shop do not constitute legally binding offers for the conclusion of purchase contracts.

3.2 The essential characteristics of the goods are represented in the relevant product description in the online shop. 

3.3. You can collect desired goods in a virtual shopping basket by clicking the “Add to basket” button. The “Checkout” button takes you to the next step in the ordering process. At checkout, you enter your billing address, an optional alternative delivery address, the desired shipping and payment methods, and — if you are registered with us as a regular customer — your username and password in order to log in. After this, you can check and, if necessary, correct your order (e.g. via the back button, or by cancelling the order process and making changes to the previous entries, or by clicking the "Edit” button). To issue binding confirmation of your order, you will need to confirm the T&Cs by ticking the relevant checkbox, then click the “Buy” button. By doing so, you are issuing a binding offer to conclude a purchase contract relating to the goods contained in your basket. Since prices are updated several times an hour, at this point the system will check again that the prices are up to date and adjust them if necessary. Any resulting price differences will be indicated to you for each item, and to agree a binding order you will need to click the “Buy” button.

3.4. We will then email you an automatic order receipt acknowledgement, in which your order details will be listed and which you can print out by using the “Print” functionality. The automatic order receipt acknowledgement only records that your order has been received by us and does not represent an acceptance of the offer. The contract only takes effect once notification of acceptance has been issued in the form of an order confirmation email from us after the invoice amount has been received.

3.5. You can also submit orders by fax, post or telephone. In case of a telephone order, one of our employees will submit an order on your behalf in our online shop. If you do not have an email address, we will send you the order receipt acknowledgement and order confirmation by fax or post.

3.6. We are entitled to revoke our order receipt acknowledgement or order confirmation if the presentation of goods in our online shop or our order receipt acknowledgement contain obvious unintentional errors (e.g. addition errors, decimal place errors, typos, unreasonable pricing in view of the goods, etc.) or obvious omissions (e.g. missing highly relevant details or similar) that make it unreasonable to adhere to the terms of the contract.

3.7. Unless otherwise agreed, you can pay in advance, or via PayPal (restricted, see “Payment methods” annex), giropay, Sofortüberweisung or in cash when you collect the items. The detailed payment conditions can be found in the applicable version of our “Payment methods” annex, which forms an integral part of these Terms & Conditions. Along with your order receipt acknowledgement, you will get a payment request indicating the amount you are due to pay, our bank details, and the reason for payment that you should specify. This payment amount must be transferred to us within 2 working days (Monday to Friday) of receiving the order receipt acknowledgement, whereby receipt of payment is the decisive factor; alternatively, an appointment can be made to collect the items in person and pay in cash. 

3.8. If we do not receive payment within 2 working days (Monday to Friday) of the order receipt acknowledgement, we reserve the right to demand payment from the buyer or to cancel the order acknowledgement.  

3.9. Until the relevant invoice amount has been paid in full, we retain ownership of the supplied goods in all circumstances.

4. Contract language

4.1. The contract language is German.

4.2. The text of the contract will be retained by us after the contract is agreed. Once the order process is complete, the text of the contract can be reprinted.

5. Prices, fees and shipping costs

5.1. Our prices are based on the nature of the goods offered and depend on market and exchange conditions. As a consequence, they undergo constant fluctuation. For this reason, our prices are updated several times an hour. Our latest sales prices can be obtained from the description of goods. All prices are final prices, not including shipping costs, and are quoted including statutory value added tax at the relevant applicable rate.

5.2. The shipping costs for your order are calculated in full and displayed at checkout. These costs depend on the country of delivery, order value, insurance value, weight and number of packages. The detailed shipping costs can be found in the applicable version of our “Shipping costs” annex, which forms an integral part of these Terms & Conditions.

5.3. If the goods cannot be delivered despite notice of delivery to the Customer, the goods will be returned to us. If the Customer wants a redelivery, this will be done after the return costs have been paid and the new shipping costs have been covered by the Customer.

5.4. For sales to private individuals from countries outside the European Union, if there is a reimbursement of value added tax for the buyer, a handling fee of €82 plus VAT plus the bank transfer costs will be retained from the sum to be reimbursed.

6. Delivery dates, delivery problems, force majeure, partial deliveries

6.1. Information about delivery or performance times is non-binding. Delivery or performance dates will only be considered binding if they are expressly designated as such.

6.2. Goods will be shipped by a suitable carrier (depending on the value of the shipment) within 2–3 working days of receipt of payment.

6.3. Our product shipping ensures items are capital protected and uses careful, neutral packaging, with shipment tracking and discreet delivery. The detailed shipping conditions can be found in the applicable version of our “Shipping costs” annex, which forms an integral part of these T&Cs.

6.4. Alternatively, you can also agree an appointment to collect the goods from us in return for cash payment or once we have received an advance payment from you. In this case, there will be no shipping costs.

6.5. If we are not able to supply the ordered goods or perform the service through no fault of our own because an agreement was made with a supplier in order to provide the goods/service to the Customer, and the supplier does not fulfil their contractual obligations, we have the right to cancel the arrangement with the Customer. In this case, we will notify the Customer immediately about the inability to deliver. If the purchase price has already been paid, this will be reimbursed immediately.

6.6. So long as we are (a) waiting for cooperation or information from the Customer or (b) impeded by industrial action or lockouts, staff shortages in third-party companies or our own company, official intervention, legal prohibitions or other circumstances affecting our services that are beyond our control (“force majeure”), the delivery and performance deadlines shall be extended by the duration of the impediment and for a reasonable recovery period after the end of the impediment (“outage time”), and there shall be no breach of obligations for the duration of the outage time. We will notify the Customer immediately about any such difficulties and their likely duration. If the force majeure continues uninterrupted for longer than 3 months, both parties shall be absolved of their performance obligations.

6.7. In the scenarios set out under 6.5. and 6.6., if payments have already been made by the Customer relating to the delivery/service, these must be reimbursed. For deliveries or services that have already been rendered, however, the outstanding portion of the agreed remuneration for these deliveries or services can be demanded. Apart from this, no claims may be lodged by either party in these cases.

6.8. Partial deliveries or partial performances are permissible unless the Customer clearly has no interest in this or this would clearly be unreasonable. Partial deliveries must be accepted by the Customer in these cases.

6.9. If the Customer is a trader, the Customer has an obligation to inspect all deliveries and provide notification of any defects pursuant to Section 377 HGB [Handelsgesetzbuch: German Commercial Code]. Accordingly, a Customer engaged in a commercial transaction must inspect the goods immediately after delivery to ensure that they are free from defects and that nothing is missing, notifying the seller in writing without undue delay if any defects become apparent. Should the Customer fail to examine the goods in a timely manner or to notify the seller about any defects, the goods are considered to have been accepted unless the defect is one which was not apparent on inspection. Any concealed defects that are discovered subsequently must be disclosed within 14 days; otherwise, the goods are considered to have been accepted with regard to these defects too. Notification of defects must be made in writing and the relevant defect must be described precisely.

6.10. The following delivery restrictions apply: we only deliver to Customers whose habitual residence (billing address) is in one of the following countries and who are able to provide a delivery address in the same country: Germany.

6.11. For traders and private customers, deliveries abroad are shipping purchases for which the risk is transferred when the goods are handed over by ESG to the first carrier for despatch.

7. Transfer of risk

7.1. If the Customer is a consumer, the risk of accidental loss or impairment to the goods is transferred to the Customer when the goods are handed over. The same shall apply if the Customer is in default of acceptance.

7.2. If the Customer is a trader, the risk of accidental loss or impairment to the goods is transferred to the Customer as soon as the goods have been handed over to the first carrier company or once they have left our premises for the purposes of shipment. The same shall apply if the Customer is in default of acceptance. If the shipment of the goods is delayed by Customer request, the risk is transferred to the Customer once notification of readiness for despatch is provided.

7.3. For traders and private customers, sales abroad are shipping purchases for which the risk is transferred when the goods are handed over by ESG to the first carrier for despatch.

8. Restricted right of withdrawal for consumers — no right of withdrawal for purchase of precious metals!

For distance selling contracts (including contracts agreed online) consumers generally have a right of withdrawal.

8.1. No right of withdrawal for the purchase of precious metals
Contrary to the general right of withdrawal for consumers in case of distance selling contracts, pursuant to Section 312g (2)(8) BGB [Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch: German Civil Code], there is no right of withdrawal if a distance selling contract involves the supply of goods whose price is directly dependent on developments and fluctuations in financial markets over which the trader has no influence and that could occur within the withdrawal period. Goods affected by this include precious metals, products containing precious metals, diamonds, and precious gemstones.

8.2. Right of withdrawal for accessories or items containing non-precious metals
For other goods, i.e. those not covered by Section 312g (2)(8) BGB, the consumer has a 14-day right of withdrawal. You will be sent a written cancellation policy by email. The cancellation form can be used to exercise your right of withdrawal.

8.3. Consequences of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we must reimburse any payments we have received from you, including delivery costs (with the exception of any costs incurred as a result of you choosing a different delivery method to our cheapest standard delivery), whereby this reimbursement must be made promptly and no later than 14 days after receiving your notification of withdrawal from the contract. This reimbursement will be made using the same payment method that you used for the original transaction, unless explicitly agreed otherwise, and on no account will you be charged a fee as a result of this reimbursement.

8.3.1. We can refuse reimbursement until we have received the returned goods.

8.3.2. You must hand over or send the goods back to us promptly, and no later than within fourteen days of the date on which you notify us of your withdrawal from this contract. You will be responsible for the direct cost of returning the goods.

8.3.3. You will only need to pay for a potential loss in value of the goods if this loss can be attributed to a handling of the goods on your part that was not necessary to inspect the condition, characteristics or functionality of the goods.

9. Warranty (liability for defects)

9.1. We provide a warranty (liability for defects) in accordance with the statutory provisions, in particular Sections 434 ff. BGB.

9.2. If the Customer is a consumer, the warranty period for newly manufactured items is two years; otherwise it is one year, starting from the date on which the item is delivered.

9.3. If the Customer is a trader, the warranty period is one year starting from the date on which the item is delivered. For deliveries to commercial buyers, Section 377 HGB (obligation to examine goods and notify the seller about defects) shall remain unaffected.

9.4. Insofar as used items are the object of the purchase contract and the buyer is not a consumer, these items shall be excluded from any warranty. If the Customer is a consumer, there is a warranty period of one year for the purchase of used items.

10. Liability

10.1 We accept unlimited liability for damages arising from injury to life, limb or health that are due to an intentional or negligent breach of obligations, and for other damages that are due to an intentional or negligent breach of obligations or bad faith. In addition, we accept unlimited liability for damages that are covered by mandatory legal provisions relating to liability, such as the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz), as well as cases where we have acquired or taken on guarantees.

10.2 In the event of a breach of essential contractual obligations — i.e. obligations which must be fulfilled to allow proper performance of the contract in the first place, and which the contractual partner is able to rely on as being regularly observed — we also accept liability for ordinary negligence, although only up to an amount of damages that could be considered reasonably foreseeable. Claims for loss of profit, or arising from third party compensation claims, or for other indirect or consequential losses cannot be made unless a characteristic or feature that we have guaranteed is specifically intended to protect the buyer against such damages.

10.3 Further liability is excluded.

10.4 The aforementioned limitations on liability shall also apply for the benefit of our employees, vicarious agents, senior executives and institutions.

11. Data protection

When initiating, implementing and cancelling a purchase contract, we collect, store and process data within the framework of statutory provisions. Information about the data that is collected and stored and how these details are processed can be found in the applicable version of our “Data protection” annex, which forms an integral part of these Terms & Conditions.

12. German Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz)

Under the terms of the German Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz), for any cash transactions with a value of EUR 2,000.00 or more, we are obliged to identify our contractual partner (either yourself as the Customer or a beneficial owner) and to record whether the commercial relationship or transaction is justified, continued or implemented for you yourself as the Customer or for a beneficial owner.
In this case, we require you to present a valid identity card or passport in the original. For companies, an excerpt from the commercial or cooperative register, or from another equivalent official register or directory, or another suitable form of verification will be required. Depending on the legal form, we will need at least one name of a beneficial owner for the company as well as proof of identity for this individual as outlined above.
We are entitled to make copies of the documents presented for identity checks and to retain these in accordance with statutory provisions.
As our contractual partner, you are legally obliged to cooperate. In particular, you must provide us with the necessary information and documents for identification and notify us immediately of any changes that arise during the course of the commercial relationship.

13. Applicable law, place of performance, jurisdiction

13.1. This contract shall be exclusively governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany to the exclusion of international provisions, particularly the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

13.2. If the Customer is a trader, our registered office shall be the place of performance and has sole jurisdiction for any disputes arising from the contractual relationship.

13.3. Information about online dispute resolution: the EU Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution via the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. We are neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

13.4. We are listed in the Central Packaging Register under DE3506935961485.

14. Severability clause

If individual conditions in these T&Cs prove to be invalid, either in whole or in part, this shall have no impact on the validity of the remaining terms and conditions. The statutory provisions shall apply instead of the invalid conditions, insofar as such provisions are available. Insofar as this would constitute an unreasonable hardship for one of the contracting parties, the entire contract shall be rendered invalid.

Please note the following information when using this and all other ESG websites:

Permission of use

ESG grants to natural persons visiting this website a revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable and limited permission to access and use the website and the information contained therein. This permission is only valid to the extent that the user exclusively pursues the objectives described below and complies with the restrictions set out in these terms of use. The user is not permitted to interrupt or attempt to interrupt the operation of the website in any way.

Disclaimer of Warranties

Accuracy and Reliability of Information:
This website and its content are provided "as is". ESG shall not be liable:

• for the timeliness, accuracy or completeness of the information provided on the website, including any pricing information.
• for the accuracy of the results obtained by the user or other third parties through the use of the website.

 Any opinions or assessments presented as the opinion or assessment of ESG reflect only the opinion or assessment of ESG at the time of publication and are subject to change without notice.

Regional legal restrictions

This website contains, among other things, general information about the types of products and services offered by ESG. This website is not intended for persons in countries where the publication of information about it or the distribution of such products and services as described on the website is prohibited, whether on grounds of nationality, residence or otherwise. Persons who are subject to such restrictions may not use this website.

References to other websites ("Links")

"Links"" contained on the website will take you to publicly accessible sites whose content is not created by ESG. Consequently, ESG is not responsible for the content of these sites or the accuracy of the information contained on these sites. Please read the conditions for the use of such sites carefully. By including a "link" to another website on ESG's web pages, ESG does not endorse, agree with or recommend the content of that site. As a precaution, we therefore distance ourselves from all content of linked sites.

Changes to the website

ESG reserves the right to modify, suspend or discontinue the operation of the website at any time, including the services, information or functionalities offered on the website which are accessible within the scope of the intended use of the website.

Limitations of liability

Use of the Website is at the user's own risk. The user bears sole responsibility and the sole risk of loss resulting from downloading from, accessing or using the website and/or its content.
ESG shall not be liable for any damages of any kind that arises as a result of the information published on the website or any errors in or omissions from the website.
ESG accepts no liability whatsoever for damages arising from investment decisions based on information provided on this website.

No offer, no advice

Our price analyses are based on sources that we consider trustworthy and reliable. Despite the careful selection and valuation of sources, we cannot accept any liability for the completeness, accuracy and correctness of the content of the information. All strategies resulting from our analyses must be examined by you or your investment advisors with regard to risk and implementation. The information on this website is not investment advice, but is only intended to facilitate your independent investment decision.

Underlying law and jurisdiction

Unless otherwise stipulated in contractual agreements, these Terms of Use are governed by German law and shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Changes to the terms of use

ESG reserves the right to amend or supplement these terms of use in any way. The user should read these terms of use at the beginning of each visit to this website in order to familiarise himself with any changes.

Severability clause

If at any given time, any provision or part of any provision of these Terms of Use becomes unlawful, void or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, that shall not affect the lawfulness, validity or enforceability in that jurisdiction or in any other jurisdiction of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use.

Copyright

The web pages of ESG were first created in 1999 (at that time still Schüssler Metallgrosshandel GmbH & Co. KG), have been regularly amended and are protected by copyright at all times. ESG reserves all rights to data, images and text displayed on or transmitted through this website. By using the website and permission to do so, the user does not acquire any rights to the website or its content.

The user is prohibited from:

• using the website to offer services for the benefit of third parties
• altering or removing the copyright notices provided
• using logos, images or other identifying features of ESG without the prior written consent of ESG. Exceptions can be found in our separate Terms of Use for Images.