Shipping
1.1 Countries supplied
The goods are delivered to the following countries: The EU countries Belgium, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Austria as well as the non-EU countries Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine, San Marino, Iceland, Serbia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Greenland, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Your country is not included? You can find out why here!
1.2 Shipping costs
All prices are inclusive of VAT (except for net buyers and customers with a customer and delivery address in a non-EU country, who will be shown the net prices).
1.2.1 Domestic deliveries (Germany)
Private customers: €3.90 flat rate, free shipping from €39.
Business customers (customer group dealers/therapists): 4 € flat rate, free shipping from 150 euros.
1.2.2 Deliveries abroad
We calculate the shipping costs abroad at a flat rate as follows:
Warenpost International - Favourable special price for very small shipments, worldwide:
For parcels that are narrower than 10 cm, lighter than 1 kg and worth a maximum of 60 euros, a favourable shipping option can be selected, which is carried out by Deutsche Post and is usually no slower than DHL!
This costs a flat rate of €8 for all customers. If the above conditions for the shopping basket are not met, the shop will automatically hide this option.
For shipping to the European Union:
DHL Premium
Private customers: €12 flat rate, free shipping from €140.
Business customers (customer group retailers/therapists): 12 € flat rate, free shipping from 300 euros.
For shipping to non-EU countries (e.g. Switzerland, Norway etc):
DHL Economy
Private customers: €15 flat rate, free shipping from €160.
Business customers (customer group retailers/therapists): 15 € flat rate, free shipping from 400 euros.
DHL Premium
Private customers: €20 flat rate, free shipping from €200.
Business customers (retailer/therapist customer group): €20 flat rate, free shipping from €450.
Officially, the customs and delivery situations for DHL Economy and Premium parcels are the same. The delivery speed is slightly faster.
The following advantage is more important: customers tell us that in some regions the regulations for customs and duties are handled much more leniently for Premium parcels than for Economy parcels. However, premium parcels are approx. 5 euros more expensive for us.
1.2.3 Important note on customs and duties, especially for Swiss customers:
Any customs duties and import sales tax are to be borne by the buyer.
Here are the possible additional costs for our Swiss customers (99% of non-EU buyers): Approx. 3-8% VAT, regardless of the parcel value. Customs costs are only incurred from 150 Euro value of goods, 11.50 CHF plus 1 € / kg.
1.3 Delivery periods
Unless otherwise stated in the respective offer, the goods will be delivered in Germany within 1 - 3 working days, for deliveries abroad within 5 - 10 working days after conclusion of the contract (in the case of agreed advance payment after the time of your payment instruction).
Please note that there is no delivery on Sundays and public holidays.
A frequent dispute in online trading is the question of whether Saturday is a working day or not. The law is clear here: 1. yes, Saturday is generally considered a working day, but 2. if the dispatch period is specified, it is not charged.
See German Civil Code (BGB) § 193 Sundays and public holidays: Saturday: If a declaration of intent is to be made or a performance is to be effected on a specific day or within a deadline and the specific day or the last day of the deadline falls on a Sunday, a public holiday recognised by the state at the place of declaration or performance or a Saturday, the next working day shall take the place of such a day.
It follows from this: For online trading, only Monday to Friday are considered working days!
The question also arises as to when this working day begins. Our logical answer to this is: If a customer orders before the time at which dispatch by us is still possible, the period begins immediately, otherwise at the beginning of the next working day.
Examples:
- If a customer orders on Friday morning at 10 a.m., we can still deliver the goods to DHL by the evening. Normally, we still process all orders that arrive by 3 pm. He should therefore receive the parcel on Tuesday at the latest. (Friday 1st working day, Monday 2nd working day, Tuesday 3rd working day).
- If a customer orders on Friday evening at 7 pm, this day cannot possibly still count towards the processing time. In this case, he can expect his parcel on Wednesday.
Apart from such legal quibbles: We always endeavour to deliver as quickly and reliably as possible, as a rule our parcels are in the DHL warehouse no later than 24 hours after receipt of the order!
If you have ordered items with different delivery times, we will dispatch the goods in a single consignment unless we have made other arrangements with you. In this case, the delivery time is determined by the item with the longest delivery time that you have ordered.
If you would like to avoid this: Simply place 2 orders, one with goods in stock and a second with the goods not in stock. In our shop, under "Stock:", we indicate exactly how many units of each product are in stock!
1.4 Contracted delivery services
In principle, we work with the entire range of services offered by DHL / Deutsche Post (parcels, small parcels, national and international goods post).
Unfortunately, there is now a rampant strike culture in Germany. In 2023/2024 in particular, DHL parcels often arrived at the customer up to a week late.
This happens when DHL uses the German railway to transport its parcels, sends them internationally by air freight - and then DHL, the railway and airports take turns going on strike every week!
Of course, we fully understand this, especially when it once again affects the railway, where salaries are now normal that people in Dresden, our headquarters, can only dream of...
On such extreme days, when DHL shipping is almost impossible, we switch to Hermes !
1.5 measures for your and our safety
We generally recommend that customers do not use"Leave in a safe place" or"Leave with neighbour". If a customer chooses these options themselves when filling out the DHL options, they will lose both DHL's and our liability in the event of parcel loss!
Since 2021, there has been a sharp increase in cases of fraud in which fake customers, for example, select the "Drop off at secure drop off location" option themselves using a false identity in order to then fraudulently take parcels there. In cases of doubt, we therefore also decide independently whether to fulfil this request or whether to select the "Hand over in person" or "IdentCheck" options for higher-value parcels. Parcels worth over €400 will only be dispatched if the buyer provides their date of birth, as otherwise no "Ident Check" is possible. In this case, we decide whether Ident Check is necessary based on the risk profile, e.g. if it is a regular customer with whom there have never been any problems or a new customer unknown to us.
We ask for your understanding for these measures, which are primarily for the security of our customers. Unfortunately, identity theft is now a widespread phenomenon on the Internet, and you can't avoid it by choosing another online shop - on the contrary, we don't know of any other shop that handles this as critically and for the benefit of its customers as we do.
Additional costs incurred by DHL through these services are of course borne by us.
2. Procedure for delivery problems
2.1 Returns due to "address cannot be found"
Unfortunately, parcels are often returned to us, e.g. because either customers write their address incorrectly or their name is missing from the address or DHL is unable to find this data for some reason.
Every return costs us 5 euros! This is automatically charged by DHL.
Unfortunately, the law prohibits passing these costs on to the customer, so it is usually our loss.
Experience has shown that it is usually pointless to resend parcels that are returned to the same address. Even the time-consuming communication with customers to solve such problems usually costs so much time and money that we end up paying for it.
That's why we're now doing what large mail-order companies such as Amazon have been doing for a long time:
- Returned parcels or the orders for them will be cancelled immediately, without time-consuming and costly queries, and the purchase amount refunded.
- In the event of a proper cancellation, the statutory conditions apply and the entire purchase amount is refunded
- If parcels are returned due to customer errors (e.g. incorrect address, no collection from the shop, refusal to accept delivery without good reason), we will deduct our expenses incurred as a result from the refund, usually the 5 euros that DHL charges us for the return shipment).
- If you still require the goods, please place a new order. However, please ensure that you use a new correct address.
2.2 Notes on cancellation
The legally stipulated procedure in the event of a desired cancellation is described in our General Terms and Conditions.
Please note that refusing to accept a parcel or sending it back without a cancellation form etc. is not a valid cancellation.
In this case, DHL will charge us 5 euros for the return costs, which we will invoice to the customer or deduct from the refund amount in the event of a non-valid cancellation.
We therefore ask you to comply with the legally and humanly required procedure, in the best case we are also happy to send a return note at our expense as a gesture of goodwill, e.g. if the customer has good reasons for not wanting to keep the goods. Returns that have not been agreed or wilful causation of expenses (ordering on suspicion and then refusing to accept the goods) exclude goodwill.
2.3 Note on forwarding e-mail address and telephone number to DHL
You decide whether or not your e-mail address is passed on to DHL during checkout (tick the corresponding checkbox). For data protection reasons, we are not allowed to pass on your e-mail address to DHL without being asked.
If this is not confirmed, DHL cannot keep you informed about the progress of your parcel.
However, it would also be the duty of customers who have their parcels delivered to a Packstation or branch to check their app from time to time to see whether parcels have arrived or not.
As a gesture of goodwill, we have usually covered the costs anyway (each return costs us 5 euros!).
With the introduction of the option to consent to email forwarding to DHL, customers can now decide for themselves whether or not they want to be informed promptly by DHL about parcels.
We will therefore only cover the costs for "Returns due to non-collection" if "Email forwarding permitted" is ticked.
If this is not the case, customers will bear the costs for self-inflicted returns. Returns due to non-collection or refusal to accept are not a cancellation!
Current information from the Händlerbund!
2.4 Further tips for the safe receipt of parcels
As described above, we strongly advise against leaving parcels on the patio or similar, as the trouble and risk of parcel theft are pre-programmed.
In principle, the loss then becomes the customer's problem, but the loss of a parcel always puts a strain on the trust between the seller and the customer.
As a rule, customers do not return after such problems, which is why it is also in our interest to avoid this.
Of course, there are customers for whom the DHL Packstation is not a solution because the nearest one is kilometres away, e.g. in the countryside.
Here is a solution where at least the household contents insurance would cover you if a parcel is stolen:
You can also screw your "private packing station solution" to your house in the form of an oversized letterbox. As these are fitted with a lock that a thief would have to visibly break open, household contents insurance would probably cover the theft.
Here is an overview of the general offer:
https://www.amazon.de/paketkasten-Baumarkt/s?k=paketkasten&rh=n%3A80084031
For example, this product would be suitable for our standard package "Cardboard box 215 x 155 x 115 mm, 1.02 b (single-wall), with automatic bottom":
https://www.amazon.de/Paketbriefkasten-Barcodescannung-Smart-Parcel-Box/dp/B01MXVMTPU
The following is suitable for our largest parcels (305 x 215 x 155 mm). We could also split very large parcels into 2 deliveries over 2 days if the buyer requests this in advance.
https://www.amazon.de/Profirst-Paketbriefkasten-Briefkasten-Paketfach-Paketbox/dp/B01H5C6LDU
If you are expecting very large parcels and/or already have a nice letterbox that you would like to keep, this product, which can be screwed under the letterbox or elsewhere, is a good option:
Of course, it doesn't just fit our parcels, but also those from Hermes, DPD etc. and even things that someone wants to drop off who has borrowed the drill, for example - a really useful purchase for the future!
(These links are private tips from us, we do not receive any commission for them, which is why labelling them as "advertising" is superfluous)
Here is a current message from our own household contents insurance with ARAG:
Hello Mr Müller,
our household contents insurance covers such cases.
"Theft from locked containers outside buildings: We provide insurance cover for insured property against theft in the ARAG "Comfort" and "Premium" household cover if a thief breaks open a locker outside buildings or uses false keys or other tools not intended for proper opening. The insurance does not cover the valuables listed in No. 18.1* or electronic devices and cameras/film cameras, including accessories. Compensation is limited per insured event a) to 5,000 euros in ARAG "Comfort" household insurance b) to the sum insured in ARAG "Premium" household insurance."
Unfortunately, I do not know what the situation is with the competitors, as each company offers different variants with their own insurance conditions.
Yours sincerely
ARAG
*Accordingly, not insured in a parcel box:
aa) cash and amounts loaded onto cash cards (e.g. chip cards); bb) documents including savings books and other securities; cc) jewellery, precious stones, pearls, stamps, coins and medals as well as all items made of gold and platinum; dd) furs, hand-knotted carpets and tapestries as well as works of art (e.g. paintings, collages, drawings, graphics and sculptures) and silver items not mentioned in cc)
This would guarantee all-round protection, i.e. parcel delivery even when you are not at home, without a cumbersome packing station, with full insurance cover when using one of the parcel box solutions recommended by us!