I am running an online wedding shop which is based in Switzerland (called http://kissloud.ch)

At the moment we only ship within Switzerland but been asked to start sending to Germany.

I thought I read somewhere that sending to Germany is complicated due to the terms of conditions or perhaps other legal issues.

Does anyone know anything about this?

You may wish to get acquainted with the EU regulations on "Distance contracts"

Thanks for that!

Had a quick look and cannot see anything major.

Dont really understand why an english shop in the UK have this statement in their terms of conditions:

"Users in Germany Soweit diese Seite Informationen zu und der Planung und Gestaltung von Feiern, events, Parties und Festen jeder Art bereitstellt, wendet sie sich nicht an den deutschen Markt."


It is a UK shop so they should follow the same regulations....unless I am missing something?

It's a directive, so each member state makes their own rules, which have to adhere to the minima set by the directive. The German rules may be stricter than the UK ones. It's a moot point anyway, as you can't waive German consumer protection legislation in your T&Cs anyway - the moment you sell to a German customer, German consumer protection law can apply (whether it actually does apply depends on the circumstances of the transaction, not on your T&Cs).

This said, there are quite a few online businesses in Germany that are doing just fine, thank you very much. So it's not as prohibitive as some folks think it is.

Ok that make sense - would you know what rules are making some businesses 'scared'?

The first is the requirement to provide the Consumer with certain information regarding the seller's identity and whereabouts, and the Consumers' rights of withdrawal (Widerrufsbelehrung). If that is incorrect (or not provided at all), the consumer has a right of withdrawal which is unlimited in time (otherwise this is 14 days). That's inconvenient for the seller because...

The right of withdrawal (Widerrufsrecht) means that in most cases, the consumer can withdraw from the transaction within two weeks, starting with

• the reception of the (suitable) Widerrufsbelehrung, or
• with reception of the physical goods if these are the subject of the contract,

whichever is later. If the consumer withdraws from the contract, all he has to do is send back the goods, at the seller's (!) expense. He only owns payment for "unreasonable" wear and tear, and that only if he has been informed of that consequence before entering into the contract.

The result is that if you screw up your Widerrufsbelehrung, chances are that your customer sends back what he bought after a year and claims a full refund - and is perfectly within his rights to do so. You only get damages for excessive wear and tear (with the burden of proof for the wear and tear being "excessive" and the precise monetary value of the damages being on you).

There used to be a guy in Lotstetten (Germany, right across the Swiss border 15min from Kloten Airport) who used to sell wedding dresses, (very successful) but retired, Im sure he could help you out, let me know if your interested, he lives in Zurich.