Anyone with a German business??

by joecooper

Posted: 13 years ago 10 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

My girlfriend's mum has a business in Germany, and she want's to start selling her products online. However, I've been learning about the very strict rules in Germany regarding the terms and conditions on any website selling products.

There must be somewhere that can provide terms and conditions for a German website at less cost than the average legal company that you find in a search on google.

Are there any people here who either have a German business themselves, or know something about this issue?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Joe

#business #german #terms and conditions

milkyway 13 years ago

Hi Joe,

I've read a lot about this issue, but I wouldn't dare to give legal advice on it. Especially as some rules in Germany are pretty tricky, as you mentioned.

There's a legal company who gives out a lot of free advice on their website:

IT-Recht Kanzlei - Aktuelle Beiträge zum IT-Recht

Maybe check that to get an overview first, and then ask a lawyer about the important questions.

Hope this helps,

Regine
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3154627].message }}
GeorgR. 13 years ago

You need to have a legal business plus tax ID which is actually no problem to get. You can get this for a few bucks at your local city department.

Any website needs to have your FULL name, contact address, phone nr. & tax ID listed, this is called "impressum".

The problem is that there are many lawyers who have nothing else to do than checking web sites for those "impressum" missing and then send C&D letters to the site owners asking a hefty fee.

But if your site and business meets those criteria you shouldnt have a problem. BUT DO ask a professional lawyer - i am not!!

G.
- Thanks
- 2 replies
Signature

*** Affiliate Site Quick --> The Fastest & Easiest Way to Make Affiliate Sites!<--
-> VISIT www.1UP-SEO.com *** <- Internet Marketing, SEO Tips, Reviews & More!! ***
*** HIGH QUALITY CONTENT CREATION +++ Manual Article Spinning (Thread Here) ***
Content Creation, Blogging, Articles, Converting Sales Copy, Reviews, Ebooks, Rewrites
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3155474].message }}
- Bill Farnham 13 years ago
  
  What kind of products is she selling?
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
  Signature
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3155666].message }}
  
  milkyway 13 years ago
  
  Georg,
  
  it's not only the Impressum. If she has an existing business, she is likely to sell any form of physical goods.
  
  In that case, you'd have to watch out for specific restrictions, depending on the type of goods. And for the phrasing of the refund terms, and probably other stuff as well.
  
  Also, the sales tax stuff might be different if she sells via the internet than if she sells in a store.
  
  Cheers,
  
  Regine
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3157766].message }}
- Ralf Skirr 13 years ago
  
  I know this post isn't new, but in case someone stumbles upon it, like i did, some more info:
  
  Originally Posted by GeorgR.
  
  You need to have a legal business plus tax ID which is actually no problem to get.
  
  I think the tax ID is not required separately for the business in all cases. You can run businesses with your personal tax ID as long the business is not incorporated. Also you have to differentiate between tax ID for the person, the business and a VAT tax ID. VAT tax ID is only needed in very specific cases doing business internationally.
  
  As for legal stuff you must differentiate between B2C and B2B, they have completely different laws.
  
  For B2C you can find good info by joining a very cheap membership for 1 month here:
  legalershop.de® - Internetrecht für Ihren Onlineshop einfach gemacht! HOME
  
  For B2B there's no way to get it right but ask a lawyer.
  
  BTW: a lot of info you currently find on free sites about German ecommerce is outdated, don't use it.
  
  Ralf
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3666440].message }}
joecooper 13 years ago

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for the responses.

She would be selling hand made products such as bean bags and lap trays.

Regine, do you know how she would be able to make sure she has compiled all the correct terms and conditions without having to pay the hefty lawyer fees that they charge. As far as I have found so far, the going rate for a company to create the terms and conditions for a German website is about 1,200 euros... and then about 50euros a month to "check" they are still valid.

I find it hard to believe that the only way is to use one of these companies... but from what I have heard about the system in Germany so far, it seems like this is needed?

Thanks again!

Joe
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3161427].message }}
phmoisan 13 years ago

Hi Joe,

I know some German members at APSense who might be able to help.

Do you want me to contact them ?

Philippe
- Thanks
- 1 reply
Signature

Philippe Moisan
my blog Video Marketing Champions

my blog Be Proactive Now
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3161454].message }}
- joecooper 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by phmoisan
  
  Hi Joe,
  
  I know some German members at APSense who might be able to help.
  
  Do you want me to contact them ?
  
  Philippe
  
  Hi Philippe!
  
  That would be amazing if you could do that! Thanks so much.
  
  Joe
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3161651].message }}
  
  milkyway 13 years ago
  
  Hi Joe,
  
  alas, I don't have a good answer. She could try to do it without a lawyer, but depending on where she wants to sell, it might be more expensive than having a lawyer in the first place.
  
  What she could do is look around for a local lawyer. Maybe she finds somebody who'd be willing to do it for less.
  
  On the other hand, if a local lawyer needs to start from scratch on online sales, he might be more expensive than somebody with up-to-date expertise.
  
  Sorry, can't give you any advice on this.
  
  Selling online in Germany ain't supposed to be fun, it seems.
  
  Regine
  
  PS: One quick idea... you're based in UK? What about selling via your UK business? Just a thought, I don't even know if that would help with the legal stuff or not.
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3162176].message }}
JanRuehling 13 years ago

Here is a good online-forum regarding Internet Marketing in Germany. Maybe she get some answers there:

Google for "ayom.com". I'd like to post the link but due to having under 15 posts I'm not allowed to
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3703394].message }}