Terms and Conditions (AGB)

Note: The German version of these Terms and Conditions is the legally binding version. This English translation is provided for convenience and information purposes only. General Terms and Conditions (AGB) of DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt), trading under the brand IstanbulBooks.

§ 1 Scope

These General Terms and Conditions (AGB) apply to all contracts for the purchase of goods and digital content concluded by consumers or business customers (jointly referred to as “customers”) with DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) via the online shop www.istanbulbooks.com. The product range includes in particular German-language and foreign-language books, the publisher's own titles, titles of other publishers and – where offered – e-books, PDF files, audiobooks, vouchers and other media or publishing products. These terms apply regardless of whether the ordered products are delivered by DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) itself or by commissioned logistics and shipping partners. Deviating general terms and conditions of the customer do not apply unless their validity has been expressly agreed to in writing. Consumers within the meaning of these terms are natural persons who enter into a legal transaction for predominantly private purposes (§ 13 BGB). Business customers are natural or legal persons or partnerships with legal capacity who act in the exercise of their commercial or independent professional activity when concluding the contract (§ 14 BGB).

§ 2 Contracting party

The contracting party for all orders is: DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) trading under the brand IstanbulBooks Schwachhauser Heerstraße 179 28211 Bremen Germany Commercial register: Local Court (Amtsgericht) Bremen HRB 39606 HB Managing director: Ilker Kuscu Phone: +49 (0)421 57287671 Email: info@istanbulbooks.com Website: www.istanbulbooks.com All contracts are concluded exclusively between the customer and DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt). This also applies if individual services – in particular storage, picking, shipping or payment processing – are provided by commissioned service providers or cooperation partners.

§ 3 Conclusion of contract

The presentation of products in the online shop does not constitute a legally binding offer, but an invitation to the customer to submit a binding purchase offer. By completing the order process and clicking the button “Zahlungspflichtig bestellen” (order with obligation to pay) or a correspondingly clearly labelled button, the customer submits a binding offer to conclude a purchase contract. After receipt of the order, the customer first receives an automated confirmation of receipt. This confirmation of receipt is for information purposes only and does not constitute acceptance of the contractual offer. The purchase contract is only concluded when DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) • sends an express order confirmation in text form, • arranges the dispatch of the goods, or • makes digital content available to the customer. If ordered products are not available or only partially available, the customer will be informed without delay. Payments already made for undeliverable products will be refunded without delay via the payment method originally used. The contract language is exclusively German.

§ 4 Customer account

Orders can be placed – where technically offered – both with a customer account and as a guest. When registering, the customer undertakes to provide only complete and accurate information and to update it without delay in the event of changes. Access credentials must be treated confidentially and must not be made accessible to third parties. The customer is responsible for all activities carried out under their customer account insofar as they are attributable to the customer. The customer account enables – where offered – in particular: • viewing previous orders, • downloading digitally provided invoices, • managing personal data, • using wish lists, • participating in bonus or loyalty programmes, and • further functions offered in the future. There is no entitlement to specific customer account functions. DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is entitled to expand, adapt or discontinue functions provided that no essential contractual rights of the customer are impaired. DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) may temporarily block or permanently close customer accounts if there are concrete indications of misuse, false information, or violations of statutory provisions or of these terms. The customer's statutory rights remain unaffected.

§ 5 Prices, fixed book prices and payment terms

The prices stated in the online shop at the time of the order apply. All prices include statutory VAT unless stated otherwise for the respective product. Shipping costs, customs duties, import charges or other additional costs are displayed to the customer before completion of the order process or shown separately, insofar as they can be influenced or determined in advance by DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt). For books subject to the German statutory fixed book price system, the binding sales prices under the Book Price Fixing Act (BuchPrG) apply. Price-bound books may only be sold at the legally permissible prices. Price changes due to statutory requirements or binding price changes by publishers also apply to offers published in the shop, provided the purchase contract has not yet been concluded. For products not subject to fixed pricing, in particular gift items, digital content, vouchers or other publishing products, only the prices stated in the online shop apply. Obvious pricing, typing or transmission errors do not give rise to any claim to conclusion of a contract.

§ 6 Payment methods

The payment methods offered in the online shop are available to the customer. Depending on the product, country of delivery or technical availability, the following payment methods in particular may be offered: • credit card • Apple Pay • Google Pay • PayPal • Klarna • SEPA direct debit • Sofort bank transfer • invoice • prepayment • further payment methods offered in the future Payment processing may be carried out in whole or in part by external payment service providers. The respective privacy notices of these providers additionally apply to their processing of personal data. DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) reserves the right not to offer individual payment methods in individual cases or to enable them only under certain conditions, provided there is an objective reason for doing so. Refunds are generally made via the same payment method used by the customer for the original payment, unless otherwise required by law or expressly agreed otherwise.

§ 7 Delivery, shipping and partial deliveries

Delivery is made to the delivery address provided by the customer. DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is entitled to use suitable logistics and shipping service providers for storage, picking, packaging and delivery. This does not create a contractual relationship between the customer and the respective service provider. Shipping may be carried out both by DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) itself and by commissioned shipping and logistics partners. Deliveries are generally made worldwide, unless statutory provisions, official requirements or logistical restrictions prevent this. If several products are part of one order and become available at different times, DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is entitled to make economically reasonable partial deliveries, provided this does not cause unreasonable disadvantages for the customer. Stated delivery times are non-binding estimates unless a binding delivery date has been expressly agreed. Delays beyond the control of DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt), in particular due to publishers, printers, international supply chains, customs clearance, transport companies or force majeure, extend the delivery period accordingly.

§ 8 Availability, pre-orders and delivery obstacles

The availability shown in the online shop is for guidance only and does not constitute a binding delivery commitment. Books and other products may be temporarily or permanently unavailable, in particular due to reprints, supply shortages, publisher decisions or international procurement channels. Pre-orders are possible for products marked accordingly. The publication dates announced by the respective publisher or rights holder are decisive. If a publication date is postponed, the delivery time is extended accordingly. The customer will be informed as soon as DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) becomes aware of the change. If a product is definitively not published or permanently unavailable, the delivery obligation lapses. Payments already made will be refunded without delay via the payment method originally used. The customer's statutory claims remain unaffected.

§ 9 Retention of title

Delivered goods remain the property of DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) until full payment has been made. Vis-à-vis business customers, the retention of title applies until all claims from the ongoing business relationship have been settled in full. The business customer is obliged to treat the goods subject to retention of title with care and to report third-party access without delay insofar as it may impair the ownership rights of DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt).

§ 10 Digital content and rights of use

Where digital content is offered in the online shop, in particular e-books, PDF files, audiobooks or comparable digital products, the customer receives only a simple, non-transferable and non-exclusive right of use for private purposes, unless the respective product description states otherwise. The purchase of digital content does not transfer ownership of the content or of the underlying copyrights. Without the prior express consent of DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) or the respective rights holder, it is in particular prohibited to • reproduce digital content, • make it publicly accessible, • resell it, • rent it out, • lend it, • distribute it, or • make it permanently available to third parties, unless expressly permitted by law. Legally permitted uses, in particular under copyright law, remain unaffected. Where technical protection measures are used for digital content, they may not be circumvented or removed insofar as this is legally prohibited.

§ 11 Age-restricted products

Where products are subject to statutory age restrictions, they are sold exclusively to persons who have reached the legally required minimum age. DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is entitled to use suitable age verification measures or to have them carried out by commissioned service providers. If there are justified doubts about the legal age or the authorisation of the person ordering, delivery may be refused or made dependent on suitable age or identity verification. Statutory obligations under youth protection law remain unaffected.

§ 12 Right of withdrawal

Consumers have a right of withdrawal where the statutory requirements are met. Details of the right of withdrawal, its exercise, the consequences of withdrawal and the statutory exceptions can be found in the separate withdrawal notice, which forms part of the ordering process. Business customers have no statutory right of withdrawal unless otherwise required by law.

§ 13 Warranty

The statutory warranty rights for defects apply. For business customers, the warranty period for new goods is one year from delivery, to the extent legally permissible and unless mandatory statutory provisions provide otherwise. Obvious transport damage should, where possible, be reported to the delivery agent immediately upon handover and communicated to DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) without delay. Failure to make such a report has no effect on the customer's statutory warranty rights. Customary, technically caused or product-typical deviations that do not impair ordinary use do not constitute a material defect.

§ 14 Liability

DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is liable without limitation for damage caused intentionally or by gross negligence, as well as for damage resulting from injury to life, body or health. In the event of slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract. Cardinal obligations are obligations whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose observance the customer may regularly rely. Otherwise, liability for slight negligence is excluded to the extent legally permissible. Liability under the German Product Liability Act and under mandatory statutory provisions remains unaffected. Insofar as the liability of DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is excluded or limited, this also applies in favour of its legal representatives, employees, vicarious agents and other commissioned service providers.

§ 15 Customer reviews, vouchers and bonus programmes

Customer reviews Customer reviews should be based on actual experience with the purchased products or services. In particular, reviews with the following are not permitted: • unlawful content, • insulting or discriminatory statements, • untrue factual claims, • automatically or artificially generated content, • advertising or spam. DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) reserves the right to review submitted ratings and to remove content that violates statutory provisions or these terms. Vouchers Promotional vouchers may be limited in time or content and apply exclusively in accordance with the published voucher conditions. Cash payment of vouchers is excluded to the extent legally permissible. Gift vouchers may be offered in the future. The conditions published at the time of purchase apply to them. Bonus and loyalty programmes DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) may offer bonus, loyalty or customer programmes. Scope, duration and conditions of participation are set out in the respective published programme conditions. There is no entitlement to the introduction or permanent continuation of a bonus programme.

§ 16 Data protection

Personal data is processed exclusively in accordance with the applicable data protection regulations. Details on the processing of personal data can be found in the privacy policy at www.istanbulbooks.com.

§ 17 Force majeure

If DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is unable to fulfil its contractual obligations, or can only do so to a limited extent, due to events of force majeure, delivery and performance periods are extended appropriately. Force majeure includes in particular natural disasters, pandemics, official measures, war, terrorism, strikes, lockouts, cyberattacks, prolonged technical failures, interruptions of international supply chains and comparable events beyond the control of DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt). The statutory rights of the contracting parties remain unaffected.

§ 18 Consumer dispute resolution

The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (ODR platform). DVA Verlag UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board, unless there is a statutory obligation to do so.

§ 19 Final provisions

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), unless mandatory consumer protection provisions conflict with this. If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the business relationship is Bremen. Should individual provisions of these terms be or become wholly or partially invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. The statutory provision takes the place of the invalid or unenforceable provision. Amendments or additions to these terms require text form, unless otherwise required by law.