Terms of sales

1. General provisions

1.1 These General Terms and Conditions of Sale ("General Terms") apply to all sales of Merle Editions products made through the website www.merle-editions.fr

1.2 The sale of the Products covered by these General Terms is reserved exclusively for consumers ("Customers" or "Customer") who are natural persons not acting within the framework of a commercial or professional activity and who are over 18 years of age.

1.3 The language in which a sales contract may be concluded through this website is French.

1.4 Customers must carefully read these General Terms, which can be consulted on the website so that the Customer may review them, keep a copy, and reproduce them. Sales contracts executed with Customers will be archived by Merle Editions for the retention period prescribed by applicable law.

1.5 You acknowledge having reviewed, prior to sending your order, these General Terms and Conditions of Sale and having been provided with all the information listed in Article L.221-5 of the French Consumer Code in a clear and understandable manner. Validating your order constitutes unreserved acceptance of these General Terms and Conditions of Sale.

2. Identification of the supplier

2.1 The Supplier is MERLE ÉDITIONS, a limited liability company (société à responsabilité limitée) with share capital of 10,000 euros, whose registered office is located at 23 rue de l'île longue, 56400 Pluneret, France, registered with the Lorient Trade and Companies Register (RCS) under number 978 776 391. Unique Identifier for Extended Producer Responsibility (IDU REP EMP) FR402667_01CGJB.

3. Product information and availability

3.1 The website provides information on the Products (as well as the relevant Product codes) and the applicable prices.

3.2 MERLE ÉDITIONS reserves the right, at any time, to limit the quantities and/or type of Products available from its website. The style, models, and colors of the Products described on the website may be changed without prior notice. During the purchasing process, an automatic response message will inform the Customer that the order cannot be processed due to the unavailability of the ordered Product; MERLE ÉDITIONS is not liable to the Customer for the unavailability of the Product prior to the conclusion of the contract.

3.3 Under no circumstances may MERLE ÉDITIONS be held liable for errors arising from a failure of the Customer's connection to the website.

4. Price

4.1 The prices of the Products shown on the website are stated in Euros and include all applicable taxes and charges. Delivery costs, where applicable, must be added to the price of the Products and will be shown separately on the order form, in accordance with the principles set out in applicable law.

4.2 MERLE ÉDITIONS carries out regular checks on the accuracy of the prices of the Products shown on the website; however, MERLE ÉDITIONS cannot guarantee that the website is free of errors. If a pricing error is detected, MERLE ÉDITIONS must refuse the order and offer the Customer the opportunity to purchase the Product at the correct price. If the error is detected after the order has been accepted, MERLE ÉDITIONS will also give the Customer the opportunity to cancel the order.

5. Performance of the contract

5.1 The essential characteristics and price of each Product are displayed on the website. Information displayed on the website does not in any way constitute an offer from MERLE ÉDITIONS.

5.2 Before placing an order through the website, the Customer must carefully read all the instructions provided during the purchasing process (including those relating to any delivery costs, the conditions of the right of withdrawal, and the personal data protection policy), as well as these General Terms.

5.3 To purchase Products, the Customer must (i) add the selected Products to the shopping cart by clicking the corresponding button, (ii) select the delivery method, (iii) choose the payment method, (iv) accept the General Terms, and (v) submit the order proposal to MERLE ÉDITIONS through the website.

5.4 Sending the order constitutes a proposal to purchase the selected Products, subject to these General Terms, and is binding on the Customer, subject to the right of withdrawal set out in Article 10. Sending the order proposal by the Customer creates an obligation for the Customer to pay the price of the Products ordered.

5.5 Any error or change in the data entered by the Customer in the order proposal may be corrected by the Customer by following the process described on the website before submitting the order proposal (for example: the Customer may decide to change the quantity of Products they wish to purchase by adding or removing one or more items from their shopping cart).

5.6 The order proposal and the Customer's data relating to the order proposal will be kept by MERLE ÉDITIONS for the period required under applicable law, as set out in the privacy policy.

5.7 MERLE ÉDITIONS may refuse any order proposal within thirty (30) days of receiving it. In this case, no compensation will be owed by the Customer to MERLE ÉDITIONS. MERLE ÉDITIONS may refuse an order proposal in the following cases (examples, non-exhaustive): (i) the Products are not available (subject to the provisions of Article 3.3); or (ii) activities are declared or suspected to be unlawful or fraudulent, including purchases suspected of being made for commercial purposes; or (iii) the Customer has not fulfilled their obligations under a previous contract with MERLE ÉDITIONS.

5.8 The contract between MERLE ÉDITIONS and the Customer is concluded once the Customer receives MERLE ÉDITIONS's acceptance of the order proposal ("Order Confirmation"). Acceptance (or refusal) by MERLE ÉDITIONS must be communicated to the Customer by email at the address provided by the Customer in the order proposal.

5.9 In the event that one or more Products are unavailable, the Customer will receive an email duly informing them of the unavailability of the Products. In such a case, the order proposal will be cancelled or partially accepted only for the available Products. In the event of partial acceptance, the Customer will only need to pay (or be charged, if paying by credit card) the price of the available Products.

5.10 In accordance with the provisions of Article L.121-19-1 of the French Consumer Code as described below, the Order Confirmation will include a summary of the essential characteristics of the Products purchased, a detailed statement of the price and payment methods, information on delivery costs where applicable, contact information for MERLE ÉDITIONS, information on the conditions and methods for exercising the right of withdrawal, including information on the exclusion of the right of withdrawal for personalized Products, the address to which complaints may be sent, and information on after-sales services and existing commercial terms (where applicable). It will also include a copy of these General Terms.

5.11 Once the Order Confirmation has been sent to the Customer, the order can no longer be cancelled or modified. However, Products that have been shipped may be returned as indicated in Article 10 below.

5.12 The risk of loss or damage to the Products is transferred to the Customer when the Customer (or a third party designated by the Customer other than the carrier) takes physical possession of the Product.

6. Method of payment

6.1 Payment of the price of the Products included in the order proposal, as well as applicable taxes and delivery costs where applicable, must be made by the Customer using the payment methods offered.

6.2 MERLE ÉDITIONS accepts the following credit cards: Bank card, VISA, Carte Bleue, Mastercard, PayPal.

6.3 Transactions will be charged to the Customer's credit card only after: (i) the credit card details have been verified; (ii) authorization to charge the card has been received from the issuer of the card used by the Customer; and (iii) availability of the Products has been confirmed by MERLE ÉDITIONS.

6.4 If, for any reason, it is impossible to charge the amount payable by the Customer (or to obtain the amount owed available in MERLE ÉDITIONS's bank account in the case of a bank transfer) within the required timeframe, the contract will not be performed and the order will be cancelled.

6.6 For each order, MERLE ÉDITIONS must send the Customer an invoice for the Products by email or by post, in accordance with applicable law or regulation. The invoice will be drawn up based on the information provided by the Customer at the time of the order. No changes may be made to the invoice once it has been issued.

7. Shipping and Delivery

7.1 Purchased Products will be delivered on business days by a delivery service chosen by the Customer (hereinafter the "Delivery Service") from among those offered by MERLE ÉDITIONS on the order form. The Products will be delivered to the address provided by the Customer in the order proposal.

7.2 Delivery costs, where applicable, will be borne by the Customer and will be shown separately on the order form and on the invoice.

7.3 MERLE ÉDITIONS undertakes to process orders as quickly as possible but cannot be held liable for delivery delays.

7.4 At the time of delivery of the Products by the Delivery Service, the Customer (or a designated representative) must: (i) ensure that the number of items delivered matches what is stated on the delivery note; (ii) ensure that the packaging and seals are intact, undamaged, and have not been wetted or altered in any way; (iii) sign the delivery receipt; and (iv) present identification if requested by the Delivery Service. Any damage to the packaging and/or the Product, or any discrepancy between the number of items and the supporting documents, must be noted in writing immediately on the Delivery Service's delivery receipt. Subject to any provisions to the contrary set out in applicable law, once the Delivery Service's document has been signed and no objection has been raised by the Customer, the Customer may no longer raise objections regarding the external characteristics of the delivered package, it being specified that the Customer retains the right to raise objections later regarding other characteristics of the Products in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 13 below.

7.5 In the case of delivery outside of mainland France, items are imported into the destination country under the Customer's responsibility. Any customs duties or local taxes are the Customer's sole responsibility.

8. Shipment and delivery confirmation

8.1 MERLE ÉDITIONS must send the Customer a shipping confirmation by email once the Products have been shipped, and another email once the Products have been delivered.

9. Ribboning or packaging

9.1 Products purchased from the website are delivered with MERLE ÉDITIONS's standard packaging and are properly protected.

10. Right of withdrawal

10.1 In accordance with Article L.121-21 of the French Consumer Code as described below, the Customer has a right to withdraw from the contract, which may be exercised without giving reasons within 14 (fourteen) days from the date on which the Customer (or their duly authorized representative for receiving the Products) physically takes possession of the Products, or, in the case of partial delivery, of the last Product.

10.2 In order to exercise the right of withdrawal, the Customer must, within the period mentioned in Article 10.1 above, send by email or by post a notice of their intention to exercise their right of withdrawal in accordance with Article L121-21 of the French Consumer Code; such notice must include the following information: (i) an indication of the Product for which the Customer wishes to exercise the right of withdrawal; (ii) the order number; and (iii) if the Customer purchased the Product by bank transfer, the Customer's IBAN to which the refund can be made, sent by the following means:
- By post: 23 rue de l'île longue, 56400 Pluneret, France
- By email: contact@merle-editions.fr

10.3 Within 14 (fourteen) days of receiving a Product being withdrawn (notice sent in accordance with Article 10.2 above), the Customer must return the purchased Product to MERLE ÉDITIONS, 23 rue de l'île longue, 56400, Pluneret, France. Return shipping costs are the Customer's responsibility. Products must be returned in their original condition, unaltered, unused, undamaged, and with their original labels still attached. In the event of a decrease in value of the Products resulting from handling by the Customer beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics, and functioning of the goods, MERLE ÉDITIONS reserves the right to refuse the return of the Products. The Customer is solely responsible for any decrease in value of the Products resulting from handling beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics, and functioning of the goods.

10.4 MERLE ÉDITIONS must refund all payments received from the Customer, including any delivery costs, within 14 (fourteen) days of receiving the returned Products. The refund will be made by MERLE ÉDITIONS using the same payment method used by the Customer for the original transaction, unless the Customer has expressly agreed to a different method and provided that the Customer does not incur any costs as a result of the refund.

11. Personalized Products and other special Products

11.1 In accordance with Article L121-21-8 of the French Consumer Code as described below, the right of withdrawal does not apply to (i) orders for personalized Products, such as, for example, those bearing the Customer's initials on the Product; (ii) those likely to deteriorate or expire quickly; (iii) and those which cannot be returned due to their nature (e.g., a Product that was sealed and has been opened by the Customer), or for hygiene reasons.

12. Product exchange

12.1 Without prejudice to the Customer's rights under Articles 10 and 13, and except for personalized Products, MERLE ÉDITIONS allows the exchange of Products purchased on the website, according to the following procedure:

(I) once the Products have been received, the Customer must contact MERLE ÉDITIONS without delay by email at contact@merle-editions.fr;

(II) the Customer must then complete the form provided with the delivered Products that the Customer wishes to exchange, clearly indicating the code and size of the new Products the Customer wishes to receive (codes and sizes are shown on the website);

(III) within a maximum of 14 (fourteen) days from the date of delivery of the Product, the Product to be exchanged must be returned by the Customer to MERLE ÉDITIONS in the same condition in which it was delivered, with the labels attached to the Products and the form referred to in point 12.1 (II) above. Unless otherwise stated on the website, the costs of returning the Products are borne by the Customer.

12.2 Products must be returned in their original condition, unaltered, unused, undamaged, and with their original labels attached. In the event of a decrease in value of the Products resulting from handling by the Customer beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics, and functioning of the goods, MERLE ÉDITIONS reserves the right to refuse the exchange of the Products. The Customer is solely responsible for any decrease in value of the Products resulting from handling beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics, and functioning of the goods.

12.3 The amount paid by the Customer will be refunded by MERLE ÉDITIONS, using the same payment method used by the Customer to originally purchase the Product, within 14 (fourteen) days after the returned Products have been delivered to MERLE ÉDITIONS.

12.4 The exchange will be accepted by MERLE ÉDITIONS subject to availability of the new Products requested.

12.5 The exchange is treated by MERLE ÉDITIONS as a new order from the Customer, subject to the same obligations and conditions set out in these General Terms as for the original order. In particular, if the Products the Customer wishes to exchange were originally paid for by credit card, MERLE ÉDITIONS will first refund the price originally paid by the Customer to that card, then charge the price of the newly requested Products in accordance with Article 6.3 above. If the original payment was made by bank transfer and the price of the newly requested Products is the same as that paid by the Customer for the Products they wish to exchange, MERLE ÉDITIONS will retain the amount originally paid by the Customer; if the price is different, MERLE ÉDITIONS will refund the difference — or ask the Customer to pay the difference, as applicable.

13. Non-conformity

13.1 If a Product sold by MERLE ÉDITIONS shows manufacturing defects or an alleged lack of conformity of the Products sold by MERLE ÉDITIONS, the Customer must immediately contact the online after-sales service by the following means:
- By post: 23 rue de l'île longue, 56400 Pluneret, France
- By email: contact@merle-editions.fr

13.2 The legal warranties provided for in Articles L211-4 to L211-14 of the French Consumer Code as described below apply to the sale of the Products. Under these articles, the Customer has the right to have the Products brought into conformity, free of charge, either by being replaced or repaired (it being specified that the Customer has the right to choose whether the Product is repaired or replaced, within the limits provided by law), or, in the event that neither of these remedies is possible (in accordance with Article L211-10 of the French Consumer Code), the right to an appropriate reduction of the sale price of the Products or the right to terminate the contract. The Customer loses these rights if they fail to notify MERLE ÉDITIONS of the lack of conformity within 14 (fourteen) days from the date on which the Customer detected such lack of conformity.

13.3 If the Customer wishes to have the Product repaired or replaced due to a lack of conformity under Article 13, the delivery costs associated with returning the Product to be repaired or replaced will be borne by MERLE ÉDITIONS, as will all costs associated with delivering the repaired or replaced Product to the Customer.

14. Guarantee of authenticity and intellectual property rights

14.1 MERLE ÉDITIONS guarantees the authenticity of all Products purchased on the website, as well as their compliance with French law. In the case of delivery outside France, MERLE ÉDITIONS accepts no liability if a delivered item does not comply with the laws of the destination country.

14.2 The "Merle éditions" trademarks, all figurative and/or three-dimensional trademarks appearing on the Products, accessories, or relevant packaging, as well as all illustrations, images, and locations protected by copyright and, more generally, all intellectual property rights related to the Products, are and remain the exclusive property of MERLE ÉDITIONS's companies.

14.3 The Supplier shall not be held liable for failure to fulfill its contractual obligations due to a fortuitous event or force majeure such as disaster, disruption, total or partial strike, in particular of postal services and means of transport, flood, fire, equipment failure, or acts of the customer.

15. Applicable law and competent jurisdiction

15.1 These General Terms, and consequently the contracts concluded with Customers, are governed by and must be interpreted in accordance with French law.

15.2. Disputes related to or arising from these General Terms fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Vannes Court.

16. Contact

16.1 To obtain further information and assistance regarding the website or online purchasing methods, the Customer may contact MERLE ÉDITIONS at one of the addresses shown below:
- By post: 23 rue de l'île longue, 56400 Pluneret, France
- By email: contact@merle-editions.fr

17. Consumer service & Consumer ombudsman

17.1 Recourse to consumer service: In the event of a disagreement/dispute concerning a service or product related to the company, the consumer customer may send a reasoned complaint to our customer service:
- By post: 23 rue de l'île longue, 56400 Pluneret, France
- By email: contact@merle-editions.fr

17.2 The Ombudsman may be contacted using the details below:

Consumer mediation refers to an out-of-court dispute resolution process by which a consumer and a business attempt to reach an amicable agreement to resolve a dispute between them, with the help of a third party, the mediator. In the absence of an amicable agreement between the parties, the mediator proposes a solution to resolve the dispute.

Organization's contact details: FCD - Fédération du Commerce et de la Distribution ( https://mediateur.fcd.fr/ )

This is therefore an alternative to legal action, which is often long and costly. However, the consumer retains the option of taking the matter to court if mediation is unsuccessful.

IMPORTANT: The Ombudsman must be contacted within one year of the consumer's written complaint to the business.

This referral can only be made in the event of a negative response or no response from the business after 60 days.

18. Pre-orders

18.1 Certain products may be offered for pre-order with an estimated availability date.

18.2 Payment for these products will be requested upon confirmation of the order, but the product will only be shipped on the estimated availability date.

18.3 If pre-ordered products turn out to be unavailable and cause a delay beyond the announced availability date, MERLE ÉDITIONS will inform the Customer, who may choose to keep or cancel their order. In the latter case, the Customer will be refunded as soon as possible.

18.4 If the products become permanently unavailable, MERLE ÉDITIONS will inform the Customer by email. The Customer's Order will then be cancelled and the Customer will be refunded as soon as possible.