General terms and conditions

Last updated: April 2024

Please note: Only the German original of these General Terms and Conditions of Digitec Galaxus AG is legally binding. The English translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force. By accepting these General Terms and Conditions, you automatically accept the German original.

1 Scope of application

The present general terms and conditions (hereinafter "GTC") apply to all legal transactions made through the online shops www.digitec.ch and www.galaxus.ch (hereinafter individually referred to as "online shop"). Both online shops are operated by Digitec Galaxus AG (hereinafter "Digitec Galaxus").

These general terms and conditions also apply to all legal transactions made within the scope of Digitec Galaxus’ merchant programme (hereinafter "merchant programme"). The merchant programme allows selected third-party providers (hereinafter "merchants") to offer products and services under their own name and sell them to customers via the Digitec Galaxus online shops.

Any second hand products are subject to the General terms and conditions of resale platform (GTCoR) in addition to or partially instead of the these GTC.

Galaxus reserves the right to change these GTC at any time. The version of the GTC valid at the time of order placement applies and may not be changed unilaterally for the respective order. Adverse or conflicting terms of the customer will not be recognised.

The range of products and services available in the online shop, including the scope of the merchant programme, (hereinafter "offer") is exclusively intended for customers whose place of residence or place of business is Switzerland or Liechtenstein.

Deliveries are made exclusively to addresses in Switzerland or Liechtenstein.

Products are available for as long as they can be found through the search engine in the online shop and/or while stocks last.

Customers confirm compliance with the legal provisions for all product orders with a minimum age requirement of 18 (particularly for alcohol and tobacco products).

Orders exceeding conventional household amounts may be rejected without justification.

2 Information

2.1 Product and price

Images of products in advertising, brochures, the online shop etc. serve illustration services and are non-binding.

All sales prices published in the online shop are final prices, which the following items are included in the price of the product: VAT, any prepaid recycling fees, packaging costs, delivery costs, and any other taxes, fees, or costs all taxes (notably VAT). Only the minimum order surcharge – if applicable – is excluded. In addition to the final price, a minimum order surcharge of maximum CHF 9.00 can be charged for order totals of below CHF 50.–. Digitec Galaxus and the merchants reserve the right to change prices of products and services at any time. The prices stated in the online shop at the time of order placement apply.

If the customer places an order with a merchant domiciled abroad who is not entered in the Swiss VAT register, the customer, as the importer of the products supplied by the merchant, is the debtor of Swiss import tax and any customs duties. The customer hereby authorises and commissions Digitec Galaxus (or a third party commissioned by Digitec Galaxus) to make the import customs declaration of the products supplied by the dealer in Switzerland in the name and on behalf of the customer and to pay the Swiss import duties (import tax and any customs duties). The customer pays the expected Swiss import duties in advance to Digitec Galaxus together with the purchase price. Any difference to the actual Swiss import duties incurred will be refunded to the customer. Digitec Galaxus provides the customer with an import duty notice in a suitable form or makes it available online. The customer must report any complaints regarding the import duty notice within seven (7) working days after receipt or after having it available. After expiry of this period, the customer shall have no recourse against Digitec Galaxus for any defects in the import duty notice.

Any additional services subject to a fee, e.g. installation, disposal, warranty extensions, insurance etc., are offered by Digitec Galaxus. Such additional services are listed separately in the shopping cart and on the invoice.

2.2 Availability and delivery times

Digitec Galaxus is committed to providing up-to-date and precise information on availability and delivery times in the online shop. However, production and delivery shortages in particular may cause delivery delays for Digitec Galaxus as well as for merchants. Therefore, all information on availability and delivery times is subject to change.

2.3 Additional services: installation and disposal

Installation includes the unpacking and installing of the ordered product including the taking back of packaging.

Disposal includes the receipt and environmentally sound disposal of the item(s) specified by the customer upon placing his or her order. The item(s) must correspond approximately in type and quantity to the ordered product. The item(s) for disposal must be prepared for transport by the customer and must be ready on the arranged delivery date for the ordered products.

If the installation service cannot be provided due to a reason for which the customer is responsible (e.g. due to non-compliance with the installation date, incorrect measurement information, etc.), the customer shall not be entitled to a refund of the paid installation service.

2.4 CO2 Compensation 

Digitec Galaxus can give the customer the choice to contribute a maximum of 5% of the value of the goods to the compensation of CO2 emissions of their purchase. If this choice is available, it will be shown to the customer together with the amount of the climate contribution in the order overview. Digitec Galaxus collects the climate contribution with the support of a third party. The contributions flow into selected environmental projects. Find out more about this here. Once an order was ready for delivery, any climate contribution you’ve made can’t be refunded. Digitec Galaxus does not warrant that any information, assurances or calculations made by Digitec Galaxus or the third party provider regarding the climate contribution are correct. 

3 Contract conclusion

Products and prices stated in the online shop are deemed to constitute offers. However, these offers are always subject to the inability to deliver or incorrect price quotations, both of which lead to contract cancellation.

A contract for products or services from Digitec Galaxus shall be deemed concluded with Digitec Galaxus as soon as an order has been placed by the customer in the online shop, at one of our stores, by telephone or e-mail (hereinafter referred to as "contract").

For products and services offered by a merchant, the contract is concluded between the merchant and the customer as soon as an order has been placed by the customer in the online shop, at one of our stores, by telephone or e-mail. Digitec Galaxus only acts as an intermediary for these purchases. Digitec Galaxus only mediates in the sales and acts as intermediary and service provider for merchants, but does not act as contracting party for the customer. For products and services offered by a merchant based in Germany who is not entered in the Swiss VAT Register, the sales contract for the indicated price in the online shop is concluded in Euro. Customers must pay in Swiss francs.

Customers can see in the online shop and on the invoice who the supplier or rather the contracting party for any purchase is (either Digitec Galaxus or the merchant).

The receipt of an online order is indicated to the customer by means of an automatically generated order confirmation from Digitec Galaxus to the e-mail address provided by the customer. The receipt of the automatically generated order confirmation does not constitute a commitment that the product will be delivered. It solely notifies the customer that the placed order was received by the online shop and a contract was therefore concluded with Digitec Galaxus or the merchant under condition of deliverability and correct price quotation.

4 Delivery date

Together with the order confirmation, the customer is either provided with a provisional delivery date or is contacted so that an individual delivery date can be arranged.

If delivery by Digitec Galaxus or the merchant is delayed, customers are entitled to withdraw from the contract (with the exception of special orders) as of the 30th from the originally scheduled delivery date. In this instance, Digitec Galaxus shall refund the customers any payments they have already made. No further claims towards Digitec Galaxus or the merchant apply.

5 Delivery/In-store collection

For products and services by Digitec Galaxus, all delivery and collection options described under "Delivery and collection" in the online shop are available to the customer.

Products and services purchased from a merchant can only be shipped to a customer and cannot be collected.

The delivery address in Switzerland or Liechtenstein must be easily accessible by truck. If this is not the case, the customer must bear any additional costs.

If the customer chooses the option "delivery to place of use", it is the customer’s responsibility to ensure the place of use is accessible. The customer must verify that the product fits through any entrances, for instance staircases, doors, etc. If the product cannot be transported to the place of use, the customer shall bear any additional costs.

Should the customer refuse to accept the ordered products on the arranged or provided delivery date, Digitec Galaxus or the merchant may withdraw from the contract (cancellation) and charge the customer for the delivery costs and any loss of value.

If the customer does not collect the ordered products from one of our stores (in-store collection) within 14 calendar days from the arranged date, Digitec Galaxus may withdraw from the contract (cancellation).

6 Customer obligation to inspect products

Customers are obliged to immediately inspect the delivered or collected products for correctness, completeness and potential transport damage.

If the delivery is carried out by a service partner, the customer must state the defect on the delivery note.

The customer shall inform Digitec Galaxus of any defects, or false or incomplete deliveries, immediately after detection thereof and within five calendar days after receipt of the delivery/collection at the latest. This also applies to products and services by merchants. The customer is aware that this information needs to be given via the section "Returns, repairs and support" in their personal customer account. The customer must retain the product in the condition it was delivered in and may not use it. The customer must follow the instructions for the returns process as described in "Returns, repairs and support" in the personal customer account.

7 Warranty

7.1 Basic provisions

Digitec Galaxus or the merchant warrant for two years from delivery date or in-store collection that the ordered product will be free from defects and fully functional. This warranty period continues to be valid irrespective of the fulfilment of possible warranty services. Digitec Galaxus or the merchant shall provide warranty either by

  • repairing the product free of charge (original warranty period continues to apply to the entire product);
  • providing a partial or full replacement with an equivalent product (for replacement within the first year of warranty, the original warranty period continues to apply. For replacement within the second year of warranty, the warranty period is one year starting from the time of replacement); 
  • replacing the product through Digitec Galaxus (the warranty period of two years starting from the time of replacement applies)
  • providing a refund at current price (no more than the sales price at the time of the original order); or
  • giving a price reduction.

Digitec Galaxus or the merchant explicitly exclude warranty for wear and tear parts such as batteries, rechargeable batteries, adapters, bulbs and for software problems. Otherwise, liability exclusion pursuant to point 8 applies.

Provided that the manufacturer warranty exceeds the warranty of Digitec Galaxus or the merchant, Digitec Galaxus or the merchant shall grant the former to the customer.

If a data carrier or a product with a data storage device contained therein is handed over to Digitec Galaxus or the merchant, a complete loss of data must be expected in any case. It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure an appropriate data backup is carried out beforehand and that the data is protected. Neither Digitec Galaxus nor the merchant assume liability for potential loss of data.

While the warranty claim is being processed, both Digitec Galaxus and the merchant may, at their own discretion, provide the customer with a replacement device (replacement subject to reservation). This shall apply on condition (precedent) that a warranty claim actually exists. Therefore, the customer only gains ownership of the replacement product at the time of promise of guarantee by Digitec Galaxus or the merchant. If the warranty claim is rejected by Digitec Galaxus or the merchant, the customer may purchase the replacement product at retail value at the time of delivery or is obliged to return the replacement device at his or her own expense.

All further-reaching and in particular the legal provisions for warranty are excluded.

7.2 Additional provisions for used goods

Other provisions apply to the already discounted products that are marked as "As good as new + tested", "Used + tested" or "Refurbished”. They may show minor visual flaws or be restored products. These visual flaws are not covered by the warranty and are stated accordingly in the article details. In all other respects, a warranty period of at least one year from delivery or in-store collection applies to these products.

The customer is aware of the fact that he or she is purchasing a used electronic product that may contain personal data of the previous owner/user and that no liability is assumed by Digitec Galaxus or the merchant. 

7.3 Warranty extension

Customers may purchase a warranty extension for additional 12 to 36 months. A warranty extension prolongs the existing warranty. The warranty extension can be taken out during the product purchase or up to 30 days before the regular warranty expires, provided that no defect has occurred yet.

The duration of the warranty extension shall continue irrespective of the provision of any warranty services. Digitec Galaxus may offer the warranty service by either of the following:

  • repairing the product free of charge (original warranty period continues to apply to the entire product);
  • providing a partial or full replacement with an equivalent product (for replacement within the first year of warranty, the original warranty period continues to apply. For replacement within the second year of warranty, the warranty period is one year starting from the time of replacement); 
  • Replacing the product through Digitec Galaxus (the warranty period of two years starting from the time of replacement applies);
  • refund at the current value of the purchased product. This being 80% of the original purchase price for the third year, 60% for the fourth year and 40% for the fifth year).

In the case of warranty extensions with the «Pick-up & Return» option, an appointment is made and the device is collected from and delivery to the customer address. The device must be packaged appropriately and ready for collection at the agreed time. All shipments can only be picked up and delivered from the curbside.

7.4 Warranty extension / Express replacement service

Customers may add an express replacement service to a warranty extension. The Express Exchange Service is valid for the entire warranty period of the product. In the event of a warranty claim, the Express Exchange Service means that there is no need to wait for a repair: Digitec Galaxus will either replace the defective product by a new, equivalent product within one working day after receipt or the purchase price will be refunded. In warranty cases, Digitec Galaxus pays the delivery costs for the return of the defective product. In case of replacement, the new warranty period is two years starting from date of replacement. The express replacement service applies to one product at a time and can be acquired up to 30 days after the purchase of the product at the latest. 

8 Liability and exclusion of liability

8.1 Liability

Liability is based on the applicable legal provisions. However, in no event shall Digitec Galaxus or the merchant be liable for (i) slight negligence, (ii) indirect and consequential damage and subsequent damage and loss of profit, (iii) unrealised savings, or (iv) damage resulting from delivery delay, or (v) any acts and omissions on the part of auxiliary persons of Digitec Galaxus or the merchant, be this contractual or non-contractual.

Moreover, Digitec Galaxus or the merchant will not accept any liability in the following cases:

  • storage, setting or use of products that is improper, unlawful or contrary to contract;
  • use of incompatible spare parts or accessories (e.g. power supply);
  • failure to maintain and/or improper modification or repair of the products by our customers or a third party;
  • force majeure, particularly natural hazards, moisture, shock and impact etc. that are not caused by Digitec Galaxus or official orders.

8.2 Limitation of liability

Digitec Galaxus accepts no liability for loss or damage of any kind – whether it be for direct, indirect or consequential damage that may arise from the use of or access to the Digitec Galaxus websites or from any links to third-party websites. Digitec Galaxus does not warrant that the individual parts of the website run flawlessly. Furthermore, Digitec Galaxus accepts no liability for any manipulation of the internet user’s IT system by unauthorised persons.

Further information can be found in detail in the disclaimer.

9 Payment

9.1 Payment methods

Digitec Galaxus claims all payments for products and services purchased on the Digitec Galaxus online shops directly from the customer. Merchants assign any payment claims resulting from the purchase contract between the merchant and the customer to Digitec Galaxus (cession). The customer acknowledges this cession and is obliged to make payments to Digitec Galaxus only.

Payment must be made in Swiss Francs.

Cash payment is possible for in-store collection of products from Digitec Galaxus only. Products and services by merchants cannot be collected in-store and thus cannot be paid for in cash.

Payment methods available to customers for the online shop are listed under "Payment methods".

The current fees can also be viewed under "Payment methods" and are given in detail in the ordering process.

When paying by credit card or other instant payment methods, the amount is debited at the time of order.

In case of prepayment, delivery is made only after receipt of the payment. The products in stock at the Digitec Galaxus main warehouse are reserved until the expiration of the payment term, which is at least 11 calendar days. This also applies to products that are ordered from an external source, but processed and shipped in our warehouse. Products that are delivered to customers directly by a merchant or an external distributor are only ordered upon receipt of payment. 

For fee-based purchases on account (only possible for products from Digitec Galaxus), customers are obliged to settle the invoiced amount within 20 calendar days of receiving the delivery without any (discount) deduction. In the event of a partial return of the delivered products, the invoiced amount may be reduced accordingly.

9.2 Delay of payment

Should customers fail to settle their payment obligations in whole or in part, all outstanding amounts owed to Digitec Galaxus for any purchases become immediately due (within 8 calendar days from the first reminder for prepayments). Digitec Galaxus may request immediate payment and suspend any further product deliveries to the customer.

Digitec Galaxus levies an administrative charge of CHF 5.– from the second reminder and CHF 20.– from the third reminder. Should the reminders be unsuccessful, the invoiced amount may be contracted to a collection agency. In such an event, an additional effective annual interest rate of up to 15% may be invoiced for the owed amount as from the due date of payment. The agency contracted with the collection of the owed amounts claims the amount on its own behalf and on its own account and may levy additional service charges.

9.3 Reservation of ownership

All ordered products remain the property of Digitec Galaxus or the merchant until payment is received in full. Digitec Galaxus or the merchant is entitled to make an entry in the register for reservation of ownership. Without the express consent of Digitec Galaxus, no pledging, transferring of security, processing or modification is permitted prior to transfer of ownership.

10 Order change or cancellation

Order placement obliges the customer to accept the products and services. Digitec Galaxus or the merchant may, at its own discretion, accept subsequent order changes or cancellations by the customer and invoice an inconvenience charge of 20% of the cancelled order value, but no less than CHF 60.–, as well as any value loss of the ordered products.

In the event of (partial) inability to deliver (condition leading to termination) after order placement or contract conclusion pursuant to point 3, the customer is immediately informed by e-mail. If the customer has already made the payment, the amount is refunded. If no payment has been made, the customer is exempted from the obligation to pay the amount due. Further claims for delivery delay or delivery failure are excluded.

11 Returning non-defective products

Digitec Galaxus, or the respective merchant, guarantees the right to return a product under the conditions listed in the Return policy. To see if a product can be returned, as well as the applicable return period, please see the «Returns, repairs and support» tab on the page of the product in question.

Customers must register the return of a product in their personal customer account under the section "Returns and warranty" on www.galaxus.ch or www.digitec.ch and return it according to the instructions given. The products, together with all accessories, must be properly packed and returned in their original packaging. Damaged products cannot be returned or will be fully invoiced to the customer, respectively.

If a data carrier or a product with a data storage device contained therein is handed over to Digitec Galaxus or the merchant, a complete loss of data must be expected in any case. It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure an appropriate data backup is carried out beforehand and that the data is protected. Digitec Galaxus or the merchant accepts no liability for any loss of data.

Should customers exercise their right of return, Digitec Galaxus shall refund the total purchase price with the exception of any minimum order surcharge paid and the return fees listed in the return policy. No return fees are charged for clothing and shoes.

In connection with any return of products for which import customs clearance has taken place on behalf of the customer, the customer authorises and commissions Digitec Galaxus with the export customs declaration of the returned products and the application for any refund of Swiss import duties on behalf of the customer. If the customer could not or only partially deduct the value-added tax as input tax and the other requirements of the import tax refund are met due to re-export of the ordered products, Digitec Galaxus will refund the import tax paid by the customer in advance after receipt of the corresponding amount from the Federal Customs Administration. In the case of companies listed in the Swiss or Liechtenstein VAT registers, proof of the non-deductibility of the import tax must be provided in the form of a corresponding confirmation from the Federal Tax Administration.

In this context, the customer assures Digitec Galaxus that the details and listing of the returned products are complete and correct in accordance with the return receipt generated by the customer in the return process, and that the return delivery actually contains the products described in the return receipt.  The customer shall fully indemnify Digitec Galaxus against all third-party claims in connection with an incomplete or incorrect customs declaration caused by the customer. Digitec Galaxus has the right to check the customer's details by carrying out spot checks.

12 Repairs outside of the warranty

All repair costs incurred outside of the warranty pursuant to point 7 shall be borne by the customer. Digitec Galaxus or the merchant reserves the right to invoice the customer for the examination of the defect claimed as well as for shipping fees for all devices showing no detectable defects or defects that are not covered by the warranty pursuant to point 7.

13 Community

By publishing comments and posts in our Community, the author confirms to agree with the Digitec Galaxus Community terms and conditions.

14 Further provisions

14.1 Non-allocatable returns

Returns that cannot be allocated or returned to a customer are retained for six months by Digitec Galaxus or the merchant before being disposed of.

14.2 Uncollected or undeliverable warranty goods

If a customer fails to collect goods connected to our warranty service (pursuant to point 7) from one of our stores within six months after receiving the collection note, or the goods cannot be returned to the customer, Digitec Galaxus is entitled to use and, in particular, to dispose of the respective item.

14.3 Data privacy protection

The privacy notice applies to the processing of personal data by Digitec Galaxus.

14.4 Partial invalidity

Should individual terms of these GTC be invalid or void, the validity of the other provisions of these GTC are not affected by this.

14.5 Place of jurisdiction and applicable law

All legal relations between Digitec Galaxus and customers as well as between merchants and customers are subject to substantive Swiss law. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) does not apply.

The following exclusive places of jurisdiction apply:

For any claims resulting from purchase contracts in which one party is Digitec Galaxus:
For claims by consumers, the place of jurisdiction that applies is Zurich or the consumer’s place of residence. In any other case, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is Zurich.

For any claims resulting from purchase contracts in which one party is a merchant based in Switzerland:
For claims by consumers, the place of jurisdiction that applies is the merchant’s domicile or the consumer’s place of residence. In any other case, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is the merchant’s domicile.

For any claims resulting from purchase contracts in which one party is a merchant based outside Switzerland:
In all cases, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is the customer’s domicile.

14.6 Copyright notice

All rights to these GTC, particularly copyrights, are reserved by Digitec Galaxus.

All reproduction, distribution or other use is prohibited except with written permission from Digitec Galaxus. In the event of breach of this requirement, Digitec Galaxus reserves the right to take legal action.