Terms and conditions

1. Provider and scope

The provider is Nando Patera, trading as Patera Violins, Richthofenstr. 29, 31137 Hildesheim, Germany. Email: info@pateraviolins.de; telephone: +49 173 9026166; VAT ID: DE289254381.

These terms apply to new photographic identification orders and use of the confidential marketplace enquiry forms. They are not sale terms for instrument purchases or terms for the separate B2B or auction area. Individual agreements take priority. Existing contracts remain subject to the terms agreed when they were concluded.

A consumer is an individual acting mainly for purposes outside their trade or profession; a business customer acts in their business or professional capacity. Paid orders are intended for adults. Contract languages are German and English; both versions can be read and saved before ordering. A language choice does not restrict mandatory consumer rights.

2. Photographic identification: scope and limitations

The service consists of a personal professional review of photographs and an initial written assessment for each commissioned bowed string instrument sent to the email address provided. We examine model, construction, wood, varnish and workmanship. Depending on the photographs, an assessment of origin, period and possible school or workshop may be possible. Bow identification is excluded.

This is not an expertise, authenticity certificate, insurance or valuation report, or an examination of the original. No particular attribution, value or financial result is promised. A label, signature or stamp alone does not prove authorship. Uncertainty and matters that cannot reliably be assessed are identified. Sound, concealed damage, title to ownership and unphotographed features cannot be conclusively verified in this way.

The fee pays for careful examination and a written opinion. It does not depend on naming a particular maker or on the result meeting your expectations. A reasoned professional finding that reliable attribution is not possible is also an assessment. This does not exclude statutory remedies for failure to provide the service or defective performance, or rights of withdrawal and repayment.

Please supply clear, complete and unaltered views, identify assumptions and redact unnecessary third-party personal data on documents. We may ask you to replace missing or unusable views. If the agreed examination cannot be performed at all, we will inform you and will not retain payment for a service not performed.

3. Ordering, contract formation and payment

The displayed unit price applies per instrument and includes applicable VAT. You can order assessment of up to ten instruments together. The total equals the unit price multiplied by quantity and is displayed immediately before the binding order. Each instrument is reviewed separately; photographs must be assigned to the correct instrument. There are no shipping charges and no subscription. Available payment methods are those offered in the order form: PayPal and bank transfer. Payment is required only for an order of the paid identification service.

Select the instruments, upload photographs for each and enter your contact and billing details. Before submitting, check the summary and correct any entries using the editing functions. Selecting “Order with obligation to pay” submits a binding offer at the displayed total price. PayPal payment is then authorised on PayPal’s website. Cancelled or unsuccessful PayPal payments are not confirmed as paid.

The contract is concluded when you receive our order confirmation by email. It includes your order details, price, agreed terms and withdrawal information. For PayPal, confirmation is triggered only after payment has been verified. For bank transfer, payment instructions accompany the confirmation and review begins after receipt of payment. Saving an incomplete upload alone is not acceptance of an order.

Please save the confirmation. The contractual information applicable to your order is retained with it; no public customer account is provided for later retrieval. If a confirmation is missing or anything is unclear, please contact us with your reference before ordering or paying again.

4. Performance and an early start

The service is performed without undue delay after the contract is concluded, all required usable photographs are received and payment arrives. For consumers who do not expressly request an early start, professional review begins only after the fourteen-day withdrawal period. We will contact you about necessary additional views and expressly agree any different deadlines with you.

You may voluntarily request performance before the withdrawal period ends. This option is not preselected and is not required to order. The right of withdrawal expires early only after the service has been fully performed, provided you expressly consented to the early start and acknowledged this consequence. Payment or uploading photographs alone does not remove your withdrawal right. For an order covering several instruments, full performance requires all commissioned assessments to be provided.

5. Marketplace: free, non-binding enquiries

The marketplace is a confidential contact and enquiry service. Search profiles, sale enquiries and photographs are not published as listings. Submitting an enquiry creates neither a purchase contract nor a paid search, brokerage or consignment mandate. Submission and initial review of an enquiry are free of charge.

An enquiry does not promise a successful match, a particular price, purchase by Patera Violins, or a particular handling or selling period. Details and price expectations are a basis for discussion. Any commission, services, duration, exclusivity, handover, insurance and payment terms must be separately and expressly agreed before a paid engagement. No automatic standard commission applies.

You may offer an instrument as its owner or with the necessary authority. Give accurate information and identify unverified attributions. Do not send instruments or original documents without prior agreement.

We review suitable contacts and offers personally. Personal contact information or documents identifying you are not disclosed to prospects or other intermediaries without prior agreement. An enquiry gives us no authority to conclude contracts or receive money in your name. You may withdraw an enquiry at any time for the future.

The identities and roles of seller, buyer, intermediary or consignee in a later transaction are disclosed and separately agreed before that transaction. Statutory rights arising from that later contract are unaffected. No formal withdrawal declaration is needed to discontinue a free enquiry.

6. Photographs, confidentiality and privacy

Only submit material you are entitled to let us use. You grant a non-exclusive permission limited to storage, examination, processing and a personal response. Ownership and copyright are not transferred. Publication or advertising use is not included and requires a separate agreement.

Our privacy policy explains processing of order and enquiry data. Acknowledging that policy is neither marketing consent nor a waiver of privacy rights. Newsletters require a separate subscription.

7. Statutory rights, complaints and applicable law

Statutory rules govern liability and remedies for breach of duty. These terms provide no blanket exemption from liability and do not restrict liability for intent, gross negligence or injury to life, body or health.

For a complaint, please contact info@pateraviolins.de or our postal address and quote your reference. We are neither obliged nor willing to participate in proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

German law applies. Consumers retain mandatory protections of the country of their habitual residence and statutory court jurisdiction. Individual agreements prevail over these terms; invalid clauses are replaced by the applicable statutory provisions.