1. Seller and scope
These terms apply to original artworks purchased directly from Francis Eck, the artist, referred to below as “the studio”, by private or business buyers. When a gallery sells an artwork in its own name, its own terms govern that transaction.
Seller: Francis Eck — artist. Business address: L’Atelier du Peintre, 47 impasse des Yuccas, Les Jardins d’Orient Bay, 97150 Saint-Martin. Business identification: [BUSINESS REGISTRATION NUMBER TO BE COMPLETED]. Email: Francis.eck.artiste@gmail.com. Phone: +590 690 66 74 45.
Provisions specifically protecting consumers apply to business buyers only where required by law. The written quotation supplies the terms specific to each purchase and cannot override mandatory consumer rights.
2. Original artworks, authenticity and framing
Each artwork is a unique original and comes with a certificate of authenticity and a complimentary white lacquered wooden frame. The quotation or order confirmation identifies the title, dimensions, year, medium and included items.
Photographs and interior views help buyers explore the work. Screen settings may affect color reproduction, and interior views do not guarantee scale. The studio remains responsible for supplying the agreed artwork in accordance with its description and expressly accepted characteristics.
3. Price and charges at destination
Prices are available on request. Before a purchase is agreed, the quotation identifies the currency, total amount payable to the studio, included framing and services, applicable tax treatment, any expressly agreed additional charges and the offer’s validity period.
Standard international delivery, protective packing and insurance for transport arranged by the studio are complimentary to the address agreed in the quotation. A requested extra service, such as installation or express delivery, is priced and agreed in advance.
Depending on the destination, import taxes, duties or clearance fees may be charged by local authorities or an intermediary. Before confirmation, the quotation distinguishes charges included in the purchase price from any amounts payable at destination. If an exact amount cannot reasonably be calculated beforehand, the nature of the charge and how it is determined are explained. The studio adds no charge without prior agreement.
4. Ordering, reservations and payment
The website contact form is an inquiry service and does not, by itself, place an order. Before the sale is concluded, the buyer receives the quotation, these terms and the information specific to the artwork in a form that can be retained.
An order becomes binding once the buyer accepts the quotation in writing and the studio confirms the sale. A reservation takes effect only once the agreed advance payment has been received. The quotation expressly identifies that payment as an acompte, specifies its amount and schedule, and describes the consequences of non-performance in accordance with applicable law. Paying an advance does not remove a statutory right of withdrawal.
Payment is made by bank transfer or another method agreed in writing. Installments may be arranged and are documented in the agreement. Unless a written installment agreement provides otherwise, the balance is paid before dispatch. The studio does not change the price of an accepted order.
Ownership of the physical artwork transfers on full payment. Statutory withdrawal, warranty and refund rights remain unaffected.
5. Delivery and transport
The delivery address, method and agreed delivery date or period appear in the order confirmation. A commissioned artwork’s schedule includes creation and drying. The timetable for each project is agreed before acceptance.
The studio uses packing appropriate to the artwork and arranges insured transport. For a consumer, the risk of loss or damage transfers when the consumer, or a designated third party other than the carrier, takes physical possession. The statutory exception for a consumer choosing a carrier not offered by the studio remains applicable.
If delivery is delayed, the consumer may use the remedies provided by Articles L. 216-1 and following of the French Consumer Code, including requesting delivery within an additional reasonable period and then ending the contract where the legal conditions are met. Immediate termination is available in the circumstances provided by law. Amounts due are refunded within the statutory period.
6. Receipt and transport damage
Please inspect the package and artwork on arrival and report damage promptly, with photographs where possible. Retaining the packing can help resolve a transport claim.
Failing to note damage at delivery, provide photographs or report a problem within 48 hours does not remove a consumer’s statutory rights. Damage, an incorrect delivery or a lack of conformity is handled under the studio’s legal obligations and applicable warranties, separately from a change-of-mind return.
7. Withdrawal from a distance purchase of an existing artwork
For distance or off-premises sales within the scope of the French Consumer Code, a consumer has fourteen days from receipt of the artwork to notify the studio of a decision to withdraw, without giving a reason or paying a penalty. Statutory rules govern the calculation and any extension of that period.
Notice may be emailed to Francis.eck.artiste@gmail.com or posted to the business address above, using the model form below or any other clear statement of the decision to withdraw. Prior authorization is not required to exercise this right.
The artwork must be returned or handed back no later than fourteen days after notice of withdrawal. The studio supplies practical return information. The artwork, frame and supplied accessories must be protected with suitable packing; the original packing may be reused but is not a mandatory condition of the right of withdrawal.
The consumer bears the direct cost of return if informed before the sale. For an artwork that cannot normally be returned by post, the return cost or a reasonable estimate is stated in the quotation before ordering. If the information required by law was not given, the studio bears that cost.
The studio refunds the amounts received, including any standard outbound delivery charge actually paid, within fourteen days of withdrawal notice. For goods, it may withhold the refund until it receives the artwork or evidence of its return shipment, whichever occurs first. The same payment method is used unless the consumer expressly agrees to another method without fees. Additional charges for a delivery option chosen instead of standard delivery are not refunded.
A consumer is responsible only for a reduction in value caused by handling beyond what was necessary to establish the artwork’s nature and characteristics, subject to statutory conditions. An existing artwork is not excluded from withdrawal solely because it is a unique original.
8. Personalized commissions and purchases at the studio
Under Article L. 221-28(3) of the French Consumer Code, the right of withdrawal does not apply to goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalized. Where that exception applies, the specifications and absence of a right of withdrawal are expressly explained before agreement. An artistic commission is not automatically personalized for this purpose.
A purchase concluded at the studio does not carry a general change-of-mind return right unless the law provides otherwise. A separate commercial arrangement may be agreed in writing. Statutory warranties remain applicable.
9. Statutory warranties
Francis Eck, at the contact details in section 1, is responsible for the seller’s statutory warranties. Consumers benefit from the French statutory guarantee of conformity under Articles L. 217-1 and following of the French Consumer Code and the warranty against hidden defects under Articles 1641 to 1649 of the French Civil Code. These terms do not exclude those rights.
Statutory consumer warranty notice
The consumer has two years from delivery of the goods to invoke the statutory guarantee of conformity if a lack of conformity appears. During that period, the consumer only needs to establish that a lack of conformity exists, not when it appeared.
Where the sale includes the continuous supply of digital content or a digital service for more than two years, the statutory guarantee applies to that digital content or service throughout the agreed supply period. During that period, the consumer only needs to establish the existence of the lack of conformity affecting the digital content or service, not when it appeared.
Where applicable, the statutory guarantee of conformity requires the professional to provide all updates necessary to maintain conformity of the goods.
The statutory guarantee of conformity entitles the consumer to repair or replacement within thirty days of the request, free of charge and without significant inconvenience.
If the goods are repaired under the statutory guarantee of conformity, the consumer receives a six-month extension of the original guarantee.
If the consumer requests repair but the seller requires replacement instead, the statutory guarantee of conformity starts again for two years from the replacement date.
The consumer may keep the goods and obtain a reduction of the purchase price, or end the contract and obtain a full refund in exchange for returning the goods, if:
1. The professional refuses to repair or replace the goods;
2. Repair or replacement takes more than thirty days;
3. Repair or replacement causes significant inconvenience to the consumer, in particular where the consumer permanently bears the cost of collecting or removing non-conforming goods, or the cost of installing repaired or replacement goods;
4. The lack of conformity persists despite an unsuccessful attempt by the seller to restore conformity.
The consumer is also entitled to a price reduction or to end the contract where the lack of conformity is serious enough to justify that remedy immediately. The consumer does not then have to request repair or replacement first.
The consumer is not entitled to end the sale if the lack of conformity is minor.
Any period during which the goods are unavailable for repair or replacement suspends the remaining guarantee period until the restored goods are delivered.
These rights arise under Articles L. 217-1 to L. 217-32 of the French Consumer Code.
A seller who in bad faith obstructs the statutory guarantee of conformity may incur a civil fine of up to EUR 300,000, which may be increased to 10% of average annual turnover under Article L. 241-5 of the French Consumer Code.
The consumer also benefits from the statutory warranty against hidden defects under Articles 1641 to 1649 of the French Civil Code for two years from discovery of the defect. That warranty entitles the consumer to a price reduction if the goods are kept, or a full refund in exchange for returning them.
10. Business buyers
For a purchase made for business purposes, the written agreement sets the payment schedule. Where the corresponding provisions of the French Commercial Code apply, overdue amounts attract late-payment interest without a reminder at the European Central Bank refinancing rate plus ten percentage points, together with the statutory fixed recovery charge of EUR 40. Further substantiated recovery costs may be claimed where permitted by law. No early-payment discount applies unless agreed in writing.
Consumer rights are not generally extended to business buyers. Statutory exceptions remain applicable, including qualifying off-premises contracts under Article L. 221-3 of the French Consumer Code.
11. Copyright
The purchase transfers ownership of the physical artwork. It does not transfer reproduction, public-display or exploitation rights requiring a separate agreement under applicable copyright law. The artist’s moral rights remain protected.
12. Complaints, consumer mediation and governing law
Please send complaints to Francis.eck.artiste@gmail.com or the business address in section 1, with information identifying the purchase and the issue.
If a prior written complaint to the studio has not resolved a consumer dispute, the consumer may use consumer mediation free of charge, subject to the statutory conditions, through CM2C — Centre de la médiation de la consommation de conciliateurs de justice. Postal address: 49 rue de Ponthieu, 75008 Paris, France. Website: www.cm2c.net; email for submitting a dispute: declarer-un-litige@cm2c.net. Mediation does not prevent either party from bringing proceedings before a competent court.
These terms are governed by French law applicable in Saint-Martin. This choice does not deprive a consumer of mandatory protections applicable to that consumer. If an amicable resolution cannot be reached, jurisdiction is determined by the applicable legal rules.
Model withdrawal form
Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from a sale to which that right applies.
To Francis Eck, L’Atelier du Peintre, 47 impasse des Yuccas, Les Jardins d’Orient Bay, 97150 Saint-Martin, Francis.eck.artiste@gmail.com.
I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*):
Artwork and order reference: ____________________
Ordered on (*) / received on (*): ____________________
Name of consumer(s): ____________________
Address of consumer(s): ____________________
Signature of consumer(s), only for a paper notice: ____________________
Date: ____________________
(*) Delete as appropriate.