Adding "Terms & Conditions"'

*Scroll to the bottom of the page if you are familiar with Terms & Conditions and would like instructions on how to add a Terms & Conditions agreement to your site.

Company Terms and Conditions

If you own an ecommerce store, you must have your own terms and conditions agreement. In addition to providing legal protection in case of a customer dispute, it also helps build consumer trust.

What is a Terms and Conditions agreement?

A terms and conditions agreement (also referred to as Terms of Service, Terms of Use, or Terms) is an agreement or contract between your company and your customers. They must first agree to your terms in order to browse your site, purchase items, or use any of your services.

Remember: Every company is different, so the sections of your Terms and Conditions agreement may vary. The specific terms and clauses you decide to include will depend on your unique business needs. Below is a guideline of best practices to include.

What to include in your Terms and Conditions Agreement

1. Introductory Clause: It’s good practice to create a short introduction to outline who the agreement is between, what the agreement is, and when it’s triggered. Here is an example of an introductory clause on the Adidas Terms and Conditions page:

“Welcome to www.adidas.ca (“Web Site”). This Web Site is owned and operated by adidas Canada and the adidas Group (“Company” or “adidas” and collectively “we” and “us”). In addition to the Content (as defined below) on the Web Site, the Web Site provides you with various shopping, e-commerce and community services (“Services”). Please read these Terms and Conditions of Use (“Terms”) carefully before using our Web Site and the Services. If you choose to continue to use or access this Web Site after having the opportunity to read these Terms, you recognize that adidas has provided valuable consideration by offering this Web Site free of charge, and in exchange for that valuable consideration, you agree to the Terms hereof. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Web Site and exit immediately. We reserve the right to modify or amend the Terms from time to time without notice, subject to applicable laws. Your continued use of our Web Site following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes. Additional terms and conditions may apply to the purchase of products, such as our shipping and return policies. By using this Web Site, you agree to such terms and conditions, as well as these Terms and our Privacy Policy (available here) (collectively, the “Agreement”).”

2. Information Accuracy: running an ecommerce website means that you must constantly be monitoring and updating your product pages in order to keep information accurate. This includes prices, stock quantities, product descriptions etc.

The more products you have, the more challenging it will be to keep everything completely up-to-date. That’s why it is important to specify that despite your best efforts, site information may not always be completely accurate and may change without notice.

Below is an extract from Zara’s Terms and Conditions Agreement:

“We publish information on the Site and Mobile App as a convenience to you. While we attempt to provide accurate and timely information, there may be inadvertent technical or factual inaccuracies and typographical errors. We reserve the right to make corrections and changes to the Site or Mobile App at any time without notice. The products described in the Site or Mobile App may not be available in your region. We do not claim that the information in the Site or Mobile App is appropriate to your jurisdiction or that the products described in the Site or Mobile App will be available for purchase in all jurisdictions”

3. Terms of Sale: This section of your Terms and Conditions agreement should specify how products can be purchased, if there are any restrictions on product purchases (e.g. age restrictions) , and what will happen if a product that is purchased cannot be supplied.

Below is an excerpt from Lululemon’s Terms of Use Page:

1. Terms of Sale

All product sales from the Sites and Apps are governed by any terms of sale that may be posted on the Sites and Apps. You should refer to our terms of sale to learn more about applicable product warranties, our return policy, and shipping terms. By ordering and/or accepting delivery of the products, you agree to be bound by these terms of sale. The terms of sale are subject to change without prior notice at any time, in lululemon’s sole discretion so you should review the terms of sale each time you make a purchase. Additional information may be found in our FAQ and online shopping sections of the Sites.

4. Payment Terms: This part of your T&C will cover any terms that are related to the payment of the merchandise that you sell. Since the area for liability in this area is quite large, you need to outline the expectations surrounding online transactions to your shoppers. With that being said, the section should include the following:

1. Payment methods you accept

2. How you will handle any returns (it’s a good idea to redirect shoppers to your refund policy)

3. Missed or late payment conditions

4. How payment disputes will be handled

5. Limitation of Liability

Things may not always go perfectly - system errors, product losses, damages etc. can occur. Therefore, your Terms & Conditions agreement should specify the following :

• You can’t guarantee that orders will always be fulfilled,

• You can’t guarantee that your website is always error-free and nothing is ever misdescribed

• You can’t always guarantee that third party websites from advertisements are secure

• You will not be held responsible for the event of any loss, liability, or damage suffered by the customer

6. Intellectual property

Branding such as slogans, trademarks, logos etc. is your intellectual property. Online retailers are more likely to get hit with intellectual property theft as scammers try to impersonate your brand and site. So in order to protect your online business from intellectual property theft, you should clarify what users can and can’t do with your commercial branding.

For example, take a look at what Adidas has published on their website:

“All Site design, graphics, text selections, arrangements, and all software are Copyright© adidas Canada Limited.

All trademarks, service marks, logos and trade names that appear on adidas products, or used herein or on the Web Site, whether registered or not (including but not limited to: the adidas name, the adidas corporate logo, the adidas trefoil Design, and the Three Stripe Logo (collectively the “Marks”) are trademarks or registered trademarks of the adidas Group, or its affiliates, partners, vendors or licensors. You may not use, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, distribute, or modify any of the Marks in any way, including in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of materials on the Web Site, without adidas' prior written consent. The use of any of the Marks on any other website or network computer environment, including for example, the storage or reproduction of any part of the Web Site in any internal or external intranet or Internet site, or the creation of “hot” links, hypertext, or deep links between the Web Site and any other Internet site, is prohibited without the express prior written consent of adidas”

7. Web Site Disputes & Resolution

This is where you would outline the laws that will apply in the event of a dispute and the legal procedures that will be used.

Adidas clearly states what qualifies as a website dispute and the legal procedures that will be used in case it occurs:

“19. WEB SITE DISPUTES & RESOLUTION – ARBITRATION, JURY TRIAL WAIVER, AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER

“Web Site Disputes” include: (a) any claim you may have against adidas in connection with the Web Site, (b) any claim adidas may have against you in connection with the Web Site, and (c) any action to enforce the Terms and Conditions or to object to the Terms and Conditions.

All other disputes are Non-Web Site Disputes. Any claim arising from your purchase of an adidas product or service is a Non-Web Site Dispute. Any claim arising from the content of any offer or advertisement on the Site is a Non-Web Site Dispute.

Neither you nor we will be able to sue in court in connection with a Web Site Dispute. All Web Site Disputes must be resolved through individual (non-class) arbitration. You indicate your acceptance to these Terms and Conditions, including this agreement to arbitrate, by continuing to use the Web Site after having the opportunity to review these Terms and Conditions.

You and adidas intend for this to be an agreement for arbitration that can be enforced under the Arbitration Act (Ontario).

You and adidas waive any rights to maintain other available resolution processes for Web Site Disputes, such as a court action or administrative proceeding, to settle disputes. You and adidas waive any right to a jury trial for Web Site Disputes.

Instead of suing in court, we each agree to settle Web Site Disputes only by arbitration. The rules in arbitration are different. There’s no judge or jury, and review is limited, but an arbitrator can award the same damages and relief and must honour the same limitations stated in the agreement as a court would.

Any Web Site Dispute shall be determined by arbitration in Toronto, Ontario before one arbitrator. The arbitration shall be administered by JAMS pursuant to JAMS’ Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures, available at [http://www.jamsadr.com/rules-streamlined-arbitration/.](http://www.jamsadr.com/rules-streamlined-arbitration/) Judgment on the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. This clause shall not preclude parties from seeking provisional remedies in aid of arbitration from a court of appropriate jurisdiction. If for any reason, JAMS cannot or will not provide this arbitration, the parties may ask any court of competent jurisdiction to select an arbitrator from a list provided by the parties.

To the extent a party commences any action with includes both Web Site Disputes and Non-Web Site Disputes, consideration of the Non-Web Site Disputes shall be stayed until the Web Site Disputes are fully arbitrated. Then, any Non-Web Site Disputes will be considered by any court of competent jurisdiction.

You agree that you will not file a class action against adidas and its affiliated companies or participate in a class action against adidas and its affiliated companies, in any Web Site Dispute. You agree that you will not file or seek a class arbitration or participate in a class arbitration against adidas and its affiliated companies, in any Web Site Dispute.”

Remember: These examples listed above are not legal advice and we always encourage customers to have legal counsel review any policy or terms on your website before publication

How to add Terms & Conditions to your website

To enable the Terms & Conditions option:

• Go to your store Control Panel > Settings > Legal.

• Scroll down to Terms & Conditions and click "Add Page" button. (If the screen has been previously accessed before, you can click the "Edit" button instead and there will also be a slider to enable this page). Also ensure that the slider is set to Green (enabled).

In the following box, enter the information you would like to display when your customer click the "Terms & Conditions" option for eCommerce.

NOTE: It is always recommended that merchants request that online shoppers accept the Terms & Conditions of their eCommerce store prior to their first order by adding a required checkbox in the Checkout process.