Terms & Conditions
1. Secure Internet Commerce
All information placed in your orders is processed through our secure server. We utilise the newest industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology that encrypts all your information before it is sent to us.
The personal information provided to us will remain confidential and be used solely to communicate better with you. We retain private data you send us for a maximum of one year. After this period we only retain information about the country and the products purchased, for internal purposes only.
2. Payment Options
Payment is only possible with Credit Card. We accept VISA, Master Card and American Express.
3. Shipping information
The shipping is carried out with DHL for Germany and Fedex for other destinations.
Shipping costs are calculated per weight and for 5 different zones. Each zones has a different estimated delivery time. See here:https://www.eso.org/public/shopinfo/shipping/
Please note that we have changed our shipping policy towards products lighter than 2 kg, for all of which we now apply a single shipping cost per zone.
The estimated delivery times include handling time and exclude weekends, also there may, on occasion, be delays caused by unforeseen problems.
4. Sales Tax
As we are a European Intergovernmental Scientific Institution we do not charge Value Added Tax (VAT).
5. Customs
You may be subject to import duties and taxes, which are levied once a shipment reaches your country. Additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by you; we have no control over these charges and cannot predict what they may be. Customs policies vary widely from country to country; you should contact your local customs office for further information. You must comply with all laws and regulations of the country in which you are receiving the goods.
We would like our international customers and customers shipping products internationally to be aware that cross-border shipments are subject to opening and inspection by customs authorities.
6. Return Policy
Inspect your merchandise as soon as you receive it and notify us immediately if the merchandise is not the ordered one or if it has been damaged in shipment. If this is the case you may return the merchandise at our expense. Opened and undamaged merchandise may be accepted for exchange within fifteen (15) days from the receipt date on the invoice and with prior approval.
7. Free orders
Members of the press, educators and observatory/planetarium/museum guides fromESO Member States and host country Chile can order free copies of our materials. ESO will cover customs duties and import VAT. Other countries unfortunately cannot submit free orders due to these costs. Please click here to apply for a free order code that you can use in our webshop.
We reserve the right to evaluate your order and discuss the use of the material with you. We reserve the right to update the order in case an article does not have sufficient stock or it is not available at the time of the request.
We retain private data you send us for a maximum of two years. After this period we only retain information about the country, the products and the justification, for internal purposes only. Please avoid adding any unnecessary private data in the justification box and understand that if you do this data might be kept for longer than two years.
Private persons should order from our ESOshop.
8. Bulk discounts
Large discount by wholesale bulk orders for resellers is available. Please place your bulk order via an email to distribution@eso.org, not via the ESO shop
9. ESO Employees
ESO employees can purchase products with a discount provided you use your ESO email address and ESO office delivery address when ordering. ESO employee orders will be delivered via internal mail.