Here is a sample of website standard terms and conditions of sale. You will notice that in the first paragraph below, we have tried to be as friendly as possible. This encourages the customer to continue reading the website terms and conditions of sale.

• Policy: It has always been Company Name's policy to treat our customers in exactly in the way we like to be treated ourselves. Our toes curl at the sight of small print, but it appears that not only to add to our creditability but to comply with new legislation (EC Distance Selling Directive) we are required to offer you our own 'large print' version. You should note that your statutory rights under the current consumer protection laws are not affected (more probably, enhanced).
  

In the following paragraph we follow the APACS recommendation to meet privacy requirements when writing website standard terms and conditions of sale. We also recommend you view the section on Data Protection Act Registration. Notice that we give the customer reassurance.

• Data & Privacy: The information collected from you at the time you place an order (on you or those you gift to) will be stored in our database and is used purely to carry out your instructions and action your payment. There are no circumstances under which this information might be passed to a third party.

You then need to explain the process of how the goods will be despatched - clearly in some cases the order will be met off the shelf; on other occasions it may have to be made especially - although you no doubt will have explained this on your website - remember this is the legal side of it all. Do not make extravagant promises; let your customer understand the process:

• Supply: We undertake to supply you with the goods described in these web pages or in our brochure by any date you might reasonably request knowing that our salmon has to be processed and posted. If you have an urgent order it is always advisable to discuss your requirement on the telephone [number supplied]. Some of our products are nearly always available for immediate despatch; those with a shorter keeping life may not. Unless we have specifically agreed otherwise, delivery will be as soon as possible and not longer than 30 days.

In these spam-laden times - the last thing any customer wants is to feel that having made a purchase from you; you are forever pursuing them to make more purchases. This is illegal without their permission, so assure them:

• Contact: We will only contact you in connection with your instructions and keep you well informed should we have any difficulties providing you with the specific goods ordered, to be delivered by your date specified. We will not email you at all without your permission.

No matter how efficient we as retailers are, we all in the end rely on the carrier to get the goods to your customer as quickly as possible - often it is this carrier who becomes the 'face' associated with your company! Although you may go to great lengths to ensure that you have chosen the most cost effective delivery service, when it comes to country areas this responsibility is often franchised to a local service who may not always deliver to your customer on a daily basis, and I personally would always allow an extra day to cover this eventuality. You need to make the customer aware that it is not you personally delivering the goods and that the responsibility does pass to another organisation over whom you have limited control. So you need to make this clear when writing your own "Terms and Conditions of Sale" without sidestepping the responsibility.

• Delivery: Obviously you the customer recognise that we do rely on carriers to perform the 'contract'. We monitor the performance of our carriers continuously. Whereas we have so rarely had a complaint about the quality of our goods, there have been a very small number of occasions (less than 0.01%) when due to circumstances entirely beyond our control our goods have not arrived by the requested time. As soon as we have learned of this we have always offered immediate despatch of a replacement parcel - providing the selected goods are available for despatch. At the end of the day salmon has to be marinated, smoked, sliced and packaged beforehand. See also our Notes on Ordering.