These Terms of Service govern the use of this website and the trading services provided by Tongshan Gongfanfeng Trading Co., Ltd. By browsing this website, opening a retail account or placing an order, a person agrees to these terms. The terms are written and maintained by the developer GongFanPeak on behalf of the Company, and every reader should study them before entering into a trading relationship.
1. Acceptance of These Terms
These Terms of Service form a binding agreement between the person using this website or the trading services and Tongshan Gongfanfeng Trading Co., Ltd. A person accepts these terms by browsing the website, by submitting an enquiry through the contact form, by opening a retail account or by placing an order with the trading desk. If a person does not accept these terms, that person should not use the website or the services.
The Company may require a separate written arrangement for large or long-running supply relationships. Where such an arrangement exists, it governs the matters it covers and these terms fill any remaining gap. Nothing in these terms removes a right that the law gives to a consumer or a small business and that cannot lawfully be excluded.
By accepting these terms, a person confirms that the information provided to the Company is accurate to the best of that person knowledge. The Company relies on accurate details to plan routes, sort goods and complete deliveries, so a change of address, telephone number or contact person should be reported to the trading desk without delay.
2. Who May Trade With the Company
The services of the Company are intended for county retailers, market stall holders, village workshops, suppliers and other persons carrying on a business. The website is intended for adults acting in a business capacity. The Company does not knowingly enter into a trading relationship with a child, and it may request reasonable evidence of identity or business status before opening an account.
A person who opens an account on behalf of a shop or a workshop confirms that the person is authorized to act for that business. That person is responsible for keeping the account details accurate and for informing the trading desk when authority to act changes, for example when a contact person leaves the business.
The Company may decline to open an account or may close an account where it reasonably believes that the relationship would be unlawful, that the details provided are false, or that the account has been used to harm another person. Where the Company declines or closes an account, it will explain the decision unless the law prevents it from doing so.
3. The Services Described
The Company operates a mountain trading house that buys seasonal produce and homeware lines from village workshops and distributes them to county retailers. Its services are described on the services page of this website and include village sourcing runs, seasonal produce lines, homeware distribution, quality sorting, delivery scheduling and retail account care.
The descriptions on this website are provided in good faith to explain how the trade works. They are not a guarantee that a particular good will be available at a particular moment, because mountain produce follows the weather and the season. The Company will always tell a retailer as early as it can when a line is short or a route is affected.
The Company may add, change or withdraw a service where the trade requires it. A material change that affects an existing order will be communicated to the affected retailer before the order is completed, and the retailer may then amend or cancel the order without penalty.
4. Orders and Confirmations
An order may be placed by telephone, by email, in writing at the trading rooms or through the contact form on this website. An order is an offer to buy goods on these terms. The order becomes binding when the Company confirms it and enters it into the ledger. The confirmation records the goods, the grade, the quantity, the agreed price and the expected delivery window.
Because produce is seasonal and stock moves quickly, a confirmation is subject to availability at the time of sorting. If a requested line cannot be supplied in full, the Company will offer a substitute, a reduced quantity or a later delivery, and will wait for the retailer to choose before completing the order.
The Company keeps a written record of every confirmed order. If a retailer believes that a confirmation is wrong, the retailer should contact the trading desk immediately so that the ledger can be corrected before the load is closed. Once a load is closed, changes become a matter for the shortfall and adjustment process described later in these terms.
5. Pricing and Payments
Prices are agreed at the bench, at the trestle or at the trading desk, and are recorded against the order before the load leaves the yard. A price reflects the grade, the season, the quantity and the effort of bringing the goods down the mountain. The Company quotes prices in the currency it confirms in writing with the retailer, and it sets out any delivery charge or minimum order value before the order is accepted.
Payment terms are agreed when an account is opened and are confirmed on each statement. Unless a different arrangement is agreed in writing, invoices are payable within the period stated on the invoice. The Company may suspend further deliveries on an account that is seriously overdue, and it will give notice before doing so.
If a retailer disputes an invoice, the retailer should contact the trading desk within the period stated on the invoice and identify the entries in question. The Company will investigate the dispute against the ledger and the delivery notes, correct any error and confirm the outcome. A genuine dispute about part of an invoice does not excuse payment of the undisputed balance.
6. Grades, Weights and Measures
The Company sorts every lot by hand and assigns grades before weighing. A grade is a description of quality and size, and it is recorded on the market-day list so that a retailer knows what is being offered. The Company takes care to grade honestly, because a grade that flatters a poor lot costs the house its name.
Weights and counts are recorded at the trestle and entered into the ledger. Counts of discrete items are stated per crate, and weights of loose goods are stated in the unit used on the list. Natural variation is expected in produce, and the Company allows for the small differences that occur in any harvest.
If a retailer receives a lot that does not match the grade confirmed on the order, the retailer should note the discrepancy on the delivery note and tell the trading desk. The Company will check the batch against the ledger and, where the grade was wrong, adjust the account or replace the lot as described in the section on shortfalls and returns.
7. Delivery and Risk
Deliveries are made along planned routes within the delivery window confirmed to each shop. The Company assigns a named handler to each route so that a retailer knows who to expect. The handler will deliver to the address on the account unless the retailer has agreed a different arrangement with the trading desk.
Risk in the goods passes to the retailer when the goods are handed over at the delivery address or to a person the retailer has nominated. Until that point the Company is responsible for the goods. The retailer is responsible for checking the crates at the door and for noting any obvious damage or shortfall on the delivery note.
Where weather or a closed road prevents a delivery, the Company will contact the affected shops before the load sets out and will hold, split or reroute the delivery. A missed window caused by conditions beyond reasonable control is treated as a force majeure event, and the section on force majeure below explains the effect on obligations.
8. Cancellation and Changes
A retailer may change or cancel an order before the load is closed, which is normally the evening before a market-day run. Requests made before that point are honored without charge. Requests made after the load is closed are handled as shortfalls and may attract a charge where the goods cannot be re-sold and would otherwise spoil.
The Company may cancel an order where a line is unavailable, where weather closes a route, or where the account is seriously overdue. Where the Company cancels, it will tell the retailer promptly and will offer the nearest available alternative or a later delivery.
Where a retailer repeatedly cancels confirmed orders after the load is closed, the Company may review the account and may require payment in advance or a firmer ordering arrangement. The purpose of such a review is to protect other shops on the route, whose deliveries depend on a load being full enough to run.
9. Shortfalls, Returns and Adjustments
A retailer who finds a shortfall, a wrong grade or goods damaged in transit should tell the trading desk as soon as possible and in any event within the period stated on the delivery note. The Company will compare the report with the ledger and the handler notes and will investigate promptly.
Where a shortfall is confirmed, the Company will adjust the account, arrange a replacement on the next route, or agree another fair remedy. Where goods were damaged before hand over, the Company bears the cost. Where the damage occurred after hand over, the Company will still help if it can, but the loss rests with the retailer.
Because fresh produce cannot be returned once it has entered a shop, the Company resolves these matters through account adjustments and replacements rather than through physical returns in most cases. Each confirmed adjustment is recorded against the batch so that the cause can be traced and corrected at the bench or in the sorting process.
10. Trading Accounts and Conduct
A trading account records the orders, deliveries, adjustments and notes that make up the relationship between the Company and a retailer. The retailer is responsible for keeping the contact details and the delivery address on the account accurate, and for telling the trading desk promptly when they change.
The retailer is responsible for the security of any account reference the Company provides and for the conduct of persons the retailer authorizes to order or receive goods. The Company is entitled to rely on instructions that appear to come from the retailer through the agreed channels, and it will act on them in good faith.
The Company may close an account where it reasonably believes that the account is being used to harm another person, to break the law, or to obtain goods by false representation. Where the Company closes an account it will settle the balance and return any goods or amounts that are due, subject to its legal duties.
11. Workshop and Supplier Terms
A village workshop or supplier that offers goods to the Company does so on the understanding that the goods are genuinely made by that workshop and are described honestly. The Company buys at the bench after inspection and records the agreed price and the weighing notes in the ledger.
The maker is responsible for the quality and the safety of the goods supplied and for holding the goods in a fit condition until collection. The Company is responsible for collecting on the agreed run and for paying the agreed price in the agreed manner. Where a batch fails the sorting check, the Company will tell the maker what was wrong and will return or settle the failed portion fairly.
The Company prefers to build long relationships with small benches rather than to take one-off lots from strangers. A maker who keeps to the agreed weights, keeps the goods clean and communicates honestly will find a steady buyer in the house, and the Company will plan its sourcing runs around the makers it trusts.
12. Permitted Use of the Website
This website is provided so that visitors may learn about the Company and its services, and so that retailers, makers and suppliers may contact the trading desk. A visitor may read the pages, download a page for personal reference and use the contact form to send a genuine enquiry.
A visitor must not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the website or its hosting systems, must not introduce malicious code, must not scrape the site in a way that burdens the service, and must not use the site to send unlawful, misleading or harmful material. The Company may block any use that threatens the website or the people who rely on it.
The Company works to keep the website available and accurate, but it does not promise that every page will always be reachable or free of error. Where a defect is reported, the Company will take reasonable steps to correct it, and it welcomes a note from any visitor who spots a mistake.
13. Intellectual Property
The text, layout, styling and code of this website are protected by intellectual property law. The Company name, its trading descriptions and the content of its pages belong to the Company or are used with permission. A visitor may not copy substantial parts of the website for commercial use without written permission.
A visitor may quote a short passage of the website with a clear reference to the Company and a link to the page quoted. A visitor may not present the content of the website as that visitor own work, and may not remove a notice that identifies the Company as the source.
The Company respects the intellectual property of others. If a person believes that material on this website infringes a right, that person should contact the trading desk with enough detail to identify the material and the right concerned, and the Company will investigate and act as the law requires.
14. Third Party Links and Services
This website may contain links to third party pages, and the Company may use third party providers for hosting or technical operation. These third parties are independent of the Company and are not under its control. The Company provides such links for convenience and does not endorse the content of an unrelated site.
Where a visitor follows a link to another site, that site applies its own terms and its own privacy practices. The Company is not responsible for the content, the availability or the conduct of a third party site, and a visitor who deals with a third party does so at that visitor own risk.
The Company is careful about the providers it uses. It chooses providers that can protect the information entrusted to them and that can keep the website running reliably. Even so, the Company cannot guarantee the acts of an independent provider, and it asks visitors to report any concern so that the matter can be investigated.
15. Disclaimers
This website and its content are provided on an as available basis. The Company explains its services in good faith, but it does not promise that a described service will be suitable for a particular purpose or that a described good will always be in season. A retailer should rely on the confirmed order rather than on a general description when planning a purchase.
The Company does not promise that the website will be uninterrupted or free of error, nor that a defect will be corrected within a particular time. It does promise to take reasonable care, to answer genuine enquiries, and to correct mistakes that are brought to its attention.
Nothing in these terms excludes a warranty or a right that the law does not allow to be excluded. Where such a right applies, it prevails, and the rest of these terms continues to operate to the extent that it can.
16. Limitation of Liability
To the extent permitted by law, the Company is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, for loss of profit, or for loss of business opportunity arising from the use of this website or from a trading relationship. The Company is responsible for direct loss caused by its own failure to take reasonable care in performing its obligations.
Where the Company is liable for a delivery or supply failure, its liability is limited to the value of the affected order, or to the remedy of replacement or adjustment where that is the fair and practical outcome. This limitation does not apply to liability that the law does not permit to be limited, such as liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.
The Company keeps records so that a genuine claim can be assessed fairly against the ledger and the delivery notes. A person who believes that the Company has failed in its obligations should contact the trading desk promptly, because a quick conversation resolves most matters far better than a long dispute.
17. Force Majeure
The Company is not liable for a delay or a failure caused by an event beyond its reasonable control. Such events include severe weather, closed mountain roads, flooding, fire, earthquake, epidemic, labour disruption, failure of a public utility, and acts of a public authority that restrict movement or trade.
Where a force majeure event affects an order, the Company will tell the affected retailers as soon as it can, will suspend the affected obligations for as long as the event continues, and will resume delivery when it is safe and practical to do so. If the event continues for a long period, either party may cancel the affected order without penalty, and the Company will settle the account fairly.
The Company keeps the safety of its handlers and the condition of the goods at the centre of these decisions. A load is not sent out into a dangerous lane merely to keep a schedule, and a route is not abandoned entirely if a partial delivery can be made safely.
18. Privacy and Data Protection
The handling of personal information is governed by the Privacy Policy of the Company, which forms part of these terms. The Privacy Policy explains what information is collected, why it is used, how it is protected and what rights a person has. A person who uses this website or the services should read that policy alongside these terms.
The Company collects only the information it needs to open an account, take an order, plan a route and complete a delivery. It does not sell personal information, and it shares it only with the parties needed to run the trade. The Privacy Policy describes these practices in greater detail, and a question about them may be sent to the trading desk at any time.
By accepting these terms, a person acknowledges that personal information will be handled as described in the Privacy Policy. Where a change to that policy is material, the Company will bring it to the attention of active retailers and makers in the manner described in the policy.
19. Changes to These Terms
The Company may update these terms from time to time to reflect changes in its trade, its website or the law. When a change is made, the Company updates the date of the terms and, where the change is significant, provides a clear notice on the website or in its communications to active accounts.
An order that has already been confirmed is governed by the version of these terms in force when the order was confirmed, unless a later change is required by law or is expressly accepted by the retailer. The current version always governs new orders and continued use of the website.
A reader who does not accept a change to these terms should stop using the website and settle any open account with the trading desk. Continued trading after a change indicates acceptance of the updated terms to the extent the law permits.
20. Governing Law and Disputes
These terms are governed by the laws of the place in which the Company is established, and any dispute is subject to the courts or the competent authority of that place, unless a mandatory rule of the law gives the other party the right to proceed elsewhere. The Company will always try to resolve a disagreement directly and fairly before it becomes formal.
A person who has a concern should first contact the trading desk and set out the matter in writing. The Company will review the ledger, the delivery notes and any correspondence, and will answer with a clear explanation. Most disputes about grades, counts or windows are resolved at this stage because the records are good and both sides want the same practical outcome.
Where a dispute cannot be resolved directly, the parties may agree to a mediator before going further. The Company is willing to take part in a reasonable mediation, and it keeps its records in good order so that such a process can be conducted fairly and without unnecessary cost.
21. How to Contact Us
Any question about these terms may be directed to the trading desk of Tongshan Gongfanfeng Trading Co., Ltd. Write to Group 225, Banqiao Village, Dafan Town, Tongshan County, Xianning, 437000, China (CN), send an email to hotline@gongfanpeak.buzz, or telephone +16416306796 during business hours.
The Company will acknowledge a message within one working day and will give a full answer as soon as the question has been checked against the ledger. The Company would rather explain a term early than argue about it later, and it welcomes a question from any retailer, maker or supplier who wants to understand the trade.
By continuing to use this website or the services of the Company, a person confirms that these terms have been read and accepted, and that the trading relationship is entered into on the basis set out above.