General terms of sale

1. Who we are

The shop is operated by Tropical Orchids Portugal, Lda., registered office at Av. 23 de Julho de 1833, Lt. 19, 2865-759 Fernão Ferro, Portugal, Portuguese tax and company number 515350028. You can contact us by email at info@tropicalorchidsportugal.com, by phone on +351 919 938 376 (call to a Portuguese mobile number) or on WhatsApp (+351 914 635 875). Our other legal details are on the Legal information page.

2. Products

We sell orchids and other live plants, as well as accessories, substrates and growing supplies. Each product page shows the main characteristics: genus, species or hybrid, pot size, flowering status where relevant, and price.

Plants are living things. Unless stated otherwise, photos show the species or hybrid, not the exact specimen you will receive. Colour, size, number of spikes and flowering time may vary within what is natural for the plant. When a product is sold in flower or in bud, the description says so.

Products are subject to available stock. If an item becomes unavailable after you order, we will tell you straight away and refund the corresponding amount within 14 days at the latest, unless you prefer an alternative we offer.

3. Orders and conclusion of the contract

To order, add products to your basket, enter your billing and delivery details, choose the shipping and payment method, and confirm the order with the purchase button (order with obligation to pay). You can review and correct all details before confirming.

After confirmation, we send you an email with an order summary. The contract is concluded when payment is confirmed. Please keep this email: it contains the applicable terms and serves as confirmation on a durable medium.

You must be at least 18 years old to buy. You can buy with or without a customer account.

4. Prices

Prices are in euros and include VAT at the applicable rate. Shipping is not included in the product price: it is calculated in the basket and at checkout based on the delivery address, weight and volume, and is always shown before you confirm your order. See the Shipping page.

If there is an obvious pricing error (for example, a clearly disproportionate price caused by a technical fault), we will contact you before dispatch, and you can choose to keep the order at the correct price or cancel it with a full refund.

For promotions, we show the previous price, which is the lowest price applied in the 30 days before the reduction, as required by law.

5. Payment

We accept credit and debit cards (Visa and Mastercard), PayPal, Multibanco, MB WAY, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Payments are processed by authorised payment service providers (Stripe, PayPal and easypay). We do not have access to your full card details and do not store them.

Multibanco references have a payment deadline shown at checkout. If payment is not made within that time, the order is cancelled automatically and the products become available again.

The invoice is issued in the name and with the tax number given at checkout and sent by email. Once issued, Portuguese law does not allow the invoice to be changed to another tax number.

6. Shipping and delivery

We ship to mainland Portugal and the islands and to the countries listed on the Shipping page, via the carrier MRW, with tracking.

To protect the plants, we dispatch live plants from Monday to Thursday, so they do not stay in a warehouse over the weekend. Delivery times are estimates and count from dispatch. Unless otherwise agreed, delivery takes place within 30 days of the contract being concluded.

The risk of loss or damage passes to you when you, or a person you have named (other than the carrier), receive the products. Please check the package on arrival. If the box is visibly damaged, we recommend noting it with the courier and sending us photos as soon as possible, ideally within 48 hours. This helps us resolve things faster and does not limit your legal rights.

If the order is returned because of an incorrect or incomplete address, or because the recipient was repeatedly absent, we will contact you to arrange a new delivery. The cost of re-shipping is yours. Live plants that come back in poor condition for this reason cannot be shipped again.

7. Right of withdrawal

For distance purchases, consumers can generally withdraw from the purchase without giving a reason within 14 days of the day they receive the products (Portuguese Decree-Law 24/2014 of 14 February).

Exception for live plants. The law excludes the right of withdrawal for goods that, by their nature, are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly (Article 17(1)(d) of the same Decree-Law). Live plants fall into this category: they depend on light, watering and temperature and can deteriorate during a further journey. For this reason, you cannot withdraw from the purchase of live plants. This exception does not affect the guarantee: if a plant arrives damaged or is not what you ordered, section 8 applies.

Accessories, pots, substrates, unopened fertilisers and other non-perishable products have a 14-day right of withdrawal. All the steps (how to notify us, return the goods and get your refund) are in the Returns policy, which also includes the withdrawal form.

8. Guarantee and non-conforming products

All products are covered by the legal guarantee of conformity under Portuguese Decree-Law 84/2021 of 18 October. If a product does not conform to the contract, you are entitled to have it brought into conformity (repair or replacement) free of charge, to an appropriate price reduction, or to terminate the contract, as provided by law. If the lack of conformity appears within 30 days of delivery, you can ask for immediate replacement or termination of the contract.

For plants, conformity is assessed taking into account that they are living things: the plant must arrive healthy, match the description and be able to thrive with the care indicated. How it develops afterwards depends on growing conditions, which we do not control; our growing guides and our team are here to help.

If you receive a plant that is damaged, diseased or different from what you ordered, contact us as soon as possible with your order number and photos. We will offer a replacement, a refund or another solution of your choice within those provided by law, and we cover all costs.

9. Rewards club, coupons and reviews

Points in the Rewards club and discount coupons are governed by the rules published on the relevant page or campaign. Unless stated otherwise, only one coupon can be used per order, and coupons cannot be exchanged for cash.

Product reviews published on the site come from customers who bought the product. We publish both positive and negative reviews and only remove content that is offensive, illegal or unrelated to the product.

10. Personal data

We process order data to perform the contract and meet our legal obligations. Details are in the Privacy policy and the Cookie policy.

11. Complaints and dispute resolution

If something goes wrong, please talk to us first at info@tropicalorchidsportugal.com. We will reply as quickly as possible. You can also use the Portuguese Electronic Complaints Book.

In a consumer dispute, you can turn to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body, such as CNIACC – National Centre for Consumer Dispute Information and Arbitration (www.cniacc.pt) or the Lisbon Consumer Dispute Arbitration Centre (www.centroarbitragemlisboa.pt). The full list of ADR bodies is on the Portuguese Consumer Portal. Consumers living in another EU country can get help from the European Consumer Centre in their country.

12. Applicable law and changes

These terms are governed by Portuguese law. If you are a consumer living in another EU country, you keep the protection given by the mandatory rules of the law of your country of residence.

We may update these terms. Each order is governed by the terms in force when it was placed.