Both the sale of goods at our auctions and your relationship with us are governed by the Terms of Consignment for Online Auctions (primarily applicable to sellers), the Terms of Sale for Online Auctions (primarily applicable to bidders and buyers) and, in relation to specific lots, any notices that are displayed on the listing for that lot at the time of the auction (collectively, the “Conditions of Business for Online Auctions”).
The Terms of Consignment for Online Auctions and Terms of Sale for Online Auctions are available on our Website.
Please read these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions carefully.
Please note that if you register to bid and/or bid at auction this signifies that you agree to and will comply with these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions.
Please note that these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions relate to auctions held online only. We have separate terms for auctions held at our premises.
1. Definitions and interpretation To make these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions easier to read, we have given the following words a specific meaning:
“Auctioneer” means Overture Auctions, a Ltd company registered in England and Wales with registration number 15999027 and whose registered office is located at 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NA or its authorised auctioneer, as appropriate. The term “Auctioneer” includes the “Bidding Platform” where appropriate;
“Art Market Participant” means an art market business registered with HMRC under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (as amended);
“Bidder” means a person who places an offer (called a “bid”) for Goods at our online auction;
“Bidding Platform” means the bidding platform on which the online auction is held operated by the Auctioneer, or by a third party service provider on the Auctioneer’s behalf;
“Bidding Platform Fee” means a fee equal to 3% of the Hammer Price charged on the sale of a Lot by the third party provider of the Bidding Platform on which the online auction is held.
“Buyer” means the person who makes the highest bid for a Lot accepted by the Auctioneer or Bidding Platform;
“Contract” means the contract between the Seller and you referred to at Clause 7;
“Consumer” means an individual acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft or profession;
“Deliberate Forgery” means:
• (a) an imitation made with the intention of deceiving as to authorship, origin, date, age, period, culture or source;
• (b) which is described in the online auction catalogue as being the work of a particular creator without qualification; and
• (c) which at the date of the auction had a value materially less than it would have had if it had been as described;
“Hammer Price” means the level of the highest bid for a Lot (at or above any Reserve) when the listing period for the lot ends or when the Auctioneer brings down the hammer.
“Listing” means a listing of a Lot for sale on the Website;
“Listing Period” means the period during which Bidders may place bids to purchase a Lot;
“Lot(s)” means the goods that we offer for sale at our online auctions;
“Money Laundering Legislation” means the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (as amended) and related legislation, together with any applicable terrorist financing and legislation on Restrictive Measures;
“Order Confirmation” means the email confirmation that we send to you to confirm that we have accepted your bid to purchase a Lot;
“Principal” means a person or entity you are acting on behalf of for the purposes of the purchase of the Lot(s);
“Premium” means the fee that we will charge you on your purchase of a Lot to be calculated as set out in Clause 5.1.2;
“Recorded Delivery” means a method of delivery pursuant to which the sender receives a confirmation that a letter has been posted and a signature is obtained from the recipient as a record that it has been delivered;
“Reserve” means the minimum hammer price at which a Lot may be sold;
“Restrictive Measures” means economic or financial sanctions, export controls, embargoes or any other restriction on trade under the laws of the European Union, the United Kingdom or the United States, or in the jurisdiction in which you, your Principal, or any agent acting for you does business;
“Sale Proceeds” means the net amount due to the Seller;
“Seller” means the persons who consign Lots for sale at our online auctions;
“Services” means the auction-related services that we agree to provide you, including the maintaining of the Website with descriptions of the Lot(s), the provision of an online platform enabling buyers to participate in our online auctions, the coordination of your potential purchase via such online auction and/or storage and warehousing services.
“Terms of Consignment for Online Auctions” means the terms on which we agree to offer Lots for sale in our online auctions as agent on behalf of Sellers;
“Terms of Sale for Online Auctions” means these terms of sale for online only auctions, as amended or updated from time to time;
“Total Amount Due” means the Hammer Price for a Lot, the Premium, the Bidding Platform Fee (if any), any applicable artist’s resale right royalty, any VAT due and any additional charges payable by a defaulting buyer under these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions;
“Trader” means a Seller who is acting for purposes relating to that Seller’s trade, business, craft or profession, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader’s name or on the trader’s behalf;
“VAT” means Value Added Tax or any equivalent sales tax; and
“Website” means our website available at: www.overtureauctions.co.uk
In these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions the words “you”, “yours”, etc. refer to you as the Buyer. The words “we”, “us”, “our” etc. refer to the Auctioneer. Any reference to a ‘Clause’ is to a clause of these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions unless stated otherwise.
2. Information that we are required to give to Consumers
2.1. A description of the main characteristics of a Lot is contained in the Listing for that Lot. This description will also be contained in the Order Confirmation referred to in Clause 7.
2.2. A description of our Services, as set out in these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions.
2.3. Our name, address and contact details as set out herein and/or on our Website.
2.4. If the Seller of a Lot is a Trader, the identity of the Seller and the Seller’s business address as set out in the Listing for the Lot.
2.5. The technical means for concluding the contract to buy Lots are set out in Clause 3. If you have made a mistake in inputting information, please click on the back arrow and you will be able to change it.
2.6. The price of the Goods and arrangements for payment as described in Clauses 5, 6, 7, 10 and the manner in which our storage charges (as part of the Services) are calculated (see Clause 11.4).
2.7. The arrangements for collection of the Goods as set out in the Order Confirmation and in Clauses 11 and 15.
2.8. Your right to cancel your purchase of a Lot and to receive a refund as set out in Clause 12 (provided you return the Lot to us at your own cost) and a copy of the Model Cancellation Form (attached).
2.9. Your right to cancel our Services as set out in Clause 14, a copy of the Model Cancellation Form (attached), information on your obligation to pay for Services supplied up to cancellation, and confirmation of the loss of the right to cancel if we have performed our Services in full.
2.10. Your right to return a Lot and receive a refund if the Lot is a Deliberate Forgery as set out in Clause 18.
2.11. We and Trader Sellers have a legal duty to supply any Lots to you in accordance with these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions.
2.12. We also refer you to your warranties as a Bidder and Buyer as set out in Clause 4.
2.13. If you have any complaints, please send them to either the Seller if the Seller is a Trader at the address we provide to you for the Trader, or to us directly at the address set out on our Website.
3. Bidding procedures and the Buyer
3.1. You must register your details with us and login to our the Bidding Platform before bidding and provide us with any requested proof of identity and billing information, in a form acceptable to us (more details are set out at Paragraph 15 of the Information for Buyers in the online auction catalogue). We reserve the right, where we deem we are so required for regulatory purposes, to reveal your identity and contact details (and those of your Principal) to the Seller. You must also satisfy any security arrangements we have in place before using our online auction room to bid on any Lot. Your contract with us for the Services will be formed when you register your details on the Bidding Platform, and we will send you a confirmation of the information listed in Clause 2 upon registration. You may register on our Website less than fourteen days before an online auction. By registering on our the Bidding Platform, you acknowledge that you are asking us to start performing the Services before the end of the cancellation period (see Clause 14).
3.2. The Bidder placing the highest bid for a Lot accepted at the time the specific lot closes, will be the Buyer at the Hammer Price. Any dispute about a bid will be settled at our discretion. We will act reasonably when deciding how to settle the dispute.
3.3. Bidders will be deemed to act as principals (in other words, acting for their own account and not on behalf of someone else), even if the Bidder is acting as an agent for a third party.
3.4. We may refuse to accept any bid if it is reasonable for us to do so.
3.5. Bidding increments will be at our sole discretion (but will be in line with standard auction practice).
4. Buyer Warranties
4.1. You warrant, and where you are acting on behalf of someone else (your Principal), you will procure that your Principal warrants, that:
• 4.1.1. the funds to be used for the purchase of the Lot(s) are not connected with nor are derived from any criminal activity, including without limitation tax evasion, money laundering or terrorist financing;
• 4.1.2. neither you, nor any agent acting for you, nor your Principal, are to the best of your knowledge either under investigation, nor have you been charged with or convicted of without limitation tax evasion, money laundering, terrorist financing or other criminal activities; and
• 4.1.3. neither you, nor any agent acting for you, nor your Principal, are subject to Restrictive Measures or owned, partly owned or controlled by person(s) subject to such Restrictive Measures.
4.2. Where you are bidding on behalf of another person and you are an Art Market Participant, you warrant that:
• (i) you have conducted appropriate customer due diligence on the ultimate owner(s) of the Goods in accordance with all applicable Money Laundering Legislation;
• (ii) upon request, you will provide us or any independent third party auditor (employed at our cost) with any identification and any other relevant documentation you have obtained for customer due diligence purposes on the ultimate owner(s) of the Goods;
• (iii) you consent to us relying on this due diligence; and
• (iv) you will retain for a period of not less than five years the documentation evidencing the due diligence
4.3. Where you are acting on behalf of another person (your Principal) and you are not an Art Market Participant, you warrant that you will provide accurate and complete information about your Principal to us.
5. The purchase price
• 5.1. As Buyer, you will pay:
• 5.1.1. the Hammer Price;
• 5.1.2. a Premium of 22% of the Hammer Price;
• 5.1.3. any artist’s resale right royalty, and Bidding Platform Fee identified as payable on the sale of the Lot;
6. VAT
6.1.Overture Auctions is not currently VAT registered. Therefore no VAT is charged on any services, or is refundable.
7. Order confirmation process
7.1. Once we have received your successful bid on a Lot, an automated confirmation of receipt will be displayed on the online auction page of the Bidding Platform. Please note that this does not mean that your bid has been accepted or that a contract has been made. We will confirm acceptance of your bid to you by sending you an Order Confirmation by e-mail which confirms that we have accepted your bid and that the Lot will be ready for you to collect at the given location following our receipt of the Total Amount Due from you in cleared funds.
Once we have received your successful bid on a lot, you will receive an automated confirmation of bid. Please note, this does not mean that your bid was successful in purchasing the lot or that a contract has been made with the seller. Should you be outbid, prior to closure of the lot, you will receive an automatic email informing you of this, which gives you the option to increase your bid.
6.2 If you are the highest bidder once a lot has closed, you will receive an automated notification of your bid(s) – a Bid Results email. The Lot will be ready for you to collect at the given location following our receipt of the total amount due from you in cleared funds
The contract between the Seller and you (the “Contract”) will only be formed when we send you the Order Confirmation.
7.2. The Order Confirmation will include the following information:
• 7.2.1.1.1. the description of the Lot that you have successfully bid for;
• 7.2.1.1.2. the Hammer Price for the Lot that you have successfully bid for plus the Premium and artist’s resale right royalty;
• 7.2.1.1.3. confirmation of the arrangements for your payment for and collection of the Lot;
• 7.2.1.1.4. details of your right to cancel the Contract and a model cancellation form;
• 7.2.1.1.5. details of our legal duty to supply the Lot in conformity with these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions;
• 7.2.1.1.6. our identity, address and contact details (including our telephone number, fax number and e-mail address, where available), and how you can complain;
• 7.2.1.1.7. the identity of the Seller and the Seller’s business address if the Seller is a Trader;
• 7.2.1.1.8. details of your right to return the Lot and receive a refund if the Lot is a Deliberate Forgery; and
• 7.2.1.1.9. a copy of our Conditions of Business for Online Auctions.
7.3. We reserve the right to cancel the Contract on behalf of the Seller in (amongst others) the following situations in this clause 7.3 and clause 7.4, without being liable for any damage or costs:
• 7.3.1. your contact or billing information is not correct or not verifiable;
• 7.3.2. your bid is flagged up by our security systems as an unusual bid or a bid susceptible to fraud; or
• 7.3.3. your payment is not received within five days of our acceptance of your bid.
7.4. In addition to any other rights, we may have to cancel a contract for sale under these Terms of Sale, we may delay completion of a sale, delay release of a Lot or cancel the sale of a Lot in the event:
• 7.4.1 you are in breach of your warranties in Clause 4; or
• 7.4.2 we have not completed our enquiries pursuant to the Money Laundering Regulations and related legislation to our satisfaction; or
• 7.4.3 we have reason to believe that the transaction might be unlawful for any reason, or that the sale might put us under any civil or criminal liability.
8. The contract between you and the Seller
8.1. As set out at Clause 7 above, we will confirm acceptance of a successful bid for a Lot to you by sending you an Order Confirmation by e-mail. The contract for the purchase of the Lot between you and the Seller will be formed when we send you the Order Confirmation.
8.2. You may directly enforce any terms in the Terms of Consignment for Online Auctions against a Seller to the extent that you suffer damages and/or loss as a result of the Seller’s breach of the Terms of Consignment for Online Auctions.
8.3. If you breach these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions, you may be responsible for damages and/or losses suffered by a Seller or us. If we are contacted by a Seller who wishes to bring a claim against you, we may in our discretion provide the Seller with information or assistance in relation to that claim.
8.4. If you are breach of these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions, you may at our discretion be blocked from bidding in any future auctions, this information may be made available to other auction companies’ dependant on the severity of the breach.
8.5. We normally act as an agent only and will not have any responsibility for default by you or the Seller (unless we are the Seller of the Lot).
9. Data check
9.1. When you submit a successful bid, we may run some checks on it before it is fulfilled. These checks may include verifying your address, creditworthiness, and checking for fraud. As to the latter, we run partly automated checks on all bids to filter out unusual or suspect transactions, or transactions which can be identified as susceptible to fraud. Suspected fraud on our online auctions will be investigated and if necessary prosecuted. By submitting your bid, you agree to this.
10. Payment
10.1. Immediately following your successful bid on a Lot you will:
• 10.1.1. give to us, if not already provided to our satisfaction, proof of identity in a form acceptable to us (and any other information that we require in order to comply with our anti-money laundering obligations, please refer to Paragraph 15 of the Information for Buyers in the online auction Catalogue); and
• 10.1.2. pay us the Total Amount Due in any way that we agree to accept payment on our Website or the Bidding Platform.
• 10.1.3. pay in full the Shipping Costs prior to the Goods being shipped,
• 10.2. If you owe us any money, we may use any payment made by you to repay the amounts owed by you.
11. Title and collection of purchases
11.1. While you are bound by the contract for the purchase of the Lot from the fall of the hammer on your successful bid, the transaction is not completed and ownership in the Lot will not pass to you until:
• 11.1.1. you have paid us in full the Total Amount Due in cleared funds for that Lot;
• 11.1.2. you have provided us with the information set out in Clause 3; and
• 11.1.3. we have completed our enquiries pursuant to the Money Laundering Legislation to our satisfaction.
11.2. You may not claim or collect a Lot until
• (i) you have paid for it and,
• (ii) ownership has passed to you and
• (iii) any applicable storage charge applicable under Clause 11.4 and accrued up until the day of collection have been paid in full by you (at law, the right for a professional to hold on to goods until its services have been paid for is called a “lien”).
11.3. Unless notified otherwise, and subject to the passing of ownership in the Lot to you under Clause 11.1, you will (at your own expense) collect any Lots that you have purchased and paid for at the location notified in the Order Confirmation;
• 11.3.1. not later than Six Business days following the day of the auction;
11.4 If you agree to the Auctioneer delivering the Goods, only when the full Shipping Costs have been paid will the Goods be dispatched. We reserve the right that some Lots will not be suitable for an automated shipping estimate and will require bespoke quotes from the shipping agent.
11.5 Should you decide to use the delivery service, you thereby agree to allow us to share relevant personal data that we hold with the shipping agent in order to allow effective communication between the shipping agent and you, and to enable delivery
11.6. Subject to Clause 11.1, if you do not collect the Lot within any of the time periods set out at Paragraph 11.3 above, and ownership has not passed to you under Clause 11.1, we shall start charging a minimum warehousing charge of £5 per lot per day, starting from the latest of the time periods set out at Clause 11.3 above to expire. You will also be responsible for any reasonable removal, storage and insurance charges in relation to that Lot unless the delay was caused by us.
11.7. Risk of loss or damage to the Lot will pass to you when you (or your agents) take physical possession of the Lot.
11.8. Subject to Clause 11.1, if you do not collect or organise collection of the Lot that you have paid for within six days after the auction, we may sell the Lot. We will pay the proceeds of any such sale to you, but (unless the delay was caused by us) will deduct any storage charges or other sums that we have incurred in the storage and sale of the Lot. We reserve the right to charge you a selling commission at our standard rates on any such resale of the Lot.
12. Consumer’s right to cancel the Contract
12.1. If you are contracting as a Consumer in the UK or the EU and the Seller of a Lot is a Trader, you will have a statutory right to cancel your purchase of that Lot if you change your mind for any reason. The provisions below set out your legal right to cancel. Further advice about your legal right to cancel your purchase is available from your local Citizens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards Office.
12.2. You may cancel your purchase at any time from the date of the Order Confirmation up to the end of the fourteenth day after the day of collection of the Lot by you or the person specified by you for collection (e.g. if you receive an Order Confirmation on 1 January and you collect a Lot on 10 January, you may cancel at any time between 1 January and the end of the day on 24 January).
12.3. To cancel your purchase, you must inform us of your intention to cancel it. The easiest way to do so is to complete the model cancellation form (Part A) attached to these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions and to your Order Confirmation. you can then email us at
[email protected]. If you send us your cancellation notice by email, then your cancellation is effective from the date you send us the email, if sent within normal working hours. If sent out of normal working hours, then you can assume the cancellation as being effective from 9am the next normal business day. If sending by post please could you call our office to inform us of your intentions and we will treat the cancellation as effective from that point.
12.4. If you exercise your right to cancel your purchase, you will receive a refund of the Total Amount Due paid for the Lot in accordance with Clause 13. When exercising the cancellation right, you must return the Lots to us immediately at your own cost (as set out below).
12.5. You are entitled to a reasonable opportunity to inspect the Lots you have purchased (which will include removing them from their packaging and inspecting them). At all times, you must take reasonable care of the Lots and must not let them out of your possession. If you are in breach of your obligations to take reasonable care of the Lots in this Clause 12.5, we will have a claim against you and may deduct from the refund costs incurred by us as a result of the breach.
12.6. Details of this statutory right, and an explanation of how to exercise it, are also provided in the Order Confirmation. This provision does not affect your statutory rights.
12.7. The cancellation right described in this Clause is in addition to any other right that you might have to reject a Lot, for instance because it is a Deliberate Forgery as set out in Clause 18 below.
13. Exercising the consumer’s right to cancel the Contract
13.1. Where you have validly returned a Lot to us under your right of cancellation described in Clause 12, we will refund the full amount paid by you for the Lot.
13.2. Please note that we are permitted by law to reduce your refund to reflect any reduction in the value of the Lot, if this has been caused by your handling of the Lot in a way contrary to the conditions specified in these terms or which would not be permitted during a pre-sale exhibition held prior to an auction. If we refund you the price paid before we are able to inspect the Lot and later discover you have handled the Lot in an unacceptable way, you must pay us an appropriate amount.
13.3. You will be responsible for returning the Lot to us at your own cost.
13.4. We will process any refund due to you within the deadlines below:
• 13.4.1. if you have collected the Lot but have not returned it to us: fourteen days after the day on which we receive the Lot back from you or, if earlier, the day on which you provide us with evidence that you have sent the Lot back to us; or
• 13.4.2. if you have not collected the Lot or you have already returned the Lot to us: fourteen days after you inform us of your decision to cancel the Contract.
13.5. We will refund you using the same means of payment that you used for the transaction.
13.6. Legal ownership of a Lot will immediately revert to the Seller if we refund any such payment to you.
13.7. For further information on how to return Lots to us, please get in touch with us using the contact details provided on our Website.
14. Right to cancel our services
14.1. Separately from your right to cancel your contract with the Seller per Clause 12.1 (where applicable), you will have the statutory right to cancel the contract for the Services we provide you in connection with your purchase of the Lot from the Seller.
14.2. You may cancel the contract for our Services from the day the contract is formed up to the end of the fourteenth day after the date of formation of that contract.
14.3. To cancel the contract for Services, you must inform us of your intention to cancel it. The easiest way to do so is to complete the model cancellation form (Part B) attached to these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions, you can then email it to us at
[email protected]. If you send us your cancellation notice by email, then your cancellation is effective from the date you send us the email, if sent within normal working hours. If sent out of normal working hours, then you can assume the cancellation as being effective from 9am the next normal business day. If sending by post please could you call our office to inform us of your intentions and we will treat the cancellation as effective from that point.
14.4. You request that we begin the performance of our Services during the cancellation period. You shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been performed until you have communicated us your cancellation from this contract. You acknowledge that if any of our Services are fully performed by the time the contract for our Services is cancelled, we will not reimburse you for such fully performed Services. For instance, if your contract with us for the provision of our Services starts on 1st January, that you bid successfully on a Lot, pay the Total Amount Due and collect it before the end of your cancellation period, that is, 14th January, we will not reimburse you the Premium, any storage charges, or any other fees paid to us in relation to our services.
15. Remedies for non-payment or failure to collect purchases
15.1. Please do not bid on a Lot if you do not intend to buy it. If your bid is successful, these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions will form your contract of purchase. This means that you will have to carry out your obligations set out in these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions. Subject to any cancellation of a purchase under Clauses 12 and 13, if you do not comply with these Terms of Sale for Online Auction we may (acting on behalf of the Seller and ourselves) pursue one or more of the following measures:
• 15.1.1. take action against you for damages for breach of contract;
• 15.1.2. reverse the sale of the Lot to you and/or any other Lots sold by us to you;
• 15.1.3. resell the Lot by auction or private treaty (in which case you will have to pay any difference between the price you should have paid for the Lot and the price we sell it for as well as the charges outlined in Clause 11.). Please note that if we sell the Lot for a higher amount than your winning bid, the extra money will belong to the Seller;
• 15.1.4. remove, store and insure the Lot at your expense;
• 15.1.5. if you do not pay us within five business days of your successful bid, we may charge interest at a rate not exceeding 2% per month on the total amount due;
• 15.1.6. keep that Lot or any other Lot sold to you until you pay the Total Amount Due;
• 15.1.7. reject or ignore bids from you or your agent at future auctions, suspend your ability to place bids on the Bidding Platform and/or impose conditions before we accept bids from you; and/or
• 15.1.8. if we sell any Lots for you, use the money made on these Lots to repay any amount you owe us.
15.2. We will act reasonably when exercising our rights under Clause 14.1. We will contact you before exercising these rights and try to work with you to correct any non-compliance by you with these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions.
16. Seller’s Warranties
16.1. The Seller warrants to us and to you that:
• 16.1.1. the Seller is the true owner of the Lot for sale or is authorised by the true owner to offer and sell the Lot at auction;
• 16.1.2. the Seller is able to transfer good and marketable title to the Lot to you free from any third party rights or claims; and
• 16.1.3. as far as the Seller is aware, the main characteristics of the Lot set out in the Listing for the Lot are correct.
16.2. If, after you have placed a successful bid and paid for a Lot, any of the warranties above are found not to be true, please notify us in writing. Neither we nor the Seller will be liable to pay you any sums over and above the Total Amount Due and we will not be responsible for any inaccuracies in the information provided by the Seller except as set out below.
16.3. If you purchase a Lot as a Consumer from a Seller that is a Trader, a number of additional terms may be implied by law in addition to the Seller’s warranties set out at Clause 16.1 (in particular under the Consumer Rights Act 2015). These Terms of Sale for Online Auctions do not seek to exclude your rights under law as they relate to the sale of these Lots.
16.4. Save as expressly set out above, all other warranties, conditions or other terms which might have effect between the Seller and you, or us and you, or be implied or incorporated by statute, common law or otherwise are excluded.
17. Descriptions, safety, condition and disclaimers
17.1. Our descriptions of the Lot will be based on: (a) information provided to us by the Seller of the Lot (for which we are not liable); and (ii) our opinion (although it is likely that we will not be able to carry out a detailed inspection of each Lot). The actual colour of the Lot may vary from the images in the online auction catalogue.
17.2. Representations or statements by us as to authorship, genuineness, origin, date, age, provenance, condition or estimated selling price involve matters of opinion. We undertake that any such opinion will be honestly and reasonably held and accept liability for opinions given negligently or fraudulently, but not otherwise.
17.3. Please note that many of the Lots that you may bid on at our online auction are second-hand and Lots are unlikely to be in perfect condition. Lots are sold “as is” (i.e. as you see them at the time of the auction). Neither we nor the Seller accept any liability for any condition issues affecting a Lot if such issues are included in the description of the Lot in the Listing or are revealed by any photographs of the Lot appearing on the Listing, or for fitness for purpose of any Lots.
17.4. The sale of Lots containing elephant ivory is banned, subject to exceptions. Please note that we may offer Lots containing elephant ivory from time to time. Where this is the case, we rely on the documentation obtained by the Seller of the Lot confirming that the Lot satisfies the relevant exemptions. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that any certificate or other documentation provided by us (on the Seller’s behalf) to you in connection with the sale of the Lot is valid or accurate.
17.5. All Lots of furniture are sold as a collector’s item and are not supplied for use. Such Lots may not comply with applicable furniture and safety regulations. Therefore, if you do intend to use such Lots for private use or otherwise, you must first ensure that they are refurbished and rendered compliant with any applicable furniture and safety regulations.
17.6. Some Lots with electrical components are sold as “antiques” for their historical and decorative attributes for collection and display only, and are not intended for use. If you buy Lots with electrical components, that have not been PAT, and intend to use them, you must first ask a qualified electrician to check them for compliance with safety regulations.
18. Deliberate Forgeries
18.1. You may return any Lot which you consider with some cause to be a Deliberate Forgery to us within 6 months of the auction provided that you return the Lot to us in the same condition as when it was released to you, accompanied by a written statement identifying the Lot from the relevant online auction catalogue description and a written statement of defects.
18.2. If we are satisfied, acting reasonably, that the Lot is a Deliberate Forgery and returned to us within the period specified in Clause 18.1, we will refund the money paid by you for the Lot (including any Premium) PROVIDED THAT you will have no right to a refund under this Clause 18.2. if 18.2.1. the online auction catalogue description reflected the accepted view of experts as at the date of the online auction; or 18.2.2. you personally are not able to transfer good and marketable title in the Lot to us.
18.3. If you have sold the Lot to another person, we will only be liable to refund the price that you paid for the Lot. We will not be responsible for repaying any additional money you may have made from selling the Lot. The rights given under this Clause 18 are given to you as Buyer in our online auction; they are not given to, and may not be transferred or assigned to, any other party.
18.4. Your right to return a Lot that is a Deliberate Forgery does not affect your legal rights and is in addition to any other right or remedy provided by law or by these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions.
19. Our disclaimers and our liability to you
19.1. The Website and the Bidding Platform are provided by us or our service providers without any warranties or guarantees. All users of our Website and/or the Bidding Platform bear the risks associated with the use of the internet.
19.2. Both our Website and the Bidding Platform provide content from users, internet sites or resources. While we try to ensure that material included on our Website and/or the Bidding Platform is correct, reputable and of high quality, we cannot accept responsibility if this is not the case. Except as expressly set out herein, we will not be responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information or for any technical problems users may experience with the Website and/or the Bidding Platform. If we are informed of any inaccuracies in the material on our Website or the Bidding Platform we will attempt to correct the inaccuracies or ask our service providers to do so as soon as we reasonably can.
19.3. You acknowledge that the Website and the Bidding Platform are provided as is for public use, subject to registration. Registration is free of charge and as such we have no responsibility to users of our Website and/or the Bidding Platform for any downtime or errors on our Website or the Bidding Platform. If, because of errors on our Website and/or the Bidding Platform an auction cannot be completed, our only responsibility to you is to enable Sellers to re-list Goods once our the Bidding Platform is back up. In particular, we will not be liable for any loss of opportunity or disappointment suffered as a result of participating in our online auction.
19.4. You should note that Lots are sold as antiques for their decorative attributes rather than for use, and are often of considerable age and uncertain manufacture; neither we nor the Seller accepts any liability for loss or damage to the Lots, or any other loss or damage, that is caused by or results from any inherent vice or defect affecting the Lots.
19.5. In addition to the above, neither we nor the Seller shall be responsible to you and you shall not be responsible to the Seller or us for any other loss or damage that any of us suffer that is not a foreseeable result of any of us not complying with the Conditions of Business for Online Auctions. Loss or damage is foreseeable if it is obvious that it will happen or if at the time of the sale of the Lot, we, you and the Seller knew it might happen.
19.6. Subject to Clause
19.7, if we are found to be liable to you for any reason (including, amongst others, if we are found to be negligent, in breach of contract or to have made a misrepresentation), our liability will be limited to the total purchase price paid by you to us for any Lot. 19.7. Notwithstanding the above, nothing in these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions shall limit our liability (or that of our employees or agents) for:
• 19.7.1. death or personal injury resulting from negligence (as defined in the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977);
• 19.7.2. fraudulent misrepresentation; or
• 19.7.3. any liability which cannot be excluded by law.
20. Notices
20.1. All notices between you and us regarding these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the party giving it.
• 20.2. Any notice referred in Clause 20.1 may be given:
• 20.2.1. by delivering it by hand;
• 20.2.2. by first class pre-paid post or Recorded Delivery; or
• 20.2.3. by email, provided that a copy is also sent by first class pre-paid post or Recorded Delivery. A notice given by email will be deemed to be signed for the purposes of this Clause 20.1 if the name of the sender appears in a signature position after the body of the email and has not been added automatically by the sender’s email server.
20.3. Notices must be sent:
• 20.3.1. by hand, by first class pre-paid post or Recorded Delivery: a. to us, at our address set out in these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions or at our registered office address appearing on our Website; and b. to you, at the last postal address that you have given to us as your contact address in writing.
• 20.3.2. by email: a. to us, by sending the notice to both the following email addresses:
[email protected] b. to you, by sending the notice to any email address that you have given to us as your contact email address in writing.
20.4. Notices will be deemed to have been received:
• 20.4.1. if delivered by hand, on the day of delivery;
• 20.4.2. if sent by first class pre-paid post or Recorded Delivery, two business days after posting, exclusive of the day of posting; or
• 20.4.3. if sent by email, at the time of transmission unless sent after 17.00 in the place of receipt in which case they will be deemed to have been received on the next business day in the place of receipt (provided that a copy has also been sent by pre-paid post or Recorded Delivery as set out in Clause 20.3.1).
20.5. Any notice or communication given under these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions will not be validly given if sent by fax, any form of messaging via social media or text message (including WhatsApp).
21. Data Protection
21.1.1. We will hold and process any personal data in relation to you in accordance with our current privacy policy, a copy of which is available on our Website/on request.
22. General
22.1. We may, acting reasonably, refuse to allow you to bid at our online auctions.
22.2. We act as an agent for our Sellers. The rights we have to claim against you for breach of these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions may be used by either us, our employees or agents, or the Seller, its employees or agents, as appropriate. Other than as set out in this Clause, these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions are between you and us and no other person will have any rights to enforce any of these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions.
22.3. We may use special terms in the Listings for particular Lots. You must read these terms carefully along with any glossary provided on our Website.
22.4. Each of the clauses of these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining clauses will remain in full force and effect.
22.5. We may change these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions from time to time, without notice to you. Please read these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions carefully, as they may be different from the last time you read them.
22.6. Except as otherwise stated in these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions, each of our rights and remedies are: (a) are in addition to and not exclusive of any other rights or remedies under these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions or general law; and (b) may be waived only in writing and specifically. Delay in exercising or non-exercise of any right under these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions is not a waiver of that or any other right. Partial exercise of any right under these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions will not preclude any further or other exercise of that right or any other right under these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions. Waiver of a breach of any term of these Terms of Sale for Online Auctions will not operate as a waiver of breach of any other term or any subsequent breach of that term.
22.7. These Terms of Sale for Online Auctions and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including any non-contractual claims or disputes) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and the parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
