CONDITIONS OF SALE
1. The HIGHEST Bidder shall be the Buyer, and if any dispute arises between two or more Bidders the Lot so in dispute shall be immediately put up again and resold at the discretion of the Auctioneer.
2. The Auctioneer has the right to advance the bidding at his absolute discretion.
3. In the case of Lots upon which there is a reserve, the Auctioneer shall have the right to bid on behalf of the seller.
4. The Buyer shall pay the hammer price plus a Premium of 20% together with VAT at the standard rate in addition to the Bid Price and the Buyer shall acknowledge that the Auctioneer may also receive commission from the seller. Lots purchased using easyLiveAuction.com will attract either an additional 3% + VAT charge or a £3 Flat Fee for unlimited bidding with no added fee thereafter (Per Auction).
The £3 Flat Fee is paid directly to easyLiveAuction at the time you register for the auction.
5. Prospective buyers are advised to attend the Auction. The Auctioneers will, however, if instructed, execute Bids provided in writing in advance of the Auction or Bids by telephone but neither the Auctioneer nor his employees shall be liable to either the Buyer or the Seller for any neglect or failure to do so. In the event that the Auctioneers receive commission Bids on a Lot for identical amounts and at Auction those Bids are the highest for that Lot, the Lot shall be knocked down to the person whose commission Bid was received first. The Auctioneer will only Bid up to the maximum Bid stated, and if the Bidding is such that if a Buyer in the room Bids an identical amount to the commission Bid, unless expressly authorised the Auctioneer may not Bid higher on behalf of this person, and the Lot will be knocked down to the Bidder in the room. Absentee bids left which do not correspond to our usual increments of bidding (ie £102) will be rounded down to the nearest increment (ie £100)
6. Each Lot is sold by the Seller thereof with all faults and defects therein and with all errors of description and is to be taken and paid for whether genuine and authentic or not and no compensation shall be paid for same. It shall be assumed that the Purchaser has inspected the Lots bought on the view day prior to the Sale.
7. The property in a Lot shall not pass to the Buyer until he has paid the purchase price in full.
8. BURSTOW & HEWETT act as agents only and do not accept responsibility for the authenticity, attribution, genuineness, origin, authorship, date, age, period, condition or quality of any Lot, unless they have been instructed in writing by the Seller to so certify and in such case the Auctioneers do so as agents of the Seller and are not themselves responsible for such claims.
8a. All conditions, notices, descriptions, statements and other matters in the catalogue and elsewhere concerning any Lot are subject to any statements modifying or affecting the same made by the Auctioneer from the rostrum prior to any Bid being accepted for the Lot.
9. All statements, whether printed in the catalogue or made orally as to any of the matters set out in 8 (above) are statements of opinion and are not to be taken as being or implying any warranties or representations of fact by BURSTOW & HEWETT unless they have been instructed by the Seller to so certify.
10. RESCISSION. Nothwithstanding any other terms of these conditions, if within 7 days after the sale BURSTOW & HEWETT have received from the Buyer of any Lot notice in writing that in his view the Lot is a deliberate forgery, and within 14 days after such notification the Buyer returns the same to BURSTOW & HEWETT in the same condition as at the time of the Sale and by producing evidence, the burden of proof to be upon the Buyer, satisfies BURSTOW & HEWETT that considered in the light of the catalogue entry the Lot is a deliberate forgery, then the sale of the Lot shall be rescinded and the purchase price of same be refunded within 7 days of the vendor refunding to BURSTOW & HEWETT the amount paid to the vendor in respect of the Lot. The Seller and Buyer agree to be bound by BURSTOW & HEWETT’s decision.
11. DEFAULT. BURSTOW & HEWETT disclaim any responsibility for default by either the Buyer of the Seller because they act as Agents for the Seller only and therefore do not pay out to the Seller until payment is received from the Buyer. Instructions given by telephone are accepted at the Sender’s risk and must be confirmed in writing forthwith.
12. LOSS OR DAMAGE. BURSTOW & HEWETT disclaim all responsibility for loss or damage to goods or for unauthorised removal of goods unless caused by the direct negligence of their employees.
13. INDEMNITY. The seller shall duly indemnify BURSTOW & HEWETT against any claims in connection with any goods sold by BURSTOW & HEWETT on the Sellers behalf.
14. The Lots are to be taken away at the Buyers expense and paid for within THREE DAYS of the Sale.
15. In the event that Lots remain uncollected, the Buyer shall be responsible to pay storage charges after a period of 14 days from the Sale Date at the rate of £1 per day per lot, unless a prior arrangement has been made.
16. To prevent inaccuracy in delivery, and inconvenience in the settlement of the purchases, items may be collected during the Sale providing an invoice from the Clerk is handed to a porter.
17. The Auctioneer accepts no responsibility for items unsold; these must be removed within THREE DAYS after the Sale, unless a request for a further entry is made IN WRITING.
18. If a Lot is unsold at Auction BURSTOW & HEWETT are authorised to sell such a Lot privately for a price that will result in a payment to the Seller of not less than the net amount—ie. After deduction of commission and expenses— to which the Seller would have been entitled had the Lot been sold at the reserve price or at the Auctioneers Discretion.
19. Upon failure to comply with above conditions the Lots uncleared within the time aforesaid shall be resold by public or private sale, and the deficiency (if any) together with commission and all charges attending such a resale, shall be made good by the defaulter.
20. RESERVES. All goods are put up for sale WITHOUT RESERVE unless written instructions are received by BURSTOW & HEWETT prior to the commencement of the Sale. In the event of any reserve price not being reached at auction, BURSTOW & HEWETT are empowered to sell after the auction, by private treaty, at not less than the reserve price, as long as the goods remain on BURSTOW & HEWETT’s premises. In the event of such a sale by private treaty, the conditions of sale applicable to a Buyer governing the auction will apply.
21. DROIT DE SUITE. Prospective bidders should familiarise themselves with the new droit de suite regulations now in effect. Any paintings, prints, photographs, sculpture or any other original works of art by living artists, and selling for over 1000 EUROS are subject to a 4% royalty. This charge will be added onto the buyer's invoice and is not subject to VAT. Royalty payments collected by Burstow & Hewett are paid to DACS, the Government appointed body, for distribution to the original artists.
22. The Auctioneer accepts no responsibility in connection with the commissioning of their staff to bid for any lots. Reserves and commissions given by telephone are accepted at the sender’s risk and must be confirmed in writing before the date of the sale.
23. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law
24. SHIPPING. We can only offer an in-house shipping service for very small items such as rings/watches. Approximate prices are £10-15 UK Mainland / £15-20 International. All are sent Royal Mail Recorded Special Delivery. For larger items the majority of our customers use the following options: (1) Mailboxes Tunbridge Wells:
[email protected] (2) JenTel Packing UK and International shipping service:
[email protected] / 01268 776777 (3) Shiply allows you to compare local couriers. (4) Big Van Removals: 07801 477696
25. PAYMENT. The following methods of payment are accepted.
Cash. single payment up to £10,000 only
Debit Card
Credit card
Banker's draft. No limit
Bank Transfer
PLEASE USE YOUR NAME AND SALE NUMBER FOR REFERENCE. PLEASE ENSURE THAT THE PAYMENT INCLUDES BANK TRANSFER FEES AND IS PAID IN POUNDS STERLING.
Please note that if you are a first time buyer with us payment can be made by card (IN PERSON), cash or bank transfer
Your bid is a contract. Place a bid only if you are serious about buying the item. If you are the successful and winning bidder you have entered into a legally binding contract to purchase the property from the seller. You should contact the auction house to resolve any questions before bidding (ie condition of the lot, provenance)
Glossary of Picture cataloguing terms:
Full Christian name and surname of the artist –
In our opinion a work by the artist
Attributed to………….. –
In our opinion possibly a work by the artist and of that period
After………………. –
In our opinion a work which is a copy (of any date) of a work by the artist
Surname only, with or without initials –
In our opinion a work which may or may not be by the artist
Circle of…………….. –
In our opinion a work of the period of the artist
Signed
The work is bears a signature which may be that of the artist
Manner/style of……………-
In our opinion a work in the style of the artist, but not by the artist
View our illustrated catalogues online at www.burstowandhewett.co.uk
