Conditions of Sale for Buyers
The Auctioneers acts only as agent for the Seller (unless otherwise specifically declared). Accordingly Sellers are not paid until payment is received from the Buyer, nor is the Auctioneer necessarily in a position to know the history or to assess the quality of lots sold on behalf of these principals. In addition, lots sold are likely to have been subject to wear and tear caused by user or the effects of age and may therefore have faults and imperfections. No faults or imperfections are mentioned in the catalogue descriptions. Condition reports are available on request and are for guidance only based on our own opinion of the lot. Intending buyers are strongly encouraged to view. Buyers are given ample opportunity at viewing times to examine lots to be sold and will be assumed to have done so. They must rely solely on their own skill or judgment as to whether lots are fit for any particular purpose, and as to compliance with the catalogue description or illustrations – see Condition 6.
Privacy Policy, GDPR & the fifth anti-money laundering directive. We take your privacy seriously and only use your data in accordance with the contractual obligations of these Conditions of Sale. Any email marketing opt-ins that you have ticked when registering to bid can be revoked at any time. For our full Privacy Policy visit our website or ask for a copy at reception. From 2020 Clevedon Salerooms Limited will be registered as ‘High Value Dealers’ in accordance with HMRC requirements. Bidders are asked to comply with the Due Diligence and I.D. checks that all auction houses are required to make of customers as detailed in section 5 below.
1. Bids
All bids made shall be treated as offers made upon these Conditions of Sale and all persons present are admitted to attend a sale on the basis that they have notice of these Conditions.
2. Ascertainment of the Buyer
The Buyer shall be the person making the highest bid which is acceptable to the Auctioneer as signified by fall of the hammer. In the case of a dispute as to the highest bidder during or immediately after the sale of the lot, the Auctioneer may if he thinks fit put up the lot again for sale. Unless the Auctioneer has previously acknowledged in writing that the Bidder bids as agent on behalf of a named principal and both bidder and principal comply with the I.D. requirements of section 5, every Bidder shall be taken to bid on his own behalf as principal. If the Auctioneer has earlier acknowledged in writing that the Bidder bids as agent on behalf of a named principal, the Bidder warrants that he has the authority of his principal to make each bid he makes.
3. Auctioneer's Discretion
The Auctioneer has sole discretion (a) to refuse any bid; (b) to advance the bidding as he may decide’ (c) to decide whether there has been a dispute as to the bidding and under Condition 2 to resell the lot in question; (d) to withdraw, or divide any lot or combine one lot with another or others; and (e) to exclude any person from the auction room.
4. Reserves
Lots put up for sale are subject (a) to any reserve price imposed by the Seller; and (b) the right of the Auctioneer to bid on behalf of the Seller up to the reserve.
5. Buyer's Duties
As a consequence of the fifth anti-money laundering directive, Clevedon Salerooms Limited are required to register with HMRC as ‘High Value Dealers’. This places significant Due Diligence obligations on all Auction Rooms to ‘know their clients’. All bidders are therefore required to register with Clevedon Salerooms Limited (and/or via a third-party bidding platform) prior to bidding and agree to supply identification as requested by either ourselves or the third party bidding platform, dependant on their intended level of spend. For bidders who reasonably expect to spend over ten thousand euros in a twelve month period, our ‘High Value Registration’ is mandatory and requires a minimum of a scanned image of a passport or other recognised acceptable photo I.D. and a recent utility bill, copies of which will be stored in accordance with our GDPR policy. Bidders who have not opted for the ‘High Value Registration’, but who exceed the ten thousand Euro threshold, either in a single auction or cumulatively during the course of the year, will at that point be required to comply with the ‘High Value Registration’ requirements before payment can be accepted. Enhanced Due Diligence measures (EDD) may be required of clients who meet certain criteria as per the directive, such as geographical location, transactions relating to cultural items or protected species. The buyer agrees to pay the full purchase price no later than 5.30pm on the day following the sale. Our preferred method of accepting payment is by bank transfer. We will accept many major credit cards (customer present only) up to a maximum of ?1,000; debit cards up to ?15,000 and cash up to ?8,500. We no longer accept cheques.
6. Liability of the Auctioneer and Sellers
Subject to Condition 8 (a) lots are sold with all faults and imperfections and neither the Seller nor the Auctioneer is responsible for any defects whatsoever; (b) no warranty is given or authorised to be given by the Seller or the Auctioneer with regard to any lot other than that the Seller had the right to sell it; (c) any express or implied conditions or warranties whether relating to descriptions or quality. Are hereby excluded; (d) any damage by the removal of any lots to be made good by the purchaser. Such damage to be assessed by the Auctioneers and to be paid for accordingly. Every person whilst upon the premises before, during or after the sale, shall be deemed to be there at his or her own risk, and with notice of the condition of the premises and effects, and the Auctioneers accept no responsibility for accident or damage from any cause to persons or their property whilst upon the premises.
7. Catalogue Descriptions
The Auctioneer undertakes that care has been taken to see that catalogue descriptions are accurate and reliable but these are necessarily matters of opinion and shall not be taken to be statements of fact. No faults or imperfections are mentioned in the catalogue descriptions. Condition reports are available on request. Subject to Condition 8, neither the Seller nor the Auctioneer are responsible for the correctness of any description of any lot or its attribution in any manner to any particular originator.
8. Forgeries
Notwithstanding Condition 6 and 7, if the Auctioneer receives in writing from the Buyer within 7 days of the sale that in his opinion a lot is a forgery (as defined in Condition 11) and on giving such notification the lot in question is returned to the Auctioneer at his working premises in the same condition as when bought, then if on considering such evidence as the Buyer supplies to prove his assertion, the Auctioneer decides that the lot is a forgery the sale of the lot will be rescinded and the purchase price repaid to the Buyer.
i. The only entitlement of the buyer under this condition is to the refund as described in this condition. The refund shall not extend to any other loss suffered by the buyer as a result of the lot being a forgery (including but not limited to profits). Clevedon Salerooms Ltd shall have no other responsibility to the buyer.
ii. Only the buyer may claim under condition 8. The right to make such a claim does not pass to any third party to whom the buyer may have transferred the lot.
9. Property in Lots and Risk
The Buyer shall not become the owner of any lot, and the Auctioneer shall have a lien thereon, until the Buyer has discharged the purchase price, but after the fall of the hammer the risk of damage or loss shall nevertheless be the Buyer’s.
10. Remedies for Non-Payment or failure to collect purchases
If any lot is not paid in full and taken away in accordance with these Conditions or if there is any other breach of these Conditions, we as agent for the seller shall at our absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights we may have, be entitled to exercise all or any of the following rights and remedies:
i. to proceed against you for damages for breach of contract;
ii. to rescind the sale of that lot and/or any other lots sold by us to you;
iii. to resell the lot (by auction or private treaty) in which case you shall be responsible for any resulting deficiency in the total amount due (after crediting any part payment and adding any resale costs). Any surplus so arising shall belong to the seller;
iv. where no prior written arrangements have been agreed with the auctioneers, to remove lots from the salerooms not collected by the purchaser before 5pm on the Tuesday following an auction and store the lots at your expense. A minimum ?25 removal/administration fee plus ?2 per lot per day charge (all charges plus VAT) will be levied and must be settled before lots will be released. In certain circumstances removal to a third party storage facility may be necessary.
v. to charge interest at a rate not exceeding 1.5% per month on the total amount due to the extent it remains unpaid for more than 3 working days after the sale;
vi. to retain that or any other lot sold to you until you pay the total amount due;
vii. to reject or ignore bids from you or your agent at future auctions or impose conditions before any such bids shall be accepted;
viii. to apply any proceeds of sale of other lots due or in future becoming due to you towards the settlement of the total amount due and to exercise a lien on any of your property in our possession for any purpose.
11. Definitions and Interpretation
In these Conditions (a) References to ‘the Auctioneer’ shall be taken to mean, as the context so admits, the firm of Clevedon Salerooms Limited, The Auction Centre, Kenn Road, Kenn, Clevedon, North Somerset, BS21 6TT or any partner or employee thereof at the time of the sale; (b) ‘Buyer’ shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Condition 2 and for the purpose of these conditions all Buyers shall be deemed to be principal; (c) ‘Forgery’ means a lot (i) which is so constituted as deliberately to deceive when considered in the light of its catalogue description and (ii) whose value as such is materially less than if it had complied with the catalogue description; (d) The Interpretation Act 1978 shall apply to the general construction of terms and expressions used in these Conditions as if contained in a statute and these Conditions shall be governed by English Law.
12. Law and Jurisdiction
These conditions shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with English law. Clevedon Salerooms Ltd, all buyers and all vendors submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
13. Buyer's Premium
Except in respect of ‘special category items’, the buyer shall pay to Clevedon Salerooms Ltd a premium of 22 per cent plus VAT on the ‘hammer price’ and agrees that Clevedon Salerooms Ltd when acting as agent for the Seller, may also receive commission from the Seller. Lots purchased online with ATG media will attract an additional charge for this service of 4.95% of the hammer price plus VAT. In completing the bidder registration on www.the-saleroom.com and providing your debit card details and unless alternative arrangements are agreed with Clevedon Salerooms Ltd you authorise Clevedon Salerooms Ltd, if they so wish, to charge the debit card given in part or full payment, including all fees, for items successfully purchased in the sale via the-saleroom.com.
14. Photographs and Illustrations
The buyer gives Clevedon Salerooms Ltd the absolute right to use its photographs and illustrations of lots at any time at Clevedon Salerooms Ltd absolute discretion (whether or not in conjunction with the auction)
15. Explanation of Picture Cataloguing Terms
Clevedon Salerooms Ltd endeavour to ensure that any statement as to attribution, origin, date, age and provenance is reliable and accurate but all such statements are statements of opinion only and are not too be taken as statements or representations of fact.
i. Nicholas Pocock. In our opinion a work by the artist.
ii. Attributed to Nicholas Pocock. In our opinion probably a work by the artist but less certainty as to the authorship is expressed than in the preceding category.
iii. Manner of Nicholas Pocock. In our opinion a work in the style of the artist and of a later date.
iv. After Nicholas Pocock. In our opinion a copy of a known work of the artist.
v. The term signed and/or dated means that in our opinion the signature and/or date are from the hand of the artist.
vi. The term bears signature and/or date means that in our opinion the signature and/or date have been added by another hand.
16. Artist Re-Sale Right
Living artists and the descendants of artists deceased within the last 70 years are entitled to receive a re-sale royalty each time their work is bought or sold. A qualifying individual (including the original artist) must be a national of an EU member state. Any work selling for 1000 euros or more is subject to an additional charge as laid out below. This charge is payable by the buyer on any eligible lots based on the hammer price. Lots that may incur this charge will be denoted in the catalogue by AR. (For full details of The Artists Resale Right Regulations 2006 see Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 346). The total amount of royalty payable on the sale shall not in any event exceed 12,500 euro.
Portion of the Sale price Percentage amount From 1,000 to 50,000 euro 4%; From 50,000.01 to 200,000 euro 3%; From 200,000.01 to 350,000 euro 1%; From 350,000.01 to 500,000 euro 0.5%; Exceeding 500,000 euro 0.25%
17. Packing & Dispatch
Clevedon Salerooms Ltd do not ship any lots themselves. We offer a goodwill free packing service for non-fragile items / parcels under 2kg, upon request - the buyer to then arrange their chosen courier and service to collect from the auction.
Otherwise we suggest:
Mailboxes on 0117 9733021 or email: info@mbebristol.co.uk
Teresa Connor on 07799 077384 or email teresa.connor.packaging@gmail.com
Dariuse Peterson on 07803 081531 or email dariuse@bar-berry.com
Post It 4 Me 01258 920180 or email enquiries@postit4me.com
For larger items such as furniture, a quote can be obtained from Alban Shipping Tel: 01582 493099 Email: info@albanshipping.co.uk
18. Trade & Export of Restricted Goods - CITES Regulations
It is the responsibility of purchasers to comply with the latest import/export regulations required for their purchase and also to obtain the relevant import/ export licences. Obtaining such licences can be a lengthy process but neither a delay nor refusal of a licence will be grounds for the rescission of a sale or for a delay in making payment. Clevedon Salerooms Ltd does not undertake such applications on behalf of successful bidders. Certain items may be subject to CITES regulations when exporting outside of the EU. The regulations can be found on the DEFRA website and compliance with the regulations regarding exportation is the sole responsibility of the purchaser. Items that may require permits include, but are not limited to ivory, tortoiseshell, crocodile skin, rhinoceros horn, whalebone, certain types of coral and Brazilian rosewood.
19. Clocks, Watches & Mechanical Items
All such items are sold with no guarantee. We are happy to comment on the physical condition and appearance of the above items but we do not comment on the state of the movement or workings. If asked whether a clock or watch works when wound, an affirmative response does not imply any warranty that the piece is in working condition. Watch weights, where given, are an estimate to assist buyers of the gross weight only, and are not an indication of the amount of precious metal within a watch. Purchasers of Rolex Watches should be aware that US Customs do not allow the shipping of Rolex into the country and can only be imported personally. Other countries may have their own restrictions and potential purchasers should check with the relevant authorities prior to bidding. We recommend that all purchased watches are serviced as they will have been subject to handling throughout the viewing period. We cannot confirm that each individual element of any watch is original or that if replaced, whether original manufactures parts have been used.
20. Jewellery & Gemstones
Purchasers are advised that whilst great care has been taken in the examination of gemstones, it is not possible to test every gemstone in multi-gemstone lots. Historically many gemstones have been subjected to a variety of treatments to enhance their appearance. Sapphires and rubies are routinely heat treated to improve their colour and clarity, similarly emeralds are frequently treated with oils or resin for the same purpose. Other treatments such as staining, irradiation or coating may have been used on other gemstones. These treatments may be permanent, whilst others may need special care or re-treatment over the years to retain their appearance. Bidders should be aware that Estimates assume that gemstones may have been subjected to such treatments. A number of laboratories issue certificates that give more detailed Descriptions of gemstones. However there may not be consensus between different laboratories on the degrees, or types of treatment for any particular gemstone. In the event that we have been given or have obtained certificates for any lot in the sale these certificates will be disclosed in the catalogue. Although we may endeavour to provide certificates from recognised laboratories for certain gemstones, it is not feasible to obtain certificates for each lot. In the event that no certificate is published in the Catalogue, Bidders should assume that the gemstones may have been treated. Neither we nor the Seller accepts any liability for contradictions or differing certificates obtained by Buyers on any Lots subsequent to the Sale.
ESTIMATED WEIGHTS If a stone(s) weight appears within the body of the Description it has been assessed by us within its/their settings, and the stated weight is a statement of our opinion only. This information is given as a guide and Bidders should satisfy themselves with regard to this information as to its accuracy. If a weight of a stone or stones is inscribed within the mount it will be stated as ‘shank inscribed’ and then the weight. If a stone is certified and a weight given within the certificate it will be quoted within the description as ‘certificate stating the weight to be’.
COLOUR AND CLARITY OF DIAMONDS We may suggest a colour and clarity for diamonds, either within the catalogue description or in a condition report. This is our opinion only and is given as guidance only. This does not guarantee any outcome should it be submitted for certification.
PEARLS All pearls should be regarded as untested and unwarranted unless stated otherwise. SIGNATURES
i. A diamond brooch, by Kutchinsky – when the maker’s name appears in the title, in our opinion the piece is by that maker.
ii. A diamond brooch, signed Kutchinsky – has a signature that, in our opinion, is authentic but may contain gemstones that are not original, or the piece may have been altered
iii. A diamond brooch, mounted by Kutchinsky – has been created by the jeweller, in our opinion, but using stones or designs supplied by the client.
21. Electrical Goods
In this sale are second-hand and have been tested for safety purposes only and accordingly are sold with no warranty. We recommend purchasers have them examined by an appropriately certified electrician prior to use.
22. Post 1950 Upholstered Furniture
All such items are offered for sale as works of art. The items may not comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) Safety Regulations 1988 and for this reason, they should not be used in a private dwelling.
23. Brazilian Rosewood
All items of post-1947 rosewood furniture require a CITES Article 10 Certificate available to view with the Auctioneers. The Certificate is not passed to the new buyer and therefore commercial buyers intending to resell the item must reference the certificate number as provided with the lot when applying for their own certificate.
June 2019
