1. Terms of Consignment
Both the sale of goods at our auctions and your relationship with us are
governed by the Terms of Consignment (primarily applicable to sellers), the
Terms of Sale (primarily applicable to bidders and buyers) and any notices
displayed in the saleroom or announced by us at the auction (collectively, the
“Conditions of Business”). The Terms of Consignment and Terms of Sale are
available at our saleroom on request.
Please read these Terms of Consignment carefully. Please note that if you (or
another person acting on your behalf) provide goods to us to sell on your
behalf at our auction, this signifies that you agree to and will comply with these
SUMMARY OF COMMISSION AND CHARGES
Commission is charged to sellers calculated, per lot, at 15%
Entry Fee ?10 per lot (sold or unsold)
Catalogue Illustration Fee ?10 per lot (sold or unsold, discretionary)
Loss and damage warranty 1.5%.
All the above are subject to VAT at the current rate.
Commission and fees are negotiable for important or large collections and consignments.
1 Definitions and interpretation
1.1 To make these Terms of Consignment easier to read, we have given the following
words a specific meaning:
“Auctioneer” means Ewbank’s LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales whose registered office is located at Burnt Common Auction Rooms, London Road, Send, Woking, Surrey GU23 7LN or its authorised auctioneer, as appropriate;
“Bidder” means a person who places a bid for Goods at our
auction;
“Buyer” means the person who makes the highest bid for the
Goods accepted by the Auctioneer;
“Commission” means the commission that we charge you on the saleof the Goods as set out in Clause 5 below;
“Consumer” means an individual acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that ndividual’s trade, business, craft or profession;
“Consumer Contracts Regulations” means the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013;
“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 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;
“FCA” means the Financial Conduct Authority;
“Goods” means the goods that you consign to us for sale at our auction;
“Hammer Price” means the level of the highest bid for the Goods
accepted by the Auctioneer by the fall of the hammer;
“Premium” means the premium charged to the Buyer on the sale of the Goods in accordance with the Terms of Sale;
“Price” means the total of the Hammer Price, Premium and any applicable VAT;
“Proceeds” means the Price less the Commission, the Premium, any expenses incurred to your account and any applicable VAT;
“Reserve” means the minimum price at which the Goods may be sold;
“Seller” means the owner of the Goods and any agent who consigns the Goods for sale on the owner’s behalf (if applicable);
“Terms of Consignment” means these terms of consignment;
“Terms of Sale” means the terms of sale for bidders or buyers at our 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 (such as an agent and/or the Auctioneer);
“VAT” means any value added tax or equivalent sales tax;
and
“Website” means our website available at www.ewbankauctions.co.uk
In these Terms of Consignment the words “you”, “yours”, etc. refer to the Seller. The
words “we”, “us”, etc. refer to the Auctioneer. If the consignment of Goods to us is
made by an agent we assume that you (as owner of the Goods) have authorised the
consignment and authorised the agent to contract on your behalf. All obligations that
apply to the Seller under these Terms of Consignment shall apply to the owner of the
Goods and their agent, jointly and separately. Any reference to a ‘Clause’ is to a
clause of these Terms of Consignment unless stated otherwise.
2 Information that we are required to give to Consumers
2.1 A description of the main characteristics of the auction-related services that we are
providing to you as set out in these Terms of Consignment or otherwise agreed with
you in writing.
2.2 Our name, address and contact details as set out in these Terms of Consignment
and/or on our Website.
2.3 The rate at which we will charge you the Commission plus any applicable VAT on the
sale of the Goods as set out in Clause 5.
2.4 The fee that we will charge you plus any applicable VAT as set out in Clause 18 if
either the Goods are unsold at auction or the Goods are withdrawn by you from the
auction after the Goods have been catalogued and/or marketed by us prior to the
auction in any way.
2.5 The arrangements for collection of any unsold Goods as set out in Clauses 18 and 20
and terms regarding payment of any Proceeds due to you set out in Clause 17.
2.6 If you have any complaints, please get in contact with us using the contact details set
out on our website.
3 Procedure for consigning Goods for sale at auction
3.1 If you consign Goods to us for sale at auction, you will need to provide us with the
following information about you, in a form acceptable to us:
3.1.1 Your legal name and proof of identity;
3.1.2 Information about the Goods (as set out in Clause 12);
3.1.3 Your bank account details;
3.1.4 Your address and contact details;
3.1.5 Your VAT registration number (if applicable); and
3.1.6 Your confirmation of whether you are selling the Goods as a Trader or as a Consumer.
3.2 If you do not provide us with, or we are not satisfied with any of the above information,
we may refuse to accept consignment of your Goods for sale in our auction.
3.3 You must provide the Goods to us by any stated deadline (at your expense). We may
be able to assist you with this process but any liability incurred to a carrier for haulage
charges is solely your responsibility.
4 The contract between you and the Buyer
4.1 The contract between you and the Buyer will be formed when the hammer falls
accepting the highest bid for the Goods at the auction.
4.2 You may directly enforce any terms in the Terms of Sale against a Buyer and/or a
Bidder to the extent that you have suffered damages and/or loss as a result of the
Buyer and/or the Bidder’s breach of the Terms of Sale.
4.3 If you breach these Terms of Consignment, you may be responsible for damages
and/or losses suffered by a Buyer, Bidder and/ or by us. If we are contacted by a
Buyer and/or a Bidder who wishes to bring a claim against you, we may in our
discretion provide the Buyer and/or Bidder with information or assistance in relation to
that claim.
4.4 We normally act as an agent only and will not have any responsibility for default by
you or the Buyer.
5 Commission
5.1 We will charge you a commission on the sale of the Goods calculated as a percentage of the Hammer Price at the following rate: 15% plus VAT
5.2 In addition we have an Internet and marketing charge of ?10 per lot and a further charge of ?10 per lot for printed catalogue illustrations (these charges apply to both sold and unsold lots) and all charges are plus VAT.
6 Loss and Damage to Goods
6.1 We are not authorised by the FCA to provide insurance to you. However, subject only
to Clauses 6.4 and 6.5, we accept liability for Goods from the time we takepossession of the Goods until the fall of the hammer.
6.2 Our liability for Goods is limited to our lower pre-sale estimate for the lot before the
sale, or the Hammer Price if the lot has sold, or to the Reserve if the lot is
unsold.
6.3 To justify accepting liability for Goods as set out above, we will charge you 1.5% plus VAT
of the Hammer Price plus VAT or, if unsold, 1.5% of our lower estimate for the lot.
6.4 The liability accepted by us in Clause 6.1 does not include any liability for loss or
damage to the Goods that is caused by or results from: (i) any inherent vice or defect
affecting the Goods; (ii) acts of God, flood, drought, earthquake or other natural
disaster; (iii) acts of terrorism, civil commotion, riots or war; or (iv) nuclear, chemical
or biological contamination.
6.5 If you (or your agent) instruct us in writing not to assume liability for Goods, the Goods
remain entirely at your risk unless and until the Goods pass to the Buyer or are
collected by you or on your behalf. In this case Clauses 6.1 - 6.4 will not apply.
7 Photographs
You will pay for the cost of any photographs of your Goods produced for the auction
catalogue. We reserve the right to photograph all Goods unless you specifically
request us not to. The copyright in such photographs will be owned by us, along with
the text of the auction catalogue. For charges see clause 5 above.
8 Minimum bids and our discretion
Goods will normally be offered subject to a Reserve agreed between you and us
before the auction in accordance with Clause 9. We may sell Goods below the
Reserve provided that we account to you for the same sale proceeds as you would
have received had the Reserve been the Hammer Price. If you specifically give us a
“discretion” we may accept a bid of up to 20% below the formal Reserve.
9 Reserves
9.1 Reserves must be reasonable and may not exceed our lower pre-sale estimate for
that lot. We may decline to offer Goods which, in our opinion, would be subject to an
unreasonably high reserve (in which case the Goods carry the storage and insurance
charges set out in these Terms of Consignment).
9.2 Once we have agreed a Reserve, this cannot be changed except with your and our
consent.
9.3 Where a Reserve has been agreed only we may bid on your behalf and only up to
one bid below the Reserve (if any) and you may in no circumstances bid personally or
ask anyone else to bid on your behalf.
9.4 Pre-sale notifications will be sent via email if provided, or post if not, reserves will not be set by the auctioneer without specific instructions and we must be advised of any request for a reasonable reserve figure by you, in cases were no reserve has been set by you then the item will be sold without reserve.
10 Electrical items
10.1 You must test any electrical items that you wish to consign to us for sale using
external contractors. We will not accept any Goods that are not certified as safe by
an electrician (unless they are antiques).
10.2 If we notify you that we will not accept uncertified electrical Goods, you must remove
such Goods promptly at your expense following such notification. If you do not collect
the Goods within five days of our written notice to do so, we may dispose of the
Goods at your expense.
11 Unsafe Goods
If in our opinion any of your Goods, in particular those which are soft furnishings,
infringe safety regulations, we will not offer these Goods for sale. You must remove
such Goods at your expense. If you do not collect such Goods within five days of
our written notice to do so, we may dispose of the Goods at your expense.
12 Warranties and information about the Goods
12.1 You must provide us with all information that you have relating to the provenance,
export/import history, condition, attribution and authenticity of the Goods (and any
additional information that may be relevant).
12.2 In addition to any warranties implied by law, you warrant to us and the Buyer that:
12.2.1 any information that you provide in relation to the Goods is complete,
correct and up-to-date;
12.2.2 the Goods will match any description of the Goods that you provide to us;
12.2.3 as far as you are aware, the main characteristics of the Goods set out in
the auction catalogue (as amended by any notice displayed in the saleroom or announced by us at the auction) are correct.
12.2.4 to the best of your knowledge, the Goods have been lawfully imported and
lawfully and permanently exported as required by the laws of any country
in which the Goods were located; required declarations upon the export
and import of the Goods have been properly made; and any duties and
taxes on the export and import of the Goods have been paid; and
12.2.5 you will pay all taxes and duties potentially due on the sale of the Goods.
12.3 You must let us know promptly, and in any event before the auction, if you find out
that any of the information you have provided to us relating to the Goods is incorrect
or incomplete and/or if the Goods do not match the description that you provided to
us or the main characteristics of the Goods set out in the auction catalogue.
12.4 Any information that you provide in relation to the Goods may form part of the
contract between both of us and the Buyer and you acknowledge that the Buyer may
have a statutory right to reject the Goods if the information provided is incorrect.
12.5 If we have to refund the price of any Goods to the Buyer due to the Goods being a
Deliberate Forgery, you must promptly, and in any event within seven days,
reimburse to us any Proceeds that we have transferred to you for those Goods
following receipt of our written notice requesting you to do so.
13 Transfer of ownership of the Goods
You warrant and undertake to us and the Buyer that you are the true owner of the
Goods (or are properly authorised by the true owner to sell the Goods on the owner’s
behalf) and you currently have and will have the right to sell the Goods to the Buyer
with good and marketable title free of any third party rights or claims at the time when
ownership of the Goods is to be transferred.
14 Indemnity
You will indemnify and keep us fully indemnified against any and all liability, loss,
damage, costs (including reasonable legal fees and any VAT in relation to such fees)
and expenses which we may incur or suffer as a result of any breach of Clauses 12
or 13 by you or anyone acting on your behalf, including without limitation, if we are
required to refund the price of any Goods to the Buyer as a result of your breach of
these clauses.
15 Terms of Sale
You agree that the Goods will be sold to the Buyer in accordance with our Terms of
Sale, a copy of which will be displayed in the saleroom and printed in our auction
catalogue.
16 Authority to deduct commission and expenses and retain premium and interest
You authorise us to deduct our Commission at the stated rate and all expenses
incurred on your account from the Hammer Price, plus any applicable VAT. You
consent to our right to charge the Buyer and retain beneficially the Premium plus any
applicable VAT paid by the Buyer in accordance with our Terms of Sale and any
interest earned on the sale proceeds until the date of settlement.
17 Settlement
17.1 Provided that the Buyer has paid for the Goods, we will usually pay the net sum due
to you within twenty eight days of the last day of the auction by crossed cheque to the
seller.
17.2 If the Buyer has not paid for the Goods, we will not submit payment to you. In this
case no settlement will be made. We will however discuss with you the rights that we
may exercise under Clause 9 of our Terms of Sale in relation to a Buyer’s failure to
pay. We will not release the Goods to the Buyer until we have received payment in
full of the Price for the Goods.
17.3 You must notify us in writing if your bank account details change. We will not be
responsible for any payments made to the incorrect bank account if this is because
you have not provided us with the correct bank account details.
17.4 If we make payments to your bank account in error, we may request reimbursement
by sending you an invoice.
17.5 We may deduct any sums that you owe to us from the Proceeds.
18 Unsold and withdrawn items
18.1 If the Goods are unsold at auction, you authorise us to negotiate a sale by private
treaty not later than the close of business two working business days following the last day of the
auction. In this case you will pay to us the same charges as if such Goods had been
sold at auction and, so far as appropriate, these Terms of Consignment will apply to
any such sale.
18.2 In addition to Clause 18.1, we may, with your consent, re-offer unsold Goods at a
future auction (or by private treaty thereafter as set out in Clause 18.1 above) but we
may recommend a variation in estimates or Reserve. Where, in our opinion, Goods
are unsaleable, we will notify you and you must collect such Goods from the saleroom
within seven days of the date of our notice to do so. If you fail to collect such Goods
promptly, we may charge you reasonable storage charges at a daily rate of ?5 per lot per day. If unsold lots remain with us after a period of one week, without instructions from you, we reserve the right to offer them to a local charity shop or arrange for their disposal at a charge of ?10 plus VAT per lot.
18.3 You will pay us a charge of 15% of lower estimate for the lot plus all applicable marketting and / or illustration charges plus VAT on all charges, at a minimum of ?10 plus VAT per Lot;
on any Goods that are unsold at the auction and fail to sell by private treaty as
described in Clause 18.1.
18.4 You will pay us a charge of 15 % of the lower estimate for the lot plus all applicable marketting and / or illustration charges plus VAT on all charges, at a minimum of ?10 plus VAT per Lot, on any Goods that are withdrawn from the auction after being catalogued
and/or marketed by us prior to the auction in any way.
19 Withdrawal of the Goods by us
19.1 We may (acting reasonably) at our discretion at any time withdraw your Goods from
our auction:
19.1.1 for legal, reputational or operational reasons (including if you fail to provide
evidence to verify your identity or your title to the Goods to our
satisfaction);
19.1.2 if we reasonably believe that you may be, or are about to be, in breach of
these Terms of Consignment; or
19.1.3 if we reasonably believe the Goods to be a Deliberate Forgery.
20 Warehousing
20.1 We have no liability for Goods that you deliver to our saleroom without sufficient sale
instructions. We reserve the right to charge you a minimum warehousing charge of
?5 plus any applicable VAT per Lot per day.
20.2 We will notify you to ask you to remove any of your unsold or withdrawn Goods.
Unsold and withdrawn Goods will be subject to the charges set out in Clause 20.1
above if you do not remove them within five days of the date of our notification
requesting you to do so.
20.3 If you do not remove your unsold or withdrawn Goods within [thirty days] of the date
of our notification we may either: (a) sell such Goods and set off charges from any net
proceeds of sale; or (b) at your expense dispose of such Goods.
21 Our liability to you
21.1 We will not be liable to you for any loss of opportunity or disappointment suffered as a
result of participating in our auction.
21.2 In addition, neither we nor the Buyer shall be responsible to you and you shall not be
responsible to the Buyer 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.
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.
21.3 Subject to Clause 21.4, 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 Proceeds due for the
Goods if sold or the Reserve if unsold.
21.4 Notwithstanding the above, nothing in these Terms of Consignment limits the liability
of us or our employees or agents for:
21.4.1 death or personal injury resulting from negligence (as defined in the Unfair
Contract Terms Act 1977);
21.4.2 fraudulent misrepresentation; or
21.4.3 any liability which cannot be excluded by law.
22 Notices
22.1 All notices between you and us regarding these Terms of Consignment must be in
writing and signed by or on behalf of the party giving it.
22.2 Any notice referred in Clause 22.1 may be given:
22.2.1 by delivering it by hand;
22.2.2 by first class pre-paid post or Recorded Delivery; or
22.2.3 by email, provided that a copy is also sent by pre-paid post or Recorded
Delivery.
22.3 Notices must be sent:
22.3.1 by hand or registered post:
a. to us, at our address set out in these Terms of Consignment 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.
22.3.2 by email:
a. to us, by sending the notice to both the following email addresses:
antiques@ewbankaucctions.co.uk and chris@ewbankauctions.co.uk
b. to you, by sending the notice to any email address that you have given to
us as your contact email address in writing.
22.4 Notices will be deemed to have been received:
22.4.1 if delivered by hand, on the day of delivery; or
22.4.2 if sent by first class pre-paid post or Recorded Delivery, two business days
after posting, exclusive of the day of posting; or
22.4.3 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
22.2.3.
22.5 Any notice or communication given under these Terms of Consignment will not be
validly given if sent by fax, any form of messaging via social media or text message.
23 Data Protection
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.
24 General
24.1 Each of the clauses of these Terms of Consignment 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.
24.2 We may change these Terms of Consignment from time to time, without notice to
you. Please read these Terms of Consignment carefully, as they may be different
from the last time you read them.
24.3 Except as otherwise stated in these Terms of Consignment, each of our rights and
remedies: (a) are in addition to and not exclusive of any other rights or remedies
under these Terms of Consignment 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 Consignment is not a waiver of that or any other right. Partial exercise of
any right under these Terms of Consignment will not preclude any further or other
exercise of that right or any other right under these Terms of Consignment. Waiver of
a breach of any term of these Terms of Consignment will not operate as a waiver of
breach of any other term or any subsequent breach of that term.
24.4 These Terms of Consignment are between you and us. No person other than you,
the Buyer or us will have any rights to enforce any of these Terms of Consignment.
24.5 These Terms of Consignment 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.
CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS FOR ONSITE AUCTIONS
CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS FOR ONSITE AUCTIONS (November 2015)
These conditions of business for auctions held at an auctioneer’s premises (“Conditions”) consist of:
(1) Users' Introduction (which sets out a guide for users of these Conditions);
(2) Information for Buyers (which sets out information for buyers who will be subject
to the Terms of Sale);
(3) Terms of Consignment (which are the contractual terms that sellers at auctions are
subject to); and
(4) Terms of Sale (which are the contractual terms that bidders and buyers at auctions
are subject to).
Items (2), (3) and (4) are used together as a package.
(2) USERS' INTRODUCTION
1.1 Modern consumer protection law, whether from the UK or the EU is having a steadily
increasing impact on the sale of goods by auction. In particular, the Consumer Rights
Act 2015 (the “Act”) and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and
Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (the “Regulations”) apply to auction sales held
at the auctioneer’s premises. Copies of the Act and the Regulations are available for inspection on
request.
1.2 The Act stipulates that contractual terms that apply to consumers must be prominent
and transparent (i.e. legible and expressed in plain and intelligible language). In
addition, the Act sets out an indicative, non-exhaustive, list of terms which may be
regarded as unfair and therefore not binding on a consumer. As a result (and in order
to prevent these Conditions becoming unwieldy and unbalanced), these Conditions ask the auctioneer on occasion to accept more risk and responsibility in relation to its business buyers and sellers than it usually would (and indeed than it may legally have to) in order to bring these Conditions in line with the Act.
1.3 The Regulations state that certain information about the seller/auctioneer, the
contract and the consumer’s rights must be provided to a consumer prior to
concluding any contract for the consignment or sale of goods. However the extent of
information to be provided depends on whether the contract itself is deemed to be a
distance, off-premises or on-premises contract. These Conditions have been prepared on the assumption that all contracts with sellers and buyers are on-premises contracts (meaning contracts
negotiated and concluded at the auctioneer’s premises). The information that the
auctioneer is required to provide to consumer sellers and buyers is set out at the start
of the Terms of Consignment and Terms of Sale respectively.
1.4 These Conditions have been prepared based on the following assumptions:
a. the contracts concluded with the seller for the consignment of the goods and
with the buyer for the purchase of the goods are on-premises contracts;
b. the auctioneer will take possession of the goods from the seller prior to the
auction,
c. the auctioneer will prepare the description of the goods appearing in the
auction catalogue based on the information provided by the seller and the
auctioneer’s own inspection of the goods;
d. the buyer will have the opportunity to inspect the goods prior to the auction and
will have the opportunity to attend the auction in person;
e. the auctioneer will take payment of the goods from the buyer, deduct any
commission/ premium, agreed expenses and VAT and pay the remainder to
the seller; and
f. the auctioneer will keep the goods until they are either collected by the seller (if
unsold at the auction) or collected by the buyer following the auctioneer’s
receipt of the purchase price from the buyer.
1.5 The auctioneer has two points of interaction with consumers:
a. when the auctioneer provides services to the seller; and
b. when the auctioneer comes into contact with buyers. (Although not primarily
contracting with the auctioneer, who is an agent for the seller, buyers normally
contract on standard terms imposed by the auctioneer as agent. Some of
these conditions create a direct contract between the buyer and the
auctioneer).
1.6 These Conditions are designed to reflect the law and provide reasonable
protection for the seller, the auctioneer and the buyer. The authors had in mind
general sales of fine art and these Conditions do not deal with specialist sales
such as plant and machinery, or agricultural produce. In these areas, statute law tends to
lay down extra duties which must be dealt with by specific conditions not appearing here.
1.7 These Model Conditions primarily consist of the “Terms of Consignment” and the
“Terms of Sale”. The transactions between seller and auctioneer, and seller and
buyer are completely distinct contracts. We have therefore placed considerable
importance on using the expression “Terms of Consignment” for sellers and other
consignors who consign property for sale at onsite auctions, and “Terms of Sale” for
transactions which take place by auction. The term “Conditions of Business” includes
both the Terms of Consignment and the Terms of Sale as well any notices displayed
in the saleroom and any announcements made by the auctioneer at the auction.
1.8 Individual clauses have been drafted in the light of statutory requirements and case
law.
1.9 Buyers and sellers are bound by the auctioneer’s Conditions of Business
(3) INFORMATION FOR BUYERS AT AUCTIONS
1. Introduction. The following notes are intended to assist bidders and buyers, particularly
those that are inexperienced or new to our salerooms. All of our auctions are governed by
our Conditions of Business incorporating the Terms of Consignment (primarily applicable
to sellers), the Terms of Sale (primarily applicable to bidders and buyers) and any notices
that are displayed in our salerooms or announced by the auctioneer at the auction. Our
Conditions of Business are available for inspection at our salerooms and the Terms of
Sale are printed in the back of our auction catalogues and on our web-site. Our staff will be happy to help you if there is anything in our Conditions of Business that you do not fully understand.
Please make sure that you read our Terms of Sale set out in this catalogue or on
our website carefully before bidding in the auction. If your bid is successful, you
will be obliged to comply with our Terms of Sale.
2. Agency. As auctioneers we usually act on behalf of the seller whose identity, for reasons
of confidentiality, is not normally disclosed. If you buy at auction your contract for the
goods is with the seller, not with us as auctioneer.
3. Estimates. Estimates are designed to help you gauge what sort of sum might be
involved for the purchase of a particular lot. Estimates may change and should not be
thought of as the sale price. The lower estimate may represent the reserve price (the
minimum price for which a lot may be sold) and will not be below the reserve price.
Estimates do not include the buyer’s premium or VAT (where chargeable). Estimates are
prepared some time before the auction and may be altered by a saleroom notice or
announcement by the auctioneer before the auction of the lot. They are not definitive.
4. Buyer's Premium. The Terms of Sale oblige you to pay a buyer's premium at 22.5% on the hammer price of each lot purchased. In addition, VAT will be added to this premium (see below).
5. VAT. Items in our catalogue may be marked in the following ways:
a. (?) indicates that VAT is payable by the buyer on the hammer price as well as being
an element in the buyer's premium. VAT will be chargeable at the standard rate
(presently 20%). This imposition of VAT is likely to be because the seller is registered
for VAT within the European Union and is not operating the Dealers Margin Scheme
or because VAT is due at 20% on importation into the UK.
b. (**) indicates that the lot has been imported from outside the European Union.
[These lots are liable to a reduced rate of VAT (5%) on the hammer price and buyer's
premium)].
c. Lots which do not have either of the above symbols have no VAT payable on the
hammer price. This is because such lots are sold using the Auctioneers' Margin
Scheme. The VAT included within the premium is not recoverable as input tax.
6. Inspection of goods by the buyer. As we act on behalf of the seller, we are dependent
on information provided by the seller about their goods. We may inspect lots and will act
reasonably in taking a general view about them. However, we are normally unable to
carry out detailed examinations of lots to check their condition in the way a buyer would
do. You will have ample opportunity to inspect the goods. You must inspect and
investigate lots that you might wish to bid for. Please note carefully the exclusion of
liability for the condition of lots set out in the Terms of Sale at clause 12.4.
7. Electrical goods. These are sold as “antiques” only. If you buy electrical goods for use
you must ask a qualified electrician to check them for compliance with safety regulations
before you use them.
8. Export of goods. If you intend to export goods you must find out:
a. whether an export licence is needed; and
b. if there is a prohibition on importing goods of that character e.g. because the goods
contain prohibited materials such as ivory.
9. Bidding. Bidders will be required to register with us before the auction starts. We
reserve the right to impose a deadline prior to the auction by which you must register or
by which we must receive a commission bid. If you wish to bid on high value lots this
deadline may be several days before the auction in order to allow us sufficient time to
carry out the necessary checks. Lots will be invoiced to the name and address on the
registration form. You will need to provide us with proof of your identity in a form
acceptable to us and such other information as we may require. Please enquire in
advance about our arrangements for telephone or online bidding. Please note that we
may refuse to register you if you do not provide us with all the information and
documentation that we ask for or at our discretion. Phone bidders must be prepared to guarantee a starting bid of at least ?500 if they wish to bid by telephone.
10. Commission bidding. You may leave commission bids (absentee bids) with us indicating the maximum amount to be bid against a lot (excluding the buyers' premium and/or any applicable
VAT). We will execute commission bids as cheaply as possible having regard to the
reserve (if any) and competing bids. If two buyers submit identical commission bids we
may prefer the first bid received (where this can be reasonably ascertained). Please
enquire in advance about our arrangements for the leaving of commission bids by
telephone or email or via our website or online bidding platform.
11. Methods of Payment. Usually any cheques will need to be cleared before you can take
the goods away. Please discuss with our office in advance of the sale if you plan to use
other methods of payment (except cash, for which there is an upper limit of 15,000 euros
equivalent). There is an additional charge of 2.5% plus VAT on credit card payments with no additional charge on debit card payments (either made securely online or in person via a chip and pin machine).
12. Collection and storage. Please note what the Terms of Sale say about collection and
storage. It is important that you pay for and collect goods promptly and within 7 days of the end of a sale. Any delay may involve you having to pay storage charges which are currently set at ?5 plus VAT per lot per day.
EXPLANATION OF PICTURE CATALOGUING TERMS
Any statement as to authorship, attribution, origin, date, age, provenance and condition is a statement of opinion and is not to be taken as a statement of representation of fact. The Auctioneers reserve the right, in forming their opinion, to consult and rely upon any expert or authority considered by them to be reliable.
The forename(s) and surname of the artist: In our opinion a work by the artist.
The initials of the forename(s) and the surname of the artist: In our opinion a work of the period of the artist which may be wholly, or in part his work.
The surname only of the artist: In our opinion a work of the school or by one of the followers of the artist or in his style and of uncertain date.
'English School' , 'Italian School ': etc: In our opinion a work executed at a later date that the style may suggest.
'Signed ': Has a signature which in our opinion is a recognised signature.
'Dated' : Is so dated and in our opinion was executed at that date.
The term 'bears' a signature and/or date and/or an inscription: Means that in our opinion the artist's name and/or date and/or inscription have been added by another hand.
Measurements: Height precedes width.
AUTOGRAPHS
Autographs – We check all autographs when they are valued and believe to the best of our knowledge they are authentic. Many autographs come from private sellers and are sold without any history or COA. We urge buyers to satisfy themselves BEFORE bidding. If you strongly feel an item has been mis-described please contact us within one calendar month after the auction. If you are an overseas buyer it is your prerogative to arrange shipping in good time to avoid the one month cut off period. If a concern is raised before the end of the timescale we will place the item on hold for another calendar month. During this time a letter of rejection must be obtained from PSA/DNA and NO ONE else. Details can be found here http://www.psacard.com/Services/AutographAuthentication
If a letter of rejection is provided by PSA/DNA we will offer a full refund, not inclusive of shipping or authentication. This is why we urge buyers to satisfy themselves BEFORE bidding.
(4) TERMS OF SALE
Both the sale of goods at our auctions and your relationship with us are
governed by the Terms of Consignment (primarily applicable to sellers) the
Terms of Sale (primarily applicable to bidders and buyers) and any notices
displayed in the saleroom or announced by us at the auction (collectively, the
“Conditions of Business”). The Terms of Consignment and Terms of Sale are
available at our saleroom on request.
Please read these Terms of Sale 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.
Please note that these Terms of Sale relate to auctions held at our premises
only.
1 Definitions and interpretation
1.1 To make these Terms of Sale easier to read, we have given the following words a
specific meaning:
“Auctioneer” means Ewbank’s, a partnership registered in England and Wales whose registered office is located at Burnt Common Auction Rooms, London Road, Send, Woking, Surrey GU23 7LN
or its authorised auctioneer, as appropriate;
“Bidder” means a person participating in bidding at the auction;
“Buyer” means the person who makes the highest bid for a Lot
accepted by the Auctioneer;
“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 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 accepted by the
Auctioneer by the fall of the hammer;
“Lot(s)” means the goods that we offer for sale at our auctions;
“Premium” means the premium that we will charge you on your
purchase of a Lot to be calculated as set out in Clause 4;
“Reserve” means the minimum hammer price at which a Lot may be
sold;
“Sale Proceeds” means the net amount due to the Seller;
“Seller” means the persons who consign Lots for sale at our
auctions;
“Terms of Consignment”
means the terms on which we agree to offer Lots for sale in
our auctions as agent on behalf of Sellers;
“Terms of Sale” means these terms of sale, as amended or updated from
time to time;
“Total Amount Due” means the Hammer Price for a Lot, the Premium, any
applicable artist’s resale right royalty, any VAT due and any
additional charges payable by a defaulting buyer under
these Terms of Sale;
“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.ewbankauctions.co.uk .
In these Terms of Sale the words 'you', 'yours', etc. refer to you as the Buyer. The
words “we”, “us”, etc. refer to the Auctioneer. Any reference to a ‘Clause’ is to a
clause of these Terms of Sale unless stated otherwise.
2 Information that we are required to give to Consumers
2.1 A description of the main characteristics of each Lot as contained in the auction
catalogue.
2.2 Our name, address and contact details as set out herein, in our auction catalogues
and/or on our Website.
2.3 The price of the Goods and arrangements for payment as described in Clauses 4, 5,
7 and 8.
2.4 The arrangements for collection of the Goods as set out in Clauses 8 and 9.
2.5 Your right to return a Lot and receive a refund if the Lot is a Deliberate Forgery as set
out in Clause 13.
2.6 We and Trader Sellers have a legal duty to supply any Lots to you in accordance with
these Terms of Sale.
2.7 If you have any complaints, please send them 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 before bidding and provide us with any
requested proof of identity and billing information, in a form acceptable to us. You
must also satisfy any security arrangements we have in place before entering the
auction room to view or bid.
3.2 We strongly recommend that you attend the auction in person. You are responsible
for your decision to bid for a particular Lot. If you bid on a Lot, including by telephone
and online bidding, or by placing a commission bid, we assume that you have
carefully inspected the Lot and satisfied yourself regarding its condition.
3.3 If you instruct us in writing, we may execute commission bids on your behalf. Neither
we nor our employees or agents will be responsible for any failure to execute your
commission bid, unless our failure to do so is unreasonable. Where two or more
commission bids at the same level are recorded we have the right to prefer the first
bid made (where this can be reasonably ascertained).
3.4 The Bidder placing the highest bid for a Lot accepted by the Auctioneer will be the
Buyer at the Hammer Price. Any dispute about a bid will be settled at our discretion.
We may reoffer the Lot during the auction or may settle the dispute in another way.
We will act reasonably when deciding how to settle the dispute.
3.5 Bidders will be deemed to act as principals, even if the Bidder is acting as an agent
for a third party.
3.6 We may bid on Lots on behalf of the Seller up to one bid below the Reserve.
3.7 We may refuse to accept any bid if it is reasonable for us to do so.
3.8 Bidding increments will be at our sole discretion (but will be in line with standard
auction practice).
4 The purchase price
As Buyer, you will pay:
a. the Hammer Price;
b. a premium of 22.5% plus VAT of the Hammer Price;
c. any artist’s resale right royalty payable on the sale of the Lot; and
d. any VAT due.
5 VAT
5.1 You shall be liable for the payment of any VAT applicable on the Hammer Price and
premium due for a Lot. Please see the symbols used in the auction catalogue for that
Lot and the “Information for Buyers” in our auction catalogue for further information.
5.2 We will charge VAT at the current rate at the date of the auction.
6 The contract between you and the Seller
6.1 The contract for the purchase of the Lot between you and the Seller will be formed
when the hammer falls accepting the highest bid for the Lot at the auction.
6.2 You may directly enforce any terms in the Terms of Consignment 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.
6.3 If you breach these Terms of Sale, 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.
6.4 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).
7 Payment
7.1 Immediately following your successful bid on a Lot you will:
7.1.1 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); and
7.1.2 pay to us the Total Amount Due in cash (for which there is an upper limit
of 15,000 euros equivalent) or in any other way that we agree to accept
payment.
7.2 If you owe us any money, we may use any payment made by you to repay these
debts.
8 Title and collection of purchases
8.1 Once you have paid us in full the Total Amount Due for any Lot, ownership of that Lot
will transfer to you. You may not claim or collect a Lot until you have paid for it.
8.2 You will (at your own expense) collect any Lots that you have purchased and paid for
either:
8.2.1 not later than five business days following the day of the auction; or
8.2.2 not later than five business days following the date that we have
received payment of the Total Amount Due in cleared funds, if later.
8.3 If you do not collect the Lot within this time period, you will be responsible for any
reasonable removal, storage and insurance charges in relation to that Lot.
8.4 Risk of loss or damage to the Lot will pass to you when you (or your agents) take
physical possession of the Lot.
8.5 If you do not collect the Lot that you have paid for within ninety days after the
auction, we may sell the Lot. We will pay the proceeds of any such sale to you, but
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.
9 Remedies for non-payment or failure to collect purchases
9.1 Please do not bid on a Lot if you do not intend to buy it. If your bid is successful,
these Terms of Sale will apply to you. This means that you will have to carry out your
obligations set out in these Terms of Sale. If you do not comply with these Terms of
Sale we may (acting on behalf of the Seller and ourselves) pursue one or more of the
following measures:
9.1.1 take action against you for damages for breach of contract;
9.1.2 reverse the sale of the Lot to you and/or any other Lots sold by us to you;
9.1.3 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 8.5).
Please note that if we sell the Lot for a higher amount than your winning
bid, the extra money will belong to the Seller;
9.1.4 remove, store and insure the Lot at your expense;
9.1.5 if you do not pay us within five business days of your successful bid, we
may charge interest at a rate not exceeding 1.5% per month on the total
amount due;
9.1.6 keep that Lot or any other Lot sold to you until you pay the Total Amount
Due;
9.1.7 reject or ignore bids from you or your agent at future auctions or impose
conditions before we accept bids from you; and/or
9.1.8 if we sell any Lots for you, use the money made on these Lots to repay
any amount you owe us.
9.2 We will act reasonably when exercising our rights under Clause 9.1. We will contact
you before exercising these rights and try to work with you to correct any noncompliance
by you with these Terms of Sale.
10 Health and safety
Although we take reasonable precautions regarding health and safety, you are on our
premises at your own risk. Please note the lay-out of the premises and security
arrangements. Neither we nor our employees or agents are responsible for the safety
of you or your property when you visit our premises, unless you suffer any injury to
your person or damage to your property as a result of our, our employees’ or our
agents’ negligence.
11 Warranties
11.1 The Seller warrants to us and to you that:
11.1.1 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;
11.1.2 the Seller is able to transfer good and marketable title to the Lot to you
free from any third party rights or claims; and
11.1.3 as far as the Seller is aware, the main characteristics of the Lot set out in
the auction catalogue (as amended by any notice displayed in the
saleroom or announced by the Auctioneer at the auction) are correct.
11.2 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.
11.3 Please note that many of the Lots that you may bid on at our auction are secondhand.
11.4 If a Lot is not second-hand and you purchase the 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 11.1 (in particular under the Consumer Rights
Act 2015). These Terms of Sale do not seek to exclude your rights under law as they
relate to the sale of these Lots.
11.5 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 statue, common law or otherwise are excluded.
12 Descriptions and condition
12.1 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).
12.2 We will give you a number of opportunities to view and inspect the Lots before the
auction. You (and any independent consultants acting on your behalf) must satisfy
yourself about the accuracy of any description of a Lot. We shall not be responsible
for any failure by you or your consultants to properly inspect a Lot.
12.3 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.
12.4 Please note that Lots (in particular second-hand 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 the condition of second-hand Lots or
for any condition issues affecting a Lot if such issues are included in the description
of a Lot in the auction catalogue (or in any saleroom notice) and/ or which the
inspection of a Lot by the Buyer ought to have revealed.
13 Deliberate Forgeries
13.1 You may return any Lot which is found to be a Deliberate Forgery to us within one month 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 catalogue description and a written statement of defects.
13.2 If we are reasonably satisfied that the Lot is a Deliberate Forgery we will refund the
money paid by you for the Lot (including any Premium and applicable VAT) provided
that if:
13.2.1 the catalogue description reflected the accepted view of experts as at the
date of the auction; or
13.2.2 you personally are not able to transfer good and marketable title in the Lot
to us, you will have no right to a refund under this Clause 13.2.
13.3 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.
13.4 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.
14 Our liability to you
14.1 We will not be liable for any loss of opportunity or disappointment suffered as a result
of participating in our auction.
14.2 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. 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.
14.3 Subject to Clause 14.4, 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.
14.4 Notwithstanding the above, nothing in these Terms of Sale shall limit our liability (or
that of our employees or agents) for:
14.4.1 death or personal injury resulting from negligence (as defined in the Unfair
Contract Terms Act 1977);
14.4.2 fraudulent misrepresentation; or
14.4.3 any liability which cannot be excluded by law.
15 Notices
15.1 All notices between you and us regarding these Terms of Sale must be in writing and
signed by or on behalf of the party giving it.
15.2 Any notice referred in Clause 15.1 may be given:
15.2.1 by delivering it by hand;
15.2.2 by first class pre-paid post or Recorded Delivery; or
15.2.3 by email, provided that a copy is also sent by pre-paid post or Recorded
Delivery.
15.3 Notices must be sent:
15.3.1 by hand or registered post:
a. to us, at our address set out in these Terms of Sale 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; or
15.3.2 by email:
a. to us, by sending the notice to both the following email addresses:
antiques@ewbankauctions.co.uk and chris@ewbankauctions.co.uk
b. to you, by sending the notice to any email address that you have given to
us as your contact email address in writing.
15.4 Notices will be deemed to have been received:
15.4.1 if delivered by hand, on the day of delivery;
15.4.2 if sent by first class pre-paid post or Recorded Delivery, two business days
after posting, exclusive of the day of posting; or
15.4.3 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
15.2.3.
15.5 Any notice or communication given under these Terms of Sale will not be validly given
if sent by fax, email, any form of messaging via social media or text message.
16 Data Protection
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
17 General
17.1 We may, acting reasonably, refuse admission to our premises or attendance at our
auctions by any person.
17.2 We act as an agent for our Sellers. The rights we have to claim against you for
breach of these Terms of Sale 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 are between you and us and no other person will have
any rights to enforce any of these Terms of Sale.
17.3 We may use special terms in the catalogue descriptions of particular Lots. You must
read these terms carefully along with any glossary provided in our auction catalogues.
17.4 Each of the clauses of these Terms of Sale 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.
17.5 We may change these Terms of Sale from time to time, without notice to you. Please
read these Terms of Sale carefully, as they may be different from the last time you
read them.
17.6 Except as otherwise stated in these Terms of Sale, 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 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 is not a waiver of that or any other right. Partial exercise of any right under these
Terms of Sale will not preclude any further or other exercise of that right or any other
right under these Terms of Sale. Waiver of a breach of any term of these Terms of
Sale will not operate as a waiver of breach of any other term or any subsequent
breach of that term.
17.7 These Terms of Sale 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.