TERMS & CONDITIONS
Rosebery Fine Art Ltd carries on business with bidders, buyers and all those present in the auction room prior to or in connection with a sale on the following General Conditions and on such other terms, conditions and notices as may be referred to herein.
1. Definitions
In these Conditions:
(a) "auctioneer" means the firm of Rosebery Fine Art Ltd or its authorised auctioneer, as appropriate;
(b) "deliberate forgery" means an imitation made with the intention of deceiving as to authorship, origin, date, age, period, culture or source but which is unequivocally described in the catalogue as being the work of a particular creator and which at the date of the sale had a value materially less than it would have had if it had been in accordance with the description;
(c) "hammer price" means the level of bidding reached (at or above any reserve) when the
auctioneer brings down the hammer;
(d) "terms of consignment" means the stipulated terms and rates of commission on which Rosebery Fine Art Ltd accepts instructions from sellers or their agents;
(e) "total amount due" means the hammer price in respect of the lot sold together with any premium, Value Added Tax chargeable and any additional charges payable by a defaulting buyer under these Conditions;
(f) "sale proceeds" means the net amount due to the seller, being the hammer price of the lot sold less commission at the stated rate, Value Added Tax chargeable and any other amounts due to us by the seller in whatever capacity and however arising;
(g) "You", "Your", etc. refer to the buyer as identified in Condition 2.
(h) The singular includes the plural and vice versa as appropriate.
2. Bidding Procedures and Conduct of the Auction
(a) Bidders are required to register their particulars before bidding and to satisfy any security arrangements before entering the auction room to view or bid. Any bidder who refuses to provide the requested identification may be refused permission to bid.
(b) The auctioneer has discretion at any time to refuse any bid, withdraw any lot, re-offer a lot for sale (including after the fall of the hammer) if they believes there may be error or dispute, and take such action as they reasonably thinks fit.
(c) Subject to condition 2(b) the contract between the buyer and seller is concluded on the striking of the auctioneers hammer whereupon the buyer becomes liable to pay the purchase price.
(d) Any post auction sales of lots offered at auction shall incorporate these conditions as if sold in the auction.
(e) Our right to bid on behalf of the seller is expressly reserved up to the amount of any reserve and the right to refuse any bid is also reserved.
3. Increments. Bidding increments shall be at the auctioneer's sole discretion.
4. The Purchase Price. The buyer shall pay the hammer price together with a premium thereon of 26% up to £20,000 (31.2% inclusive of VAT), 25% from £20,001 - £500,000 (30% inclusive of VAT), 20% from £500,001 thereafter (24% inclusive of VAT). The premium price is subject to VAT at the standard rate.
5. Value Added Tax. Value Added Tax on the hammer price is imposed by law on all items
affixed with an asterisk or double asterisk. Value Added Tax is charged at the appropriate
rate prevailing by law at the date of sale and is payable by buyers of relevant Lots. (Please refer to "Information for Buyers" for a brief explanation of the VAT position).
6. Payment
(1) Immediately a Lot is sold you will:
(a) give to us, if requested, proof of identity, and
(b) pay to us the total amount due in cash, debit, credit card or bank transfer or in such other way as is agreed by us.
(2) Any payments by you to us may be applied by us towards any sums owing from you to us on any account whatever without regard to any directions of you or your agent, whether express or implied.
7. Title and Collection of Purchases. The ownership of any Lots purchased shall not pass to you until you have made payment in full to us of the total amount due.
(a)(i) You shall at your own risk and expense take away any lots that you have purchased and paid for not later than 5 working days following the day of the auction.
(ii) Roseberys are unable to pack, post or delivery any items purchased through public or online auction, a list of suggested companies is supplied upon issuing of invoices, upon request or on the company website/s. These are suggestions only and are not the recommendation of Roseberys or affiliated with Roseberys in anyway and as such Roseberys cannot be held responsible for the individual performance of these companies.
(b) No purchase can be claimed or removed until it has been paid for and payment has cleared.
(c) Invoices will not be split or title transferred to another person(s). Invoices must be paid in full before any lots can be removed.
(d) Purchased lots must be collected within the allocated time as stated in the Information for Buyers section 13, storage charges are applicable thereafter. Purchased lots are at the Buyer's risk (and therefore their sole responsibility for insurance) from the earliest of the collection or the 21st calendar day after the auction. Until risk passes Roseberys will compensate the buyer for any loss or damage to the lot up to a maximum of the purchase price paid.
8. Remedies for Non-Payment or Failure to Collect Purchases
(1) If any Lot is not paid for 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 and on our own behalf, shall at our absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights we may have, be entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights and remedies:
(a) to proceed against you for damages for breach of contract;
(b) to rescind the sale of that Lot and/or any other Lots sold by us to you;
(c) 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).
(d) to remove, store and insure the Lot at your expense and, in the case of storage, either at our premises or elsewhere;
(e) 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;
(f) to retain that or any other Lot sold to you until you pay the total amount due;
(g) to reject or ignore bids from you or your agent at future auctions or to impose conditions before any such bids shall be accepted;
(h) 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 (that is a right to retain possession of) any of your property in our possession for any purpose until the debt due is satisfied.
(2) We shall, as agent for the seller and on our own behalf pursue these rights and remedies only so far as is reasonable to make appropriate recovery in respect of breach of these conditions
9. Third Party Liability. All members of the public on our premises are there at their own risk and must note the lay-out of the accommodation and security arrangements. Accordingly neither the auctioneer nor our employees or agents shall incur liability for death or personal injury (except as required by law by reason of our negligence) or similarly for the safety of the property of persons visiting prior to or at a sale.
10. Commission, Telephone Bids and Live Online Bidding. Whilst prospective buyers are strongly advised to attend the auction and are always responsible for any decision to bid for a particular Lot and shall be assumed to have carefully inspected and satisfied themselves as to its condition we will if so instructed clearly and in writing execute bids on their behalf.
(a) Lots will be purchased by the Auctioneer on behalf of the commission bidder for the lowest price allowed by other bids and/or reserves if any, up to and including their maximum bid amount recorded. The Auctioneers cannot accept responsibility for any neglect or default in executing or failing to execute commission bids whether through the auctioneer or through any online bidding software, or where a bidding slip has been completed incorrectly. We urge commission bidders, to ensure that the correct lot number(s) and price(s) are recorded on their bidding forms.
(b) Where two or more commission bids at the same level are recorded we reserve the right at our absolute discretion to prefer the first bid so made.
(c) Telephone Bids. Any person unable to attend the auction may request to bid on a specific lot by telephone. This facility is only available by prior arrangement with the Auctioneers and not available for online only auctions. The Auctioneers cannot accept responsibility for any neglect or default in executing or failing to execute telephone bids.
(d) Live Online bidding.
(i) An online bidding service is offered via RoseberysLive, thesaleroom.com and invaluable.com. In completing the bidder registration on these sites, the buyer is agreeing
to Roseberys conditions of sale.
(ii) In the case where a debit or credit card has been used to register the buyer also agrees to authorise Roseberys, if they so wish, to charge the debit or credit card given in part or full payment, including all fees, for items successfully purchased in the auction via the online bidding platforms.
(iii) Please note there is no additional surcharge for any lots purchased via RoseberysLive, whether live bidding or commission bidding. Any lots purchased via thesaleroom.com or invaluable.com will be subject to an additional 5% commission charge + VAT at the rate imposed on the hammer price.
(iv) Roseberys offers online bidding services as a convenience to its clients, but neither Roseberys nor the seller will be responsible to you for errors during or after the sale or failures to execute bids, either live bids or commission bids, placed on the internet or on your mobile device, including, without limitation, errors or failures caused by:
(aa) any loss of connection to the auction being conducted online; (bb) a breakdown or problems with the online bidding software or the web site service provider; and/or (cc) a breakdown or problems with any internet connection, computer, mobile device or system.
(v) By accessing RoseberysLive and using the software provided you are agreeing to the Website Terms and Conditions governing use of our websites. Please ensure you familiarise yourself with these prior to accessing our websites.
11. Warranty of Title and Availability. The seller warrants to the auctioneer and you that the seller is the true owner of the property consigned or is properly authorised by the true owner to consign it for sale and is able to transfer good and marketable title to the property free from any third party claims. No representation or warranties are made by Roseberys or the seller as to whether any lots is subject to copyright or whether they buyer
acquires copyright in any lot.
12. Agency. The auctioneer normally acts as agent only and disclaims any responsibility for default by sellers or buyers.
13. Terms of Sale. The seller acknowledges that Lots are sold subject to the stipulations of these Conditions in their entirety and on the Terms of Consignment as notified to the consignor at the time of the entry of the Lot.
14. Description and Conditions
(a) Whilst we seek to describe lots accurately, it may be impractical for us to carry out exhaustive due diligence on each lot. Prospective buyers are given ample opportunities to view and inspect before any sale and they (and any independent experts on their behalf) must satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of any description of a lot. Buyers are welcome to make an appointment to view any lots listed on an online only auction. Prospective buyers also bid on the understanding that, inevitably, 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 shall be honestly and reasonably held and accept liability for opinions given negligently or fraudulently. Subject to the foregoing neither we the auctioneer nor our employees or agents nor the seller accept liability for the correctness of such opinions and all conditions and warranties, whether relating to description, condition or quality of lots, express, implied or statutory, are hereby excluded. This Condition is subject to the next following
Condition concerning deliberate forgeries and applies save as provided for in paragraph 6
INFORMATION FOR BUYERS
Introduction. The following informative notes are intended to assist Buyers of Roseberys London particularly those inexperienced or new to our salerooms or online only bidding platform. All sales are conducted according to our printed Conditions of Sale which are readily available for inspection in person, on our websites and normally accompany catalogues. Our staff will be happy to help you if there is anything you do not fully understand.
2. Agency. As auctioneers we usually contract as agents for the seller whose identity, for reasons of confidentiality, is not normally disclosed. Accordingly if you buy your primary contract is with the seller.
3. Estimates. Estimates are designed to help buyers gauge what sort of sum might be involved for the purchase of a particular lot. The lower estimate may represent the reserve price or may be above the reserve price. Estimates do not include the Buyer's Premium or VAT (where chargeable). Estimates are prepared some time before the sale and may be altered by announcement before the sale. They are in no sense definitive.
4. Buyer's Premium. The Conditions of Sale oblige buyers to pay a buyer's premium of 26% up to £20,000 (31.2% inclusive of VAT), 25% from £20,001 - £500,000 (30% inclusive of VAT), 20% from £500,001 onwards (24% inclusive of VAT). The premium price is subject to VAT at the standard rate.
5. VAT. The addition of (*) or (VAT applied on hammer price) to the lot description indicates that VAT is payable by the purchaser at the standard rate, presently 20%, on the hammer price as well as being payable on the buyer's premium. 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. Lots which appear without either of the above symbols indicate that no VAT is payable on the hammer price. This is because such lots are sold using the Auctioneers' Margin Scheme and it should be noted that the VAT included within the premium is not recoverable as input tax.
6. Artist's Resale Rights/Droit de Suite. Lots as indicated in the catalogue (ARR) and if sold for the equivalent of £1000 or more on the day of the auction will be subject to a further percentage of the hammer price as follows:
From £0 to £50,000 subject to 4%
From £50,001 to £200,000 subject to 3%
From £200,001 to £350,000 subject to 1%
From £350,001 to £500,000 subject to 0.5%
Exceeding £500,000 subject to 0.25%
The Artist's Resale Right payable will be the aggregate of the amounts payable under the above rate bands, subject to maximum royalty payable of £12,500 for any single work each time it is sold.
7. Agents. We are, primarily, agents for the seller. We are dependent on information provided by the seller and whilst we may inspect lots and act reasonably in taking a general view about them we are normally unable to carry out a detailed or any examination of lots in order to ascertain their condition in the way in which it would be wise for a buyer to do. Intending buyers have ample opportunity for inspection of goods and, therefore, accept responsibility for inspecting and investigating lots in which they may be interested.
Please note carefully the exclusion of liability for the condition of lots contained in the Conditions of Sale. Neither the seller nor we, as the auctioneers, accept any responsibility for their condition. In particular, mechanical objects of any age are not guaranteed
to be in working order. Additionally, in specified circumstances lots mis-described because they are 'deliberate forgeries' may be returned and repayment made. There is a three week time limit. (The expression 'deliberate forgery' is defined in our Conditions of
Sale).
8. Electrical goods. These are sold as 'antiques' or 'decorative' items only and if bought for use must first be checked for compliance with safety regulations by a qualified electrician.
9. Upholstered items. These are sold as "works of art" only and if bought for use must be checked over for compliance with safety regulations (items manufactured prior to 1950 are exempt from any regulations). Use of such goods is entirely at the risk of the Buyer and no warranties as to safety of the goods are provided, 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.'
10. Coloured gems. It is common practice for gemstones to be treated in order to enhance colour and clarity. Unless stated buyers should presume coloured stones may well have been exposed to some sort of treatment.
11. Export of goods. Buyers intending to export goods should ascertain (a) whether an export licence is required and (b) whether there is any specific prohibition on importing goods of that character because, e.g. they may contain prohibited materials such as ivory.
12. Bidding. Bidders are required to register with us before the sale commences and lots will be invoiced to the name and address on the registration form. Some form of identification may be required if you are unknown to us. Please enquire in advance about our arrangements for telephone bidding.
13. Commission bidding
(i) Commission bids may be left with the auctioneers indicating the maximum amount to be bid excluding the buyers' premium. They will be executed as cheaply as possible having regard to the reserve (if any) and competing bids. If two buyers submit identical
commission bids the auctioneers may prefer the first bid received. Please enquire in advance about our arrangements for leaving commission bids by telephone, email or fax. Please ensure bids are left at least one hour prior to the start of the auction.
(ii) Commission bids may also be left via the Roseberys website. These bids are executed via the RoseberysLive software and there is no surcharge.
14. Live Online bidding
(a) An online bidding service is offered via RoseberysLive, thesaleroom.com and invaluable.com. In completing the bidder registration on these sites the buyer is agreeing to Roseberys conditions of sale.
(b) In the case where a debit or credit card has been used to register the buyer also agrees to authorise Roseberys, if they so wish, to charge the debit or credit card given in part or full payment, including all fees, for items successfully purchased in the auction via the online bidding platforms.
(c) Please note there is no additional surcharge for any lots purchased via RoseberysLive, whether live bidding or commission bidding. Any lots purchased via thesaleroom.com or invaluable.com will be subject to an additional 5% and any lots purchased via Drouot Live will be subject to an additional 3% commission charge + VAT at the rate imposed on the hammer price.
(d) Roseberys offers online bidding services as a convenience to its clients, but neither Roseberys nor the seller will be responsible to you for errors during or after the sale or failures to execute bids, either live bids or commission bids placed on the internet or on your mobile device, including, without limitation, errors or failures caused by: (i) any loss of connection to the auction being conducted online; (ii) a breakdown or problems with the online bidding software or the website service provider; and/or (iii) a breakdown or
problems with any internet connection, computer, mobile device or system.
(e) By accessing RoseberysLive and using the software provided you are agreeing to the Website Terms and Conditions governing use of our websites. Please ensure you familiarise yourself with these prior to accessing our websites.
15. Methods of Payment.
Methods of payment. Payment can be made by debit or credit card: Visa and Mastercard, (up to a maximum of £10,000 online or £1,000 over the phone), larger amounts can be paid in person or by bank transfer. International bank transfers are subject to a £25 administration fee. Cash and cheque payments are not accepted.
16. Collection and storage
(a) Please note what the Conditions of Sale state about collection and storage. It is important that goods are paid for and collected promptly. All lots must be collected within five working days following auction. Storage charges of £5 per lot per day + VAT plus an additional transfer charge of £10 + VAT per lot will be strictly enforced thereafter.
(b) Roseberys are unable to pack, post or deliver any items purchased through public or online auction, a list of suggested companies is supplied upon issuing of invoices, upon request or on the company website/s. These are suggestions only and are not the recommendation of Roseberys or affiliated with Roseberys in anyway and as such Roseberys cannot be held responsible for the individual performance of these companies.
