Please note that some of the commission rates differ for our Classic Car, Motorcycles & Automobila Auctions. Please go to the pages for that section for full details.
1. Interpretation
In these Terms the words 'you', 'yours', etc. refer to the Seller and if the consignment of goods to us is made by an agent we assume that the Seller has authorised the consignment and that the consignor has the Seller's authority to contract. Similarly the words ‘we', 'us', etc. refer to the Auctioneers.
2. Commission
Commission is charged to sellers at the following rates:-
15% on the first £1,000 and 10% on the balance thereafter, per lot. Subject to a minimum fee of £7 per lot plus £3 per lot for internet illustration.
All fees are subject to VAT.
3. Removal costs
Items for sale must be consigned to the saleroom by any stated deadline and 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. Loss and damage waiver
(a) We are not regulated by the FSA for the provision of insurance to clients. We cover goods stored in our premises against the risk of fire, burglary and water damage. We charge 1% per £100 value of your item with a minimum charge of £1.
(b) If the owner of goods consigned instructs us in writing not to insure them, they then remain at owner’s risk unless and until the property in them passes to the Buyer or they are collected back by or on behalf of the owner and clause 4(a) is inapplicable.
(c) If you need to make a claim, the value of your goods will be based on the lower auction estimate.
5. Illustrations
The copyright in respect of any illustrations shall be the property of us, the auctioneers, as is the text of the catalogue. A fee of £10 will be charged for items to be illustrated in the catalogue, this will be agreed with you beforehand, it will only be charged on items with a lower estimate in excess of £400.
6. Minimum bids and our discretion.
Goods may be offered subject to a reserve agreed between us before the sale in accordance with clause 7. We may sell Lots below the reserve provided we account to you for the same sale proceeds, as you would have received had the reserve been the hammer price. Unless told otherwise, you give us “discretion” so that we may accept a bid of up to 10% below the formal reserve.
7. Reserves
(a) Reserves cannot be set on items beneath £50, but we will use 50% discretion to the lower auction estimate.
(b) A reserve once set cannot be changed except with our consent.
(c) Where a reserve has been placed only we may bid on your behalf and only up to the reserve (if any) and you may in no circumstances bid personally.
(d) In the event of an item not selling due to a reserve, the reserve is not automatically carried forward into a subsequent sale.
8. Electrical items
These are subject to detailed statutory safety controls. Where such items are accepted for sale they should be in working order and you accept responsibility for the cost of testing by external contractors. Goods not certified as safe by an electrician (unless antiques) will not be accepted for sale. They must be removed at your expense on you being notified. We reserve the right to dispose of unsafe goods as refuse, at your expense. We charge a fee of £5 per item for this service, plus VAT.
9. Soft furnishings
The sale of soft furnishings is strictly regulated by statute law in the interests of fire safety. Goods found to infringe safety regulations will not be offered and must be removed at your expense. We reserve the right to dispose of unsafe goods as refuse, at your expense.
The rights of disposal referred to in clause 8 and 9 are subject to the provisions of The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, Schedule 1, a copy of which is available for inspection on request
10. Descriptions
Please assist us with accurate information as to the provenance etc. of goods where this is relevant. There is strict liability for the accuracy of descriptions under modern consumer legislation and in some circumstances responsibility lies with sellers if inaccuracies occur. We will assume that you have approved the catalogue description of your lots unless informed to the contrary. Where we are obliged to return the price to the buyer when the lot is a deliberate forgery under Condition 15 of the Conditions of Sale and we have accounted to you for the proceeds of sale you agree to reimburse us the sale proceeds. The liability to reimburse the sale proceeds shall not arise where you are acting reasonably and honestly and are unaware of the forgery but we are or ought to have been aware of it.
11. Unsold
There is a fee of £3 plus VAT if an item is unsold, if any item is unsold we will, at our discretion, offer it in the next auction with an estimate reduced by 50% unless you contact us.
12. Withdrawn and bought in items
These are liable to incur a charge of 10% plus VAT on being bought in due to an unreasonably high reserve or withdrawn after being catalogued.
13. Conditions of Sale
You agree that all goods will be sold on our Conditions of Sale. In particular you undertake that you have the right to sell the goods either as owner or agent for the owner. You undertake to compensate us and any buyer or third party for all losses liabilities and expenses incurred in respect of and as a result of any breach of this undertaking.
14. Authority to deduct commission and expenses and retain premium and interest.
(a) You authorise us to deduct commission at the stated rate and all expenses incurred for your account from the hammer price and consent to our right to retain beneficially the premium paid by the buyer in accordance with our Conditions of Sale and any interest earned on the sale proceeds until the date of settlement. (b)You authorise us in our discretion to negotiate a sale by private treaty in the case of lots unsold at auction, in which case the same charges will be payable as if such lots had been sold at auction and so far as appropriate these Terms apply.
15. Warehousing
We disclaim all liability for goods delivered to our saleroom without sufficient sale instructions and reserve the right to make minimum warehousing charge of £5 per lot per day. Unsold lots are subject to the same charges if you do not remove them within a reasonable time of notification. If not removed within three weeks we reserve the right to sell them and defray charges from any net proceeds of sale or at your expense to consign them to the local authority for disposal.
ALL PURCHASES MUST BE REMOVED THE MONDAY FOLLOWING THE AUCTION
16. Settlement
After sale settlement of the net sum due to you normally takes place within 14 days of the sale (by crossed cheque to the seller) unless the buyer has not paid for the goods. In this case no settlement will then be made but we will take your instructions in the light of our Conditions of Sale. You authorise any sums owed by you to us on other transactions to be deducted from the sale proceeds. You must note the liability to reimburse the proceeds of sale to us as under the circumstances provided for in Condition 10 above. You should therefore bear this potential liability in mind before parting with the proceeds of sale until the expiry of 21 days from the date of sale.
17. Goods
Will be entered and catalogued in the type of sale the Auctioneers, who have absolute discretion, consider most suitable. Any goods not considered saleable will be excluded and any costs of disposal charged.
18. V.A.T
A vendor who sends for sale, by auction or private treaty, any item which is an asset of his business must disclose to the Auctioneers whether or not he is a registered person for Value Added Tax purposes in the UK or any other EU country, and if so, declare his registered number and whether or not he intends to operate the special scheme for second hand goods. This information must be supplied to the Auctioneers on or prior to the items being released to the Auctioneers.
