Auction Terms

Applicable to the purchase at auction of movable property. These Terms and Conditions have been filed with the Chamber of Commerce as of May 31, 2016 under number 40530226

1.1 These general terms and conditions apply to all parts of the relationship between the auctioneer and the buyer including those relating to purchase, sale, mediation, valuation, appraisal, appraisals, cataloguing, safekeeping and other services. Buyer includes the prospective buyer who participates in the auction regardless of whether he bids in person, by telephone, by leaving a written or oral bidding order, electronically or through the Internet and regardless of whether a purchase agreement is concluded.

1.2 Deviation from these general terms and conditions is only possible if and insofar as expressly accepted in writing by the auctioneer.

1.3 The applicability of the general terms and conditions shall be made known to the auction visitors by publication in the catalog prior to the auction and/or notification prior to the auction and/or announcement via the internet/on the auctioneer's website. Any person participating in an auction thereby indicates his or her full acceptance of the applicability of these terms and conditions.

2.1 Descriptions in the catalog and all written or oral information are provided by the auctioneer and his staff to the best of their knowledge.

2.2 Before the purchase, the buyer should, to his own satisfaction, carefully and competently inspect (or have inspected) the condition and description of an object in the catalog or lot list and form his own judgment as to the extent to which the object corresponds to its description, and the buyer should seek independent expert advice where reasonably necessary or desirable, while the buyer should not rely on illustrations in the catalog. If certain defects or imperfections are mentioned in the catalog, this is intended to be an indication which is not exhaustive and from which the buyer cannot derive any rights.

2.3 The auctioneer cannot be held liable for the accuracy of the description in the catalog or otherwise made known, of materials such as, for example, woods, fabrics, alloys, pottery, porcelain and diamonds, all this with the exception of precious metals. The auctioneer only accepts liability for incorrect descriptions to the extent provided for in Article 6 of these terms and conditions.

3.1 The buyer can bid in person. It is also possible for the buyer to bid by telephone, or by leaving a written bidding order. Other bidding methods, for example electronic or through the Internet or verbal bidding orders, are only available if they are expressly offered by the auctioneer.

3.2 Written bidding orders shall be unambiguous and clear and, in the opinion of the auctioneer, shall be received by the auctioneer in sufficient time before the start of the auction session. If multiple written bidding orders are received by the auctioneer where the amounts to be bid are equal and these bids at auction are the highest bids for the item, the item will be sold to the person whose bid is received first by the auctioneer.

3.3 Bidding orders need only be executed if the auctioneer has a reasonable opportunity to do so, and the auctioneer has the right to waive the execution of a bidding order at any time.

3.4 If the buyer wishes to bid by telephone or -if possible- electronically or via the Internet, this must be agreed in writing with the auctioneer no later than 24 hours before the auction. Deviations from this term are only possible with the explicit written consent of the auctioneer.

3.5 The auctioneer always excludes any liability in case a telephone bid is unsuccessful for whatever reason, as well as in case a written bid, electronic bid or bid over the internet is unsuccessful for whatever reason.

4.1 The sale is concluded upon final allotment. Final allotment occurs when the auctioneer has accepted the buyer's bid or has allotted the object to the buyer.

4.2 All objects are sold in the condition they are in at the time of allotment. Substantial changes in condition that become apparent after appearing in the catalog and/or showing on the viewing days and/or on the internet including serious damage or breakage, or revocation of the description of an object in the catalog and/or the internet will be communicated prior to the sale. After such notification (for example in a "sale room notice"), no rights can be derived from the old description.

5.1 The buyer shall identify himself at the first request of the auctioneer.

5.2 The buyer is deemed to have bought for himself and is liable for payment without being able to invoke a principal.

5.3 The rights and obligations under the purchase agreement and these general terms and conditions shall belong exclusively to the buyer and cannot be transferred by the buyer to third parties.

6.1 Unless expressly excluded for certain objects in the catalog or lot list, - without prejudice to Articles 2 and 4. 2 - the auctioneer is prepared to take back an auctioned object against simultaneous refund of the purchase price and auction costs charged, if the buyer proves to the satisfaction of the auctioneer within a period of six weeks after the sale that the auctioned object has such serious hidden defects or the description provided is so incorrect that if these defects or the correct description had been known to the buyer at the time of allotment, he would have refrained from buying or would have bought only at a substantially lower price. This does not apply if the defects concern only the condition of the object (such as, for example, wear and tear and restorations). The auctioneer is not willing to take back if the description in the catalog was revoked prior to or during the auction and the correct description was communicated to the public orally or in writing.

6.2 The willingness to take back also lapses if the buyer cannot return the auctioned object in the same condition in which it was at the time of allotment, at the auctioneer's discretion.

7.1 The auctioneer and the auctioneer in charge of the auction reserve the following rights:
a. to refuse persons as bidders or buyers without giving reasons;
b. to change the order of sale at any time;
c. to drop or add items;
d. combine or split purchases;
e. fail to award or hold up purchases;
f. correct mistakes in bidding and allotment, or undo a sale without allowing a bidder to take advantage of mistakes and in that case invoke a negotiated contract of sale;
g. to demand immediate payment in whole or in part after allotment, while in the event of refusal or inability to pay, the auctioneer and the auctioneer shall have the right to undo the contract of sale and thereafter to re-auction the object in question and not to accept the bid of the negligent bidder again;
h. if the buyer refuses to disclose full name and address to the auctioneer at first request and to show related identification, to rescind the contract of sale and to re-auction;
i. not to transfer objects from the account of the original buyer to that of another;
j. not to surrender items during the auction;
k. to submit bids on behalf of buyers or sellers;
l. to re-auction objects about which a dispute has arisen during or shortly after the auction, and to rescind any contract of sale.

8.1 The payment by the buyer of the purchase price in Euro plus auction costs, other costs, including, if applicable, the resale right due, and any VAT, all this to be determined by the auctioneer, shall take place before the delivery of the purchased objects and within the period to be determined by the auctioneer, without any discount or set-off being allowed, all this unless otherwise agreed.

8.2 An appeal to the so-called margin scheme can only be made if prior to the auction all applicable regulations have been complied with, among other things with regard to the purchase declaration. This is at the sole discretion of the auctioneer.

8.3 Ownership of the objects shall not be transferred until the purchase price has been paid in full, and in the event of late payment, not until the purchase price including the costs mentioned in article 9 has been paid in full.

9.1 In case of late payment the auctioneer shall be entitled to charge the buyer interest equal to the legal interest rate increased by 3% or - at the auctioneer's option - 1% per month, to be calculated from the date on which the payment term has expired. Furthermore, all judicial and extrajudicial costs shall be for the account of the defaulting buyer, which costs shall be estimated at 15% of the purchase price plus the auction costs with a minimum of € 250 (in words: two hundred and fifty Euros), without prejudice to the right to recover the actual costs.

9.2 The auctioneer shall also have the right, if the buyer exceeds the term of payment and is thereby legally in default, to rescind the purchase contract in writing. Any partial payments shall lapse in the event of rescission by way of compensation for damages to the auctioneer, who shall also be entitled to recover the full damages, such as a lesser proceeds, and costs from the buyer and to re-auction or sell the auctioned goods out of hand immediately or later. The negligent buyer cannot claim any excess proceeds.

10.1 The buyer is obliged to take possession of the purchased objects and to collect them (or have them collected) within the period to be indicated by the auctioneer. Subject to the auctioneer's right to specify a shorter or longer period, the latest collection period is five working days after the last day of the auction.

10.2 If the buyer fails to take delivery of the purchased goods and to collect them or have them collected within the stipulated period, the buyer is legally in default and the provisions of article 9 apply accordingly. The auctioneer also has the right to store the purchased goods at the buyer's expense and risk, whereby transport costs and the related risk are also for the buyer's account.

11.1 If an object remains unsold at auction, the auctioneer shall, for a period of ten days after the auction, have the right but never the obligation to still sell the unsold object unless otherwise agreed with the offeror.

11.2 The auctioneer shall only enter into such a sale after auction ("aftersale") if such sale can be made at a price resulting in an amount at least equal to the net sale proceeds to which the seller would have been entitled if the object had been sold before the limit applicable to this auction, such unless a different arrangement is agreed upon with the seller.

11.3 A purchase by a buyer within the meaning of this article shall be deemed to be a purchase at auction to which these general terms and conditions shall apply in full.

12.1 The auctioneer is never liable for damage caused to picture frames, other frames and everything that forms part of them such as glass plates, passe-partouts, etc., except in the case that the damage is caused by intent or conscious recklessness on the part of the auctioneer and/or auxiliary persons or members of staff engaged by him.

12.2 Under no circumstances is the auctioneer liable for trading loss, consequential loss, pecuniary loss and/or indirect loss.

12.3 The auctioneer shall never be liable for any accident or any form of damage suffered by anyone in or near the buildings or grounds where there is opportunity for delivery, storage or viewing, where the auction takes place or where the goods sold are collected, except in the case that the damage is caused by intent or conscious recklessness on the part of the auctioneer and/or any auxiliary persons or members of staff engaged by him and/or except insofar as covered by the auctioneer's insurance.

12.4 Entering the buildings or grounds shall be at your own risk.

13.1 The auctioneer shall be entitled to photograph, illustrate or otherwise depict and depict (or cause to be depicted) all objects offered for sale in any manner, both before, during and after the auction, taking into account applicable legal provisions. The auctioneer retains the copyright to all such images.

14.1 The nullity, annulment or non-binding nature of one of the provisions of these general terms and conditions shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In the event that one or more provisions are void, annulled or non-binding, the buyer and the auctioneer shall agree on substitute provisions which are valid and which most closely approximate the content and purport of the provision(s) proved to be void, annulled or non-binding.

14.2 These general terms and conditions are exclusively governed by Dutch law.

14.3 All disputes concerning, arising from or related to a contract of sale concluded between the auctioneer and the buyer, the conclusion of a contract of sale or these general terms and conditions shall be submitted for settlement only to the competent court in the district of the auctioneer, unless the law provides otherwise and subject to the auctioneer's right to bring the dispute before the competent court in the district of the buyer.

Federation of Valuers Brokers Auctioneers in Movable Property, 2016.
Copyright is expressly reserved. Reproduction and handling of these terms and conditions is permitted only to members of the aforementioned Federation.