Terms & Conditions

I. GENERAL CONDITIONS OF AUCTION

1. Applicability

The conditions are applicable to every public auction held by BVBA Amberes and the buyer is regarded as accepting them by the sole fact of his participation in the auction.

2. Payment and price

The auction price is increased 25% costs for the weekly auction and 22% for the Art and Antiques auction + 3 % for bidding and orders on Drouot.com.

Payment is to be made promptly in Euros, by means of a Belgian bank card or by a recognised credit card.

In the latter case, the price will be increased by costs of 2%.

3. The collection of the lots

The lots must be collected within 4 working days following the sale and after payment in full.

The buyer, who fails to pay and/or collect within the indicated time-scale, shall be liable to pay interest for negligence of 2% per month and is regarded as renouncing any lots not collected and paid for if he fails to collect them after 6 months counting from the date of the auction.

4. Description of the lots

Lots are offered for sale in the condition in which they are found, possibly with an approximate description in the catalogue.

5. Purchasing instructions and bids by telephone

The auction house accepts written instructions to purchase and bidding by telephone, the latter for lots above a minimum of 500 Euros.

Buying orders or purchasing instructions must be confirmed via our website or by telephone in exceptional circumstances.

A buying order implies a purchase obligation if no higher bid is made during the auction. The telephone bid will be confirmed during the auction.

Neither the going astray of a written offer, nor the possible failure to make a telephone connection or its breaking shall be able to give rise to a claim for compensation against the auction house.

6. Disputes

In the event of possible disputes the Courts of the judicial district of Antwerp have jurisdiction.

Any person participating in an auction accedes to the Conditions and shall not possibly be able to take refuge behind an inadequate knowledge of the language as a source of any misunderstanding.

7. Liability

Every visitor is liable for the damage which he causes to the objects and lots displayed, even if it is caused by the slightest inadvertence or simply bad luck.

II. EXPLANATIONS

1. Applicability

The buyer is the person to whom a lot is awarded.

In the event of a dispute only the Notary or Court Bailiff present may decide whether or not the lot is to be called afresh.

Every buyer is regarded as acting in his own name, even if he is the bearer of any mandate whatever.

The buyer shall inform the auction house of his name, his address and possibly his telephone number by producing some proof of identity recognised in Belgium, from which the auction house may note down the details and identity number.

2. Payment and price

In accordance with the Law of 25th June 1921 which encumbers public sales of works of art with a fee for the benefit of the artists and authors of the works sold, in addition to the purchase price with its supplement, the buyer shall also pay a royalty fee amounting to 4%, applicable to every allotment price from 2.000 till 50.000 euros, 3% from 50.000,01 till 200.000 euros, 1% from 200.000,01 till 350.000 euros, 0,5% from 350.000,01 till 500.000 euros and 0,25 % above 500.000 euros.

The royalty fee is extinguished when the artist has been dead for more than 70 years.

On the sale of important lots, the Auctioneer has the right to make bidding by unknown potential buyers dependant on a prior bank reference or security.

Cheques not guaranteed by the bank will firstly have to be cleared by means of crediting the bank account of the auction house before the goods may be collected. The same applies to bank cheques or drafts which are only accepted by the auction house with reservation.

3. The collection of lots

Lots are not to be taken away during the auction.

Lots not collected within the fixed time-scale shall be stored at the buyer’s expense.

Lots awarded and sold are stored with the utmost care by the auction house but the risks associated therewith are in any case for the buyer’s account and he cannot make any claim for any change in condition whatever.

Even in the event of theft, partial or entire loss of the lot, the auction house cannot be held liable.

Any transport for the lots is always for the buyer’s account and the auction house bears no responsibility for any damage which may occur during all the kinds of handling which is associated with stocking, reaching or packing.

In the event of lots not being paid for, the buyer can make no further claim to them once 15 days have elapsed from the auction: the auction house shall be entitled to decide either on the compulsory enforcement of the purchase or to sell the lot again with recovery of costs and any reduced profits from the defaulting buyer.

4. Description of the lots

Descriptions in the catalogue are regarded as being drafted to the best of ability but may not give rise to any recourse against the auction house.

Potential buyers have the opportunity on the occasion of the exhibition prior to the auction to ascertain the nature, condition, authenticity and typical features of the lots, including the possible completeness thereof, even if they make no use of this opportunity.

The auction house moreover reserves the right to change the sequence of lots, to combine numbers together or to divide them or possibly to withdraw lots from the auction.

5. Purchasing instructions and telephone bids

The auction house reserves the right to ask for bank references.

The auction house cannot be held liable for any possible errors which may occur in indicating the lot which the buyer is contemplating.

In the event of equal bids, the first bid received shall take precedence; in the event of an equal bid, the verbal bid in the hall shall take precedence over the written bid.

6. Disputes

The Auctioneer has the right to refuse the bidding of a potential buyer for a reason which shall be communicated to the Notary or Court Bailiff present, noted down by the latter but not made public.

7. Invoicing

The buyer may ask the auction house to make out an invoice concerning the lots purchased by him and based on the record of allotments: the invoice must be requested within 15 days from the date of the auction and the buyer shall pay the costs associated with this of 3 Euros in prompt cash.