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.
1.1 To make these Terms of Sale easier to read, we have given the following words a specific meaning: “Auctioneer” means Specialist Auctions Ltd T/as Special Auction Services, a company registered in England and Wales with registration number 05895815 and whose registered office is located at Bath House, 6-8 Bath Street, Redcliffe, Bristol, BS1 6HL.
“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 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.specialauctionservices.com
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.
2.1 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.
3.1 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 and authenticity.
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).
As Buyer, you will pay:
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.
6.1 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).
7.1 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 within 7 days, by cash (maximum £10,000), UK debit card or bank transfer.
7.2 If you owe us any money, we may use any payment made by you to repay these debts.
8.1 Ownership of a lot is passed to the buyer on the fall of the hammer.
8.2 Payment and collection may be undertaken once the invoice has been prepared by the Administrative Team.
8.3 Following the day of the sale, we will send out invoices to all successful telephone, online and commission bidders via email or post. We will where ever possible include on the invoice a charge for pack and ship the lots purchased. Packing is automatically undertaken in house and shipment is made by Courier or Royal Mail. Insurance cover on shipments is not provided within this charge. We also reserve the right to ask the buyer to complete a disclaimer regarding this service prior to despatching the goods. See Clause 8.4.
8.4 Alternatively, you will (at your own expense) pay for and personally collect or arrange your own courier to collect any Lots that you have purchased. This must be undertaken no later than 7 days following the day of the auction. You may not claim or collect a Lot until you have paid for it.
8.5 If you do not pay for or 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) purchase it, on the fall of the hammer.
8.5 If you do not collect the Lot that you have paid for within 30 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.
9.1 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 (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 7 days of your successful bid, we may charge interest at a rate not exceeding 1.5% 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 non-compliance by you with these Terms ofSale.
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.
11.1 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 second-hand.
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.
12.1 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.
12.5 Descriptions and conditions reports with particular relation to autographed materials or works are given as stated in Clause 12.1. We will give indications of provenance where stated by sellers. It is imperative that potential buyers or their Agents inspect lots that interest them prior to the auction. Purchases of autographed materials and works are made at the risk of the purchaser. Subject to our Terms and Conditions we cannot accept returns on these items.
13.1 You may return any Lot which is found to be a Deliberate Forgery to us within 14 days 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.
14.1 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.
15.1 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:
appearing on our Website; and
writing; or
15.3.2 by email:
15.4 Notices will be deemed to have been received:
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.
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 request.
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 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.
These Conditions of Business, incorporating Terms of Consignment and Terms of Sale are based upon recommended terms by SOFAA