Terms & Conditions
Terms for the Seller
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 is charged to sellers at the following rates:- 10% plus VAT on items selling for over £500. 15% plus VAT on items selling for under £500. There is no charge for unsold lots, photography or insurance. Minimum commission is £5 plus VAT per vendor (not per lot). Payment for Antique sales and Granary sales is 10 days after the sale. Payment for Picture sale is 14 days after the sale, providing payment has been received from the buyer.
3. Removal costs. Items for sale must be consigned to the saleroom by any stated deadline and at your expense. Burstow & Hewett can arrange transport for items to the salerooms using our own staff and vans, for which there may be a charge.
4. Illustrations. All lots sold at the Abbey Auction Gallery are illustrated on our website and on other auction listing websites, and may be used for advertising purposes. There is no extra charge for photography.
5. Reserves. All lots are put up for sale without reserve unless written instructions are received by the auctioneers prior to the sale, the reserve being the minimum hammer price at which that Lot may be sold. Reserves must be reasonable and we may decline to offer goods which in our opinion would be subject to an unreasonably high reserve. 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.
6. Unsold and withdrawn items. If an item is unsold it may be re-offered at a future sale. You will not necessarily be notified until the lot has sold. Reserves on unsold Lots will automatically be reduced by 20%.
7. 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.
8. 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 as long as they remain on our premises, 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.
Terms for the Buyer
1. Definitions
In these Conditions: (a) “auctioneer” means the firm of Burstow & Hewett 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) “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.
2. Bidding Procedures and the Buyer
(a) Bidders are required to register their particulars before bidding. (b) The highest bidder shall be the buyer at the hammer price and any dispute about a bid shall be settled at the auctioneer's absolute discretion by re-offering the Lot during the course of the auction or otherwise.The auctioneer shall act reasonably in exercising this discretion. (c) Once made, no bid may be withdrawn. (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 15% plus VAT at the current rate. Unless notified in the catalogue, VAT is not charged on the hammer price, only on the premium.
5. Payment
All accounts are due for settlement SALEDAY.
The following methods of payment are acceptable. i. Cash. Single payments up to £10,000 only. ii. Debit Card. No limit. iii. Credit Card. Subject to a fee of 2%+VAT iv. Banker’s Draft. No limit. v. Building Society Cheque. No limit. vi. Bank Transfer. Payments to Burstow & Hewett Clients account, No 01151622, sort code 51-70-12. NatWest Bank, 9 Devonshire Road, Bexhill, East Sussex, TN40 1AG. IBAN is GB52NWBK51701201151622. vii. Cheques. Accepted up to the limit of the guarantee card for immediate clearance. For sums exceeding this and you are not known to the auctioneers we will retain the goods for 7 working days to establish clearance of funds. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy. To avoid undue embarrassment for yourself or our staff please do not ask for preferential treatment.
6.Title and Collection of Purchases
(1) 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. (2) You shall at your own risk and expense take away any lots that you have purchased and paid for not later than 7 working days following the day of the auction or upon the clearance of any cheque used for payment after which you shall be responsible for any removal,storage and insurance charges. (3) No purchase can be claimed or removed until it has been paid for.
7. 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).Any surplus so arising shall belong to the seller; (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.
8.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.
9. Commission Bids
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. Neither the auctioneer nor our employees or agents shall be responsible for any failure to do so.Where two or more commission bids at the same level are recorded we reserve the right in our absolute discretion to prefer the first bid so made.
10.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.
11.Agency
The auctioneer acts as agent only and disclaims any responsibility for default by sellers or buyers.
12. Descriptions and Condition
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 applied to a lot. 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. 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.
13. Forgeries
Notwithstanding the preceding Condition, if within seven days after the sale the auctioneers have received from the Buyer of any lot notice in writing that in his view the Lot is a deliberate forgery, and within 14 days after the sale returns the lot to Burstow & Hewett in the same condition as at the time of sale, and by producing evidence, the burden of proof to be upon the Buyer, satisfies the Auctioneers that considered in light of the entry in the catalogue the Lot is a deliberate forgery, then the sale of the Lot will be rescinded and the purchase price of the same refunded within 7 days of the Vendor refunding to Burstow & Hewett the amount paid out in respect of the Lot. The Buyer and Seller agree to be bound by Burstow & Hewett's decision.