STANDARD CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS

Bickenstaff & Knowles (hereinafter called "the Auctioneers") carries on business (whether with actual or prospective buyers and sellers or consignors requiring inspection, appraisal or valuation of property or persons reading catalogues, or otherwise) on the following terms and conditions and on such other terms, conditions and notices as may be set out in any relevant catalogue, sale rooms or elsewhere. The definition of words and phrases with special meanings appear in Condition 7 of General Conditions.


For Buyers


1. Except as otherwise appears, the Auctioneers act only as agents for the Seller.

2. The highest bidder acceptable to the Auctioneers shall be the Buyer at the 'hammer price' and any dispute shall be settled at the Auctioneers' absolute discretion. Every bidder shall be deemed to act as principal unless there is in force a written acknowledgement by the Auctioneers that the bidder acts as agent on behalf of a named principal. Every bidder shall, if required by the Auctioneers, complete and sign a Registration Form before making any bid at the auction.

3. Any representation or statement by the Auctioneers whether printed in their catalogues or made orally as to origin, date, age, attribution, authorship, authenticity, materials, provenance, condition or estimated selling price of any Lot is a statement of opinion only. Any illustrations in the catalogues are solely for the guidance of prospective Buyers and are not to be relied upon in terms of tone or colour or necessarily to show imperfections in any Lot. Additionally, Lots are frequently of an age or nature which precludes them being in prime condition and some descriptions in the catalogues may make reference to damage and/or wear and/or restoration. Such information is provided for guidance only and the absence of such information does not imply that a Lot is free from defects, nor does any reference to particular defects imply the absence of other defects not referred to. Buyers must satisfy themselves as to all matters referred to in this Condition by inspection or otherwise prior to the commencement of the auction. No warranty whatever is given by the Auctioneers, its servants or agents, or any Seller to any Buyer in respect of any Lot and any express or implied conditions or warranties are hereby excluded.

4.

• (a) The auctioneer shall have the right to refuse any bid which does not exceed the previous bid by at least 5 percent or by such other proportion as the auctioneer shall in his absolute discretion direct.
• (b) Each Lot is put up for sale subject to:
  • (i) any reserve price imposed by the Auctioneers or the Seller;
  • (ii) the right of the Auctioneers to bid either themselves or by any representative or nominee.

5. Value Added Tax at the prevailing local rate will be charged on the successful bid price of each Lot and is payable by the purchaser as part of the 'total amount due'.

6. Immediately upon sale of a Lot, the Buyer shall:

• (a) unless he has already done so, give to the Auctioneers his name and address and, if so requested, proof of identity; and
• (b) pay to the Auctioneers the 'total amount due'(unless credit terms have been agreed with the Auctioneers before the auction).

7. Any payments by a Buyer to the Auctioneers may be applied by the Auctioneers towards any sums owing from that Buyer to the Auctioneers on any account whatever without regard to any directions of the Buyer or his agent, whether express or implied.

8. The ownership of a Lot shall not pass to the Buyer until he has made payment in full of the 'total amount due', nor may any Lot be taken away until the 'total amount due' has been paid in full.

9.

• (a) No Lot shall on any account be removed during the continuance of the auction nor shall the Buyer be entitled to remove any Lot until the 'total amount due' has been paid in respect of all Lots purchased by the Buyer. The Buyer shall remove at his own expense any Lot purchased by him not later than 2 hours after the completion of the auction, but not before payment of the 'total amount due'.
• (b) The Buyer shall be responsible for any removal, storage and insurance charges on any Lot not removed within 2 hours after completion of the auction.
• (c) Any packing and handling of purchased Lots by the Auctioneers or their servants or agents is undertaken solely as a service to Buyers, and will only be undertaken at the Auctioneers' discretion and at the Buyer's risk. In addition, the Auctioneers shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions or damage caused by packers and shippers that the Auctioneers have recommended to buyers.

10. The Buyer will be responsible for loss or damage to Lots purchased from the time of collection on the day of the auction, and neither the Auctioneers nor its servants or agents shall thereafter be liable for any loss or damage of any kind, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, while any Lot is in or under their respective custody and control.

11. If a Buyer fails either to pay for in full or to take away any Lot in accordance with Conditions 6 and 9, or if there is any other breach of either of those Conditions, the Auctioneers as the agents of the Seller shall, without further notice to the Buyer and at their absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies it may have, be entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights and remedies:

• (a) to proceed against the Buyer for damages for breach of contract;
• (b) to rescind the sale of that or any other Lots sold to the defaulting Buyer at the same or any other auction;
• (c) to resell the Lot or cause it to be resold by public auction or private sale, with any resulting deficiency in the 'total amount due'(after giving credit for any part payment) together with full costs in connection with the Lot to be paid to the Auctioneers by the defaulting Buyer, and any surplus shall belong to the Seller;
• (d) to remove, store and insure the Lot at the expense of the defaulting Buyer and, in the case of storage, either
• at the Auctioneers' premises or elsewhere, and to release the Lot only after payment in full of the 'total amount due', the accrued cost of removal, storage and insurance and all other costs incurred in connection with the Lot;
• (e) to charge interest on the 'total amount due' at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent per month to the extent it remains unpaid for more than 2 hours after the completion of the auction;
• (f) to retain that or any other Lot sold to the defaulting Buyer at the same or any other auction and release it only after payment of the 'total amount due';
• (g) to reject or ignore any bids made by or on behalf of the defaulting Buyer at any future auctions or obtain a deposit before accepting any bids in future;
• (h) to apply any proceeds of sale then due or at any time thereafter becoming due to the defaulting Buyer towards settlement of the 'total amount due' and to exercise a lien on any property of the defaulting Buyer which is in the Auctioneers' possession for any purpose;
• (i) to apply any payments by the defaulting Buyer to the Auctioneers towards any sums owing from the defaulting Buyer to the Auctioneers without regard to any directions of the defaulting Buyer or his agent, whether express or implied.

• (a) The Auctioneers guarantee that all Lots offered for sale are genuine and handmade and any Lot which proves not to be genuine or not to be handmade may be returned by the Buyer within 14 days of the date of the auction in the same condition in which it was at the time of the auction, and the Auctioneers will thereupon refund any amount paid in respect of the Lot provided that the Auctioneers are satisfied that the Lot is not genuine or is not handmade, the burden of proof to be upon the Buyer, and that the Buyer has and is able to transfer a good and marketable title to the Lot free from any third party claims;
• (b) The Buyer shall not be entitled to claim under this Condition for more than the amount paid by him for the Lot an in particular shall have no claim for any loss, consequential loss or damage whether direct or indirect suffered or expense incurred by him;
• (c) The benefit of this guarantee shall not be assignable and shall rest solely and exclusively in the Buyer who, for the purpose of this guarantee, shall be the person to whom the original invoice was made out in respect of the Lot when sold and who has since the sale retained uninterrupted unencumbered ownership thereof.

• (a) Any indemnity under these conditions shall extend to all actions, proceedings, costs, expenses, claims and demands whatsoever incurred or suffered by the person entitled to the benefit of the indemnity;
• (b) The Auctioneers declare themselves to be a trustee for their various servants and agents of the benefit of every indemnity under these Conditions to the extent that such indemnity is expressed to be for the benefit of their servants and agents.

• (a) 'catalogue' includes any advertisement, brochure, estimate, price list and other publication;
  
• (b) 'hammer price' means the price at which a Lot is knocked down by the auctioneer to the Buyer;
  
• (c) 'total amount due' means the aggregate of the 'hammer price' in respect of the Lot sold plus any applicable Value Added Tax chargeable thereon at the prevailing rate and under the local prevailing laws relating thereto, together with any additional charges and expenses due from a defaulting Buyer;
• (d) 'expenses' in relation to the sale of any Lot means the Auctioneers' charges and expenses for insurance, illustrations, special advertising, packing and freight for that Lot and any Value Added Tax or other local taxes and/or duties payable thereon;
• (e) 'Lot' means any item deposited with the Auctioneers with a view to its sale at auction and the item or items described against any Lot number in any catalogue, list or label of the Auctioneers.