Terms & conditions of sale

Demonstration site. Every lot, maker, seller, bid and result on this page is invented for the purposes of showing the design. Nothing is for sale and no bid you place here is real. Nothing below creates any obligation on anybody. It is written out in full because a demonstration of an auction site with placeholder terms is not a demonstration of an auction site.

1. What a bid is

A bid is an offer on the hammer price, and it is irrevocable once placed. The highest bid at the close of a lot wins it, subject to any reserve. Bids are made in the increments published in the increment table on each lot page; a bid that does not conform to the table is rejected rather than rounded.

2. Proxy bidding

A bidder may leave a maximum. The system then bids on that bidder’s behalf in published increments, only as far as necessary to remain the leading bid, and never above the stated maximum. A maximum is confidential and is not disclosed to the seller, to other bidders, or in any published result.

3. Soft close and anti-sniping

Every lot carries a soft close of 3 minutes. A bid received within 3 minutes of the scheduled close moves the close to 3 minutes from the receipt of that bid. There is no limit on the number of extensions. A lot closes only when 3 full minutes elapse without a further bid. The published closing time is therefore the earliest a lot may close and never the latest.

4. Reserves, passed and unsold lots

A lot marked no reserve has no minimum below which it will not be sold; the highest bid wins it whatever that bid is. A lot with a reserve will not be sold below that figure. A lot that attracts bidding but does not reach its reserve is recorded as passed. A lot that attracts no bids at all is recorded as unsold. Both are published in the results with the same prominence as sold lots.

5. Buyer’s premium and the total payable

A buyer’s premium of 18% of the hammer price is payable by the buyer in addition to the hammer price, unless a different rate is stated on the lot. Shipping and packing are quoted separately and are published on each lot page before bidding. Applicable sales tax, where it arises, is added to the total.

6. Condition and description

Every lot is sold as viewed. Condition reports are prepared by us in good faith and are opinions, not warranties; they describe the faults we found, at the measurements we found them, photographed at the magnification of the object. The absence of a note is not a representation that a lot is free of defects. Prospective buyers are strongly encouraged to request additional images or to attend a preview, and we will answer condition requests during a live sale within four working hours where we reasonably can.

Where a lot is described as restored, something lost has been put back. Where it is described as refinished, an original surface has been removed. These are different statements about different objects and we will not merge them.

7. Title, risk and collection

Title passes on receipt of cleared funds in full. Risk passes on collection, or on delivery where we have arranged carriage. Lots packed and dispatched by us are covered in transit for hammer plus premium. Lots collected by a buyer’s own carrier are at that buyer’s risk from the moment of handover.

8. Payment and default

Invoices are payable within five business days of the close of the sale. Lots uncollected 30 days after payment may be moved to storage at the buyer’s cost. On non-payment we may cancel the sale, re-offer the lot, and pursue the difference where the re-offer realises less.

9. Sellers

Seller commission is 14–16% of hammer by category, deducted at settlement. There is no listing fee, no photography fee and no unsold fee. Settlement is made within 10–14 business days of the buyer’s payment clearing, with a statement showing hammer, commission and net for every lot. A seller warrants that they have good title to what they consign and have disclosed every fault known to them.

10. Withdrawal

We may withdraw a lot at any time before it closes, without stating a reason. Where a lot is withdrawn after bidding has begun, all bids on it are void.

11. Governing law

These conditions would be governed by the laws of the State of Oregon.