Terms and Conditions
Conditions of sale
1. The art auction house, Kunsthaus Lempertz KG (henceforth referred to as Lempertz),
conducts public auctions in terms of § 383 paragraph 3 sentence 1 of the
Commercial Code as commissioning agent on behalf of the accounts of submitters,
who remain anonymous. With regard to its auctioneering terms and conditions
drawn up in other languages, the German version remains the official one.
2. The auctioneer reserves the right to divide or combine any catalogue lots or, if it
has special reason to do so, to offer any lot for sale in an order different from that
given in the catalogue or to withdraw any lot from the sale.
3. All lots put up for sale may be viewed and inspected prior to the auction. The
catalogue specifications and related specifications appearing on the internet, which
have both been compiled in good conscience, do not form part of the contractually
agreed to conditions. These specifications have been derived from the status of the
information available at the time of compiling the catalogue. They do not serve as a
guarantee in legal terms and their purpose is purely in the information they provide.
The same applies to any reports on an item's condition or any other information,
either in oral or written form. Certificates or certifications from artists, their estates
or experts relevant to each case only form a contractual part of the agreement if they
are specifically mentioned in the catalogue text. The state of the item is generally not
mentioned in the catalogue. Likewise missing specifications do not constitute an
agreement on quality. All items are used goods.
4. Warranty claims are excluded. In the event of variances from the catalogue descriptions,
which result in negation or substantial diminution of value or suitability,
and which are reported with due justification within one year after handover,
Lempertz nevertheless undertakes to pursue its rights against the seller through the
courts; in the event of a successful claim against the seller, Lempertz will reimburse
the buyer only the total purchase price paid. Over and above this, Lempertz undertakes
to reimburse its commission within a given period of three years after the date
of the sale if the object in question proves not to be authentic.
5. Claims for compensation as the result of a fault or defect in the object auctioned
or damage to it or its loss, regardless of the legal grounds, or as the result of variances
from the catalogue description or statements made elsewhere due to violation of
due dilligence according to §§ 41 ff. KGSG are excluded unless Lempertz acted with
wilful intent or gross negligence; the liability for bodily injury or damages caused to
health or life remains unaffected. In other regards, point 4 applies.
6. Submission of bids. Lempertz reserves the right to approve bidders for the auction
and especially the right to make this approval dependent upon successful identification
in terms of § 1 para. 3 GWG. Bids in attendance: The floor bidder receives
a bidding number on presentation of a photo ID. If the bidder is not known to
Lempertz, registration must take place 24 hours before the auction is due to begin in
writing on presentation of a current bank reference. Bids in absentia: Bids can also
be submitted either in writing, telephonically or via the internet. The placing of bids
in absentia must reach Lempertz 24 hours before the auction to ensure the proper
processing thereof. The item must be mentioned in the bid placed, together with the
lot number and item description. In the event of ambiguities, the listed lot number
becomes applicable. The placement of a bid must be signed by the applicant. The
regulations regarding revocations and the right to return the goods in the case of
long distance agreements (§ 312b-d of the Civil Code) do not apply. Telephone bids:
Establishing and maintaining a connection cannot be vouched for. In submitting
a bid placement, the bidder declares that he agrees to the recording of the bidding
process. Bids via the internet: They will only be accepted by Lempertz if the bidder
registered himself on the internet website beforehand. Lempertz will treat such bids
in the same way as bids in writing.
7. Carrying out the auction: The hammer will come down when no higher bids are
submitted after three calls for a bid. In extenuating circumstances, the auctioneer
reserves the right to bring down the hammer or he can refuse to accept a bid, especially
when the bidder cannot be successfully identified in terms of § 1 para. 3 GWG.
If several individuals make the same bid at the same time, and after the third call,
no higher bid ensues, then the ticket becomes the deciding factor. The auctioneer
can retract his acceptance of the bid and auction the item once more if a higher bid
that was submitted on time, was erroneously overlooked and immediately queried
by the bidder, or if any doubts regarding its acceptance arise. Written bids are only
played to an absolute maximum by Lempertz if this is deemed necessary to outbid
another bid. The auctioneer can bid on behalf of the submitter up to the agreed
limit, without revealing this and irrespective of whether other bids are submitted.
Even if bids have been placed and the hammer has not come down, the auctioneer
is only liable to the bidder in the event of premeditation or gross negligence.
Further information can be found in our privacy policy at www.lempertz.com/
datenschutzerklärung.html
8. Once a lot has been knocked down, the successful bidder is obliged to buy it. If
a bid is accepted conditionally, the bidder is bound by his bid until four weeks after
the auction unless he immediately withdraws from the conditionally accepted bid.
From the fall of the hammer, possession and risk pass directly to the buyer, while
ownership passes to the buyer only after full payment has been received.
9. Up to a hammer price of € 400,000 a premium of 25 % calculated on the hammer
price plus 16 % value added tax (VAT) calculated on the premium only is levied.
The premium will be reduced to 20 % (plus VAT) on any amount surpassing
€ 400,000 (margin scheme).
On lots which are characterized by N, an additional 7 % for import tax will be
charged.
On lots which are characterized by an R, the buyer shall pay the statutory VAT of
16 % on the hammer price and the buyer's premium (regular scheme).
Exports to third (i.e. non-EU) countries will be exempt from VAT, and so will be exports
made by companies from other EU member states if they state their VAT identification
number. For original works of art, whose authors are either still alive or deceased
for less than 70 years (§ 64 UrhG), a charge of 1.8 % on the hammer price will
be levied for the droit de suite. The maximum charge is € 12,500. For payments which
amount to EUR 10,000.00 or more, Lempertz is obliged to make a copy of the photo
ID of the buyer according to §3 of the German Money Laundry Act (GWG). This
applies also to cases in which payments of EUR 10,000.00 or more are being made
for more than one invoice. If a buyer exports an object to a third country personally,
the VAT will be refunded, as soon as Lempertz receives the export and import
papers. All invoices issued on the day of auction or soon after remain under provision.
10. Successful bidders shall forthwith upon the purchase pay to Lempertz the final
price (hammer price plus premium and VAT) in Euro. Bank transfers are to be
exclusively in Euros. The request for an alteration of an auction invoice to a person
other than the bidder has to be made immediately after the auction. Lempertz
however reserves the right to refuse such a request if it is deemed appropriate. The
transfer is subject to successful identification (§ 1 para. 3 GWG) of the bidder and of
the person to whom the invoice is transferred. Invoices will only be issued to those
persons actually responsible for settling the invoices.
11. In the case of payment default, Lempertz will charge 1% interest on the outstanding
amount of the gross price per month.. If the buyer defaults in payment,
Lempertz may at its discretion insist on performance of the purchase contract or,
after allowing a period of grace, claim damages instead of performance. In the latter
case, Lempertz may determine the amount of the damages by putting the lot or lots
up for auction again, in which case the defaulting buyer will bear the amount of any
reduction in the proceeds compared with the earlier auction, plus the cost of resale,
including the premium.
12. Buyers must take charge of their purchases immediately after the auction. Once
a lot has been sold, the auctioneer is liable only for wilful intent or gross negligence.
Lots will not, however, be surrendered to buyers until full payment has been received.
Without exception, shipment will be at the expense and risk of the buyer.
Purchases which are not collected within four weeks after the auction may be stored
and insured by Lempertz on behalf of the buyer and at its expense in the premises of
a freight agent. If Lempertz stores such items itself, it will charge 1 % of the hammer
price for insurance and storage costs.
13. As far as this can be agreed, the place of performance and jurisdiction is Cologne.
German law applies; the German law for the protection of cultural goods applies;
the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International
Sale of Goods (CISG) are not applicable. Should any provision herein be wholly
or partially ineffective, this will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.
Regarding the treatment of personal data, we would like to point out the data protection
notice on our website.
Henrik Hanstein, sworn public auctioneer.
Shipping Terms
Anyone who fails to complete any transaction associated with any bids placed with All American Auction will be sued for "breach of contract". PLEASE NOTE, ONLINE BIDDERS WHO DO NOT PAY FOR THEIR INVOICE WITHIN 4 DAYS OF RECEIVING THEIR INVOICE WILL HAVE THEIR CREDIT CARD ON FILE FROM WEPAY AUCTIONZIP AND INVALUABLE AUTOMATICALLY CHARGED FOR THE COST OF THE WINNING ITEMS AS WELL AS ALL APPLICABLE FEES AND TAXES. ALL INTERNET BIDDERS AGREE TO SAID CREDIT CARD CHARGES PER THESE TERMS. iF YOU DO NOT AGREE DO NOT BID! All online bids will incur a 15% buyer's premium. Declined credit cards will result in legal actions being taken. All legal fees are the sole responsibility of the bidder. Any legal action arising from transactions, either being conducted online or live at our auction hall or any other location represented by All American Auction, will be conducted in Falls County, Texas, USA and under the current laws of the State of Texas, USA. All operations for this auction company are based in Texas and operated under the current laws of Texas, regardless of user or operator computer location.
