Terms of Sale
Terms of sale
Each lot in this catalogue is offered subject to the following Terms and Conditions of Sale, as supplemented in writing or otherwise by us at any time prior to the sale. By registering to bid at the auction, or by placing a bid through any means, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Sale. In these Terms and Conditions of Sale, "we," "us," "our," "Wright" or similar terms mean R. Wright, Inc. and any of its agents, and "you," "your," "buyer" or similar terms mean a person bidding on or buying property.
1. Examination of Property
Except as stated under "Limited Warranty" in paragraph 4 below, all property is sold "as is," with no representation or warranty of any kind from Wright or the consignor. Because buyers are responsible for satisfying themselves as to condition or any other matter concerning the property, they are advised to personally examine any property on which they intend to bid prior to the auction. As a courtesy, condition reports for any lot are available from Wright prior to the sale, but Wright assumes no responsibility for errors and omissions contained in the catalogue or in any such report provided at the request of a buyer. Any statements made in this catalogue or in any condition report, whether orally or in writing, are intended as statements of opinion only, are not to be relied upon as statements of fact and do not constitute representations or warranties of any kind.
2. Bidding at Auction
All prospective bidders are required to register with us in advance of the sale. We may require photo identification and bank references for registration. By bidding at the auction, a buyer assumes personal responsibility to pay the purchase price bid, plus the buyer's premium and any additional charges that become due and payable in connection with the purchase of the property. Upon the fall of the auctioneer's hammer, the buyer assumes all risk of loss and damage to the property, in addition to any obligations, costs and expenses relating to the handling, shipping, insurance, taxes and export of the property.
As a convenience to buyers who cannot be present on the day of the sale, we will use reasonable efforts to execute, on a competitive basis, written absentee bids left with us prior to the sale. We assume no responsibility for a failure to execute any such bid, or for errors or omissions made in connection with the execution of any such bid. If requested prior to the sale, we will use reasonable efforts to contact the buyer by telephone to enable the buyer to participate in the bidding by telephone on the day of the sale, but we assume no responsibility for errors or omissions made in connection with any such arrangement. As a convenience to buyers who cannot be present on the day of the sale, we will use reasonable efforts to execute, on a competitive basis, bids left with us via the Internet, whether by absentee or, if available, a live bidding program. We assume no responsibility for a failure to execute any such bid, or for errors or omissions made in connection with the execution of any such bid.
Buyers are advised that there may be additional terms and conditions governing the use of Internet bidding services including, but not limited to, those providing for additional charges and fees relating to the execution of such bids. Any such additional terms and conditions are hereby incorporated by reference into these Terms and Conditions of Sale as though such terms and conditions were included herein, and buyers are therefore advised to familiarize themselves with any such terms and conditions prior to utilizing any Internet bidding service.
All lots may be offered subject to reserve, which is the confidential minimum price below which the lot will not be sold. The auctioneer may open the bidding on any lot below the reserve by placing a bid on behalf of the seller. The auctioneer may continue to bid on behalf of the seller up to the amount of the reserve, either by placing consecutive bids or by placing bids in response to other bidders.
The auctioneer has the right, in his absolute discretion, to determine the conduct of the sale, including, without limitation, to advance the bidding, to reject any bid offered, to withdraw any lot, to reoffer and resell any lot, and to resolve any dispute in connection with the sale. In any such case, the judgment of the auctioneer is final, and shall be binding upon all participants in the sale.
The sale will be conducted in the following increments:
under $1000 $50 increment
$1,000-2,000 $100 increment
$2,000-3,000 $200 increment
$3,000-5,000 $250 increment
$5,000-10,000 $500 increment
$10,000+ $1000 increment or auctioneer's discretion
3. Payment for and Collection of Purchases
In addition to the hammer price, the buyer of a lot agrees to pay us a buyer's premium, together with any applicable sales tax, late payment charges and storage fees. The buyer's premium on any lot is 25% of the hammer price up to and including $50,000, 20% of any amount in excess of $50,000 up to and including $1,000,000, and 12% of any amount in excess of $1,000,000. For internet bidding, an additional 2% is added to the buyer's premium rates stated above. All purchases will be subject to state sales tax unless the buyer has provided us with a valid certificate of exemption from such tax. Buyers are required to pay for purchases immediately following the auction unless other arrangements have been made in advance of the auction. All payments must be made in US Dollars, in any of the following acceptable forms of payment:
- Cash
- Check, with acceptable identification
- Visa, MasterCard or American Express, with a 2% surcharge for any such payment.
In the event that the buyer has not made satisfactory arrangements with us for the payment of all amounts owed within five (5) business days after the auction date or has otherwise defaulted in the performance of its obligations under these Terms and Conditions of Sale, we reserve the right to bill the buyer's credit card in an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the sum of the hammer price plus the Buyer's Premium. Any charge made by us under this provision shall be credited against all amounts owed to us by the buyer under these Terms and Conditions of Sale, and shall in no way limit or restrict the exercise of any of our rights and remedies available at law or in equity with respect to payment of all other sums owed to us. We reserve the right to delay delivery of any property until clearance or collection of funds in connection with any payment and, in any event, title to the property shall not pass to the buyer until clearance or collection of funds has occurred.
In any case, as security for full payment to us of all amounts due from the buyer, we retain, and the buyer grants to us, a security interest in the property purchased by the buyer at auction, and in any other property or money of the buyer in our possession or coming into our possession subsequently. We may apply any such money or treat any such property in any manner permitted under the Uniform Commercial Code and/or any other applicable law.
All property not collected within thirty (30) days following the sale date will become subject to storage fees of not less than $5 per day, and property may be moved to alternate storage facilities at the buyer's risk and expense. A late payment fee equal to 1.5% per month may be assessed on any amounts remaining unpaid thirty (30) days following the date of the sale.
We may, as a courtesy to the buyer, provide or arrange packing, shipping or similar logistical services, or refer the buyer to third parties who specialize in these services. Any such services provided or arranged by us are at the buyer's sole risk and expense, and we assume no responsibility for any act or omission of any party in connection with any such service or reference.
If a buyer fails to make timely payment as required in this paragraph 3, we shall be entitled, in our discretion, to exercise any remedies legally available to us, including, but not limited to, the following:
- cancellation of the sale of the property to the non-paying buyer,
including the sale of any other property to the same buyer;
- reselling the property, at public or private sale, with or without reserve;
- retention of any amounts already paid by the buyer as liquidated damages;
- rejection of any bids by the buyer at future auctions;
- setting-off any amounts owed by us to the buyer in satisfaction of unpaid amounts
- taking any other action we deem necessary or appropriate under the circumstances.
4. Limited Warranty
Subject to the following terms and conditions, Wright warrants, for a period of five (5) years following the date of sale, the authorship and authenticity of any work as set forth unqualifiedly in a heading in BOLD CAPITAL type in this catalogue. The term "author" or "authorship" means the creator, designer, culture or source of origin of the property, as the case may be, as specifically identified in BOLD CAPITAL type in this cata-logue, and shall not include any supplemental text or information included in the catalogue descriptions. Other than as specifically set forth above, Wright provides no warranty regarding any statements made in this catalogue or elsewhere, whether orally or in writing, and Wright shall not be responsible for errors or omissions contained in the text of this catalogue. Wright's warranty does not apply to any heading in this catalogue that contains a qualified opinion or attribution of authorship, and the warranty is subject to the following:
The benefits of the warranty are only available to the original buyer of the property, and not to any subsequent purchasers, transferees, successors, heirs, beneficiaries or assigns of the original buyer.
The warranty shall not apply to any lot for which the description states that there is a conflict of opinion among specialists as to authorship or origin.
The warranty shall not apply to any lot for which the attribution conforms with the generally accepted opinion of scholars, specialists or other experts on the date of sale, despite the subsequent discovery of information that modifies such generally accepted opinions.
The buyer's sole remedy, and Wright's sole liability, under the warranty shall be the cancellation of the sale of the property in question, and the refund of the purchase price originally paid by the buyer in respect of the property (not including any late fees, shipping or storage charges incurred by the buyer).
In no event shall Wright be liable to the buyer or any third party for any special or consequential damages including, without limitation, lost profits or interest.
The buyer must provide written notice of any claim under the warranty to Wright not later than five (5) years following the date of sale, and must return the property to Wright in the same condition as at the time of the original sale. Wright reserves the right to appoint two independent specialists to examine the property and evaluate the buyer's claim before determining whether to cancel the sale in question.
5. Rescission of Sale by Wright
If we become aware of an adverse claim of a third party relating to property purchased by the buyer, we may, in our discretion, rescind the sale. Upon notice of our election to rescind a sale, the buyer will promptly return the property to us, at which time we will refund to the buyer the hammer price and buyer's premium paid to us by the buyer in respect of the property. This refund will represent the buyer's sole remedy against us and/or the consignor in case of a rescission of sale under this paragraph 5.
6. Private Sales
These Terms and Conditions of Sale shall govern, to the extent applicable, any private sale of property by us not made through auction.
7. Copyright Notice
All images and text contained in this catalogue or in any other publication by us, in whatever form, shall remain the property of their respective owners, and the buyer shall have no right of ownership, use or reproduction of any such material by virtue of any purchase of property or otherwise.
8. Severability
If any provision of these Terms and Conditions of Sale is held by any court to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, such provision shall be disregarded and the remaining Terms and Conditions of Sale enforced in accordance with the original document and in accordance with applicable law.
9. Governing law
These Terms and Conditions of Sale shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the law of the State of Illinois and, by registering for and bidding in the auction (whether personally, by telephone or by agent), the buyer agrees to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state courts located in Cook County, Illinois in connection with any matter regarding this auction.
