Terms and conditions of sale
These terms and conditions govern use of the site and the Contractual Conditions of ART BID OPTION, LDA., which has its registered office at Av. do Brasil 192C - 1700-078 Lisbon, Portugal, hereinafter called ARTBID. ARTBID is responsible for the security of the personal data that you supply to us. It collects and processes information about customers/users of this website for commercial and informational purposes, in order to provide you with new products and services that may be of interest to you and to develop web statistics. The information provided by you will be used to contact you whenever it is necessary to inform you about any changes to the functionalities of the website and offer you services / products that you may find useful. To register on our platform, you must provide a minimum set of personal information, that is necessary to subscribe to the service and manage your account, and you must therefore expressly authorise ARTBID to process the personal data provided for this purpose. The information provided by the user will be stored in the ARTBID database, that complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). All stored data is confidential, is intended for electronic processing and will never be provided to third parties, on a commercial or free basis, without the prior consent of the data owner. ARTBID's activity is governed and regulated by the following Contractual Conditions and any other conditions that are individually specified in ARTBID's website www.artbid.pt, and therefore these conditions should be read carefully.
A - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1 (Definitions)
1) Description of the Objects - The description of any object made by ARTBID (verbally or in writing), including about its nature, type, condition, artist, origin, epoch, materials, weight and dimensions or source, corresponds to ARTBID's opinion, and shall not be considered a professional technical description, as usually provided by professional historians or researchers, and all the stated dimensions and weights are approximate.
2) State of Conservation of the Objects - The state of conservation of the objects varies in function of several factors - such as age, previous damage, wear and restorations. The objects put up for auction may not be in perfect condition, and are sold under the conditions in which they are found at the time of sale.
3) Condition Reports - The report on the state of conservation of an object, also called the Condition Report, may be useful to assess the condition in which it is found, wherein this report exclusively corresponds to ARTBID's opinion, and may not identify all the faults and failures, restorations, alterations and adaptations, given that ARTBID's employees are not professional conservators or restorers. For this reason, ARTBID's reports on the state of conservation of the objects, do not substitute the need for a professional opinion on the matter.
4) Estimates - The estimates are based on the conditions of each object, its rarity, quality, source and the amounts recently attained for similar items in auctions. The estimates are subject to change and neither ARTBID nor anyone else can guarantee that these estimates correspond to actual sale prices.
5) Reserve Price or Base Price - Unless otherwise specified, all objects are subject to a Reserve Price or Base Price, which corresponds to the minimum price that will be accepted by the seller, for the sale of each object or lot, and below which these cannot be sold. The Reserve Price or Base Price may not exceed the value of the minimum estimate. Objects that have no Reserve Price or Base Price may have that reference in their description.
6) Purchase Commission - Corresponds to the percentage related to the purchase of one or more objects, owed to ARTBID, applied on the sale price of each lot, plus VAT at the prevailing of the legal rate. This commission shall be paid by the Buyer.
7) Sales Commission - Corresponds to the percentage related to the sale of one or more objects, owed to ARTBID, to be deducted from the Sale Price, plus VAT at the prevailing legal rate. This commission shall be paid by the Seller.
8) Buyer - Is the bidder, of legal age, that, under these Contractual Terms and Conditions, makes the highest bid at the close of the auction.
9) Seller - Is the person or entity that signs a sales contract with ARTBID for objects that are put up for auction.
10) Expenses - Are the costs and charges payable to ARTBID, in relation to the sale of the objects, including restorations, insurance, storage, packaging and transport of these items, the issuance of CITES certificates, amongst others.
11) Sale Price - The amount for which the objects have been sold to the corresponding Buyer, without the inclusion of commissions or other charges.
12) Total Amount Due - The Sale Price of a sold lot, plus the Buyer's Commission and any eventual additional charges and expenses due from the Buyer.
13) Net Sale Price- The net amount due to the Seller, i.e. the Sale Price of the lot sold, after deduction of the Sales Commission, at the previously agreed rate, minus the Expenses and any amounts owed by the Seller to ARTBID, on any account.
14) Original Work of Art - Corresponds, under the terms of article 54, no. 2, of the Authors' Rights and Ancillary Rights Code, to works of graphic or plastic art, such as pictures, collages, paintings, drawings, engravings, prints, lithographs, sculptures, tapestries, ceramics, glassware and photographs, provided they are made by the artist himself or are copies considered to be original works of art, and should be numbered, signed or in any other manner authorised by him.
Article 2 (Photographs of Objects)
It is possible that the photographic images of objects may not clearly show their true condition. Visualisation of images on ARTBID's website does not dispense with the need for direct physical observation of the objects represented therein, in order to check the conformity between the item reproduced in the photograph and the original object and its specific characteristics.
Article 3 - (ARTBID's activity)
ARTBID acts in the sale in its capacity as the Seller's representative and may not therefore be held liable by the Buyers or Sellers for any fault or omission.
Article 4 - (ARTBID's Opinions)
a) Any cataloguing, representation or declaration made by ARTBID in the descriptions of the objects, whether in its website or in any publication, in relation to the authorship, attribution, genuineness, origin, date, age, source, state, evaluation value or sales price estimates, should be understood as a mere statement of opinion.
b) Any interested person should solely act in accordance with his own valuation appraisals, in relation to the aforementioned matters and neither ARTBID nor its managers, employees or consultants are responsible for the correctness of such valuation appraisals.
Article 5 - (Communications)
ARTBID's communications addressed to Sellers, owners, eventual bidders or Buyers will be made by e-mail, telephone or post. If sent by registered post they will be considered to have been received up to 48 hours after dispatch.
Article 6 - (Personal Data)
a) The Buyers or Sellers grant their informed consent for processing of their personal data, under the terms of Law 67/98, of 26 October, wherein such processing will be carried out within the framework of the exemption authorisation no. 1/99.
b) The Buyers' or Sellers' personal data will be collected and processed for the purposes of processing the contract obligations of ARTBID, together with sending information concerning sales, auctions and/or other events organised by ARTBID and for sending the latter's promotional information.
c) The Buyers or Sellers will be entitled to access their personal data and obtain information about it.
d) In order to gain access to their personal data and request any alteration, rectification or elimination thereof, the Buyers or Sellers may do so by sending an email, or letter to ARTBID's address, or via the website, www.artbid.pt, in My Artbid.
B - BUYER'S AGREEMENT
Article 7 (Registration)
In order to be able to bid, the potential Buyer, who must be of legal age, shall register in advance an the website, www.artbid.pt, and must state his name, address, taxpayer number, email address and telephone number, and at the end of the registration must state his acceptance of these Contractual Terms and Conditions.
Article 8 (Buyer)
a) ARTBID considers that the Buyer is the person who bids and purchases the object at the highest price, notwithstanding the possibility that the authorities may exercise a preference or option, in accordance with applicable legislation.
b) ARTBID considers that anyone who registers as a potential buyer, acts in his own right, and can only act on behalf of third parties subject to prior submission of a power of attorney that is legally valid for this purpose
c) ARTBID reserves the right, at the time of registration or subsequently, to request that the potential Buyer submit an original or copy of a valid identification document.
d) ARTBID reserves the right to refuse a registration or ignore any bid from anyone who has not promptly complied with his obligations, including payment and withdrawal of one or more objects in previous auctions.
Article 9 (Online Bid)
a) Online bids are only accepted via the website www.artbid.pt, wherein the bidder and potential Buyer must register pursuant to Article 7 of these Contractual Terms and Conditions.
b) Neither ARTBID nor its managers or employees may be held liable for errors or failure in execution of the online bids.
c) The bidder and potential Buyer accepts that their online bids in ARTBID's website are final and cannot be cancelled or revoked by any means. ARTBID is not liable for any mistakes or errors that occur in the online bid made by the bidder or potential Buyer.
d) ARTBID reserves the right to recommence any bidding process or auction for any lot, if it considers that it is appropriate and reasonable to do so.
e) Whenever bids are presented for a lot during the last 3 minutes before the closing time of the auction, 3 more minutes will be added to the closing time for this lot and so on successively. The auction will only terminate when no-one else makes a bid.
Article 10 - (Bid Increases)
a) Increases to the bids are established by ARTBID, in accordance with the following bid increase table:
From To Bid Increases
€ 1 € 10 € 1
€ 10 € 100 € 5
€ 100 € 200 € 10
€ 200 € 500 € 20
€ 500 € 1.000 € 50
€ 1.000 € 2.000 € 100
€ 2.000 € 5.000 € 200
€ 5.000 € 10.000 € 500
€ 10.000 € 20.000 € 1.000
€ 20.000 € 50.000 € 2.000
€ 50.000 € 100.000 € 5.000
€ 100.000 € 200.000 € 10.000
€ 200.000 € 500.000 € 20.000
€ 500.000 > € 500.000 € 50.000
b) Under no circumstances will ARTBID's system bid automatically, in the seller's name, up to the Reserve Price or above this price.
Article 11 - (Maximum bids)
a) Maximum bids registered by the bidders will never be disclosed by ARTBID.
b) Registered maximum bids are managed by ARTBID's website, which means that the price of the lot will be increased automatically, provided that other bid(s) or maximum bid(s) have been placed later.
c) Bidders who place maximum bids, will be bidding the Base Price of the bid (if there are not yet any bids) or the following bid price designated in the lot, wherein the value of this bid shall be constrained by the other price(s) of any previously recorded maximum bids.
Article 12 - (Purchase Commission)
1 - The Buyer will pay ARTBID a Purchase Commission of 15% (plus VAT) or 20% (plus VAT), for lots purchased via www.liveauctioneers.com and www.invaluable.com.
2 - The Purchase Commission will be levied on the Sale Price of the objects sold.
Article 13 - (Payment)
a) The Buyer shall pay ARTBID the Total Amount Due, immediately after completion of the auction.
b) If, within a maximum of 5 (five) working days counted from the auction date, the payment specified in the previous paragraph has not been made, ARTBID reserves the right to re-sell the object(s) that haven't been paid by the Buyer, in an auction or by other menas, without the Buyer being able to oppose this, or claim any compensation.
c) Payment may be made in Cash, via ATM, Bank Transfer or Cheque. The object(s) will only be made available to the Buyer after confirmation of correct collection of the respective payment.
d) Until effective transfer of ownership, in accordance with the terms of the previous point, the objects remain the property of Seller.
Article 14 - (Transfer of Ownership of the Purchased Objects)
a) Ownership of the auctioned and purchased objects will not be transferred to the Buyer until full payment of the Total Amount Due.
b) Any loss or damage, including theft or robbery, relating to the purchased objects, only entitles the Buyer to receive an amount equal to that paid for the object up until that time, and he shall not be entitled to any compensation, damages or interest.
Article 15 - (Withdrawal of the Purchased Objects)
a) The Buyer shall withdraw the Purchased Objects, within a maximum of 8 (eight) working days counted from the auction date.
b) If the Purchased Objects are not withdrawn within the deadline stipulated in the previous number, the Buyer will be responsible, from this date onwards, for all expenses related to packaging, handling, transport, storage and insurance of the items, under the terms of the prevailing price list.
Article 16 - (Buyer's Liability for the Purchased Objects)
a) After withdrawal of the lots, or after expiry of the deadline specified in the previous Article, paragraph a), the Buyer will be responsible for losses, damages or miscarriage of the objects that he has purchased.
b) ARTBID and its managers, employees or consultants, from any of the moments of time specified in the previous point, cannot be held responsible for any losses or damages of any nature, relating to the Purchased Objects.
Article 17 - (Non-Payment or Non-Withdrawal of the Purchased Objects)
If any object has not been paid for in full and withdrawn under the deadlines and in accordance with the terms and conditions established in Articles 13 and 15, or if there is non-compliance with either or both of the aforementioned provisions, ARTBID, in its capacity as the Seller's representative, may, without prejudice to any other rights to which it is entitled, adopt one or more of the following courses of action:
a) Initiate legal proceedings against the Buyer in order to be compensated for losses deriving from non-compliance.
b) Charge late payment interest at the prevailing legal rate on the Total Amount Due until full receipt thereof.
c) Resell the objects in question.
d) Withhold one or all objects sold to the Buyer in the auction in question, or in another auction.
e) Reject or ignore any bid presented by the non-complying Buyer or by another person acting in his name in any subsequent auction.
f) Take any steps that are deemed to be appropriate, at any time, in order to receive full payment of the Total Amount Due from the Buyer.
Article 18 - (Rights to Photographs and Publications after the Sale)
The Buyer grants to ARTBID the right to use texts, photographs, illustrations and descriptions at any time after the auction is held.
Article 19 - (State and Authenticity of the Objects)
a) The objects sold in the auction are sold in the state in which they are found - possibly with defects, imperfections and any descriptive errors or omissions. In the case of objects whose constitution includes mechanisms and whenever the description of objects does not expressly mention "mechanism in full working order", these objects may need repair.
b) The photographs of the objects are solely intended for identification of these items, that have been put up for sale.
c) The Buyers accept the objects in the state in which they were found prior to the auction, and will freely judge whether or not they correspond to the description that has been supplied. For a better appreciation of the objects put up for sale, ARTBID advises potential Buyers to observe the objects in person, prior to bidding for them. For this purpose, they may travel to ARTBID's head office, on any working day, during office hours.
d) Neither ARTBID nor its managers, employees or consultants may be held liable for any errors related to the description, genuineness or authenticity of any good, given that no guarantee is provided by ARTBID, or by its managers, employees or consultants.
e) In the event that any object is demonstrated to constitute a Deliberate Fake, the Buyer may return it to ARTBID, within a maximum of 1 (one) year counted from the purchase date, wherein it should be returned in the same state in which the object was found at the auction date, accompanied by a report, certified by an entity of recognized prestige and credibility, specifying the defects and falsifications of the object, its number and the date of the auction in which it was purchased, wherein, however, the Buyer will not be entitled to any compensation, indemnity payment or interest.
f) If ARTBID considers that an item constitutes a Deliberate Fake and the Buyer is still the owner of the purchased item, the sale and purchase will be considered to be null and void and the amount of the price will be returned, without the Seller being entitled to present any opposition thereof.
g) The Buyer's rights foreseen in this clause are restricted to the amount of the price paid, and the Buyer cannot claim any loss, injury or damage suffered or expense incurred.
h) The beneficiary of the regime foreseen in this clause will be exclusively the original Buyer i.e. the person who acquired the item in the auction or purchase, identified by the invoice issued by ARTBID.
i) ARTBID shall not be held liable before the Buyer for any object that, for reasons attributable to the Seller or to a third party, is subject to complaints or claims by third parties, including definitive or provisional seizure by the competent authorities, regardless of the date on which the respective complaint, claim or seizure has been decreed, or the amount of any harm, losses or damages that may arise to the Buyer thereof, which the Buyer must claim directly from the Seller or third party that has caused the situation.
C - SELLER'S AGREEMENT
Article 20 - (Guarantee of Ownership and Availability of the Item)
a) The items sold in an auction, or by any other means, are specified in a contract signed between the Seller and ARTBID.
b) The contract must obligatorily include: full identification of the Seller or his representative, if appropriate; Identification and description of the object; the sales estimates and Reserve Price or Base Price;
c) The commission payable by the Seller to ARTBID and the value of any other expenses that may be payable by the Seller, including packaging, transportation, restoration and cleaning of the items, certificates, amongst other previously agreed expenses.
d) The Seller undertakes to inform ARTBID concerning the respective ownership of the object, in particular on what basis it was acquired and the respective source, wherein ARTBID reserves the right to request the presentation of documents confirming ownership of the objects.
e) The Seller guarantees to ARTBID and to the Buyer that it is the legitimate owner of the objects or is legally authorised by the owner to sell the items in question, and that they are free from any liens, charges and restrictions, in particular concerning detention, use, enjoyment or transmissibility, including classification, inventorying or creation of a lien by any official authority or the start of a procedure with this goal in mind, and in any case, the express duty to inform ARTBID concerning any inventorying or creation of a lien on the objects by the official authorities.
f) If during the validity period of the contract, the Seller is notified or becomes aware of the beginning of a procedure aimed at classification, inventorying or creation of a lien on the objects, or if any third party claim any rights thereof, the Seller must immediately inform ARTBID.
g) The Seller assumes the obligation to indemnify ARTBID, its managers or employees, as well as the Buyer, for any damages or losses that they incur as a result of non-compliance with any of the provisions specified in the previous points.
Article 21 - (Base Price or Reserve Price)
a) The Seller and ARTBID, on the date of signature of the contract for consignation of sale via auction, will agree upon a Base Price or Reserve Price, thus setting the minimum price below which the object(s) in question may not be sold. In the event that the Seller accepts to put the object(s) up for auction without a Base Price or Reserve Price, this implies that the object(s) may be sold below the minimum estimate, for the best price offered.
b) The Seller undertakes not to withdraw the items put up for sale in auction, or via another means, from the date of signature of the respective contract.
Article 22 - (Sale Commission and other costs)
1 - The Seller will pay ARTBID a Sale Commission according to the Special Regime of the Sale of Objects in Auction:
Art and Antiques Auctions - 17%, plus VAT at the prevailing statutory rate
Books, Manuscripts, Toys and Wine Auctions - 25%, plus VAT at the prevailing statutory rate
2 - The Sale Commission will be levied on the Sale Price of the objects sold.
3 - Photography costs: 1,00 € per lot (plus VAT)
Article 23 - (Deduction of Sales Commissions and Expenses)
The Seller authorises ARTBID to deduct from the sale price the amount of the Sales Commission owed to the latter, at the previously agreed Applicable Rate, together with other costs, that may also have been agreed.
Article 24 - (Insurance)
a) ARTBID will insure, in the Seller's name, the objects that are held in its possession for sale.
b) ARTBID will bear the costs related to the insurance premium, regardless of the nature of the objects in question.
c) All objects that are insured by ARTBID have a deductible of 10% on their Reserve Price, and the aforementioned deductible will be applied to any indemnity payments to be made.
Article 25 - (Payment of the Net Sale Price to the Seller)
ARTBID will send the Net Sale Price to the Seller up until 10 (ten) working days after the auction date, if the Buyers have already paid the Total Amount Due, in relation to the sold object(s).
Article 26 - (Non-Payment of the Total Amount Due)
If the Buyer fails to pay the Total Amount Due to ARTBID within a maximum of 5 (five) days counted from the date on which the auction was held, ARTBID will ponder and decide, in conjunction with the Seller, the most appropriate conduct to be pursued, under the terms of Article 17, in order to obtain payment from the Buyer.
Article 27 - (Charges Related to Withdrawn Lots prior to the auction)
If a Seller decides to cancel a Sales contract after its signature, ARTBID reserves the right to charge a commission corresponding to 10% of the average between the two evaluation estimates of the withdrawn objects, plus VAT at the prevailing legal rate and any Expenses that have been incurred and may be imputed to the object in question.
Article 28 - (Rights on Photographs)
The Seller grants to ARTBID the right to photograph and use the photos for publication, in any form, in relation to any object held by ARTBID for the purposes of sale, and also use texts, photographs or illustrations of any kind, together with any others that are supplied by the Seller, at its own initiative, at any time, whether or not connected to organisation of the auction.
Article 29 - (Unsold Objects)
The unsold objects will be put up again for auction, successively, within a deadline of at least 15 days, with a Base Price or Reserve Price that will be 30% below the previous Base Price or Reserve Price. Alternatively, subject to payment of any costs that may be due, the objects shall be withdrawn by the Seller or anyone authorized by him for this purpose, within 10 days after the date of the auction, in which the object was not sold.
Article 30 - (Author's rights)
a) If the object sold corresponds to an Original Work of Art that is not a work of architecture or applied art, the author of the work, other than the Seller, shall be entitled, pursuant to article 54, no. 1, of the Author's Rights Code, to a share of the price obtained in the sale, that is exempt from tax.
b) Under the terms of article 54, no. 7 of the Author's Rights Code, the Seller of the Original Work of Art shall be liable for payment of the share specified in this clause, and the latter undertakes to deliver the respective amount to the author.
c) In the event that the author of the Original Work of Art, or the Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores, contact ARTBID in order to receive payment of the share specified in this clause, ARTBID shall provide information concerning the Seller's contact details and the terms under which the sale was processed, in order to enable the author to exercise his legal right before the Seller.
d) The share specified in no. 1 shall, in accordance with art. 54, no. 4 of the Author's Rights Code, be set as follows, and may never exceed € 12,500:
4% on the sale price whose amount lies between €3.000 and €50.000;
3% on the sale price whose amount lies between €50.000,01 and €200.000
1% on the sale price whose amount lies between €200.000,01 and €350.000
0,5% on the sale price whose amount lies between €350.000,01 and €500.000
0,25% on the sale price whose amount is higher than €500.000,01
Article 31 - (Jurisdiction)
Lisbon District Court will be responsible for resolving any questions arising from these Contractual Terms and Conditions, with express waiver or any other court.
ART BID OPTION, LDA.
