Live bidding may start higher or lower
Buyer's Premium
£1 - 175,000:25.0%
£175,001 - 2,000,000:20.0%
£2,000,001+:12.5%
Conditions of Sale
Sale Terms
The sale is conducted by:
Rob Michiels Auctions
AARM bvba
Address: Genthof 9, 8000 Brugge, Belgium
VAT: BE 0568.546.989
Tel.: +32(0) 50 343603
E-mail: info@rm-auctions.com
Sales are conducted by auction according to the Belgian law.
Payments for lots purchased are expected within 5 working days after the last day of auction.
According to Belgian anti-money laundering laws, amounts from €3.000 can only be paid by means of bank transfer or card payment.
Bidding increments are:
0-100 Euro: + 10 Euro
100-500 Euro: + 20 Euro
500-1000 Euro: + 50 Euro
1000-2000 Euro: + 100 Euro
2000-5000 Euro: + 200 Euro
5000-20000 Euro: + 500 Euro
20000-100000 Euro: + 2000 Euro
+ 100000 Euro: + 5000 Euro
Because of the use of online bidding software it is not possible to change this. If a written commission bid does not comply with these increments, it will be rounded to the nearest bid amount. This means that, for example, a bid of 1240 Euro will be rounded down to 1200 Euro and a bid of 1250 Euro will be rounded up tot 1300 Euro.
Sales commission is 25%. For bids received through one of our partners (for example Invaluable, Le Figaro, Lot-Tissimo, The-Saleroom, …) this is 28%.
Goods are sold "as is" at the moment of adjudication.
All statements made by the auctioneer be it in writing, digitally or be it orally, are not to be relied on as statements of fact. They are only an opinion, given to the best of our knowledge and are for guidance only. The buyer is due to verify the condition of the goods by personal inspection. On request every opportunity will be provided to conduct additional expertise as long as the goods are not damaged. As a result, after the adjudication no complaint will be accepted.
If a viewer damages a good during the viewing days, he is obliged to inform us. A case will be opened and this person's insurance will have to reimburse the owner. The amount to be reimbursed is the high estimate + 25%.
After adjudication the buyer is responsible for his/her purchases. During the auction goods can not be collected.
Every buyer needs to provide identification. A bidding number can be acquired during the viewing days and before the auction. During the auction this is also possible through the front desk. However, we strongly advise acquisition of said number before the auction. Identification measures are a copy of your passport or identity document and a transcription of your personal contact details.
Each person is assumed to bid on his own account. Bids are binding contracts. In default of payment, liability to another person will not be accepted.
Any dispute occurring during the auction can only be resolved by the acting bailiff/notary. His or her decision is definite and irrevocable.
The international rules on copyright law (droit de suite) obliges us to require an extra premium on the hammer price of original works of art made by still living artists, or within seventy years after his or her decease. The premium is required only on hammer prices from €2.000. The amounts required are:
4% on the total sum up to € 50.000
3% on the amount from € 50000,01 up to € 200000
1% on the amount from € 200000,01 up to € 350000
0.5% on the amount from € 350.000,01 up to € 500000
0.25% on the amount from € 500000
The maximum amount of the right should not exceed € 12500.
Collection of purchases is only possible after the auctioneer has received full payment. Collection dates will be announced individually per auction and are also available on request. It is the buyer's duty to inquire about collection options. Goods not collected during the pre-arranged collection periods, will be subject to a storage fee of 1,5 Euro per day per lot number, even if the payment is completed in full, unless other arrangements have been made to our satisfaction.
We accept payments by means of:
Cash (under €3.000)
Bank transfer of the full amount, indicating the invoice number in the commentary section. Fees should be handled by the sender, on this account:
IBAN: BE48001746875727
BIC: GEBABEBB
Bank: BNP Paribas Fortis
Card payment through our terminal: Maestro payments (free of charge), Visa/Mastercard: +2,5% (both for debit and credit cards)
We can also arrange shipping for your purchases. The cost for this service will be specified after reception of your full payment. We can give you a non-binding pre-sale estimate on simple request. The order of packing/shipping is the same as the payment reception order. We work with several different companies for this: Belgian Post Office, TNT, DHL and Fedex. When choosing for Fedex or DHL, we will only charge for packing. Clients are responsible for arranging and paying for pick-up and shipping costs directly to the courrier service.
Both foreign and national buyers who can't be present during the auction, can bid by telephone or bid live online through one of our partners. As we can not guarantee the proper functioning of available communication channels, we strongly suggest to also send in a back-up bid, or book a telephone line and arrange for online bidding simultaneously.
Foreign buyers will need to identify themselves in full at least two days before the auction. If necessary, a bank guarantee will be requested which will serve as a guarantee in case of non-payment.
The auctioneer can not be held responsible in case of disfunctioning of the available communication channels and any consequences related to this, nor from unavailability on the bidders' side.
Dealers are required to identify themselves as such and disclose their business details when bidding or requesting a bid number.
In case of non-payment the lots will be put up for sale in another sale. The non-paying bidder will be obliged to reimburse the difference in case of a lower hammer price, according to Belgian law. He will not have any claims over the possible difference above the original hammer price.. He will also need to cover all costs related to the re-offering.
Every buyer is supposed to know and comply with the import regulations of his or her country of destination. The auction house can not be held responsable for any problems arising with the export of certain goods, be they legal or illegal in any country.
By taking part in our sales any person agrees to these condition, be it directly through us or through one of our partners (The-Saleroom, Invaluable, LiveAuctioneers, ...)
Every participant to our sales is supposed to be aware of and compy with these conditions.
Any arising dispute shall only be governed by the Belgian law and only the justice court in Bruges, Belgium, can deal with these disputes.
(this is a copy of our original terms and conditions of which the original form is available on our website. Should there be any difference between these terms and the ones on our website, the terms and conditions on our website will always precede the ones shown on invaluable.com)
Shipping Terms
Sotheby's has partnered with Connoisseur International Fine Art, a Fine Art Shipper, to ensure that your purchases are packed professionally and then shipped to you safely, securely and insured, via the global Federal Express network or via Interlink for UK shipments. We have worked with these companies for a number of years to provide the shipping service for our traditional auctions, and they deliver an excellent level of service at a very reasonable price. To assist you in understanding the potential cost of shipping to your address, we have provided a simple shipping cost calculator, which can be accessed via http://shipcal.bycapp.com/ To use the calculator you will need three pieces of information: the Lot Number; the country to which the item will be shipped; and your anticipated bid (the hammer price).
The final hammer price influences the exact cost of shipping, as the cost of insurance and the shipping service we use are directly related to the value of the shipment. Purchases of £3800 or below (including buyer's premium and any applicable VAT and Sales Tax) will be shipped using an economy service, whereas purchases of greater value will be despatched on a priority service as a requirement of the insurance cover provided. Consequently you may use the calculator to establish in advance of bidding the likely range of shipping prices that you would incur if you are the successful bidder for a particular lot - for example you may wish to input your maximum bid in order to understand the maximum shipping price for the item, but you may also wish to input the bid at which you hope to secure the lot, particularly if it is £3800 or below where the economy shipping service would be used. The Shipping Cost Calculator can be accessed via http://shipcal.bycapp.com/
Soon after the closure of the sale, you will receive your invoice along with a firm quote for the insured shipping service to the address you provided at registration; this paperwork will show the costs of shipping and insurance itemised separately, and will include details of the key insurance terms. You will need to sign the quote and return it together with your payment to Sotheby's Post Sale Services, following which your items will be despatched.
We are unable to offer shipping via this method to every destination. If your destination country is not listed in the drop-down menu on our shipping calculator, please contact Sotheby's (contact information is on the calculator page) and provide details of the lot number, the address to which you wish to ship together with your maximum bid (to which we will add the appropriate buyer's premium to establish the actual shipment value). In most cases, we will be able to offer a shipping solution and we will provide you with a pre-sale quote based on the actual shipment value; any difference in the final sale price will affect the final shipping price that will be charged. As we will need to liaise with one or more shipping vendors, depending on the destination, requests for such pre-sale quotes need to be submitted no later than 72 hours prior to the scheduled sale-end. Finally, some items cannot be shipped to certain destinations at all (for example items of Iranian origin to the GCC States) and, whilst the shipping calculator may provide a price for the shipment, the notes field will populate with an explanation of the restriction that applies. The inability to ship to a destination so excluded will not justify the cancellation of a sale, and you should refer to the full terms and conditions for buyers (online sales).
Information regarding collection of purchases from Sotheby's warehouse, and the storage charges that will accrue for any purchased items not cleared within 30 days of sale closure, will be found on your invoice.
