Terms & Conditions
Albion Auctions
Albion Auctions is a trading name of Albion Prints Ltd and trades with these general conditions. This includes any business with Bidders, Buyers, Vendors, consignors, users of this website, and with all those present on the Premises prior to or in connection with an Auction (all as hereinafter defined).
1. Terms used
1.1 The following defined terms are used in these Conditions :
"Auction" means any Auction conducted by Albion Auctions, either at their premises or elsewhere (including any internet-based auctions);
"Auctioneer" means Albion Auctions or its authorised Auctioneer, as appropriate;
"Bidder" means a bidder at an Auction, including bidders personally present at the venue and those bidding by telephone or over the internet or otherwise;
"Buyer" means the bidder whose bid was the last bid when the Auctioneer brings down the hammer;
"Conditions" means these terms and conditions;
"Consigned Property" means the items consigned by the Vendor to Albion Auctions for offer at an Auction;
"Albion Auctions" means Albion Auctions, a subsidiary of Albion prints Ltd
"Hammer Price" means the level of bidding reached (at or above any reserve) when the Auctioneer brings down the hammer; or the lot concludes in a virtual auction being the same as a physical hammer.
"Lot" means any Consigned Property accepted by Albion Auctions for offer at Auction;
"Stated Rate" means Albion Auctions' published rates of commission for the time being.
"Terms of Consignment" means any stipulated terms and rates of commission on which Albion Auctions accepts instructions from Vendors or their agents;
"Total Amount Due" means the Hammer Price in respect of the Lot sold together with any premium, commission, value added tax chargeable and any additional charges payable by a defaulting Buyer under these Conditions;
"Vendor" means the vendor of an item (including Consigned Property) which is submitted to Albion Auctions for offer for sale at an Auction;
"You" means any person with whom Albion Auctions do business with, including any user of the Website.
2. The Vendor
2.1 Albion Auctions shall act as agent of the Vendor only. Any contract for the sale of a Lot will be formed between the Vendor and the Buyer.
2.2 The Vendor warrants and represents to Albion Auctions and the Buyer that the Vendor is the sole and true owner of the Consigned Property or is properly authorised by the sole and true owner to consign it for sale and is able to transfer good and marketable title to the property free from any third party claims. The Vendor shall indemnify Albion Auctions and the Buyer against any loss and expense caused by any breach of this.
2.3 The Vendor shall be entitled to place prior to the Auction a reserve on any Lot, being the minimum Hammer Price at which Lot may be sold. Reserves must be reasonable and Albion Auctions may decline to offer goods which in Albion Auctions' opinion would be subject to an unreasonably high reserve. Reserves will not be accepted on items with a bottom estimate less than £30. The Auctioneer also reserves the right not to accept items which they deem to be unsuitable for Auction. Any estimate given shall be an opinion and is not an undertaking, warranty or representation of any kind and will not have any legal effect.
2.4 A reserve once set cannot be changed except with the written prior consent of Albion Auctions.
2.5 Where a reserve has been placed only Albion Auctions may bid on behalf of the Vendor.
2.6 The Vendor authorises Albion Auctions to deduct commission from any sold items at a rate of 12% (plus VAT).
2.7 Albion Auctions will pay the Hammer Price achieved for the Lot (less the commission and applicable fees in accordance with clause 2.6), to the Vendor on receipt of payment of the Total Amount Due in full by the Buyer.
2.8 The Vendor authorises Albion Auctions in their discretion to negotiate a sale by private treaty in the case of a Lot unsold at Auction, in which case the same charges will be payable as if the Lot had been sold at Auction.
2.9 Albion Auctions holds all items on their premises and in their custody covered against the risks of fire, burglary and water damage.
2.10 The right of Albion Auctions to bid on behalf of the Vendor is expressly reserved. The Vendor acknowledges that Lots are sold subject to the stipulations of these Conditions in their entirety and on the Terms of Consignment as notified to consignors at the time of the entry of the Lot.
2.11 Any items unsold after an Auction will be reoffered in a subsequent Auction at a reduced reserve to be agreed within seven days.
2.12 A charge of 10% (plus VAT) based on the middle estimate - plus any other charges incurred - may be levied for any Lot withdrawn by the Vendor from offer at an Auction. If the item has to be returned by post (or any other method) the Vendor will be responsible for this charge. These charges are to be paid before the item is returned.
2.13 By submitting the item to Albion Auctions for offer at Auction, the Vendor agrees to the Terms of Consignment and authorises Albion Auctions to deduct the specified charges.
2.14 Where lots are consigned from a non EU country import duty will be charged at cost. The onus is therefore on the Vendor to clarify the commodity code with Albion Auctions prior to labeling goods for dispatch. Failure to do this could result in unnecessary duty being imposed for which Albion Auctions will not be liable and the goods will be rejected and returned to sender at the Vendors cost.
3. The Auction
3.1 Any Auction shall be conducted at the absolute discretion of the Auctioneer.
3.2 The Auctioneer shall conduct the Auction with reasonable skill and care. For example, what constitutes a bid shall be at the absolute discretion of the Auctioneer, acting with reasonable skill and care.
3.4 The Auctioneer shall have the right to refuse any bid which does not exceed the previous bid by at least 10% or by such greater proportion as the Auctioneer shall in his or her absolute discretion direct.
3.5 Where two or more bids at the same level are simultaneously received by the Auctioneer, the Auctioneer at his absolute discretion shall determine which bid to prefer. Subject to the foregoing, where two or more bids at the same level are simultaneously received by the Auctioneer, any bid by a Bidder personally present at an Auction shall take preference over any bid submitted by telephone or over the internet. Any bid made or attempted by telephone or over the internet shall be deemed to have been made only if received by the Auctioneer.
3.6 Albion Auctions shall have the right, at its absolute discretion, to refuse admission to its premises or attendance at (or participation in) any Auction by any person.
4. Bidders
4.1 Bidders may be required to register their particulars.
4.2 You accept full liability for all bids submitted via your Albion Auctions/Invaluable account.
Once a bid has been made by a Bidder on our website, the bid can be lowered or increased up until 5 minutes before the auction Lot ends.
Should a bid be placed in error on the website you must contact Albion Auctions immediately with fair notice. Failure to contact Albion Auctions before the auction takes place will result in liability for the full payment of the item.
4.3 Subject to clause 4.2, the highest Bidder at the Hammer Price shall be the Buyer. Any dispute about a bid shall be settled at the Auctioneer's absolute discretion.
4.4 Bidders are deemed to act as principals unless there is a written prior acknowledgement by Albion Auctions that a Bidder is acting as an agent for a named principal.
4.5 Bidders shall be responsible for any decision to bid for a particular Lot and shall be deemed to have carefully inspected or obtained a comprehensive condition report and satisfied themselves as to its condition. Neither Albion Auctions nor its employees or agents shall be responsible for any neglect or default in doing or failing to do so.
5. The Buyer
5.1 Immediately a Lot is sold, the Buyer shall:
(a) give to Albion Auctions their name and address and, if requested proof of identity, and
(b) pay to Albion Auctions the Total Amount Due.
5.2 Albion Auctions may, at its absolute discretion, agree credit terms with the Buyer before an Auction under which the Buyer may be entitled to take possession of Lots up to an agreed value in advance of payment by a stipulated future date of the Total Amount Due.
5.3 Cheques shall not be acceptable by Albion Auctions (unless Albion Auctions in its absolute discretion permits payment by such method) nor are third party references or credit facilities with other Auction houses. If a cheque is tendered Albion Auctions reserves the right to instruct its bank to check the Buyer's status and account balance before exercising any discretion. Any credit arrangement must be settled at least 4 days before the relevant sale. Any permitted payment by credit card shall carry an extra charge to the Buyer of such percentage of the Total Amount Due as is displayed on the premises.
5.4 Any payments by a Buyer to Albion Auctions may be applied by Albion Auctions towards any sums owing from that Buyer to Albion Auctions on any account whatever without regard to any directions of the Buyer or his agent, whether express or implied.
6. The Purchase Price
6.1 The Buyer will pay the Hammer Price and a premium of 20% (plus VAT on the standard premium for lots marked with an*). Value Added Tax is charged at the rate prevailing by law at the date of sale.
7. Title and Collection of Purchases
7.1 The ownership of any Lot purchased shall not pass to the relevant Buyer until they have made payment in full to Albion Auctions of the Total Amount Due.
7.2 Any delivery costs shall be paid in advance by the Buyer.
8. Default by Buyer or Vendor
8.1 As Albion Auctions act as agent for the Vendor, Albion Auctions is not responsible for default by the Vendor or the Buyer.
8.2 If any Lot is not paid for in full and taken away in accordance with these Conditions, or if there is any other breach of these Conditions, Albion Auctions as agent for the Vendor shall at its absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights it may have, be entitled to exercise all or any of the following rights and remedies:
(a) to proceed against the Buyer for an action for debt or damages for breach of contract;
(b) to rescind the sale of that Lot and/or any other Lots sold by Albion Auctions to the defaulting Buyer;
(c) to re-sell the Lot by Auction or private treaty. If a lower Hammer Price is achieved on the re-sale than that achieved on the original sale the defaulting Buyer shall be liable for the difference (after crediting any part payment and adding any re-sale costs). Albion Auctions will account to the Vendor for any surplus achieved on a re-sale, however, it shall only be required to account to the Vendor for any resulting deficiency in the event that it receives payment of such sum in full from the defaulting Buyer.
(d) to remove, store and insure the Lot at the expense of the defaulting Buyer and, in the case of storage, either at Albion Auctions' premises or elsewhere;
(e) to charge interest at a rate not exceeding 1.5% per month on the total amount due to the extent it remains unpaid for more than 2 working days after the sale;
(f) to retain that or any other Lot sold to the defaulting Buyer until that Buyer pays the total amount due;
(g) to reject or ignore bids from the defaulting Buyer at future Auctions or to impose conditions before any such bids shall be accepted;
(h) to apply any proceeds of sale of other Lots due or in future becoming due to the defaulting Buyer towards the settlement of the total amount due and to exercise a lien on any of the Buyer's property in Albion Auctions' possession for any purpose.
9. Deliberate Forgeries
9.1 Subject to clause 9.2, any representation or statement by Albion Auctions (including in any catalogue) as to authorship, genuineness, origin, date, age, provenance, condition or estimated selling price is a statement of opinion only. Detailed condition reports are available on all lots with prior notice. Buyers must satisfy themselves as to all such matters. Neither Albion Auctions or its employees or agents nor the Vendor accept liability for the correctness of such opinions and all conditions and warranties, express, implied or statutory are hereby excluded.
9.2 Any Lot which proves to be a Deliberate Forgery may be returned to Albion Auctions by the Buyer within 21 days of the Auction provided it is in the same condition as when bought, and is accompanied by particulars identifying it from the relevant catalogue description and a written statement of defects. If Albion Auctions is satisfied from the evidence presented that the Lot is a Deliberate Forgery Albion Auctions shall refund the money paid by the Buyer for the Lot (but not the amount of any consequential loss, damages, expenses or interest) provided that (1) if the catalogue description reflected the accepted view of scholars and experts as at the date of sale or (2) the Buyer personally is not able to transfer a good and marketable title to Albion Auctions.
10. Limitations of Liability
10.1 While Albion Auctions endeavours to ensure that the information on the Website is correct, Albion Auctions does not warrant the accuracy and completeness of the material on the Website. Albion Auctions may make changes to the material on the Website, or to the products and prices described in it, at any time without notice. The material on the Website may be out of date, and Albion Auctions makes no commitment to update such material.
10.2 The material on the Website is provided "as is", without any conditions, warranties or other terms of any kind. Accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted by law, Albion Auctions provides you with the Website on the basis that Albion Auctions excludes all representations, warranties, conditions and other terms which, but for this legal notice, might have effect in relation to the Website.
11. General
11.1 These Conditions and any disputes or claims arising out of or in connection with it or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England.
11.2 The parties irrevocably agree that the courts of England have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with the Agreement or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).
12. Shipping
12.1 We offer a worldwide tracked and insured shipping service for a standard rate of £6-£15.00* per parcel.
12.2 *Larger items, as well as those exceeding a value of £5,000 or weighing in excess of 2kg may be subject to additional fees.
