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Terms and Conditions for Selling at Auction

Commission: 15% per lot sold. Administration charge of £5.00 per lot sold; this covers photography, cataloguing and online promotion. Following an Antiques & Collectors sale, a post sale advice letter will be sent advising the vendor of prices realised. Vendors are requested to telephone the Auctioneers for prices realised for Vintage and Interiors auctions.

Insurance: Your goods will be insured for the agreed lower estimate price whilst they are in our care at the Galleries or in transit with our Carriers.

Reserves: Reserves on articles of particular merit should be shown overleaf where indicated or otherwise communicated to the Auctioneers, in writing, at least 24 hours before the sale. All reserves are subject to 10% discretion ( minimum discretion £20 ). In the absence of formal reserve instructions, the lower estimate value set by our valuers shall act as a reserve. If the lower estimate is less than £20 there is no reserve. Any pre-arranged reserves will be confirmed on the Pre-sale advice note sent to you prior to the sale. Unsold items will be automatically entered into the next auction with the reserve/lower estimate reduced by 20%.

Unsold Items: Unless specific written instructions are received prior to the sale, the Auctioneers may sell unsold items after the sale, at, or within 10% ( minimum £20 ) of the reserve price, if any. For Vintage and Interiors sales, very low value items for which no bid is received may, at the Auctioneers discretion, be disposed of without further reference to the Vendor. Unsold items will be automatically entered into the next auction with the reserve/lower estimate reduced by 20%.

Storage: NO CHARGE is made for items in our care awaiting auction, or for unsold items waiting to be re-offered. Unsold and Withdrawn items to be returned to the vendor will be stored without charge for 10 days, after which storage will be charged at the current rate set by the Auctioneers of £10 per lot per week.

Withdrawn Items: Commission as defined above based on the current lower estimate and all other attendant costs i.e. advertising, photographs etc will be charged, at the Auctioneers discretion, on items withdrawn after they have been received by the Auctioneer’s or have been processed or promoted by the Auctioneers in any way.

Inspection: A representative of the Auctioneers will be pleased to call by appointment, to identify, value and generally advise regarding items that you may wish to sell, without charge or obligation.

Acceptability of Goods: The Auctioneers will accept all classes of antiques, collector’s items and works of art. Modern effects can be accepted for our Vintage and Interiors auctions, when they form part of a house clearance, or at the Auctioneers discretion. The Auctioneers reserve the right to refuse unsuitable items at the door. If in doubt, please ask the Auctioneer for advice before sending consignments.

Delivery: The Auctioneers must be advised before a consignment is dispatched. Transportation can be arranged on your behalf. The carriage charge will be deducted by us from the sale proceeds.

In accordance with the Auctioneers ‘Guarantee’ the Vendor hereby agrees to refund the purchase price plus the Commission and the Buyer’s Premium for any item that subsequently turns out to be ‘fake’, spurious, mis-attributed, with unverifiable provenance or the catalogue description of which is in breach of the ‘Trade Descriptions Act’.

VAT: Articles subject to VAT are sold VAT inclusive, and VAT registered vendors hereby agree to extract the VAT element and pay it to HM Customs and Excise. All charges listed above are also subject to VAT.

Unsolicited items that the Auctioneers consider saleable, will be accepted under the above Terms & Conditions. Any items delivered that the Auctioneers consider unsuitable will be disposed of.

Returnable Items: See Unsold Items and Storage above, will be sold at the Auctioneers discretion, without reserve, by auction or private treaty, to defray all costs and charges as above, if they have not been collected within 3 months of the time stipulated for collection.

Unpaid Lots: The Auctioneers reserve the right to declare any sold item as unsold, if it remains unpaid for 14 days after the sale and was purchased by a person unknown to the Auctioneers. These items will be offered into the next appropriate auction.

Payment: Payment is made by cheque, to the name and address details listed, within 30 days following the sale provided payment has been received from the purchaser(s). Payment to the vendor will be made as soon as all payment for items sold has been received.