Terms & Conditions
These Terms and Conditions contain all the terms on which Atting House Limited (hereinafter called “AHL”) and the Seller contracts with the Bidder. These may be amended by means of posted notices on the web site www.attinghouse.com or email notices. By bidding in the auction the bidder agrees to be bound by the Terms and Conditions listed below and on the web site. AHL acts as agent for the Seller. The contract for the sale of the Lot is therefore made directly between the Seller and the Bidder.
DEFINITIONS
The following words and expressions shall, unless the context otherwise states or requires, have the following meanings:
“Artwork” is the piece of art offered for direct sale in the Art Gallery of AHL web site.
“Auction” means the auction or any auction, as specified by AHL to be conducted on the web site.
“Auto Bid” is a way of bidding in the Auction. The bidder enters their maximum value for the Lot; such maximum value shall be kept confidential from other bidders and the Seller. During the auction, Auto Bid shall bid on the bidder’s behalf and shall not place a new bid unless outbid so as to maintain the highest bidder position by one increment. In the event that the maximum auto bid value is yet to be reached and no higher bid is recorded from other bidders, the Auto Bidder shall win the Lot at the Current Highest Bid. In the event that other bidders outbid the Auto Bidder, bids will no longer be placed on the Auto Bidder’s behalf and they will receive an email notifying that they have been outbid. A new Auto Bid can be placed at any time. Please note that Auto Bidders can lower the Auto Bid value if the maximum Auto Bid value has not yet been reached in the auction.
In the event where a bidder has been outbid, but has a Auto Bid value that is below the next valid bid but is higher than the current highest bid, such Auto Bid value will be accepted as the next valid bid. In order to outbid the leading bidder, the next valid bid will be equal to the current highest bid value plus the Bid Increment. The Auto Bid placed shall never exceed the maximum Auto Bid value provided by a bidder.
Please note where a regular bid is placed on a Lot at the same value as a maximum Auto Bid, the Auto Bid will take precedence. Both Auto Bids and regular bids of the same value will be displayed in the Bid History for that Lot, however, the Auto Bid will appear on top and will be ranked as the current highest bidder.
“Batch” means the Lot put in a group for Auction and closing at a particular time as assigned.
“Bid Price” means the highest accepted bid price at the close of the Auction.
“Bidder” is the person who bids during the auction.
“Winning Bidder” is the person who makes the highest bid or offer accepted during the Auction and who has bought the Lot at Auction and paid the Purchase Price thereof.
“Buyer” is the person making a successful direct purchase of artwork from the Art Gallery on AHL website, outside of any auction event.
“Buyer's Premium” is the commission payable by the Winning Bidder on the highest Bid Price at the rates set out below.
“Expenses” are AHL’s charges and expenses, in relation to the sale of any Lot, including packing and shipping of the Lot, insurance premium, catalogue illustration, framing, external expert opinions, marketing, cost of testing, any applicable local sales or other taxes or custom duties or levies and any legal charges or expenses arising from a defaulting Bidder where applicable.
“Seller’s Commission” is the commission payable to AHL by the Seller;
“Lot” means the particular piece of art, group or selection of pieces of art specified as a single lot, appearing and described as such in the relevant catalogue prepared by AHL or on the Web Site in respect of any particular Auction.
“Net Sale Price” is the Bid Price of any Lot sold less Seller’s Commission and Expenses
“Premises” means any office, warehouse or other store, owned, leased or let by AHL or any place where AHL holds its auctions & exhibitions, including the Web Site [www.attinghouse.com].
“Purchase Price” is the Bid Price plus a 10% Buyer's Premium in respect of any Lot.
“Reserve Price” means the minimum price that the Seller has communicated to AHL in writing as being acceptable for the sale of the Lot through Auction.
"Selling Price" is the price at which an artwork is sold on the website.
“Seller’s Commission” is the commission payable to AHL by the Seller
“Seller” means the owner, their agent, executors or personal representatives, consigning the Lot to AHL as its agent for sale through Auction. If there are multiple owners or agents or persons in possession, each shall assume, jointly and severally, all obligations, liabilities, representations, warranties and indemnities as set forth in the Consignment Agreement.
“Technical Downtime” means the time period during which the AHL server is encountering operational malfunction. Arrangements under such Technical Downtime is described below.
“Three-Minute Automatic Auction Extension” means AHL’s bidding system shall extend the scheduled closing time of the auction of any Lot back to three minutes with each and every fresh bid that comes in before the Lot’s final closing time.
“Web Site” means the collection of HTML and/or Internet media located at the URL www.attinghouse.com, and/or any other URL linked to such web site or any other URL owned or controlled or used by AHL.
BEFORE THE SALE
CATALOGUE PURCHASE
The Auction Catalogue may be purchased from AHL by clicking on the link provided on the website or by contacting AHL at (852) 3441 8088.
LOT DETAILS
(a) AHL will include in the Auction Catalogue and on the web site an illustration and written description of each Lot for the sole purpose of assisting the Bidder. It should be noted that such information is partially provided by the Seller and AHL does not conduct comprehensive and detailed investigations. The Bidder is responsible for making their own investigation.
(b) All illustrations and written descriptions of the Lots in the Auction Catalogue and on the web site, or any statement made verbally or in writing elsewhere, are of mere opinion. The Bidder should not rely on such statements as statements of fact. Such statements do not constitute a representation, warranty or assumption of liability by AHL of any kind.
(c) All illustrations and written descriptions of the Lots in Auction Catalogue and on the web site are for identification purposes only. The Bidder may seek an independent expert advice as reference to inspection of any Lot in which the Bidder is interested.
(d) References in the Condition Report on the web site about details of damage or restoration to Lots are solely for guidance and should be evaluated by personal inspection by the Bidder. The absence of such a reference does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, or does a reference to particular defects or restoration imply the absence of any others.
(d) Price estimates should not be relied on as fact of the price at which the Lot will sell or its value for any other purpose. Except as set forth in the Disclaimer, neither AHL nor the Seller is responsible in any way for errors and omissions on the website, in the Auction Catalogue, or any supplement material.
REGISTRATION BEFORE AUCTION
A Bidder must complete the auction registration at AHL web site and provide identification and bank or other financial references and referral information at least 5 days before the Auction. Until all proper documentation is completed and endorsed by AHL, the Bidder shall not be granted access to bid in the auction.
The Bidder is entitled to register two Auction login names, passwords and nicknames under one registered name. The Bidder is allowed to bid with both login names during the same Auction for the same Lot. Such login names shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed to any other third parties. Upon completion of the auction, the Winning Bidder shall receive an invoice from AHL for the purchased Lot regardless of which login name and nickname has been used.
AT THE SALE
REFUSAL OF ADMISSION
AHL shall have sole discretion on refusal of admission to register to bid in the auction.
BID LIMIT
The bid limit is set on the Bid Price and does not include the Buyer's Premium. Bidding access shall be given at the sole discretion of AHL who will set bid limits on the Bidder. If the Bidder is allowed to exceed the bid limits, the Bidder is still responsible for the total Purchase Price. The Bidder will be informed of their individual bid limit and will be unable to bid when their bid limit is exhausted across all Lots in the auction.
BIDDING AS PRINCIPAL
When making a bid, the Bidder is accepting personal liability to pay the Purchase Price, including the Buyer’s Premium and Expenses, unless it has been explicitly agreed in writing with AHL before the commencement of the sale, that the bidder is acting as an agent on behalf of an identified third party acceptable to AHL and that AHL will only look to the Principal for payment of Purchase Price.
BID HISTORY
Bid History for each specific auction shall be recorded. AHL shall evaluate the Bid History of specific lots periodically to preserve the efficacy of the auction process. This exercise may be conducted internally or through reputed third parties solely at the discretion of AHL.
TECHNICAL DOWNTIME
(a) In the event that the Web Site is inaccessible to bidders due to Technical Downtime of the AHL Server or Web Site within half an hour prior to the closing of the Auction for any of the Batch in the Auction, the closing time of that Batch and any subsequent Batch will be extended by the duration of the downtime of the AHL Server.
(b) In case the Technical Downtime of the AHL Server crosses over a closing time for a particular Batch, the Web Site when accessible Post-Technical Downtime will show the Auction for the particular Batch as closed however as in clause (a) above the closing time will be extended and appropriate details will be published on the Web Site shortly after recovery.
THREE MINUTE AUTOMATIC AUCTION EXTENSION
Pre-determined batches of lots will end according to the Batch Closing Schedule unless a bid is recorded within a span of 3 minutes prior to the lot's assigned closing time. In this case, the lot closing time will be extended back to 3 minutes from the time of the last bid. If this time extension takes place, bidding on any lot will only end if there is no further bid recorded for a span of 3 minutes.
WITHDRAWAL OF LOT
AHL reserves the right to withdraw a Lot from the auction before, during or after the bidding, at its sole discretion.
WINNING BID AND PASSING OF RISK
Subject to automatic system functioning of AHL Web Site, the highest bid at the close of the auction with a bid price equal to or higher than the Reserve Price marks the successful sale of the Lot and the acceptance of the highest bidder as the Winning Bidder and the conclusion of a contract for sale between the Seller and the Bidder.
The Winning Bidder carries the risk and responsibility for the Lot immediately upon becoming the Winning Bidder. On receipt of full payment by AHL in good cleared funds on or before the expiration of seven days from the close of the auction, the Lot’s title passes to the Winning Bidder.
AFTER THE SALE
BUYER’S PREMIUM
In addition to the Bid Price, the Winning Bidder agrees to pay to AHL the Buyer’s Premium together with any applicable taxes and charges. The Buyer’s Premium is 10% of the Bid Price on each lot.
PAYMENT AND PASSING OF TITLE
Immediately following the close of auction, the Winning Bidder must pay the full amount due (comprising the Purchase Price, Expenses and any applicable taxes) within seven days of close of the auction. This applies even if the Winning Bidder wishes to export the lot and an export license is required. The Winning Bidder will not acquire title to the Lot until all amounts due to AHL in good cleared funds are received by AHL.
COLLECTION OF PURCHASES
AHL shall be entitled to retain items sold until all amounts due to AHL have been received in full in good cleared funds or until the Winning Bidder has satisfied such other terms as AHL, in its sole discretion, shall require. Subject to this, the Winning Bidder shall collect purchased Lots within seven days from the date of auction unless otherwise agreed between AHL and the Winning Bidder.
PACKING, HANDLING AND SHIPPING
Although AHL shall use reasonable efforts to take care when handling, packing and shipping a purchased Lot, AHL is not responsible for the acts or omissions of third parties that AHL might retain for these purposes. Similarly, where AHL may suggest other handlers, packers or carriers if so required, AHL does not accept responsibility or liability for their acts or omissions.
INSURANCE
AHL will provide insurance on all Lots until 14 days after close of the auction. Lots paid for within seven days after the close of the auction will be prepared for shipment to the Winning Bidders. The Lots will be covered for insurance at AHL’s expense for a period of at most seven days during which time AHL prepares the Lot to be shipped. Insurance for Lots not collected or shipped to the Winning Bidders will be at the expense of the Winning Bidders.
EXPORT LICENSE
Unless otherwise agreed by AHL in writing, the fact that the Winning Bidder wishes to apply for an export license does not affect their obligation to make payment in good clear funds within seven days. AHL reserves the right to charge interest for late payment. storage and demurrage charges, until collection of the Lot. If the Wining Bidder requests AHL to apply for an export license on their behalf, AHL shall be entitled to make a charge for this service.
AHL shall not be obliged to rescind a sale nor to refund any interest or other expenses incurred by the Winning Bidder where the Winning Bidder in circumstances makes payment where an export license is required.
REMEDIES FOR NON PAYMENT
If the Bidder fails to make payment in full and in good cleared funds within seven days, AHL shall be entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights or remedies (in addition to asserting any other rights or remedies available to AHL by law):
(a) to charge interest at such rate as AHL shall reasonably decide;
(b) to hold the defaulting Winning Bidder liable for the total amount due and to commence legal proceedings for its recovery in full, together with interest, legal fees and other costs to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law;
(c) to cancel the sale of the specific Lot;
(d) to resell the Lot publicly or privately on such terms as AHL shall think fit;
(e) to pay the Seller an amount up to the Net Sale Price in respect of the Lot bid by the defaulting Winning Bidder;
(f) to set off against any amounts which AHL may owe the Winning Bidder in any other transactions, the outstanding amount remaining unpaid by the Winning Bidder to AHL;
(g) where several amounts are owed by the Winning Bidder to AHL in respect of different transactions, to apply any amount paid to discharge any amount owed in respect of any particular transaction, whether or not the Winning Bidder so directs;
(h) to reject at any future auction any bids made by or on behalf of the Winning Bidder or to obtain a deposit from the Winning Bidder before accepting any bids;
(i) to exercise all the rights and remedies of a person holding security over any Lot in AHL’s possession owned by the Winning Bidder, whether by way of pledge, security interest or in any other way, to the fullest extent permitted by the law of the place where such Lot is located. The Winning Bidder will be deemed to have granted such security to AHL and AHL may retain such Lot as collateral security for such Winning Bidder’s obligations to AHL.
(j) to take such other action as AHL deem necessary or appropriate.If AHL resells the Lot under paragraph
(k) above, the defaulting Winning Bidder shall be liable for payment of any deficiency between the total amount originally due to AHL and the price obtained upon resale as well as for all costs, expenses, damages, legal fees and commissions and premiums of whatever kind associated with both sales or otherwise arising from the default. If AHL pays any amount to the Seller under paragraph
(l) above, the Winning Bidder acknowledges that AHL shall have all of the rights of the Seller to pursue the Winning Bidder for such amount.
If AHL resells the Lot under paragraph (d) above, the defaulting Winning Bidder shall be liable for payment of any deficiency between the total amount originally due to AHL and the price obtained upon resale as well as for all costs, expenses, damages, legal fees and commissions and premiums of whatever kind associated with both sales or otherwise arising from the default. If AHL pays any amount to the Seller under paragraph (e) above, the Winning Bidder acknowledges that AHL shall have all of the rights of the Seller to pursue the Winning Bidder for such amount.
FAILURE TO COLLECT PURCHASES
Where Lot is not collected within seven days from the date of the sale, whether or not payment has been made, AHL shall have the right to remove the property to a third party warehouse at the Buyer’s expense, and only release the items after payment in full has been made of removal, storage, handling, insurance and any other costs incurred, together with payment of all other amounts due to AHL.
BUYER AND ARTWORK
The terms Buyer and Artwork refer to the same context as Winning Bidder and Lots and are subject to all the terms and conditions applicable as set forth in this document.
LIABILITY AND GUARANTEE
EXTENT OF AHL’S LIABILITY
AHL has an obligation to refund the Winning Bidder with the Purchase Price only in the circumstances covered under the Authentication Guarantee Clause, as set forth below. None of the AHL officers, employees or agents, are responsible for the correctness of any statements as to the authorship, origin, date, age, attributes, description, size, quality, condition, rarity, medium, importance, provenance or genuineness of any Lot. Unless expressly included in the General Authentication Guarantee, neither AHL officers, employees nor agents, in giving any representation, warranty or guarantee shall assume any liability of any kind in respect of any Lot except as required by Hong Kong legislation any warranty of any kind whatsoever is excluded by this paragraph.
GENERAL AUTHENTICATION GUARANTEE
AHL provides a guarantee on behalf of the Seller that the Lot offered for Auction on the web site is an authentic work of the artist listed. If AHL sells an item which is subsequently proved to be not authentic according to the procedures set forth as below, subject to these Terms and Conditions, AHL shall rescind the sale and hold the Seller to be liable to refund the Winning Bidder the amount paid to AHL for the Lot.
The Lot is deemed inauthentic when, to the reasonable satisfaction of AHL, it is proved significantly inconsistent with the description of the Lot as set out in the Auction Catalogue or web site, or is an imitation created to deceive as to authorship, origin, date, age, period, culture or source, or is where the correct description of such matters is not reflected by the description in the Auction Catalogue.
A Lot shall not be considered as inauthentic and this Guarantee shall not apply in the event that:
(a) such above mentioned situations arising only out of any damage and/or restoration and/or modification work of any kind (including repainting or over-painting).
(b) the Auction Catalogue description was in accordance with the generally accepted opinions of scholars and experts at the date of the auction, or the Auction Catalogue description indicated the opposite of such opinions.
(c) the only method of establishing at the date of the auction that the Lot was inauthentic would have been by means of processes not then generally available or accepted, unreasonably expensive or impractical to use; or likely to have caused damage or loss of value to the Lot.
Such Guarantee is provided for a period of one (1) year after the closing date of the relevant auction. The Winning Bidder must act in accordance to initiate the claim for inauthenticity:
(a) Only the actual Winning Bidder (as registered with AHL) can make the claim; the benefit of the claim is not assignable to any subsequent owners or others who may acquire or have an interest in any of the Lot.
(b) The Winning Bidder shall notify AHL in writing within three (3) months of receiving any information that cause the Winning Bidder to claim against the authenticity of the Lot, specifying the Lot number, date of the auction at which it was purchased and the reasons why it is thought to be inauthentic.
(c) To return the Lot to AHL in the same condition as at the date of auction to the Winning Bidder, and be able to transfer good title of the Lot, free from any third party claims arising after the date of the auction.
AHL shall have the rights to waive any of the above mentioned requirements and may require the Winning Bidder to obtain at their own expense the reports of two leading scholars and experts in the field for reference. AHL shall not be bound by any reports or opinions produced therefrom, and reserve the right to seek additional expert advice at the Winning Bidder’s expense.
Once the claim for inauthenticity is established and successfully accepted by AHL, the Wining Bidder shall return the Lot to AHL and the Seller shall be subject to such claim. The Seller shall refund the Winning Bidder the amount paid for the Lot and the Lot shall return to the Seller. AHL shall have the discretion to charge the Seller and the Winning Bidder for any costs arising in handling the claim.
LEGAL AFFAIRS
COPYRIGHTS
AHL shall have the absolute but non-exclusive right to photograph, illustrate, written materials or otherwise produce images of any Lots for all AHL Auction Catalogues and web site. AHL shall have all copyrights in all content, images and materials created for any item and shall have the right to use all such content, images and materials in whatever way it deems appropriate. All trademarks, names, brand names, etc. used in the Auction Catalogues and on the web site are either trademarks or registered trademarks of AHL. Such rights shall remain at all times the property of AHL and shall not be at any third party’s disposal without AHL prior written consent. AHL and the Seller make no representation or warranty that the Winning Bidder of the Lot will acquire any copyright or other reproduction rights in it.
PERSONAL DETAILS AND DATA PROTECTION
If AHL so requests, the Winning Bidder, the Seller and any bidder at auction agrees to provide electronically on the AHL web site during registration or in a form acceptable to AHL, written confirmation of their name, permanent address, recipient address, email address, proof of identity, referral and creditworthiness.
AHL will use any information provided by the bidder or Seller and any further information obtained by AHL relating to the bidder or Seller, for the provision of auction and other art-related services, client administration, marketing and otherwise to manage and operate its business, or as required by law. Some gathering of information about AHL’s bidder or Seller will take place using technical means to identify their preferences and provide a higher quality of service to them.
AHL will generally seek the bidder or Seller’s express consent before gathering any sensitive data, unless otherwise permitted by law. Each of the Seller’s and bidder’s at auction agree that AHL may use any information that they supply to AHL.
By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, each of the Bidders and the Sellers agree to the processing of their personal information and also to the disclosure and transfer of such information to any AHL’s associate companies and to third parties anywhere in the world for the above purposes, including to countries which may not offer equivalent protection of personal information to that offered in Hong Kong. Any of AHL’s Sellers or Bidders can prevent the use of their personal information for marketing purposes at any time by notifying AHL. If the Seller or Bidder would like to access or correct their data, they are advised to login to AHL web site to view and edit personal information previously provided through registration or contact AHL at telephone number (852) 3441 8088 or email info@attinghouse.com .
SEVERABILITY
If any part of these Terms and Conditions is found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that part shall be discounted from these Terms and Conditions and the rest of the conditions shall continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.
LAWS AND JURISDICTION
These Terms and Conditions and all aspects of all matters, transactions or disputes to which they relate or apply are subject to the governance and interpretation of Hong Kong laws. All disputes arising in connection as such relate and apply, and all related parties shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Hong Kong courts. Buyers, Sellers and Bidders agree that AHL shall retain the right to bring proceedings in any court other than the Hong Kong Courts.
These Terms and Conditions shall appear in both English and Chinese language versions. However, in the event of any inconsistency or conflict between the two versions, the English language versions shall prevail.
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