2. The purchaser (“Purchaser”) shall make immediate cash payment in Euro. Public institutions and libraries are granted a payment term of four weeks. Other terms for payment require agreement on a case-by-case basis.
3. At the Auctioneer’s discretion, Objects will normally be offered at an opening price of approximately two thirds of the appraisal value, unless the Seller has set a higher reserve price. Bids at less than half of the appraisal value will not be accepted. Higher bids may be submitted in increments of 5% to 10%, at the Auctioneer’s discretion. The highest bid wins, if no higher bid is submitted before the highest bid has been called out three times. If equal bids are submitted, lots shall be drawn. If a dispute regarding the acceptance of a bid cannot be resolved immediately, the Object shall be offered again.
4. The Auctioneer reserves the right to knock down Objects subject to confirmation, to divide or to combine separate catalogue numbers, to auction Objects in an order which is different from that originally announced and, for good reason, to withdraw an Object. The Auctioneer shall be entitled to refuse bids unless suitable security or references shall have been provided prior to the auction.
5. The Purchaser shall pay a premium of 20% on the hammer price. Statutory value added tax at the reduced rate of currently 7% will be added to the net price. Objects subject to full tax rate of currently 19% are marked with * (regular taxation).
On Objects, which are marked with #, the Purchaser shall pay a premium of 28% on the hammer price including the value added tax without separate statement (margin scheme).
If desired, the issuance of the total invoice under regular taxation can be applied for during registration for the auction.
Purchasers from countries outside the European Union shall be reimbursed for VAT upon submission of proof of export; in the case of shipment by the Auctioneer such proof shall be considered received. Purchasers from member states of the European Union are subject to the national statutory VAT valid in their country unless they are entitled to receive tax-free inner-community deliveries by providing their verifiable VAT identification number.
For works of art (after 1900), the costs resulting from the droit de suite under sec. 26 of the German Copyright Act shall be charged to the Purchaser proportionally at a rate of 2% of the accepted bid.
Invoices issued on the day of auction or soon after remain under revision; errors excepted.
6. The acceptance of a bid shall oblige the Purchaser to accept and pay for the Object concerned. The Purchaser shall be deemed in default two weeks after the invoice date. From the fall of the hammer, possession and risk pass directly to the buyer, while title to the Object shall only be passed to the Purchaser upon full payment. The Purchaser shall collect the Object within a maximum of two weeks from full payment, thereafter the Purchaser shall be deemed in default of acceptance; in this case, the Auctioneer shall be entitled to store the Object with an art shipper and insure it at the Purchaser’s expense. If the Auctioneer is instructed in writing to ship the Object, it will do so at the Purchaser’s expense and, if the Purchaser acts as a business, at the Purchaser’s risk, and arrange for the transport to the Purchaser with commensurate insurance. Objects can be subject to export and import restrictions. It is entirely and solely at the Purchaser’s responsibility to inquire if there are any restrictions or additional export expenses. Any costs for export or import are at the Purchaser’s expense. Framed Objects usually are sent unframed. Great quantities and bulky items are to be collected. Upon written request we instruct a shipping company to effect packing and forwarding of such items. All shipments should be unpacked and checked on delivery regarding damages caused during the transport and any discrepancies notified to the Auctioneer immediately. The shipment shall be made after receipt of all amounts due from the Buyer. Delivery shall be made upon full payment.
7. All costs of money transfer are at buyer’s expense. The purchase price (hammer price; premium; VAT) shall be subject to default interest at the rate of 1% per month. For payments in foreign currency and losses due to exchange rate fluctuations and bank charges shall be borne by the Purchaser. In case of default, the Auctioneer may either demand specific performance of the contract of sale or withdraw from the contract of sale after an adequate grace period has elapsed. In the latter case, the Auctioneer may either demand indemnification for non performance equivalent to the amount of the bid (seller’s commission plus surcharge) or put the Object up for auction again and charge the Purchaser for any resulting loss whereby the Purchaser shall not be entitled to a share in any resulting profit nor be entitled to bid in such second auction.
8. All Objects put up for the auction may be viewed and examined at the stipulated times prior to the auction. Such Objects are, without exception, used and their condition is commensurate with their age, usage and provenance although this condition is not always mentioned in the catalogue. The actual condition of the Objects when the hammer falls – including paper discoloration, missing pages, the lack of original binding or closings as well as notes from prior owners or similar (signatures, ex libris, stamps) – shall be deemed part of the agreed specifications of the Objects.
The catalogue descriptions – in German and/or English – shall be provided to the best knowledge of the Auctioneer but shall serve exclusively for information and description of the Objects. They shall not be deemed part of the agreed specifications of the Objects, even if the Objects are highlighted in the catalogue or are advertised outside of the catalogue. However, all catalogue particulars concerning the authorship, the signature, the technique and the specifically emphasized completeness of the Object at issue (“collated”) shall be deemed part of the agreed specifications of the Objects. The Auctioneer in any event shall not be deemed to have given any particular guarantees in this regard which would result in additional Purchaser’s rights, nor shall the fact that certain specifications shall be deemed part of the agreed specifications of the Objects lead to liability on the part of the Auctioneer which is stricter than that foreseen by law. The regulations for the purchase of consumer goods of the German law (§474 BGB) do not apply.
9. Claims should be registered within three days of receipt of Objects, at latest within five weeks after the sale. If, before expiry of the period of limitation – which shall be one year from the date of delivery, except in cases of the intentional violation of the law – the Purchaser proves the incorrectness of any catalogue particulars provided by the Auctioneer which are part of the agreed specifications of the Objects as stipulated in Clause 8, the Purchaser shall be reimbursed for the full purchase price upon demand. The Purchaser’s claims for damages (including disbursements) based on warranty including material defects or defects in title, loss of or damage to the Objects as well as other legal grounds shall be excluded except where the Auctioneer acted intentionally or with gross negligence or violated essential contractual obligations. The liability for damage to life, body or health shall remain unaffected. Liability for unforeseen or remote damages shall in any event be excluded.
10. On presentation of a valid ID-card, bidders obtain a bidder number for the participation in the auction. Legal persons and partnerships need to present a certificate of the entrepreneurial status. New customers have to register in written form at least 48 hours prior to the auction. The Auctioneer reserves the right to give his approval to the bidder’s registration.
Bids can be submitted either personally in the auction room or in absentia. The Auctioneer will accept written bids at no cost. Bids by telephone, telegraph, fax and e-mail as well as registrations via internet require written confirmation at least 48 hours prior to the auction.
The participation in the auction via internet requires the bidder’s registration on the website and the subsequent activation by the Auctioneer. Prior to the auction, written bids can be submitted via the website. During the auction, the bidder can participate in the auction in real-time (live-bidding). After the auction, the post-auction sale will be activated for the bidders. Bids from participation in live-bidding via internet are treated like personal bids in the auction room. For every auction, participation in live-bidding necessitates a new registration with ID-card. Online transmitted bids shall be recorded and saved electronically. The bidder is obliged to keep confidential the password of his internet access at Reiss & Sohn. The Auctioneer is not liable for abusive usage of access data.
The Auctioneer assumes no liability for the processing of bids made in absentia, including live-bids via the internet. In particular, the Auctioneer shall not be liable for establishing and/or maintaining telecommunication connections or for errors in communication or transfer, except in cases of intent or gross negligence. In the event of written absentee bids, the bidder instructs the Auctioneer to bid on his behalf. In the event of telephone bids, a telephonist present in the auction room is authorised to submit bids on instruction of the telephone bidder.
The post-auction sale is considered as a part of the auction itself in which the bidder gives Reiss & Sohn the order in writing or by telephone with an assigned value. The legal provisions concerning distance selling (§§ 312 b – d BGB) shall not apply.
11. Place of performance and place of jurisdiction – to the extent these may be chosen by the parties under the relevant statutory requirements – shall be Königstein i.T., Germany. Only German law shall apply; the German law for the protection of cultural goods applies; the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) shall not apply.
12. These Terms of Auction shall also be valid for the post-auction sale of Objects which were not sold in the auction.
13. Should one of these provisions be or become completely or partially invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.
14. These Terms of Auction are available in a German and an English version. In the event of any inconsistency, the German version shall control, in particular with regard to the interpretation of statutory terms and catalogue particulars.
The Auctioneer:
Reiss & Sohn
Buch- und Kunstantiquariat · Auktionen e.K.
Inhaber: Clemens Reiß