12th WestLicht Photographica Auction

CONDITIONS OF SALE Conditions of Sale for Bidders at WestLicht Auctions (Peter Coeln GMbH) 1) By submitting an absentee or telephone bid, making an on-line bid offer or by personal participation in an action each and every bidder agrees to abide by the following conditions of sale. These conditions also apply to subsequent sales. Where there is a conflict of meaning due to errors of translation, the German text, as printed in the auction catalogue, is binding. Commission bids and personal information of those submitting lots for sale and bidders will be dealt with by WestLicht Auctions in the strictest confidence and will not be passed on to third parties. 2) The auction is public and voluntary and will be conducted in accordance with the regulations set forth in paragraph 288a ff of the Trade Regulations of 1997 and also in accordance with these conditions of sale. The auction will be conducted in our client’s name and for our client’s account. Place of jurisdiction is Vienna. Austrian law is also binding on all foreign bidders. 3) The valuation and expert description of objects will be carried out by the experts of WestLicht Auctions who will take all reasonable care to describe the condition of the lots in the catalogue as accurately as possible. Possible flaws or defects in the objects on offer will normally be noted and the objects will be evaluated according to normal international categories (A,B etc.). The meaning of the categories will be explained in detail in the catalogue. However WestLicht Auctions explicitly draws your attention to the fact that the objects are offered as collector’s items (showcase items) and that the sale of them gives rise to neither warranty nor responsibility for any visible or invisible defects whatsoever. All errors in the catalogue are excepted. WestLicht Auctions also reserves the right to amend any description up to the time of auction. Auctioned items cannot be returned (see also paragraph 12). 4) Viewing of the objects intended for the auction is possible within the period stipulated in the catalogue. If it is not possible for a bidder to view an object in person, we will be happy to forward them a more detailed description of the technical and optical condition. This information may be given by telephone, in writing, or by e-mail. Additional photos can only be sent by e-mail. During both viewing and the auction visitors and bidders should exercise the greatest of care since they will be responsible for any damage caused in full. 5) Written bids may be submitted prior to the start of the auction (by letter, fax, e-mail or an on-line offer through our home-page). Written purchase orders must reach the auctioneer at least 24 hours before the start of the auction and must be clearly legible. In order to be taken into account they must also contain the client’s exact address as well as their highest bid in EURO. The price specified therein will be regarded as the highest hammer price. In the case of a successful bid, all additional charges will be added to the bill. We carry out written bids scrupulously, the highest bid designated therein only being made use of when other offers (written or verbal in the auction rooms) make it necessary to do so in the interest of the bidder. Telephone bids are only possible on lots worth more than EURO 500 exclusive of charges. In the case of telephone bids too, it is necessary that the intention to bid by phone be deposited in writing with the auctioneer at least 24 hours prior to the auction. Telephone bidders will then be called by WestLicht Auctions before bidding starts on the relevant lots. However, there can be no guarantee that a telephone connection can, in fact, be made. After having been legitimated by means of an identification document or credit card, auction-room bidders will be given a bidder number before the auction starts. 6) All prices in the catalogue and in the conditions of sale are in EUROS. These are the start prices and thus also the reserve price. Offers under these prices cannot be taken into account. In addition to the hammer price there are commission charges of 20%. If agreement is reached with us to make payment with a credit card an additional 3% will be charged. The buyer is responsible for the validity of the credit card and for the authorization of the purchase price by the credit card company. 7) The lots will be auctioned in numerical order as listed in the catalogue. The German text of the auction catalogue is binding. The auctioneer reserves the right to group numbered lots together during the auction, to separate them, to remove or to change the order as he sees fit. He may refuse an offer and rescind an accepted bid in order to continue bidding. 8) Bids will be in increments of approx. 10% of the starting price. As a rule the start price is the one to be found in the catalogue unless there have been higher, written bids. In this case the auctioneer will call a bid favoring the highest bidder. This will be approx. 10% higher than the written offer made by the second highest bidder. Should there be more than one written, highest bid, the lot will be awarded to the first to arrive. The hammer price is the net purchase price. 9) Ownership of the goods only passes to the buyer after payment in full has been made. When a lot is hammered down, the acquirer is obligated to accept and pay for the lot for which he bid. In no circumstances will the auctioneer accept the return of any lots. Once the hammer has fallen all risk with regard to the article is transferred to the acquirer. However, the lot will only be delivered to the acquirer after full payment of the hammer price including all taxes, fees and charges due. Should agreement be reached to deliver the item before full payment has been made, ownership of the article in question remains vested in the supplier until payment has been made in full. 10) In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, at the end of the auction bidders in the auction rooms must collect and pay for the lots they have acquired. Where payment is to be made by bank transfer, the total purchase price is due immediately together with any bank charges. Invoices for the items acquired either in writing or by telephone will be sent to the highest bidder immediately after the end of the auction. These must be paid within 8 days of receipt, in full and without deduction. Where payment is delayed interest will be due at a rate 5% above the prevailing rate of the Austrian National Bank. Payment may also be made by cash on delivery, money or postal order or banker's check. The acquirer accepts responsibility for all expenses involved in these methods of payment. Costs relating to packing, transport and transport insurance are not included and will be separately detailed on invoices. We would also like to bring to your attention that we only invoice for packaging at cost price and that because of agreements reached with transport companies we can offer favorable transport and insurance rates. Nevertheless, storage and packaging is at the buyer’s own risk. 11) In the case of refusal to accept delivery or late payment, the buyer is liable for all damages and costs arising there from. In either of these cases the auctioneer may require that either the contract be fulfilled or damages resulting from non-fulfillment be paid. The lots may then be auctioned again at the expense of the buyer. In this case the buyer is liable for the reserve price and has no claim on any additional revenue made. 12) Auctioned items cannot be returned. However, any case of obvious misrepresentation (except technical flaws or defects as described in paragraph 3) must be reported immediately after the auction verbally or in writing not more than 14 days thereafter. If the complaint is accepted as valid, the buyer has a right to the re-payment of the purchase price and charges upon simultaneous return of the auctioned object. No other claims will be entertained. 13) After completion of the auction we are entitled to sell any non-auctioned items subject to the normal conditions of business in the name of, and for the account of, the supplier.

In the rare case of two absentee bids being left for the same lot in the same amount, the absentee bid excepted through our website will be considered the earlier and therefore winning bid. Since absentee bids left through eBay can be changed up to one hour before the auction we will always consider them to be the later bid in the case of a tie. This complies with the terms of usage for the eBay Live Auction site.

As the lots are auctioned live, even we don't exactly know when your favourite lot is up for sale - but as we normally hammer 120 lots per hour, you can easily estimate the particular time you should be online to leave your bids. The auction starts at 11 am CET (05:00 am EST 02:00 am PST) and will end at aprox. 6 pm CET (12:00 pm EST 09:00 am PST).

Local Taxes Apply, no tax within EC

Like other auction houses we don't own what we sell, but we sell the lots on behalf of our clients. Our profit is only the additional commission charges from the sellers and the buyers. For you as a buyer the commission charges are 17,5% plus 5% online fee (that's what eBay takes as a commission from us) - that's a total of 22.5%. For lots shipped within the EU you have to pay VAT (20%) on the commission charge of 17,5%. So the complete Buyer Premium for sales within the EU will be 25%.