View Terms of Sale on the Noonans Web site

Conditions mainly concerning Buyers

1 The buyer
The highest bidder shall be the buyer at the ‘hammer price’ and any dispute shall be settled at the auctioneer’s absolute discretion. Every bidder shall be deemed to act as principal unless there is in force a written acknowledgement by Noonans Mayfair Ltd. (“Noonans”) that he acts as agent on behalf of a named principal. Bids will be executed in the order that they are received.

2 Minimum increment
The auctioneer shall have the right to refuse any bid which does not conform to Noonans’ published bidding increments which may be found at noonans.co.uk and in the bidding form included with the auction catalogue.

3 The premium
The buyer shall pay to Noonans a premium of 24% on the ‘hammer price’ and agrees that Noonans, when acting as agent for the seller, may also receive commission from the seller in accordance with Condition 16.

4 Value Added Tax (VAT)
The buyers’ premium is subject to the current rate of Value Added Tax if the lot is delivered to or collected by the purchaser within the UK.
Lots marked ‘X’ are subject to importation VAT of 5% on the hammer price unless re-exported outside the UK, as per the conditions below.
Buyers who wish to hand carry their lots to export them from the UK will be charged VAT at the prevailing rate and importation VAT (where applicable) and will not be able to claim a VAT refund.
Buyers will only be able to secure a VAT free invoice and/or VAT refund if the goods are exported by Noonans or a pre-approved commercial shipper. Where the buyer instructs a pre-approved commercial shipper, proof of correct export out of the UK must be provided to Noonans by the buyer within 30 days of export and no later than 90 days from the date of the sale. Refunds are subject to a £50 administrative fee.

5. Artist’s Resale Rights (Droit de Suite)
Lots marked ARR in the catalogue indicate lots that may be subject to this royalty payment.
The royalty will be charged to the buyer on the ‘hammer price’ and is in addition to the buyers’ premium. Royalties are charged on a sliding percentage scale as shown below but do not apply to lots where the hammer price is less than 1000 euros. The payment is calculated on the rate of exchange at the European Central Bank on the date of the sale.
All royalty charges are paid in full to The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS).
Portion of the hammer price (Royalty)
From 0 to €50,000 (4%)
From €50,000.01 to €200,000 (3%)
From €200,000.01 to €350,000 (1%)
From €350,000.01 to €500,000 (0.5%)
Exceeding €500,000 (0.25%)

6 Payment
When a lot is sold the buyer shall:
(a) confirm to Noonans his or her name and address and, if so requested, give proof of
identity; and
(b) pay to Noonans the ‘total amount due’ in pounds sterling within five working days of the end of the sale (unless credit terms have been agreed with Noonans before the auction). Please note that we will not accept cash payments in excess of £5,000 (five thousand pounds) in settlement for purchases made at any one auction.

7 Noonans may, at its absolute discretion, agree credit terms with the buyer before an auction under which the buyer will be entitled to take possession of lots purchased up to an agreed amount in value in advance of payment by a determined future date of the ‘total amount due’.

8 Any payments by a buyer to Noonans may be applied by Noonans towards any sums owing from that buyer to Noonans on any account whatever, without regard to any directions of the buyer, his or her agent, whether expressed or implied.

9 Collection of purchases
The ownership of the lot(s) purchased shall not pass to the buyer until he or she has made payment in full to Noonans of the ‘total amount due’ in pounds sterling.

10 (a) The buyer shall at his or her own expense take away the lot(s) purchased not later than 5 working days after the day of the auction but (unless credit terms have been agreed in accordance with Condition 7) not before payment to Noonans of the ‘total amount due’.
(b) The buyer shall be responsible for any removal, storage and insurance charges on any lot not taken away within 5 working days after the day of the auction.
(c) The packing and handling of purchased lots by Noonans staff is undertaken solely as a courtesy to clients and, in the case of fragile articles, will be undertaken only at Noonans’ discretion. In no event will Noonans be liable for damage to glass or frames, regardless of the cause. Bulky lots or sharp implements, etc., may not be suitable for in-house shipping.

11 Buyers’ responsibilities for lots purchased
The buyer will be responsible for loss or damage to lots purchased from the time of collection or the expiry of 5 working days after the day of the auction, whichever is the sooner. Neither Noonans nor its servants or agents shall thereafter be responsible for any loss or damage of any kind, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, while any lot is in its custody or under its control.
Loss and damage warranty cover at the rate of 1.5% will be applied to any lots despatched by Noonans to destinations outside the UK, unless specifically instructed otherwise by the consignee.

12 Remedies for non-payment or failure to collect purchase
If any lot is not paid for in full and taken away in accordance with Conditions 6 and 10, or if there is any other breach of either of those Conditions, Noonans as agent of the seller shall, at its absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights it may have, be entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights and remedies:
(a) to proceed against the buyer for damages for breach of contract.
(b) to rescind the sale of that or any other lots sold to the defaulting buyer at the same or any other auction.
(c) to re-sell the lot or cause it to be re-sold by public auction or private sale and the defaulting buyer shall pay to Noonans any resulting deficiency in the ‘total amount due’ (after deduction of any part payment and addition of re-sale costs) and any surplus shall belong to the seller.
(d) to remove, store and insure the lot at the expense of the defaulting buyer and, in the case of storage, either at Noonans’ premises or elsewhere. (e) to charge interest at a rate not exceeding 2 percent per month on the ‘total amount due’ to the extent it remains unpaid for more than 5 working days after the day of the auction.
(f) to retain that or any other lot sold to the same buyer at the sale or any other auction and release it only after payment of the ‘total amount due’.
(g) to reject or ignore any bids made by or on behalf of the defaulting buyer at any future auctions or obtaining a deposit before accepting any bids in future.
(h) to apply any proceeds of sale then due or at any time thereafter becoming due to the defaulting buyer towards settlement of the ‘total amount due’ and to exercise a lien on any property of the defaulting buyer which is in Noonans’ possession for any purpose.

13 Liability of Noonans and sellers
(a) Goods auctioned are usually of some age.
All goods are sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of description. Illustrations in catalogues are for identification only. Buyers should satisfy themselves prior to the sale as to the condition of each lot and should exercise and rely on their own judgement as to whether the lot accords with its description. Subject to the obligations accepted by Noonans under this Condition, none of the seller, Noonans, its servants or agents is responsible for errors of descriptions or for the genuineness or authenticity of any lot. No warranty whatever is given by Noonans, its servants or agents, or any seller to any buyer in respect of any lot and any express or implied conditions or warranties are hereby excluded.
(b) Any lot which proves to be a ‘deliberate forgery’ may be returned by the buyer to Noonans within 15 days of the date of the auction in the same condition in which it was at the time of the auction, accompanied by a statement of defects, the number of the lot, and the date of the auction at which it was purchased. If Noonans is satisfied that the item is a ‘deliberate forgery’ and that the buyer has and is able to transfer a good and marketable title to the lot free from any third party claims, the sale will be set aside and any amount paid in respect of the lot will be refunded, provided that the buyer shall have no rights under this Condition if:
(i) the description in the catalogue at the date of the sale was in accordance with the then generally accepted opinion of scholars and experts or fairly indicated that there was a conflict of such opinion; or (ii) the only method of establishing at the date ofpublication of the catalogue that the lot was a ‘deliberate forgery’ was by means of scientific processes not generally accepted for use until after publication of the catalogue or a process which was unreasonably expensive or impractical.
(c) A buyer’s claim under this Condition shall be limited to any amount paid in respect of the lot and shall not extend to any loss or damage suffered or expense incurred by him or her.
(d) The benefit of the Condition shall not be assignable and shall rest solely and exclusively in the buyer who, for the purpose of this condition, shall be and only be the person to whom the original invoice is made out by Noonans in respect of the lot sold.