(1) St. James’s Auctions Limited [the Company] acts as agent for the seller.
Sales made by the Company at public auction are sales made on behalf of
the seller.
(2) The buyer of any lot will be the highest bidder. In the event of any dispute,
the auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to settle the dispute as he thinks
best; this may mean re-offering the lot for sale.
(3) The auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to divide any lot, combine
two or more lots or withdraw any lot or lots without giving any reason. In the
case of a dispute, he may re-offer a lot for sale. The auctioneer also has the
right to refuse any bid or bids without giving a reason.
(4) The Company and auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to refuse
admission to their premises or attendance at their auction of any person
they deem unsuitable, without giving any reason for, or prior notice of, their
action.
(5) The minimum increment between bids will normally be 5%. The
auctioneer has the right to refuse any bid which is not in line with this
increase. He also has absolute discretion to vary this increment as he sees fit.
(6) All lots are subject to a Buyer’s Premium of 20.00%, exclusive of VAT,
(24%) inclusive of VAT if the buyer is resident in the UK). The symbol ‘G’
appearing next to a lot indicates the item is ‘Investment Gold’ and therefore
a VAT-registered trader can submit a claim to HM Revenue and Customs to
recover the VAT element of the Buyer’s Premium. In the case of a lot marked
with a dagger (†), import VAT at 5% will be added to the hammer price and
will be payable by the buyer if resident in the UK. If the lot is being exported
outside the UK, this import VAT can be waived or refunded on proof of
export. All lots bought via the bidding platform Auction Mobility are subject
to an additional charge of 1.25%, exclusive of VAT, (1.5% inclusive of VAT if
the buyer is resident in the UK)
(7) Each bidder shall be deemed to act as principal unless the Company
acknowledges in writing prior to the auction that he acts as agent for a
named third-party principal. For bidders unable to attend the auction in
person, commissions will be executed free-of-charge. Such bids must be
written and must be received at least 24 hours before the sale begins. The
Company cannot guarantee to execute bids received less than 24 hours
before the sale. ‘Buy’ bids will not be accepted. The Company shall not be
liable for any errors or omissions in executing such commissions.
(8) All buyers must, if requested, notify their name and address to the
auctioneer and, if required, provide additional proof of identification, bank
references or other credit references. All buyers must pay the full purchase
price, at the point of collection of purchases, or a fractional deposit as may be
determined at the auctioneer’s discretion, unless the Company has previously
arranged credit terms. Seven working days must be allowed for clearance of
personal cheques before delivery can be made unless a prior agreement has
been reached. A 2.5% surcharge will be applied to all company cards and
non-UK credit card payments.
(9) Ownership of lots does not pass to the buyer until the Company has
received payment in full.
(10) All lots, however, are held to be at the buyer’s risk from the fall of the
hammer. All lots shall be removed by the buyer within seven working days
after the date of the sale. Any lots not so removed may become liable to
removal, insurance and storage charges. Such lots may, at the auctioneer’s
discretion, be re-offered for sale at auction or by private treaty without
further notice to the buyer.
(11) All lots are offered for sale subject to any reserve price that may be
imposed by the seller. The seller may not subsequently change the reserve
without the agreement of the Company. Where a reserve has been set, only
the auctioneer may bid on behalf of the seller. Lots are normally reserved at
80% of lower estimate, with auctioneer’s discretion. Unless reoffered for sale,
the collection of unsold lots shall be the responsibility of the seller.
(12) (a) Lots are sold as shown with all faults, imperfections and errors of
description and lack of authenticity. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not
apply to the sale of any lot. Neither the Company nor the seller shall give any
warranty to any buyer in respect of any lot or be liable for any fault or error of
description or lack of genuineness or authenticity of any lot. All statements as
to items sold, whether made in catalogues, during the course of the auction
or otherwise, are statements of opinion only and are not and shall not be
taken to be statements or representations of fact. The Company reserve
the right in forming their opinion to consult and rely upon any expert or
authority considered by them to be reliable. Coins are graded to accepted
UK standards to the best ability of our specialists. You acknowledge that the
grading of coins is subjective and may vary from specialist to specialist, as
the process is by nature an art and not a science. For this reason, we do not
automatically accept and are not bound by the opinions of third party coin
grading services for any purposes including before and after the sale of a lot.
(b) Refund policy – notwithstanding the foregoing, if any lot should be
proved by the buyer to be not genuine or authentic, or to have been wrongly
described in any material respect, the buyer may reject the same provided
that he has given notice in writing of his intention so to do and shall have
returned the same to the Company within one month from, and in the same
condition, as at the date of sale. If the coin was in a plastic holder at the
time of sale, we cannot accept its return if it has been removed from that
holder. In addition, any items in graded holders are sold as is and can only
be returned if deemed as fake. The onus of proving a lot to be not genuine
or authentic or to have been wrongly described shall lie with the buyer.
Proof of the inability of any recognised expert or authority to express a
definite opinion shall not discharge such onus. If the buyer shall discharge
such onus, the auctioneers shall rescind the sale and repay to the buyer the
price paid by him. Save as provided herein, the Company shall not under
any circumstances whatsoever be liable for any costs, expenses or damages
(whether direct, indirect, special or consequential) incurred or suffered
by the buyer in respect of any lot, whether or not as a result of any fault,
imperfection, error or description or lack of genuineness or authenticity,
including but not limited to loss of any kind of profit whatsoever. The buyer
will not be entitled to claim interest on the amount due to him. The buyer
shall not be entitled to a refund for any lot for any reason save as set out in
this clause 12(b).
(13) Save as provided in the preceding paragraph of these conditions buyers
must satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of their purchases at the time
of delivery. The Company cannot be held responsible for any discrepancy
which might be discovered after the lots have been removed from either the
auction room or the auctioneers’ premises.
(14) As stated in paragraph (1), the Company acts solely as agent between
buyer and seller and shall not be held responsible for any default by either
party or for any action or claim that may arise in connection with any lot.
(15) Any part of the purchase price still outstanding after the auction, in line
with the terms of paragraph (8), shall be paid in full within thirty days of
the date of the auction. Without prejudice to any other rights, the Company
reserves the right to charge interest on any overdue payment at a rate of
three per cent per month. In the event that the company shall have paid the
seller (normally 35 days after the sale) and part of the purchase price is still
outstanding, title to the lot will pass to the Company. The Company shall
then have the right to sell any other goods belonging to the buyer and held
by the Company for whatever reason at such a price that the company, in its
absolute discretion, thinks fit. The buyer shall also reimburse the Company
for any additional costs incurred in this process.
(16) Buyers accepting commissions from third parties do so at their own
risk. They remain responsible to the Company for full settlement according
to these conditions
(17) Privacy Policy - We may collect and process information you give to us
such as your name, address and references. We will use this information to
carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between
you and us and to provide you with the information, products and services
that you request from us or that we offer. We may share your personal
information with any member of our group, which means our subsidiaries,
our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159
of the UK Companies Act 2006. We may disclose your personal information
to third parties in the event we sell or buy any business or assets in which
case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer or
such business or assets or if we are under a duty to disclosure or share your
personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation or in order to
enforce or apply our terms of use. You have the right to ask us not to process
your personal data for marketing purposes.
(18) By making a bid, the buyer acknowledges his acceptance of these
conditions and agrees to be bound by them.
(19) If any buyer fails to comply with any of these Conditions, the lot or lots
in respect of which the failure is made may at the discretion of the Company
be put up again and resold. The damages recoverable from the defaulting
buyer shall include, but not be limited to, the auctioneers’ expenses and
commission in respect of the resale and the amount (if any) by which the
price obtained on the resale is exceeded by that obtained on the first sale.
(20) A variation of these Conditions shall only be binding on the Company
and the seller if it is made in writing and signed by a duly authorised
representative of the Company.
(21) These Conditions shall take effect and be construed in accordance with
the provisions of English law.