General Auction Conditions

By the submission of bids, the following Auctions Conditions of the Auctioneer are recognised and accepted:

1. The auction is held public in the name of the auctioneer on his behalf for his own invoice against immediate payment in Euro.
2. The lot goes to the highest bidder. The Auctioneer reserves the right to refuse knock down a lot, or to withdraw, recombine and divide lots. Bidding increments can be seen in the actual auction manual and are from 5 to 10% and according to the present submitted bid and dependent on the situation.
3. The Auctioneer has the authority to knock down lots pending the permission of the seller. The bidder is bound by his bid for a period of 4 weeks beginning on the day of the knockdown. It is allowed to hammer an under reserve lot to another limit bidder.
4. The Auctioneer has the right to exclude persons from the auction without giving any reason. Trading and exchange are not allowed in the Auction rooms.
5. The knockdown is allocated to the highest bidder after the third call. The Auctioneer has the right to refuse a knockdown for founded reasons or to make knockdown under reserve. When a bid is refused, the previous bid is valid. When more than one bidder has submitted the highest bid, the decision will be made by draw. In the case of written bids, the order of receipt of bids is valid. These bids will be treated with confidence and will only be used to top the previous bid. Telephone bidders must offer at least the limit price and a written confirmation must be submitted thereafter. In the event of non-reachability, the minimum bid is valid. Lots, which receive a „counter-bid“, require a minimum bid of 20,- € and will be knocked down to the highest bid.
6. The Auctioneer receives a premium of 23.8 % of the hammer price from the buyer plus 2,- € per purchased lot. For lots marked with + additional expenses for importing the items are charged ( = Import Expenses, 7 % of the hammer price). For all lots which are marked with • Value Added Tax will be added to the hammer price and to the buyers premium, lots marked by Δ are free of taxes (§25c UStG). All other lots are sold under the margin system (§25a UStG). For sending the goods costs for postage, packing and insurance plus VAT will be charged separately. For purchases from abroad, which will be exported to a third country (non-EU!), the Value Added Tax will not be invoiced after receiving an evidence of exportation; import taxes on buyer‘s account.
7. The Purchase Order contract between the Auctioneer and the Buyer becomes valid with the knockdown. With this contract, the buyer is obliged to accept and pay for the goods at the point of sale. In the case of bidding for a third party, both buyer and third party are liable. The moment of knockdown, all risks concerning losses or damage are the responsibility of the buyer. The ownership of the auctioned goods will only be transferred to the buyer when full payment has been effected. Bidders making written bids will in general receive a pre-payment invoice that is due for immediate payment. Only when the invoice has been paid fully, has the buyer the right to demand possession of the auctioned goods. If it is agreed to ship the purchased lots, the purchaser is obliged to inform the auctioneer in writing for reasons of investigation within ten weeks after the end of the auction (in case of prepayment: after the payment of the goods) if the goods to be shipped are not or incompletely received.
8. All invoices that have not been paid at the latest 14 days after the auction and/or receipt of the invoice will be subject to interest of 3%. Furthermore, 1,5% interest per month will be charged, unless the buyer can prove that only minimal or no damage has been caused. Furthermore, the Auctioneer can decide whether after a set period, compensation will be charged, due to non-fulfilment. The damages can be regulated in such a manner that the lots are taken into a future auction and the debtor is charged the difference between the knockdown bid and the previous bid as well as all the costs connected with this transaction, including the additional costs and charges of the Auctioneer. There is no demand for higher realizations.
9. The objects for auction may be viewed and inspected prior to the auction. These objects will be auctioned in the condition they are in at the time of auction. The catalogue descriptions were made in the best will and conscience and do not guarantee any characteristics. The buyer cannot hold the Auctioneer liable for any faults, on the condition that the Auctioneer has not committed any acts of negligence. Collections, lots etc. are excluded from complaints, otherwise the Auctioneer is obliged to hold the Vendor liable for any complaints made within the limited period of 8 days after recieving the lot and which are covered by one year guarantee. Complaints of individual lots must be presented on the original auction lot cards. The complaint lots must be presented in their original condition. This applies to the removal of hinges, submersion in water as well as chemical treatment. Only the application of sign information by a member of the Bund Philatelistischer Prüfer e.V. (BPP) will not be regarded as tampering. In the event of complaints, the Auctioneer can demand a written expertise of the respective BPP expert. In the event that a buyer intends to get an expertise, then he must inform the Auctioneer of this fact before the Auction. The period for complaint will be prolonged respectively. However, this does not mean exclusion of prompt payment for the lots. Any expertising fees will be charged to the buyer if the result matches the lot description or if he acquires the lot in spite of dissent opinion. Any faults, which are obvious at the time of photography, are excluded from the right of complaint. In the event of claim, the Vendor is obliged to refund the purchase price as well as knock-down commission. Any additional claims are not possible. Descriptions such as „Pracht“, „Kabinett“, „Luxus“ etc. are a subjective opinion of the Auctioneer and under no circumstance a statement in regard to trading rules and regulations. Lots which bear the description „feinst“ or „fein“ may possibly have small faults. Pieces where the value is defined by cancellation are excluded from complaint of any other defects.
10. Objects dispatched for viewing only include individual lots. These must be returned to the auction company within 24 hours, whereby our choice of dispatch must be utilized. Any dangers and costs are for the account of the requesting party. In the event that these lots are not present in the auction house on the day of auction, then these will be knocked down in favour of the requesting party one step higher than the highest bidding price, however at the least for the call-out price.
11. Place of fulfilment is Hamburg. Place of jurisdiction for the full trading is Hamburg.
12. Only German Law is valid. The UN Treaty for contacts concerning international goods sales (CISG) is not applicable.
13. The above conditions are valid in the general sense and also apply to the post-sales and free sales. The regulations concerning sales in “Fernabsatz“ are not applicable.
14. Should one of the above conditions become invalid, the validity of the other conditions will remain unchanged.

(This translation of the „Allgemeine Versteigerungsbedingungen“ is provided for information only; the German text is to be taken as authoritative)