Three reproduction contemporary cast metal signs.

Conditions of Sale

Bidders are strongly advised to read all of the terms and conditions on this page including both our Conditions of Sale and our Conditions of Accepting Bids before placing any bids with us.
PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to take credit/debit card payments over £500 if the card holder is not present.
We can accept payment by BACS please contact the office for details. 24 hours will be required for clearance of payment before collection.
We do Not accept Cheques.
Items collected by courier will require personal ID from all parties.

1. The highest Bidder to be the Purchaser and if any dispute arises between the Bidders, such dispute shall be settled by the Auctioneer, or the lot offered again and resold.



2. The bidding to be registered at the discretion of the Auctioneer who reserves the right to accept or reject any bid and in the case of lots upon which there is a Reserve, the Auctioneer shall have the right to bid on behalf of the Vendor. Whilst every effort will be made to execute absentee bidding, Cottees cannot be held responsible for any default or neglect in connection with this service. All such arrangements therefore are made entirely at the prospective buyer’s risk.



3. Each lot will immediately on the fall of the hammer be and remain in every respect at the risk of the Purchaser.



4. Each lot is sold by the Vendor, therefore with all faults and defects therein, and with all errors of description. No refund will be given.

(a). Cottees Auctions Ltd act as agents only for the Vendor and neither they nor the Vendor are responsible for any faults or defects in any lot or the correctness of any statement as to the authorship or condition of any lot.

(b). Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of any statement as to authorship, attribution, origin, date, age, provenance and condition of any lot. All statements or "Condition Reports" made orally or in the Catalogue, Advertisements or Brochures of forthcoming Sales as to the matters specified in (a) above are statements of opinion and are not to be relied upon as statements or representations of fact. Cottees Auctions Limited strongly encourages in-person inspection of items by the bidder to satisfy themselves as to all matters specified in (a) above. Statements or "Condition Reports" by Cottees Auctions Limited regarding the condition of objects are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Cottees Auctions Limited. All lots offered are sold "AS IS".

Any discrepancies must be notified to the Auctioneer not later than 3 weeks following the auction.

(c). The Vendor and Cottees Auctions Ltd do not make or give, nor has any person in the employ of Cottees Auctions Ltd any authority to make or give any representation or warranty.

(d). In the event neither the Vendor nor Cottees Auctions Ltd are responsible for any representation or warranty, or for any statement in the Catalogues, Advertisements or Brochures of forthcoming Sales.

5. The Auctioneer reserves the right of absolute discretion in all disputes between Bidders.



6. The Auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw, consolidate or alter the order of any lots at their discretion.



7. The Purchasers are to give their names and addresses, and if required to pay a Deposit in part payment.



8. All lots purchased by one person will be deemed and taken as one contract.



9. Any person purchasing and failing to comply with the conditions, shall forfeit to the Vendor the money deposited in part payment. All lots uncleared may either with or without notice, be resold either by Auction or Private Contract, at the discretion of the Auctioneer, and all loss or expense shall be made good by the defaulter at this present sale.



10. Any damage caused to the premises by the removal of the goods shall be paid for by the Purchaser.



11. The Buyer shall at his own expense and risk take away the Lot(s) purchased not late that 4pm on the Friday following the relevant Auction in which the Lot was purchased, unless otherwise stated in the relevant Auction Catalogue (but in any event not before payment has been made to Cottees). If the Buyer fails to do so the provision of clause 21 below will apply.



We are unable to take credit/debit card payments over £500 if the card holder is not present. We can accept payment by BACS please contact the office for details. 24 hours will be required for clearance of payment before collection. Items collected by courier will require personal ID from all parties.


Accounts for successful bids will be despatched on the day of the auction. Buyers should make sure that payment is received by Cottees within the following 24 hours.


14. The Artist's Resale Rights regulations 2006 - Droit de Suite: Fully implemented as of 1st January 2012. It is our policy to charge the buyer an additional premium to cover our expenses relating to the payment of royalties under the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006. Please note that from 1 January 2012, the Artist's Resale Right will be fully implemented in the UK. The full implementation will mean that a resale royalty will be due for works by deceased artists who are still in copyright.

(a) Some works sold by Cottees will be subject to Droit de Suite (Resale Royalty). This is a royalty payable to a qualifying artist each time a work is re-sold during the artist's lifetime or to the artist's estate or beneficiaries if sold within 70 years of the artist's death.



Zero-Rated Lots. Limited Categories of goods, such as books, are Zero-rated (o) for VAT in the United Kingdom. Such Lots are offered under the Auctioneers’ Margin Scheme. In these circumstances no VAT will be added to the Buyer’s premium.


Online Bidding – Cottees offer an online bidding service via easyLiveAuction.com for bidders who cannot attend the sale.
In completing the bidder registration on and providing your credit card details you:

(a) Authorise Cottees, if they so wish, to charge the credit card given in part or full payment, including all fees, for items successfully purchased in the auction via easyLiveAuction.com,

(b) Confirm that you are authorised to provide these credit card details to Cottees through and agree that Cottees are entitled to ship the goods to the card holder name and card holder address provided in fulfilment of the sale.

(c) PLEASE NOTE that any lots purchased via easyLiveAuction.com live auction service will be subject to an additional 3% Commission charge and VAT at the rate imposed on the hammer price.



17. The Buyer acknowledges that a sale by Auction IS NOT a consumer sale for the purposes of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 and as replaced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015) and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977/1999 Regulations and the Buyer shall not seek to rely upon and conditions or warranties implied thereby or by any other legislation. All Lots are Sold As Seen with no guarantees and include second-hand items, salvage, raw returns, ex-display, repossessed and seized goods.



18. Clocks & Watches - The absence of any reference to the condition of a clock or watch does not imply that the Lot is in good condition and without defects, repairs or restorations. Most clocks and watches have been repaired in the course of their normal lifetime and may now incorporate parts not original to them. Cottees makes no representation or warranty that any clock or watch is in working order. As clocks and watches often contain fine and complex mechanisms, potential buyers should be aware that a general service, change of battery or further repair work, for which the Buyer is solely responsible may be necessary.



19. Gemstones - Historically many gemstones have been subject to a variety of treatments to enhance their appearance. Unless stated Buyers should presume coloured stones may well have been exposed to some sort of treatment. In the event that Cottees has been given or has obtained Certificates for any Lot in the sale these Certificates will be disclosed in the description of the item. Neither Cottees nor the Vendor accepts any liability for contradictions or differing Certificates obtained by the Buyer on any Lot.



20. The parties to the contract of sale of the Lot are the Vendor and the Buyer. Cottees is not a party to the contract of sale but acts as the Vendor's agent only and is not liable for any breach thereof by either the Buyer or the Seller.



21. If the Buyer fails to remove the Lot from the premises as required under Clause 11 above (and such failure to remove the Lot is not due to a fault of Cottees) Cottees will have the right to

(a) Re-enter the Lot into auction and charge the Lotting Fee to the Buyer.

(b) Charge a one-off administration fee of £20 (plus V.A.T. if applicable).

(c) Move the lot (at the risk of the Buyer provided Cottees use reasonable care and skill in such a move) to another premises from that where the Buyer purchased the lot and

(d) For every calendar day following the day on which the Lot(s) should have been collected from the premises by the Buyer, the Buyer will incur a weekly storage charge of £5 plus V.A.T. per Lot stored without exception, and such charge will continue to accrue notwithstanding the transfer of any Lot to an alternative premises by Cottees.



22. These Terms shall become binding on the Buyer when the Buyer completes registration.



Cottees has the right to revise and amend these Terms as necessary to reflect changes in market conditions affecting its business, technology, payment methods, relevant laws and regulatory requirements and changes in various systems capabilities. Buyers will be subject to the policies and terms in force at the time these Terms become binding in accordance with clause16 above.

17. All lots to be paid for and removed at the end of the auction by the Purchaser.
18. Unfortunately Cottees are unable to accept cheques.
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In line with other UK auction houses Cottees are introducing new payment methods on items bought Online or via telephone bidding.

We are unable to accept payments over £500 on the telephone or cheques for any amount either in the office or by post.
Preferred payment methods on items over £500 in value: BACS - bank transfer - easy and simple to arrange Credit or Debit Card payments in person at our office Cash up to value of £12,000.

Collection of items by personal couriers will require ID check on courier and proof of delivery address.
These rules will be strictly applied to all high value gold, silver and jewellery purchases without exception.

Conditions of Accepting Bids
All items must be paid for and collected in the week of the auction, or the following Monday at the latest.
10% will be added to invoice weekly after this date for storage.
Buyer's Premium 18% plus VAT.

Conditions of Accepting Absentee Bids
Cottees Auctions Limited are not able to notify successful Bidders by telephone. While invoices are sent out by mail after the Auction we do not accept responsibility for notifying you of the result of your bid. Bidders are requested to contact us by telephone or in person as soon as possible after the auction to obtain details of the outcome of their bids to avoid incurring unnecessary storage charges or losing the item entirely by it being re-entered in a subsequent auction.
You, the Bidder, understand that Cottees Auctions Limited provide the service of absentee bids for its customers and that Cottees Auctions Limited is not responsible for failing to execute bids or for errors relating to the execution of bids.
Cottees Auctions Limited will endeavour to purchase these lots for the lowest possible price, taking into account any reserve or other bids. If identical absentee bids are taken for the same lot, the written bid received first by Cottees Auctions Limited will take precedence.
All bids are subject to the terms and conditions of auction printed upon each catalogue.Shipping Policy