A late 19th century gilt bronze figure of a boy tobacco merchant

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR PURCHASERS IN LIVE AUCTIONS AND TIMED ONLINE AUCTIONS

1.These Terms and Conditions apply to all transactions relating to the purchase of items by a bidder (referred to as “you”) at The Pedestal Limited, trading as The Pedestal (referred to as ‘we’) in a live auction, a Timed Online Auction and in an auction after-sale.

The Terms and Conditions may not be varied unless agreed in writing in advance by one of our directors.

By registering to bid and/or bidding you accept these terms.

2. We act as agent for the seller whose identity we will not disclose, unless otherwise stated.

3. When we offer items for consignment at auction, we will usually include in the auction listing a description of the lot and an estimate of potential sale value. We may also choose to include an image or images of the lot. We offer the lot for sale in the auction as it is described in the lead line, ie. the text highlighted in bold, and not as it may be perceived to appear in any image or images which accompany the lot.  

Upon request we may also supply a condition report, which will be based on a visual inspection of each lot without disassembly or further investigation of physical condition, and on information available to us at the time. All information is provided after due consideration and to the best of our knowledge and experience, but cannot be taken as a statement of fact, a guarantee or statement of value or a guarantee or statement that mechanical or electrical parts are functioning correctly or at all.

We kindly ask that condition reports be requested well in advance of the date of the auction itself. We endeavour to issue condition reports in good time but we are not able to respond accordingly if we receive a large number of condition reports in the 36 hours leading up to the date of the auction. 

Please note that whilst we take every care in cataloguing furniture which has been upholstered, we offer no guarantee as to the originality or condition of the wood frame covered by fabric or upholstery.

Explanation of catalogue terms

The following wording used in the catalogue have the following meanings: 

• “Richard Brachenburgh”: in our opinion a work by the artist;• “Attributed to Richard Brachenburgh”: in our opinion probably a work by the artist;• “Studio/Workshop of Richard Brachenburgh”: in our opinion a work by an unknown hand in a studio of the artist which may or may not have been executed under the artist’s direction;• “Circle of Richard Brachenburgh”: in our opinion a work by a hand closely associated with a named artist but not necessarily his pupil;• “Follower of Richard Brachenburgh”: in our opinion a work by a painter working in the artist’s style, contemporary or nearly contemporary, but not necessarily his pupil;• “Manner of Richard Brachenburgh”: in our opinion a work in the style of the artist and of a later date;• “After Richard Brachenburgh”: in our opinion, a copy of a known work of the artist;• “Signed and/or dated and/or inscribed”: in our opinion the signature and/or date and/or inscription are from the hand of the artist;• “Bears a signature and/or date and/or inscription”: in our opinion the signature and/or date and/or inscription have been added by another hand  

4. All measurements provided are approximate. Colours of any image depicted in any printed catalogue, on our website or otherwise may not appear the same as colours perceived on physical inspection. 

5. You have the opportunity to inspect the lot in advance of the auction at such place and times as are advertised before the auction. We always recommend inspection of a lot in person so you can form your own opinion of it. We strongly advise you to examine any lot or to have it examined on your behalf before the auction.

6. A registration form will be available upon request and must be completed in advance of the auction by anyone wishing to bid.

You will be required to provide government issued proof of identity and proof of residence and if you are a company, your certificate of incorporation or equivalent documentation with your name and registered address, and government issued proof of your current address, documentary proof of your beneficial owners and proof of authority to transact.

We may also request a financial reference and/or a deposit from you before allowing you to bid.

We reserve the rights at our discretion to request further information in order to complete our client identification and to decline to register any person as a bidder and to decline to accept their bids if they have been so registered.

A separate online fee will be levied and separate registration will be required for online bidding, whether on our own or a third party platform. When bidding on a third party platform we recommend you familiarise yourself with the additional fees payable before placing your bid.

For successful bidders on our online bidding platform – The Pedestal Live – an online bidding fee of 3% levied on the hammer price of the lot plus VAT will be charged. This is in addition to the standard buyer’s premium fee payable as set out in clause 14.

7. We may at our discretion accept bids from someone acting on behalf of a third party, subject to receiving a letter of authorisation which is satisfactory to us. In the event that such a bid is successful we reserve the right to treat either the bidder or the third party as the successful bidder for all purposes including as regards obtaining payment for the lot.

8. Auctions are conducted according to our discretion and that of our auctioneer. Bidders and buyers should be aware that the auctioneer may occasionally need to pause the auction as deemed necessary due to unforeseen circumstances. 

We may refuse to allow access to the auction, refuse or accept any bid, alter the order of lots and/or the bidding in such way as we think best, withdraw any lot, reopen bidding after the hammer has fallen, determine who is the successful bidder, cancel the sale of any lot or otherwise regulate the auction and all associated proceedings as we deem most appropriate.

Our decision in relation to any dispute relating to bidding which may arise during or after the auction is final.

We may (but are not obliged to) offer bidding in person, by commission bids left with us in advance of the auction, by telephone, or online via our own or a third party platform.

Some bidders may experience technical problems in bidding for a lot which are beyond our reasonable control, such as firewalls, loss of internet connection or other technical issues to do with our bidding software, third party bidding software or their own device. 

We will endeavour to fix any technical problems that occur on our site as quickly as possible, but we will not be responsible to you for any errors or failures to execute bids, or for any errors or omissions in online bidding, including without limitation, errors or failures caused by any loss of connection or faults with our bidding software or third party software. 

9. Both the auction as a whole and calls used for telephone bids may be recorded and such recordings may be retained by us and by participating in the same you consent to such recording and retention.

10. Most lots are offered subject to a reserve below which the lot will not be sold. The level of the reserve is confidential between ourselves and our seller but will not be higher than the lower estimate.

11. We may enter one or more bids consecutively or otherwise on behalf of the seller up to but not beyond the level of the reserve.

12. Subject only to the auctioneer’s discretion set out in clause 8 above, when the auctioneer’s hammer falls no further bids will be accepted and a contract for sale is formed between the successful bidder and ourselves as agent for the seller.

13. We will endeavour to send out invoices promptly by mail or email using the contact details supplied to us by the successful bidder. If you believe that you are the successful bidder for any lot but have not heard from us within three working days of the auction we recommend that you contact us to arrange collection and avoid potential storage charges.

14. We will charge a buyer’s fee of 25% on the hammer price of each lot, plus VAT. 

15. Payment for each lot which you have purchased including all associated fees, charges and taxes is due no later than 7 calendar days after the auction. 

Payment can be made only by the registered bidder. 

Payment instructions will be given on the relevant invoice or invoices. Please note that we do not accept payment by credit card or in cash.

Payment for the lot or lots must be made in full as set out in the invoice or invoices sent out either after the auction or at the completion of the post sale transaction. 

We do not accept payment made in instalments over a period of time. 

For late paid invoices, we draw your attention to provisions in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. We reserve the right to charge interest on late paid invoices at the rate of 8% above the bank base rate. 

You warrant that the funds to be used for settlement are not connected with any criminal activity, including tax evasion, and you are neither under investigation, nor have you been charged with or convicted of money laundering, terrorist activities or other crimes.

The Pedestal is committed to the fight against money laundering and terrorist funding and compliance with relevant sanctions law. You will comply with the requirements set out in paragraph 6., as well as our requests for source of funds, and other documentation fully, accurately and promptly. We may require such information and documentation from you at our sole discretion in order to comply with our obligations under domestic and international law. If in our absolute discretion you do not satisfy our bidder identification and registration procedures, we may refuse you to register to bid, and if you make a successful bid we may cancel the sale.

16. No lot will be released and legal title will not pass to you until we have received due payment in full of all sums owed to us by you.

Risk in any lot for which you are the successful bidder will pass to you on the earlier of collection of the lot by you or on your behalf, or the due date for payment for such lot.

Our duty to you while your lot is at your risk and your property and in our custody is to exercise reasonable care in relation to it. We will however not be responsible for damage to the lot or to other persons or things as a result of it being affected for example by woodworm.

Please consult clause 18, which covers the 7 day post auction collection period and the storage charges payable thereafter. 

17. If you fail to make due payment for any lot we may, at our discretion and without limitation to other available remedies, bring legal proceedings against you for the unpaid sum and all associated fees and costs including professional fees (“Unpaid Sums”); retain and sell ourselves or otherwise any other lots held by us which are your property or any sums otherwise payable by us to you and use such proceeds or sums to defray the Unpaid Sums; cancel the sale, re-offer the lot and claim any shortfall and any associated costs from you; and/or pass your identity and contact details to the seller so that they can pursue legal remedies against you directly. Additionally if you are a business customer, interest on late payments may be charged at 8% above our bank’s base rate from time to time.

18. All lots must be collected from our premises as notified to you in the auction catalogue and otherwise, within 7 days after the auction. Storage and handling fees will be charged in relation to lots left uncollected after that date.

Our storage charges are as follows:

-          Administration fee: £10

-          Storage:

£3/day for pictures and small items

£6/day for furniture, larger pictures and objects

Full value protection cover for the value of the hammer price will be charged at 0.6% but will not exceed the total value of all other transfer and storage charges. 

VAT will be applied at the current rate on any charges levied. 

Any lots not collected within 90 days after the auction may be sold by us at our discretion, with the proceeds applied to cover all Unpaid Sums including storage and handling charges. In this event any surplus will be paid over to you, and we will claim any shortfall from you as an Unpaid Sum.

19. A lot which has been collected from our premises by you or a shipper acting on your behalf is deemed to have been delivered to you by us at the time of such collection.

20. If within 21 days of the auction the buyer gives us written notice to us that the lot is a forgery and demonstrates to our satisfaction that the lot is a forgery, provided that the lot is returned to us in the same condition as when it was sold and within a reasonable timescale notified by us, we will cancel the sale, refund the purchase price and the cost of reasonable return.

A ‘forgery’ is defined as a work created with the intent to deceive.

We may request that the buyer provides two written opinions (produced at the buyer’s cost) or recognised independent experts to evidence the assertion that the lot is a forgery. The lot should not be returned to us until we have requested the return, and the buyer does so at their own risk. We shall be entitled to investigate and consider the allegations that the lot is a forgery and to arrange inspections of the lot either at our premises or third party controlled premises if the lot has been exported from the UK. We shall endeavour to resolve the matter within a reasonable period of time and the buyer agrees to act in good faith whilst we carry out this assessment.

21. For Timed Online Auctions where lots cannot be inspected in person, if you reside mostly in the UK or the European Union and in respect of the EU Consumer Rights Directive, you have the right to cancel the purchase of a lot without cause at any time in the 14 calendar days after the lot is available for collection from The Pedestal.

We request that you notify us of your decision to cancel the purchase in the 14 calendar day period which should be sent either by post to:
The Pedestal, The Dairy, Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 6HF or by email to: info@thepedestal.com

We will refund the purchase price using the same method as that used for the original purchase following our receipt of the lot and assuming it is received by us without damage.

In addition, the lot must be returned to us within the 14 calendar day period after the lot was available for collection. You will be responsible for the cost of returning the lot, namely, but not restricted to: shipping, packing, insurance and any import duties incurred.

If the lot is damaged as a result of any investigations into the nature of the lot by you or others you will account for this loss. If the lot is returned damaged, we will deduct a sum from the refund to cover the cost of repair or the loss in value which results from this damage.

Condition reports and additional images may be available to assist you in evaluating the lot. They are provided free of charge to our buyers and are for guidance only. Before bidding it is your responsibility to ensure you have requested, received and reviewed any condition report.

22. Lots which we believe to be covered by the CITES regulations will be marked with ¥ in our catalogue, but we are not responsible for advising you on any import/export issues including without limitation CITES or the like, and customs and import fees and the like. We recommend that you acquaint yourself with any relevant issues before bidding, as we cannot accept liability for any information which we may provide you with. If you purchase a lot requiring an export licence it is your responsibility to obtain it, and we cannot accept rescission of the sale or offer a refund if you are unable to so obtain a permit.

In certain countries local laws entitle an artist or the artist’s estate to receive a royalty when a lot created by the artist is sold, this royalty is known as ‘artist’s re-sale right’ or ARR.

If these laws apply to the lot you must pay us an additional amount equivalent to the royalty due to the artist. We will pay the royalty to the appropriate authority on the seller’s behalf.

For sales completed from 1 April 2024 the royalty applies if the hammer price is equal to or greater than £1,000.

The total royalty for any lot cannot exceed £12,500.

The amount owed is calculated as follows:

Royalty for the portion of the hammer price (in GBP£):

4%                                                       up to 50,000

3%                                                       between 50,000.01 and 200,000

1%                                                       between 200,000.01 and 350,000

0.50%                                                  between 350,000.01 and 500,000

over 500,000                                       the lower of 0.25% and £12,500

 
23. Each seller warrants that they are the legal owner of the lot and/or have the unencumbered right to sell the lot at auction and to pass title to the successful bidder. The seller shall not be liable in the event of breach of this warranty for any amount greater than the hammer price of the lot in question.

We are not liable for any statements, data, information and the opinions of others nor any deterioration of the lot after collection. Our total liability for negligence, breach of statutory duty, misrepresentation or otherwise shall be limited to the hammer price of the lot in question.

We shall not be liable for any loss of profits, loss of business, goodwill, loss of anticipated savings or for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential loss, costs, damages, charges or expenses to the fullest extent permitted by law.

We shall not be liable for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable; loss or damage is foreseeable if it is an obvious consequence of our breach or if it was contemplated by you and us at the time this contract was formed.

We may be liable only to the successful bidder in the event of fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation by us and exclude all other liability to such bidder and all third parties to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Nothing herein shall limit your rights, if any, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, or exclude our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence. 

24. General Terms:

a. These terms are made and must be construed under English law and any disputes arising from them or from the Contract will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

b. All charges, fees, premiums and any other sums referred to herein or arising here from are stated net of Value Added Tax but are subject to VAT or the like at the rate or rates prevailing at the time of any transaction. VAT is not chargeable on the hammer price unless otherwise stated.

c. We will hold and process your personal data according to the conditions, for the reasons and on the bases set out in our Privacy Policy which you may access here, and as envisaged by these terms and conditions.

d. We retain copyright in all images and written and other materials prepared by us, which may not be used by you without our prior written consent.

Updated: March 26, 2024