Conditions of Acceptance - Trade Goods

In these conditions "we" refers to Shouler & Son, auctioneers, and "you" refers to the seller. We accept goods only on the following Conditions of Acceptance, and on our General Conditions of Sale.

1. Commission and VAT
   
   We charge commission on the hammer price of each lot at 12.5% plus £2 per lot or at such rates as we may from time to time fix and tell you prior to entering your goods for sale
   
   
2. Collection/Delivery
   
   We do not undertake collection or delivery of goods.  Acting as your agent we will instruct a carrier on your behalf.  If we do, we will not accept any liability for loss or damage of goods, for unauthorised removal of goods or for damage to premises.
   
   
3. Loss, Damage and Injury
   
   When your goods are at our premises we will indemnify you against the risk of damage to them by fire, theft and water, but not against accidental damage or breakage.  When you or anyone else attends our premises you are deemed to be there at your own risk with knowledge of the condition of the premises and the methods of arranging goods for sale, etc.  You will have no claim against us for any injury or accident, which may occur. 
   
   
4. Reserves
   
   You should write down any reserve prices on this form or deliver them to us as soon as possible in writing. If instead you telephone or fax we will not accept liability for missing the reserve.  The reserve is fixed by reference to the hammer price.  We will not accept reserves below £10. We will refuse any reserve we think is unreasonably high, and if you then withdraw the goods you may be charged accordingly.  In the absence of your instructions we may bid on your behalf, or fix a reserve, or rearrange and consolidate lots at our discretion.
   
   
5. Withdrawal of Lots
   
   You must pay a fee of 10% plus £2 (or such sum as we may agree prior) on any lot you withdraw before it is offered in the sale in which it has been entered, if you withdraw it 10 days or less before a general furniture sale, or 28 days or less before any other sale. The 10% is calculated on your reserve or our valuation, whichever is the higher. No lot may be withdrawn on or after view day.
   
   
6. At the Auction
   
   You are not allowed to bid for your own goods at the auction, either directly or indirectly, except by fixing a reserve.  For other matters affecting the auction see our General Conditions of Sale.
   
   
7. Unsold Lots
   
   
   1. We charge you £2 for each unsold lot, or such other sum as we agree.
   2. If your goods fail to reach the reserve we will notify you shortly after the sale either by phone or by sending you an account listing unsold lots.  You must then either arrange immediately to collect the goods before the next sale, or re-enter them for the next sale, with or without reserve.  Any uncollected goods, which you have not re-entered, will nevertheless be offered at our next sale without reserve at our discretion.
      
   3. Any unreserved lot, which fails to attract a bid of £5, will be sold to our credit unless you remove it by the next sale.  We do not undertake to notify you when your goods fail to attract such a bid.
      
      
8. Unsaleable and Dangerous Goods
   
   We reserve the right to throw or give away lots or parts of lots, which we reasonably consider to be worthless.  We may charge you the cost of disposal. You must not enter any goods for sale that you should reasonably have known to be dangerous.
   
   
9. Electrical Goods
   
   We will inspect all electrical appliances submitted for auction for visible safety defects. Where an appliance has an obsolete, perished or damaged flex, or seems to us possibly to be unsafe, we may cut off the flex so that the purchaser has to have the appliance re-wired. Any other item not fitted with a current standard plug may have the plug removed and wiring instructions or a compliant plug affixed. We will not re-instate to original condition any appliance which is unsold or withdrawn prior to sale.
   
   
10. Warranty,  Misrepresentation and Forgeries
    
    
    1. If you mark on the entry form that any electrical or mechanical goods are In Working Order (IWO), you will be giving a one-day warranty to the buyer as per our General Conditions of Sale. No warranty will be given for electrical items lacking compliant flex and plug at the time of sale.
       
    2. The law may in some circumstances make you liable to a buyer for wrong or inaccurate description of goods even though you have made them innocently or in good faith.
    3. In the case of a Deliberate Forgery as defined in our General Conditions of Sale, we may rescind the sale and if you have been paid out you must refund the proceeds of sale on demand.
       
       
11. Proceeds of Sale
    
    We will place the proceeds of sale in our clients’ trust account.  We normally pay out to you within seven days after the sale.  We reserve the right to withhold all or part of the proceeds of sale until you have removed unsold goods.  We act only as agents, therefore if the buyer does not pay us we will not pay you.  We will normally however guarantee payment to you for each lot sold for less than £150.  On modern art works we will deduct Droit de Suite levy where applicable plus a handling charge.
    
    
12. VAT
    
    All charges are subject VAT which will be charged in addition at the appropriate rate.  If you have ticked box A or C your goods will be sold under the Auctioneers’ Margin Scheme, under which such VAT is irrecoverable.  If you have filled in box B (or have failed to fill in any box) we will charge VAT to the buyer of your goods on the hammer price and on the buyer’s premium, and if you are VAT registered we will pay you VAT on the net proceeds of sale after deduction of commission.
    
    December 2006