A 20th century Chinese porcelain pink ground vase, character marks to the base, 9cm high.

All bids, absentee bids, telephone bids, autobids and live auction bids are only accepted in accordance with our terms and conditions

Please read them before placing a bid

EASTBOURNE AUCTIONS LTD - registered in England  - company registration number 08325075

                                                            CONDITIONS OF SALE

Please note the Auctioneer acts only as an agent for the Vendor (Seller) (unless otherwise specifically declared).  Accordingly, when a lot is sold the contract is between the Buyer and the Vendor.

As The Auctioneer act as agent only, title to any Lot at no time passes to The Auctioneer and accordingly they are not liable for any fault in connection with any Lot or defect or restrictions in the title of the Vendor to sell any Lot. The Vendor shall indemnify The Auctioneer against any claims in connection with any Lot sold by The Auctioneer on their behalf.  Accordingly, the Buyer agrees that the Auctioneer acts only as an agent of the Vendor and, as such, we have, and the Buyer agrees that Auctioneer has no liability in any claims by a Buyer.

All Lots on the Auctioneers premises whether consigned by a vendor or bought by a bidder are at the sole risk of the vendor before the fall of the hammer and of the buyer after the fall of the hammer. All parties agree the auctioneer accepts no liability for any loss or damage to any items under circumstances. The only exception is where the auctioneer has agreed to indemnify the Vendor, specifically detailed on the consignment note, in which case the auctioneer’s liability is limited to no more than the agreed reserve or lower estimate in the absence of a reserve. 

The Auctioneer has absolute discretion to divide any lot, to combine any two lots or to withdraw any lot or lots from sale, to refuse any bids and regulate bidding without in any case giving any reason or without previous notice. The Auctioneer may at sole discretion determine the advance or refuse a bid. If during the auction the Auctioneer considers a dispute has arisen, he has the absolute discretion to settle or re-offer the lot. The Auctioneer also has sole discretion to refuse entry of any person to the sale room.

1. The highest bidder to be the purchaser, and if any dispute arises between two or more bidders, the lot shall, at the discretion of the Auctioneer, be put up again at the last undisputed bidding and resold. The Auctioneer’s decision on all matters is final. No person to advance less at each bid than the amount named by the Auctioneer. No bidding to be retracted. The Vendor reserves the right to bid by himself or by his agent.

2. The purchasers to give in their names and places of abode and, if required, to pay down a deposit of 50p in the £ in part payment of the purchase money, such deposit to be applicable to all or part of the Lots purchased, and top pay the remainder of the purchase money on or before collection. The Auctioneers will not accept payment by cheque, our preferred method of payment is via Bank Transfer. All items to remain the property of the Auctioneers until paid for in full.

3. Absentee bids telephone bidders and live auction bidding via the internet will be accepted provided the bidder has registered with the Auctioneers and provided payment details.  Should the bidder be successful, the Auctioneers will email an invoice to the buyer. The winning bidder is to pay for their won lots within the timescales detailed in these terms and conditions. The bidder is to contact the Auctioneers with their request for shipping and this will be dealt with as a separate transaction. Bidders that fail to pay in full within the allowed time agree that their details will be place on a "warning list" and that details of their failure to pay may be shared with other auctioneers and auction sites that list multiple auctions.

4. The Auctioneers act as agents only. Each Lot as set out in the catalogue, or as divided or joined with any Lot or Lots at the sale at the sole discretion of the Auctioneers, is sold with all faults, imperfections and errors of description and neither the Vendor nor the Auctioneers are responsible for the authenticity, attribution, genuineness, origin, authorship, date, age, period, condition or quality of any lot. All statements in the catalogues as to any such matters are statements of opinion and are not to be taken as or as implying statements or representations of fact. Purchasers are deemed to have satisfied themselves by inspection or otherwise as to all such matters and as to the physical description of any Lot. Neither the Vendor nor the Auctioneers make or give, nor any person in the employment of the Auctioneers any authority to make or give any representation warranty and in any event neither the Vendor nor the Auctioneers are responsible for any representation or warranty for any statement in the catalogue. All pictures are sold as decorative items and the Auctioneers make or give, nor any person in the employment of the Auctioneers any authority to make or give any representation as to the authenticity or the originality or Artist of any picture offered. The buyers are to satisfy themselves as to the authenticity of any picture before bidding as all bids are final. The Auctioneers will not rescind a sale of a picture for any reason whatsoever, Caveat Emptor ( Buyer Beware.) All sizes are approximate and are excluding the mount and any frames. 

Glossary for paintings, drawings and sculptures:

Forename and surname of the artist - in our opinion a work by that artist. These are the only works that carry our limited guarantee and may be returned within 10 days of the sale if found not to be authentic. All other works are sold as seen and without guarantee.

Attributed to.... In our opinion probably a work by the artist but not guaranteed

Circle of....In our opinion a work of the period of the artist, which may or may not be by the artist.

After.... In our opinion a later, possibly copy of a known work in the style of but probably not by the artist

Manner of....In our opinion a work in a style related to that of the artist.

Bearing a signature - with or without initials..... A work that bears a signature similar to a known artist.

Indistinctly signed... We are unable to decipher the signature and make no reference as to the artist.

Gemstones - All diamond weights shown are based on measurements and are not actual weights. Gemstones have historically and will always be treated for colour or otherwise. The auctioneers are not gemmologists and we do not laboratory test the gemstones offered for sale. We will describe a diamond, ruby or sapphire based on the stone being tested using a "diamond tester".  Please be aware when buying as no refunds will be given to purchasers of gemstones on the grounds, they are synthetic or have been treated. We advise viewing in person when bidding on these items.

5. All conditions, notices, descriptions, statements, and other matters in the catalogue and elsewhere concerning any Lots are subject to any statements modifying or affecting the same made by the Auctioneer from the rostrum prior to any bid being accepted for the Lot.

6. The lots may be withdrawn, re-arranged, or sold in any such order as may be desirable and are to be paid for and removed at the purchaser’s expense.

7. The Lots will be at the entire risk of the purchaser after the fall of the hammer but in the event of the Lot or Lots being totally missing on the day of delivery the Auctioneers will not be responsible for any estimated value beyond the price at which they were sold. In cases where portions of Lots may be missing such missing portions are to be allowed for at an equitable proportion of the sum, for which the whole of such Lot was sold and no more.

8. The Auctioneers act throughout as agents only and are not responsible for any default by the buyer. They disclaim liability for paying the Vendor until they have received settlement from the purchaser.

9. On failure of complying with the above Conditions the deposit money shall be forfeited. Any Lots not cleared by the time allowed may re-sold by public or private sale and the deficiency (if any) together with all expenses attending such re-sale shall be made good by the defaulter at this present sale and shall be recoverable as liquidated damages. Storage will be charged at £5.00 plus VAT per lot per day for lots not collected within 14 days of the sale (Fine Art Sales) and within 4 days of Saturday sales. A handing out charge of £5 plus VAT per Lot ( £10 + VAT per furniture lot) will be charged on all items not collected by the Wednesday following the sale.

Any damage caused by removal or otherwise must be made good by the person committing the same. Principles being considered responsible for the acts of their servants and by their workmen or any other persons whatsoever instructed.

10. Notwithstanding any other terms of these Conditions, if within two days after the Auction the Auctioneers have received from the buyer of any Lot notice in writing that in his view the Lot is a deliberate forgery and within seven days after such notification the buyer returns the same to the Auctioneers in the same condition as at the time of sale and by producing evidence in writing the burden of proof to be upon the buyer satisfies the Auctioneers that considered in the light of the entry in the catalogue the Lot is a deliberate forgery then the sale of the Lot will be rescinded and the purchase monies of the same refunded. In the event of a dispute then the matter shall be settled by arbitration, the arbitrator to be nominated by the President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Both the buyer and the Vendor agree to be bound by the decision.

11. Buyer’s Premium

When bidding via thesaleroom.com the Auctioneers charge a Buyer’s Premium of 38.4% (minimum £2.40 per lot) for bidders that settle their invoice within five days of the sale or 48.4% inc VAT for bidders who pay after this date. All future purchases in future auctions will be invoiced at 48.4% if the bidder pays late in one sale, and a higher deposit may be required for at registration.

All bidders failing to pay by the Wednesday following the sale (i.e. withing 5 days) will be charged an admin fee of £12.00.

VAT where payable on the hammer price of a lot will be refunded on receipt of proof of shipping from the winning bidder that the item has been shipped to a non-EU country. VAT on buyer’s premium will not be refunded.  Please note: Cash deposited directly into our bank account will be subject to a surcharge - currently 1.5%, as levied by our bank, Lloyd’s bank.

Note: Where a lot is zero rated for VAT purposes the full buyer’s premium as quoted above is still payable by the bidder.

12. The auctioneers do not charge a surcharge for online bidding other than the buyers premiums stated for each method of bidding as detailed in 11 above.

13. Lots - small individual Lots weighing under 2kg that remain uncollected within fourteen days of the sale will incur a storage charge of £5.00 plus VAT per lot per day.  Larger Lots including furniture and items weighing over 2kg that remain uncollected after the Monday following the sale (Tuesday where a bank holiday falls) will incur a storage charge of £10.00 plus Vat per lot per day.

The auctioneers will charge a carry out fee of £5.00 per Furniture lot or Lot exceeding 2kg when collected after the Monday following the sale. Any lots remaining uncollected after three months from the date of the sale will be deemed to be abandoned and The Auctioneer reserves the right to sell any lots that remain uncollected after three Months from the Auction Day and use the proceeds of the sale to settle outstanding storage charges, without further notice to the Bidder. This will also apply to lots where shipping has been quoted and not paid for by the Bidder.

14. REFUND POLICY

Bidders are not to rely solely on the descriptions in the catalogue or online catalogue. The Bidder agrees the contract for sale does not include the description, only the lot number forms part of the contract of sale, descriptions are there to help the Auctioneers identify the items only.

The Auctioneers hold preview days or allow viewing by appointment when a bidder can inspect lots offered and satisfy themselves that they happy with description and the items BEFORE bidding. Bidders unable to attend can inspect the condition report online, where the Auctioneers have provided one, and ask for further information via the enquiry button on the website. The auctioneers will respond via email providing any further information about the lot offered requested.

The Auctioneers therefore operate a NO REFUND policy, the only exception being when the Auctioneers have provided a written condition report and have omitted to detail a flaw in the lot which is not visible in the online images. i.e. restoration that has been missed during this further inspection, or where the auctioneers have described the item as genuine and of the period but later turns out to be a deliberate forgery. In the event that then bidder qualifies for a refund they are to inform the auctioneers at time of collection or within 24 hours of receipt of the item if shipped. The bidder is to return the lot within 7 days of notifying the auctioneers. The cost of returning the lots will be the responsibility of the bidder. The auctioneers undertake to make refunds within 14 days of receipt of the lot and the amount refunded will be the hammer price of the lot plus the buyer’s premium. The auctioneers will not refund any shipping costs.

The Auctioneers reserve the right to update these terms and conditions at any time, and the bidder accepts responsibility to make themselves aware of any updates prior to bidding.

All calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

Latest update 15 May 2024