GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE

SAS AGUTTES (“AGUTTES”) is an operator of voluntary public auctions, registered with the “Conseil des maisons de vente” and governed by Articles L.321-4 et seq. of the French Commercial Code. In this capacity AGUTTES acts under a sales mandate as the seller’s authorised representative who contracts with the successful bidder.

The present General Terms and Conditions of Online Sales (“Online GTCS”) govern the relationship between AGUTTES and bidders for public online auctions organised by AGUTTES on their website www.online.aguttes.com (the “Site”).

The Online GTCS can be viewed and downloaded free of charge from the Site and are binding on all bidders. AGUTTES may modify the GTCS in writing and/or orally prior to the sale.

 

I- THE PROPERTY OFFERED FOR SALE

Description of lots: The information provided in the auction catalogues engages the civil liability of AGUTTES and its experts, subject to the provisions mentioned below. Only indications in the French language are binding on AGUTTES to the exclusion of any translations, which are free. They may be subject to modifications or corrections until the moment of the auction in writing or orally.

No other guarantee is given by AGUTTES, it being recalled that only the seller is bound by the warranty for hidden defects and the legal warranty of conformity. A certificate of authenticity of the lot will only be available if mentioned in the description of the lot.

The dimensions, weights and other information of the lots are given as an indication with a reasonable margin of error.

Restorations carried out as a precautionary measure, without altering the age and style characteristics, and which do not modify the specific nature of the lot, will not be mentioned in the description.

The absence of any indication of restoration, accident, or incident in the description of the lots or in the condition reports shall in no way imply that the lot is free from any past, present or repaired defect. Conversely, the mention of any defect does not imply the absence of other defects.

Special mentions appearing in the description of lots have the following meanings:
+  Lots forming part of a judicial sale following a court order entail the following buyer’s fees: 14.40% including all taxes;
°  Lots, in which AGUTTES or one of its partners has financial interests;
* Lots under temporary importation: subject to a 5.5% fee for works of art, collectibles, and antiques (20% for wines and spirits, jewellery and multiples), to be borne by the buyer in addition to the selling costs and the auction price, unless the buyer resides outside the EU;
¤ Goods sold under the general VAT regime (for the total);
# Lots visible only by appointment;
~ Lots made from materials derived from animal species. Import restrictions may apply;
§ Lots sold by a professional in the sector (right of withdrawal may be applicable depending on the buyer's status). 

Condition of lots: The lots are sold in the condition in which they are found at the time of sale with their imperfections and defects. As the lots are second-hand goods, no guarantee can be given as to their condition. 

References to the condition of a lot online or in a condition report may not be considered as an exhaustive description of the condition of said lot. Descriptions may not under any circumstances replace the personal examination of the lot as indicated below. Condition reports will be sent upon request but for indicative purposes only.

Preview of the lots: Potential bidders are required to personally examine the lots and documents available prior to the auction at a private appointment or at the public preview in order to verify the condition of the lots. Buyers are advised to be accompanied by an expert in the sector concerned by the auction.

Reproduction of lots: Not all defects and imperfections of the lots are visible in the photographs of the lots reproduced in the catalogues, online or in any other communication medium. Photographs may not provide an entirely faithful image of the actual condition of a lot and may differ from what would be perceived by a direct observer (size, colour, etc.).

Estimates: Estimates are based on the state of technical knowledge on the day of the estimate, the quality of the lot, its provenance, its condition, and the market conditions on the day of the estimate. They are provided for information purposes only and cannot be considered as a guarantee that the lot will be sold at the estimated price.

Contact: Potential bidders may ask questions about one or more of the lots offered for sale to the auction manager, who will make their best efforts to address the inquiry, provided that the questions are addressed to the auction manager exclusively by e-mail up to 24 hours before the end of the sale. However, the auction manager is under no legal obligation to respond to the inquiry.

 

II- THE AUCTION

Duration: The online auction has a limited duration, with defined start and end dates and times. A provisional end time is indicated for each lot in the auction. Bidding may extend beyond this time, with the timer being prolonged by one minute for each new bid made during the last 60 seconds. AGUTTES will in no case be held responsible for any timer discrepancy indicating the end of the auction prematurely, for any reason whatsoever.

Registration for the auction and enforceability of the Online GTCS: In order to bid online, bidders must register online on the Site before the auction. Registration will be subject to the bidder's consultation and acceptance of the Online GTCS. By clicking on the "I accept the Online General Terms and Conditions of Sale" box, each bidder acknowledges having read these Online GTCS, declares accepting them without reservation and acknowledges that they are fully binding and enforceable against them. 

Participation in Online auctions is carried out at the bidder's own risk and AGUTTES cannot be held liable in the event of the bidder's non-participation in the auction for any reason whatsoever, in particular in the event of malfunction or default of any kind (lack of response from the bidder, error, interruption, or omission in the reception of bids).

Procedure for identifying bidders: AGUTTES reserves the right to ask any potential bidder to prove their identity and for a legal entity, to provide a Kbis extract less than three months old and its bank details, it being specified that only the legal representative of the company or any duly authorised person may bid for. In the event of non-compliance with the identification procedures, AGUTTES reserves the right to refuse auction registration. All lots sold will be invoiced in the name and address of the purchaser. No subsequent modification may be made. The bidder is deemed to act in his own name and will be solely responsible for the bids made.

Any false information shall incur the liability of the successful bidder. 

Conduct of the auction: AGUTTES conducts the Online auction in a discretionary manner, ensuring the freedom and equality among all bidders, while respecting the established practices and customs of the profession. AGUTTES ensures the policing of the auction, which allows them to refuse bids or to withdraw a lot without having to justify it.

Adjudication: Bidders may place bids at their discretion throughout the duration of the auction. Each bid placed is final and binding on the bidder. If a bidder loses the lead on a lot during the last few minutes of the bidding, he or she will not receive an information email to this effect. The highest final bid will be deemed the successful bidder. Any bid recorded and confirmed by the platform, or the Site may result in an adjudication of the lot to the individual who placed the bid. Only the successful bidder will receive an email confirming the adjudication to his benefit at the end of the auction. 

Sellers are prohibited from bidding directly on the lots they own.

Withdrawal: Each bid is final and binds the person who placed it.

If access to the exhibition of lots prior to the online sale is provided free of charge, whether with or without an appointment, no right of withdrawal will be granted to the successful bidder.

The right of withdrawal can be exercised by the successful bidder under the following cumulative conditions: (i) the exhibition of lots before the sale is not free and unrestricted, and (ii) the seller of the lot is a professional in the sector (indicated by the § sign), while the successful bidder is a consumer. In such cases, the successful bidder may request to exercise the right of withdrawal within 14 days of taking possession of the goods. Return and shipping costs are the responsibility of the buyer and fall under their full responsibility and insurance. The cancellation request form can be found at: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000032887061. 

Transfer of risks and ownership: The transfer of risks between the seller and the successful bidder occurs at the end of the online auction of a given lot. AGUTTES disclaims any liability for losses and damages that the lots may suffer from the moment of adjudication.  The successful bidder must insure the acquired lots as soon as the lot is adjudicated to him.

Ownership of the lot will be transferred to the successful bidder on the date of payment of all sums due.

 

III- EXECUTION OF THE SALE

Buyer’s premium: In addition to the hammer price, the successful bidder must pay a fixed buyer’s premium, due for each acquired lot, as specified in its description.

In addition to the hammer price and the buyer’s premium, the successful bidder must pay all taxes and duties including VAT as well as any administrative, handling, and storage costs.

Payment of the sums due must be made in one single instalment by the successful bidder, immediately after adjudication. Payment is made in euros. Any potential bank charges applicable will not be deducted from the amounts due.

VAT: The VAT rate is 20% (or 5.5% for books). As a matter of principle, unmarked lots will be sold under the VAT gross margin scheme. The buyer’s premium and additional costs will be increased by an amount in lieu of VAT, which will not be separately mentioned in our sale slips. 

By way of exception, and at the request of the seller, the general VAT system may be applied to goods offered for auction by an EU professional. These goods will be marked by the ¤ sign.

Possible VAT refunds: apply for

  • The professional from the European Union, (i) with an intra-Community VAT number and (ii) providing proof of the export of lots from France to another Member State;
  • Non-residents of the European Union upon provision of (i) a customs export document, on which AGUTTES appears as sender (ii) when the export occurs within three months of the auction date or the date of obtaining the export permit.

Payment terms: Legal payment methods accepted by AGUTTES’ accounting (payments by credit card or wire transfer are strongly recommended):

  • Credit card: bank charges, which usually vary between 1 and 2%, are not borne by the auction house;
  • American Express card: a commission of 2.95% (including taxes) will be charged for all payments. Remote card payments and split payments in several instalments for the same lot with the same card are not allowed;
  • Online payment up to €10,000 to https://www.aguttes.com/paiement-en-ligne
  • Bank transfer: from the buyer’s account and indicating the invoice number:

IBAN FR76 3006 6109 1300 0203 7410 222
BIC CMCIFRPP
Account holder AGUTTES
Direct debit CIC PARIS ETOILE ENTREPRISES
178 RUE DE COURCELLES - 75017 PARIS

  • Cash: Articles L.112-6 and D.112-3 of the French Monetary and Financial Code: (i) Up to €1,000 for French tax residents or individuals acting for the purposes of a professional activity; (ii) Up to €15,000 for individuals whose tax residence is abroad (upon presentation of a passport and proof of residence);
  • Cheque (as a last resort): Upon presentation of two forms of identification documents. No time limit for cashing is accepted in the event of payment by cheque. Issuance will only be possible twenty days after payment. Foreign cheques are not accepted.

Defaulting successful bidder: In the absence of timely payment by the buyer, the item may be put back up for auction upon reiteration of the bids at the seller’s request in accordance with the procedure of Article L.321-14 of the French Commercial Code. If the seller does not make this request within three months of the auction, the sale shall be automatically cancelled.

In all cases, the defaulting buyer, due to lack of payment, shall be held liable to pay AGUTTES:

  • All costs and incidental expenses incurred by AGUTTES relating to the collection of unpaid invoices (including legal fees);
  • Late payment penalties calculated by applying interest rates at the European Central Bank (ECB) semi-annual key rate (refinancing rate or Refi) increased by five points on the total amount;
  • Damages to compensate for the loss suffered by AGUTTES (purchase costs, fees and commissions, VAT, storage, etc.).

AGUTTES reserves the right to:

  • Communicate the name and contact details of the defaulting buyer to the seller in order to enable the latter to assert their rights;
  • Exercise or have exercised all the rights and remedies, in particular the right of retention, over any property of the defaulting buyer, of which AGUTTES may have custody;
  • Prohibit the defaulting successful bidder from bidding in future auctions organised by AGUTTES or make the possibility of bidding in future auctions contingent upon the payment of a prior provision;
  • Proceed to the registration of the defaulting bidder on a database of bad payers shared among different participating auction houses.

Indeed, AGUTTES is a member of the Central Register for the prevention of unpaid dues of auctioneers upon which incidents of non-payment are likely to be registered.

The rights to access, rectify and object for legitimate reasons may be exercised by the concerned debtor at Symev 15 rue Freycinet 75016 Paris.

Collection and storage of lots: An awarded lot may only be delivered to the buyer after full payment of the purchase slip, received by the AGUTTES bank account.

The lots will be handed over to the purchaser in person after presentation of any document proving his identity or to the third party appointed by him and to whom he has entrusted an original power of attorney and a copy of his identity document. The lost is collected by appointment only, at the buyer's sole risk and expenses.

The applicable storage fees are mentioned in the "Special Terms and Conditions" below.

Resale of paid and non-collected lots: In the event that one or more lots awarded and paid for in the course of an auction have still not been collected by the buyer within the timeframe agreed upon in the "Special Terms and Conditions" below  and that the applicable storage, custody and preservation costs exceed the auction value of the lot(s), AGUTTES reserves the right to put the lot(s) back up for auction or sale in order to reimburse all costs due.

 

IV- PRE-EMPTION RIGHT

The French State may exercise a pre-emptive right on any public or private sale or auction of cultural property. The State has a period of 15 days from the public sale to confirm the exercise of its pre-emptive right to buy and to subrogate itself to the buyer.

 

V- EXPORT

The export formalities (requests for certificate for a cultural good, export license) for a given lot are the responsibility of the purchaser and may require a four-month delay. AGUTTES is at the disposal of its buyers to guide them through these procedures and to assist them in the submission of requests to the French Museums Service (“Service des Musées de France”). 

AGUTTES cannot be held responsible for delays. Under no circumstances can AGUTTES be held liable for the refusal or delay of the administrative decision. The refusal to issue a certificate or a license may not under any circumstances justify a default or delay in payment by the buyer or a cancellation of the sale.

 

VI- APPLICABLE LAW AND COMPETENT COURT

The present GTCS and the rights and obligations arising from them will be governed by French law.

Any legal action relating to the sales activities of AGUTTES will be settled by the competent Judicial Court in France, in accordance with article L.321-37 of the French Commercial Code. In particular, all legal actions involving successful bidders and/or bidders with the status of commercial traders according to French law will be decided by the Nanterre Judicial Court.

Bidders, successful bidders and their representatives acknowledge that Neuilly-sur-Seine is the exclusive place of performance of AGUTTES' services.

Civil liability claims arising from auctions and voluntary and judicial sales of furniture by public auction are subject to a limitation period of five years from the date of the auction.

Any difficulty may be referred free of charge to the Government Commissioner at the “Conseil des maisons de vente” with a view to reaching an amicable solution. Complaints may be made by post to 19 avenue de l'Opéra, 75001 Paris, or online at the following link: https://conseilmaisonsdevente.fr/en/claim. It is also possible to submit a request for an out-of-court settlement on a European platform for the settlement of online disputes between consumers and professionals, accessible at the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home2.show&lng=EN.

 

VII- PERSONAL DATA

Bidders are informed that AGUTTES may collect and process data concerning them in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation no. 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (GDPR) and the French Data Protection Act no. 78-17 of 6 January 1978 amended by Law No. 2018-493 of 20 June 2018 on the protection of personal data.

Data is collected for the purposes of managing their contractual or pre-contractual relations (registration for auction, invoicing, accounting, payments, communication, etc.). This data consists of information such as: surnames, first names, postal address, email address, telephone number, bank details.

Bidders are informed that they have a right of access, rectification, erasure, portability, opposition, and limitation with regard to such data with AGUTTES. Requests must be made in writing to: communication@aguttes.com. Any complaint about the applicable data protection legislation may be brought before the CNIL: www.cnil.fr.

 

VIII- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

AGUTTES owns all reproduction rights to its auction catalogue. Any reproduction thereof is prohibited and constitutes a counterfeiting. The sale of a lot does not in any way imply the assignment of any applicable intellectual property rights (representation and/or reproduction) to the work.

 

IX- SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1- Storage costs

The storage of goods subject to an auction or a private sale that are not collected by the buyer within 15 days of the auction (including the day of the sale), will be charged as follows:

- Jewellery and / or watches worth < €10.000 = €15 / day of storage;
- Jewellery and / or watches worth > €10.001 = €30 / day of storage;
- Wine: 1 € per bottle per calendar day, without prejudice to any fees that may be applied by iCave;
- Other lots < 1m3 = €3 / day;
- Other lots > 1m3 = €5 / day.

2- Mechanical and electrical objects

Mechanical or electrical objects offered for sale by AGUTTES are exclusively offered for decorative purposes. As they represent second-hand goods, AGUTTES does not under any circumstances certify their operational condition. We recommend that buyers inspect the lots during the public preview of an auction accompanied by an expert in the concerned sector, and to have the electrical or mechanical mechanism checked by a professional before any operation of the lot.

3- Watches and clocks

The watches and clocks we sell are all second-hand goods, most of which have undergone repairs resulting in the replacement of certain parts which may not be original. AGUTTES does not provide any guarantee on the authenticity and originality of the components of a timekeeping item.

Clocks may be sold without pendulums, weights, or keys and unless otherwise stated, their presence is not guaranteed. Watch straps may not be original and may not be authentic.

Collector’s watches require general and regular maintenance: repairs or overhauls may be necessary and are the responsibility of the buyer, as AGUTTES does not provide any guarantee on their proper functioning. AGUTTES recommends that buyers have watches and clocks checked by a competent watchmaker before each use.

It is the responsibility of potential buyers to personally verify the condition of the item. 

4- Gold and precious metals 

Certain lots containing gold, platinum, or silver may be subject to inspection by the territorially competent Guarantee Office to undergo alloy testing and be hallmarked prior to the sale. AGUTTES accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the findings of the Guarantee Office.

5- Furniture 

Unless expressly stated in the lot description, the presence of keys is not guaranteed.

6- Protected plant and animal species 

Objects partially or entirely composed of materials from endangered and/or protected species of flora and fauna are marked by the symbol ~ in the catalogue. Legislators impose strict rules for the commercial use of these materials, in particular regarding ivory trade.  

Buyers are informed that the import of any goods composed of these materials is prohibited by many countries, or requires a permit or certificate issued by the competent authorities of the countries of export and import of the goods. Purchasers are entirely responsible for the proper compliance with all regulatory and legislative standards applicable to the export or import of goods composed partially or entirely of materials originating from endangered and/or protected species. AGUTTES will not be held liable for the impossibility of exporting or importing such goods, and this cannot be used to justify a request for cancellation of the sale. 

7- Wine

Old bottles can naturally become brittle and fragile over time and during transportation. AGUTTES cannot be held responsible for the condition of the cork.

8- Precious stones

Historically, precious stones have been treated to improve their appearance. These treatments are generally accepted by jewellery dealers.

The availability of a gemmology report for stones offered for auction by AGUTTES will be specified in the lot descriptions. AGUTTES is in no way obliged to provide a gemmological report for each stone.

In the absence of a precise analysis report established by a gemmology laboratory certifying that a stone is natural, AGUTTES does not guarantee the absence of treatment carried out on that stone.

AGUTTES does not in any way guarantee the accuracy of the information transcribed from the analysis reports drawn up by gemmology laboratories. These laboratories may be personally held liable for their reports, which may differ from one laboratory to another based on the respective techniques used.

The estimates provided by AGUTTES reflect the information communicated in the gemmology report or, in the absence of a report, the assumption that the stones may have undergone treatments. 

AGUTTES is at the disposal of any potential buyer to obtain, at their expense, a certificate from the laboratory of their choice, if addressed within a minimum of two weeks before the auction.

 

If a customer feels that he or she has not received a satisfactory response, he or she is advised to contact the head of the relevant department directly, as a matter of priority. In the absence of a response within the specified timeframe, the customer may then contact customer service at serviceclients@aguttes.com, which is attached to the Quality Management Department of SVV Aguttes.