TERMS AND CONDITIONS
BIDDING
(1) By submitting bids, by any method, the bidder accepts these Terms & Conditions of Sale of Status International (henceforth referred to as "the auctioneer").
(2) All lots have reserves & estimates specified eg: $300 - $400. The first price is the reserve & is the minimum hammer price the lot will be sold for. Any bids submitted below the reserve will automatically be increased to the reserve. The second listed price is the estimate, being our opinion of a fair market price that the lot may be expected to sell for.
(3) Starting prices of lots on the auction floor will be either the reserve, or one bidding step above the second highest absentee bid received.
Bidding steps are:
Up to $30 Steps of $1
$30 to $100 Steps of $5
$100 to $250 Steps of $10
$275 to $750 Steps of $25
$750 to $1,500 Steps of $50
$1,500 to $5,000 Steps of $100
$5,000 to $10,000 Steps of $250
$10,000 to $20,000 Steps of $500
$20,000 to $50,000 Steps of $1,000
$50,000 & above Steps of $2,500
Bids not adhering to these guidelines will be automatically adjusted upwards to the next closest bidding step.
(4) The purchaser of the lot shall be the highest bidder, as determined by the auctioneer. If identical absentee bids are received, the first bid processed takes precedence, and absentee bids take precedence over identical room bids and live internet bids.
(5) Absentee bids from clients unable to attend the auction are treated in utmost confidence, and will not be revealed to anyone prior to the auction. Lots will be sold at one step above the second highest bid. Example: if a lot is reserved at $200 and bids of $220 and $450 are received, the lot will be sold for $230 to the 2nd bidder, subject to any room bidding. Absentee bids & instructions are processed with every care, but the Auctioneers regret that they can accept no responsibility for errors or any omissions. Bidders should check their bid sheets as lots bid on in error are not returnable.
(6) The auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw or re-offer any lot, group several lots together, refuse any bid or to refuse admission to the viewing area or auction room to any person. We also reserve the right to alter descriptions of lots prior to the auction. Such changes may be published on our website, displayed at the auction or announced by the auctioneer prior to the start of the auction.
(7) New clients must, at the auctioneer’s discretion, provide verifiable references, or enclose a deposit in advance of the sale.
(8) Agents bidding on behalf of undisclosed clients do so on their own responsibility both for the payment & safe delivery of lots. Bids from minors are only accepted if there are adequate guarantees from parents or guardians.
PAYMENT
(9) Room buyers: payment is due on the day of the sale.
Absentee bidders: payment is due within 7 days of the date of the invoice. It is the responsibility of the purchaser to find out the total amount due (by contacting the auctioneer if necessary) and to remit payment promptly. We pay our vendors on time so we need to be paid by buyers in a timely manner.
(10) A buyers commission of 21.45% will be added to the knockdown price of each lot. All lots are sold on a GST inclusive basis (where applicable).
(11) Lots sold to absentee bidders, that are not collected from our offices, will have postage, packing & insurance costs added.
(12) Auctions are conducted in Australian dollars and all lots are invoiced in Australian dollars, and can be settled as per our list of acceptable payment methods. Monies credited to client accounts are net amounts received after bank or other financial institution fees (if any) have been deducted. All credit card payments are subject to a service fee.
(13) Payments by cheques/checks/drafts or money orders may be subject to verification and/or clearance. Bidders wanting to pay by credit card may be required, at the auctioneers discretion, to provide address/bank details etc for verification before the auction lots are sent, and the auctioneer reserves the right to refuse credit card payment and require payment by other methods.
(14) Late payment (more than 30 days from auction date): a service charge of 3% per month or part thereof will be added to amount owing. Refer also to clause (25).
(15) Failure to pay: the auctioneer is entitled to re-sell the lot either publicly or privately and the buyer is then responsible for any deficiency. The auctioneer may also proceed against the buyer for breach of contract and/or sell any property belonging to the buyer that may be in the possession of the auctioneer. Ownership of the goods shall not pass until payment has been made in full. In the case of personal cheques accepted in payment for lots, until they have cleared.
DESCRIPTIONS
(16) Descriptions in the auction catalogue are made with the greatest care, to the best of the auctioneer's ability. However they are not to be taken as statements of fact. All larger quantities are approximate. Catalogue values are taken from the latest editions available to the auctioneer, but are not guaranteed.
(17) Lots are available for viewing, prior to the auction at the premises of Status International, unless otherwise stated. Any viewer who damages any item while viewing is liable to pay auctioneer's estimate of the value of the item before it was damaged.
(18) Single lots are sold as correctly described and genuine, unless indicated to the contrary. Any single lots qualified as "sold as is" in description are not returnable for any reason. Bidders should familiarise themselves with our list of abbreviations and condition descriptions as they form an integral part of the descriptions.
(19) Illustrations of single lots in auction catalogue and/or on our website also form part of the lot descriptions and lots cannot be rejected for features visible in the illustrations, such as in stamps: margins, centering, perfs, cancels etc, and as in coins: scratches, uneven edges or tone, cracks etc. Illustrations cannot necessarily be relied upon for exact reproduction of colour.
(20) Coins graded by the major US third party grading services PCGS, NGC, ANACS are sold as graded by those services. No returns will be accepted. Items described as having defects/faults/imperfections/blemishes etc are also not returnable on account of these or any other factors relating to their condition.
(21) Postally used covers/cards etc can be expected to show some wear from their travels or from opening (ie: filing folds, backflap or edge faults etc). Blocks or sheets of stamps may have some perf separations, or marginal faults. Unless severe such will not be mentioned, and are not grounds for return.
(22) Single lots that are proven (to the auctioneers satisfaction) to be not genuine or not as described may be returned within 3 days of receipt, in the same condition as received. If an item has been altered in any way, the buyer has no return rights unless the auctioneer has agreed in writing to such alteration (cleaning, immersion in water or chemicals, removal of hinges/adhesions, addition or removal of marks of any kind).
(23) Lots stated to contain a collection/accumulation/range etc with more than 10 items and/or any undescribed material are sold strictly 'as is' and must be taken with all faults and description errors (if any). The buyer of any such lot has no right of rejection or return. Auction description of lots is per our catalogue/website, while any owner's descriptions/notations inside an auction lot do not form part of our description. Also items visible in scans on website but not mentioned in our descriptions are not guaranteed in any way.
(24) Military items are made to be worn and used, expect some wear and tear. Overall condition of lots is given however the lot may contain minor faults. Lots may not be returned on account of these faults. Unless stated all items are used. They have been used by the armed forces in the field and as such will have wear, marks, scratches tears and other service use. Faults visible in the photo will not be mentioned nor will minor faults that are to be expected. All German 3rd Reich Militaria items have been researched and examined in detail by the auctioneers and are believed to be genuine unless otherwise described. Buyers or their agents should inspect these items prior to bidding . These items are sold ‘as seen’ and should only be bought in full knowledge and acceptance that these lots are not returnable.
(25) No lot can be rejected if the buyer, or his agent inspected the lot prior to the auction.
(26) Buyers who are late with payment may forfeit any return privileges (even if lot is not as described), as the vendor may have been already paid.
EXPERTISING
(27) Prospective buyers wishing to bid on lots "on extension", so they can be expertised or an expert certificate obtained, should inform the auctioneer in writing no later than 24 hours before the auction. The auctioneer has absolute discretion whether such a conditional bid is accepted. If accepted, and the bidder is successful, expertising will be conducted by an expert or expert committee chosen by the auctioneer, unless other arrangements have been agreed in writing, in advance. Failure to request an extension prior to the auction may mean that such a later request may be refused by the auctioneer.
(28) Extensions will be granted for expertising to confirm an item is not forged, faked, repaired or regummed. Extensions will not granted for obtaining opinions on "condition" or "grading" of an item. All such matters of "condition" to have been decided by the buyer or by the auctioneer as per instructions given by the bidder, prior to the auction.
(29) Lots with expert certificates are offered strictly on the basis of those certificates, and in general no extensions will be granted on such lots, especially if the certificate is recent (within last 10 years), nor will return of any such lots be accepted for any reason. Similarly, all coins/banknotes slabbed by the major grading services, are sold as per their grading and are not returnable for any reason.
(30) Lots "on extension" are payable in full, as per points (9) to(13). Payment will not be released to vendor until after lots have been expertised. Should any lot be proven not to be genuine, they buyer will receive a full refund. All expertising & related costs are the liability of the buyer unless the lots are proven to be not genuine.
GENERAL
(31) The auctioneer shall not be liable for any default of the purchaser or vendor. Also the auctioneer shall not be liable for any error in the catalogue text or illustrations or on the website. The only remedy possible for such an error in the auction catalogue or website, is cancellation of the sale of the relevant lots as per condition of sale (22), and refund of purchase price and commission.
(32) The contents of this catalogue are copyright and cannot be reproduced in any shape, way or form without written permission of Status International.
(33) Every person on Status International premises or attending the auction is deemed to be there at his/hers own risk, and can have no claim against Status International in respect of any accident, damage, injury or loss.
(34) Despatch of lots: Invoices are prepared and successful bidder lots are both sent out as quickly as possible after purchases have been packed. A combination of the number of lots sold and the large number of cartons sold to postal bidders results in this process being spread over several weeks (even with 3 4 people packing). Our apologies in advance.