These Terms & Conditions of Business for Sellers govern all aspects of the consignment, report, holding and sale of property by Dawsons Auctioneers Limited and constitute the contract between Dawsons Auctioneers Limited (the “Auctioneer”) and the seller. Dawsons Auctioneers Limited act as an agent on behalf of the seller. By consigning items to Dawsons Auctioneers Limited, you agree to be bound by these terms.
Interpretation. In these Terms the words ‘you’, ‘yours’, etc. refer to the Seller and if the consignment of goods to us is made by an agent we assume that the Seller has authorised the consignment and that the consignor has the Seller’s authority to contract. Similarly, the words ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘Dawsons’ etc. refer to the Auctioneers.
Dawsons operate on a ‘No Sale, No Fee’ basis and will only charge ‘A Success Fee’ when any item(s) is(are) sold.
A success fee (commission) is charged to sellers at the following rates: 17.5% + VAT of the hammer price on each sold item.
Items for sale must be consigned to the saleroom by any stated deadline and at your expense. We may be able to assist you with this process but any liability incurred to a carrier for haulage charges is solely your responsibility.
(a) Dawsons is not authorised by the FCA to provide insurance to its clients, and does not do so. However, Dawsons for its own protection, assumes liability for property consigned to it at the lower pre-sale estimate until title passes to the buyer. The liability assumed by Dawsons shall be limited to the lower pre-sale estimate or to the starting price if the lot was unsold. Settlement in any claim arising shall be subject to commission as if the lot had sold in the normal manner.
(b) If the owner of goods consigned instructs us in writing not to take such action, the goods then remain entirely at the owner’s risk unless and until the property in them passes to the Buyer or they are collected by or on behalf of the owner, and clause 4(a) is inapplicable.
(c) Dawsons will not be liable for the loss or damage to frames or glass covering prints, paintings or other works. Old frames are often fragile or subject to deterioration and whilst Dawsons will do their utmost to ensure the safety and care of frames and glass we will not compensate for loss or damage to property caused by changes in humidity or temperature, normal wear and tear, gradual deterioration, inherent defect or errors in processing.
Goods will normally be offered subject to a starting price agreed between you and us before the sale in accordance with clause 6. We may sell lots below the starting price provided we account to you for the same sale proceeds that you would have received had the starting price been the hammer price. If you specifically give us a “discretion” we may accept a bid of up to 15% below the starting price and “wide discretion” allows us to accept a bid of up to approximately 30% below the starting price.
Prior to the auction you are entitled to place a starting price on any lot consigned, subject to the minimum amount being £500, this being the minimum hammer price at which that lot may be sold, notwithstanding clause 5.
The starting price must be reasonable, and we may decline to offer goods which in our opinion would be subject to an unreasonably high starting price. If we are unable to offer goods they may be subject to storage charges if uncollected. A starting price once set cannot be changed except with our consent and confirmed by you in writing. Where a starting price has been agreed only, we may bid on your behalf and only up to the starting price (if any) and you may in no circumstances bid personally.
These are subject to detailed statutory safety regulation. Where such items are accepted for sale, you accept responsibility for the cost of testing by external contractors. Goods not certified as safe by an electrician (unless antiques) will not be accepted for sale. They must be removed at your expense on your being notified. We reserve the right to dispose of unsafe goods as refuse, at your expense.
The sale of soft furnishings is strictly regulated by statute law in the interests of fire safety.
Goods found to infringe safety regulations will not be offered and must be removed at your expense. We reserve the right to dispose of unsafe goods as refuse, at your expense.
The rights of disposal referred to in clause 8 and 9 are subject to the provisions of The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, Schedule 1, a copy of which is available for inspection on request.
Please provide us with accurate information as to the provenance etc. of goods where this is relevant. There is strict liability for the accuracy of descriptions under modern consumer legislation and in some circumstances, responsibility lies with sellers if inaccuracies occur. We will assume that you have approved the catalogue description of your lots unless informed to the contrary. Where we are obliged to return the price to the buyer when the lot is a deliberate forgery under Condition 15 of the Conditions of Sale and we have accounted to you for the proceeds of sale you agree to reimburse us the sale proceeds. The liability to reimburse the sale proceeds shall not arise where you are acting reasonably and honestly and are unaware of the forgery or where we are or ought to have been aware of it.
All unsold lots will be re-offered in the next appropriate live or online auction unless you instruct us otherwise. Should the lot remain unsold it will then be automatically re-offered in the next appropriate live or online auction without a fixed starting price. If Dawsons advises the vendor that it does not wish to re-enter a lot on their behalf or the vendor advises that they do not wish to have a lot re-entered for sale, the vendor shall collect or have the lot collected within five days of the auction ending, failing which they shall be responsible for storage charges of £5 + VAT per lot per day in addition to any other charges to which they are liable. All requests must be received in writing. If a lot remains uncollected twenty-one days after the date of the auction, Dawsons shall have the right to sell the lot at auction without reserve and to deduct from the ‘hammer price’ any sum owing to Dawsons as well as expenses arising from all auctions in which the lot has been included, plus any storage charges.
(a) If an item is withdrawn prior to the publication of the online preview or digital online catalogue, a minimum charge of £50 + VAT per lot is applicable. This fee covers administration, handling, storage and insurance of the lot whilst in our care.
(b) If an item is withdrawn after the publication of the online preview or digital online catalogue, the lot will incur charges comprising the sum of the agreed Success Fee (in accordance with clause 6) and the buyer’s premium, and other expenses in relation to the item. VAT is applicable on all charges. These commission and premium charges will be calculated upon Dawsons published mid-estimate.
(c) In the cases of 11 (a) and (b) Dawsons will store the withdrawn item for a period of five days with no charge, after this a storage charge will be applicable at a daily rate of £5 per item per day plus VAT for items that remain uncollected.
You agree that all goods will be sold according to our Conditions of Sale. In particular, you undertake that you have the right to sell the goods either as owner or agent for the owner. You undertake to compensate us and any buyer or third party for all losses liabilities and expenses incurred in respect of and as a result of any breach of this undertaking.
You authorise us to deduct commission from the hammer price at the stated rate plus all applicable expenses incurred on your account and consent to our right to retain beneficially the premium paid by the buyer in accordance with our Conditions of Sale and any interest earned on the sale proceeds until the date of settlement.
You authorise us at our discretion to negotiate a sale by private treaty not later than fourteen working days from the date of the auction in the case of lots unsold at auction, in which case the same charges will be payable as if such lots had been sold at auction and so far as appropriate these Terms apply.
We disclaim all liability for goods delivered to our saleroom without sufficient written sale instructions, client contact details or without our prior written agreement to take delivery and reserve the right to either refuse to receive such goods or to make a minimum warehousing charge of £5 + VAT per item per day. Unsold lots are subject to the same charges if you do not remove them within a reasonable time of notification. If not removed within twenty-one days we reserve the right to sell them and defray charges from any net proceeds of sale or at your expense to consign them to the local authority for disposal.
Settlement of the net sum due to you normally takes place 30 days after the sale (by bank transfer to the seller) unless the buyer has not paid for the goods. In this case no settlement will then be made but we will take your instructions in the light of our Conditions of Sale. You authorise any sums owed by you to us on other transactions to be deducted from the sale proceeds. You must note the liability to reimburse the proceeds of sale to us as under Condition 10 of the Conditions of Sale. You should therefore bear this potential liability in mind before parting with the proceeds of sale until the expiry of one month from the date of sale.
The business is regulated under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, per Amendment no. 1511 (2019). The reference number as a supervised business is XKML00000164493. Accordingly, for qualifying transactions and in certain situations, Dawsons will be required to collect information necessary to comply. The completion of sales is contingent on the provision of such information by customers, and any suspicious activity will be reported to the National Crime Agency.
These terms are based upon recommended terms of sale by SOFAA and RICS.
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