General auction terms and conditions

of the company

classicphil GmbH (FN 499408 z)
Dorotheergasse 10/14-15
1010 Vienna
Telephone: +4318900638
Fax: +4318900641
E-Mail: office@classicphil.com

following referred to as “company”

The company operates as an auctioner of philatelistic stamps that are given to for voluntary auction. The auction may take place commission-wise in the name and for the account of the consignor.

The printing grafics on the stamps are to be regarded as historical time documents, not referring to the national or religious context. Images of the auction lots in the auction catalogs or on the Internet express NO religious or political statment.

The currency of the estimates and startingprices is the EURO (€).

1. The pre-auction phase

1.1. Registration for participation

1.1.1. Unlimited contractually admissable natural persons and legal entities must provide their master data and prove their identity during the required registration. This registration is only necessary for the first time they wish to participate in auctions organized by the company.

1.1.2. By registering, they simultaneously submit to the present auction conditions.

1.1.3. Contrary or supplemental provisions of external (general) terms and conditions are, even with the knowledge of the company, only valid in the form of a seperated written contract.

1.1.4. Anyone intending to bid on behalf of third parties must disclose their representative status prior to the auction. If there is no disclosure of a granted authorization granted, the contract of sale will be concluded with the bidder who becomes sole binding sales contract partner.

1.1.5. The company has the right to reject applications for registration without giving reasons.

1.1.6. The registration as the first-time bidder is carried out by the filling out the bidding form and the showing of a proof of identity by presenting a photo ID or copy of a photo ID (driving licence, passport, …).

1.2. Disclosure of identity

1.2.1. Any personal data of the bidder collected during the course of the registration will be kept confidential unless he agrees to a disclosure or there is a legal obligation to provide information.

1.2.2. However, the company is entitled to disclose the personal data of the highest bidder (name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.) to the consignor of the auctioned items. The bidder explicitly agrees to such data transfer.

2. In the auction

2.1. Location and date of the upcoming auction

2.1.1. Auctions are always public. However, the company is also entitled to carry out auctions with a limited group of persons.

2.1.2. The choice of the auction place and the auction date is up to the company.

2.1.3. The place and time of the public viewing will be announced in the auction catalogs, in the online presence of the company and if possible in mailings.

2.1.4. The auctioneer appointed by the company exercises the householder’s right of the company and is entitled to dismiss and expel persons without giving reasons, from the public viewing, the auction and the auction place.

2.2. Public viewing

2.2.1. The items to be auctioned will be presented prior the auction, stating the lot number and the price of the auction.

2.2.2. Everybody shall be given the opportunity to check the condition of these objects according to the local conditions, as good as this is possible during the public viewing.

2.3. Bidding procedures and starting price

2.3.1. During the bidding procedure the lots to be auctioned will be announced with the lot number and the starting price.

2.3.2. The auctioneer appointed by the company is entitled to determine the course of the auction, in particular

(a) to withdraw a lot if it is mislabeled, or if the authenticity is in doubt or if the item is suspected to be stolen, misappropriated or smuggled; or

b) to newly announce a lot that has already been knocked down.

2.3.3. The auctioneer is also entitled to change starting prices or lot descriptions, to separate items, to unite, to withdraw and to carry out the auction differently from the order of the lot numbers.

2.3.4. If no offer is made, the item will be withdrawen. However, the auctioneer may announce the item again at the same auction at a lower starting price.

2.3.5. The starting price depending on the bid steps is approx. 8-20% of the estimated price, but at least 40 Euros.

2.4. Bidding procedure

2.4.1. Each bidder will appear in his own name, unless he has disclosed his representative status at registration.

2.4.2. By submitting a bid, the bidder confirms that he has inspected the item prior to the auction and has verified its conformity with the description.

2.4.3. Bids are to be made in a clear way. The bid is made in the hall by lifting the bid card.

2.4.4. The auctioneer is entitled to refuse bids without giving reasons, in particular if there is reason to be concerned that a bidder will not pay his bid.

2.4.5. In any case, a bid submitted binds the bidder until the knock-down bid has been awarded to the lot concerned. If the auctioneer cancels a knock-down bid (see point 2.3.), the bidder must declare the maintainance of his last bid.

2.4.6. Agreements between the bidders, according to which someone promises not to appear as a bidder or bid only up to a certain price or otherwise according to a given scale or not bidding at all, are prohibited. The auctioneer is entitled to exclude offending bidders from the auction. The parties involved in such agreements are held responsible for all damages caused by the prohibited agreement.

2.5. Commission agents

2.5.1. The online service provider PHILASEARCH is a commission agent to the bidder and the company is not accountable for the availability, completeness, accuracy and timeliness of the information and information provided by PHILASEARCH or for the trouble-free functioning of the service offered.

2.5.2. Further analog present commission agents will be announced on the homepage of the company. These are responsible for the trouble-free serice offered not the company.

2.5.3. The company has the right to refuse bids from unannounced comission agents.

2.6. Telephone bidding

2.6.1. A telephone bidding is possible for registered bidders on items with the sum of starting prices of 10,000 €.

2.6.2. During telephone bidding no liability is assumed for connection errors. The company assumes no accountablity for damages due to the failure of a telephone connection or due to technical defects during the bidding procedure.

2.7. Written bidding orders, bidding by fax or e-mail

2.7.1. Registered bidders who can not or do not want to personally participate in the auction have the opportunity to submit bids by submitting a completed form “Written bid order”.

2.7.2. The transmission of a written bid order must be made to the postal address given above or by fax to the fax number +4318900641 or by e-mail to the address office@classicphil.com.

2.7.3. The purchase limit must be given numerically in euros, orders such as “best” or “must buy” are not taken into the bidding process.

2.7.4. Written bids must reach the company at least 24 hours before the start of the auction. Orders with the same bidding limit will be considered in the order of their arrival.

2.7.5. Failure of the bidding steps will be rounded up to the next highest step.

2.7.6. The knock-down price is one bid step above the maximum bid of the counterparty unless a higher bid is made by a furhter bidder. In the case of equal bids the first bid submitted gets knocked-down.

2.7.7. The company accepts no liability for damages that are based on the fact that due to technical defects, bids that are transmitted by e-mail are not or not processed in time and are thus not taken into account.

2.8. Bid steps / sub-bids

2.8.1. Steps of bidding: < 100 € to 10 € | 100 € < 400 € to 20 € | 400 € < 800 € to 50 € | 800 € < 2,000 € to 100 € | 2,000 € < 5,000 € to 200 € | 5,000 € < 20,000 € to 500 € | 20,000 € < 30,000 € to 1,000 € | 30,000 € < 80,000 € to 2,000 € | € 80,000

2.8.2. Bids below the starting price (sub-bids) will not be accepted.

2.9. Knock-down bid/hammer price

2.9.1. The knock-down bid is based on competing transparent bidding process.

2.9.2. If there are no competing bids and only the starting price is offered, the starting price is the knock-down bid, unless a higher minimum selling price has been agreed with the consignor.

2.9.3. If there are doubts to whom the bid has been knocked-down, if a bid has been overseen, if there are disagreements over a double bid or if the auction manager has overlooked a bid or in other unclear cases, the auctioneer can cancel a knock-down bid and auction this item again.

2.9.4. With the knock-down bid a sale contract between the company and the highest bidder is finalized. The high bidder accepts this and has to pay. Those who offer for third parties are jointly and severally liable to them.

2.9.5. With the knock-down bid all risks concerning the lot passes on to the knock-down bidder. Until full payment, the lots remain the property of the consignor.

2.10. Knock-down bid cancellation
2.10.1. The cancellation of a knock-down bid is procedured during the auction if there are disagreements about the bid, if a bid was overlooked or unrecognised or otherwise ignored, or if the auctioneer was in doubt about the existence or non-existence of a bid.

2.10.2. In case of a cancellation of the winning bid, the auction manager is entitled to give the winning bid to the second highest bidder for his last bid, if he confirms to the auctioneer his last bid. The auctioneer is also entitled to offer the item again in the same or a later auction.

3. Handling of the knock-down bid

3.1. Invoice and payment

3.1.1. The company will mail, hand over or send an invoice for the purchase price (hammer price plus buyers premium and lot fee (s)) plus shipping and handling fee for postage, packaging and insurance.

3.1.2. The buyer is obliged to pay the full purchase price invoiced in such a timely manner that it is credited to the account of the company within a maximum of fourteen days from the invoice date. There is no way that the knock-down bidder can exclude himself from his liability, only he has announced bidding for a third party at the registration for particicpating at the auction.

3.1.3. A cash payment is exceptionally possible and only for amounts over € 10,000 through a direct deposit into the bank account of the company. The bank of the company must present an identity card or passport as part of the cash payment.

3.1.4. Credit card payments can be made online on-site with an additional charge of 3%.  After payment, the goods are handed over. To prevent reverse charge the company is entitled to ship the items up to 25 working days later.

3.1.5. If the term of payment is exceeded according to point 3.1.2, default interest of 6% p.a. are charged. The company is also entitled to charge storage fees.

3.1.6. The payment must be made in Euros. Exchange charges, bank charges and transfer charges are at the expense of the buyer. It is not possible to make any price reductions.

3.2. Pickup, shipping

3.2.1. The pickup of a purchased item requires a separate agreement. In the case of an exceptionally paid cash payment (cf. 3.1.3.). The proof of payment must be presented to the company befor the lots are handed over.

3.2.2. The shipment of the purchased item will be carried out after receipt of payment. If, after an exceptional agreement, the delivery of an item takes place before payment of the full purchase price, the company retains title to the delivered item until full payment of all claims under the purchase contract.

3.2.3. Shipping is without exception insured.

3.2.4. Individual transport requests of the customer will be charged at customers costs.

3.2.5. Partial payments do not result in shipping. Only with full payment of the invoice amount the lots will be shipped.

4. Default in performance

4.1. Delay of the buyer

4.1.1. If the buyer is in default of payment, the company has the right to withdraw from the purchase contract by setting a reasonable period of time (§ 918 ABGB).

4.1.2. The company is in this case entitled, but not obligated, to conclude a purchase agreement with a losing bidder or to re-auction the object of purchase in a later auction. In such a re-auction, the item can also be offered at a lower starting price regardless of the knock-down bid made at the first auction. The defaulting party is liable for the loss of purchase price as well as any expenses and interest and other consequences of the default.

4.2. Defects / Complaints

4.2.1. Complaints concerning errors which were able to be seen from the image of the purchased item or during the publice viewing due to 2.2. (Cut, perforation, stamp, centering, etc.), can not be made the subject of a complaint and do not establish any claims whatsoever against the company and the consignor.

4.2.2. In the case of mis-descriptions which are not apparent from the images and the available data and which (see 2.2.) were not recognizable in the public viewing (description error and authenticity of the pieces). The complaint period is 60 days after the knock-down price was realised.

4.2.3. The company and consignors are not liable for slightly negligence caused damages.

4.2.4. Complained lots must be returned in their original condition and with the original lot card.

4.2.5. If a complained lot has damages that were demonstratable not present at the time of the experts evaluation, a refund is not possible.

4.2.6. The refund takes place after receipt of the original lot and the consultation with the customer within 10 days.

4.2.7. In the event of damage during transport, settlement must be carried out via the transport insurance contracted by the company. The appropriate documents must be hand over for the damage documentation. Otherwise a purchase price refund can not be guaranteed. This also applies to transport loss.

4.2.8. A replacement of the goods is not possible due to the unique condition of the auction lots.

4.2.9. Direct processing: Complaints are generally settled on behalf of the consignor. It remains to the company to direct the claimants against the consignor. In any case, this right can be exercised if the consignor has already been accounted.

4.2.10. As an auctioneer of movable goods announced bidding with a reservation subject of certivication can not be accepted.

4.2.11. In the event of a legitimate complaint, attest fees will be refunded upon presentation of the negative certificate and the experts invoice up to the amount of 3% of the hammer price.

4.3. According to §16 section 3 DMSG section 11 export licences are obtained. Delay of shipment from up to 2 months are possible.

5. Fees, tariffs and buyers premium

5.1. The company charges fees for its activities according to its tariff regulations. This can be found at TERMS OF RATES AND TARIFFS on www.classicphil.com, in the current auction catalog according to the general auction conditions or displayed in the auction hall.

6. Post auction sale

6.1. A post auction sale does not take place.

7. Final general terms

7.1. Only Austrian law of auctioneering applies. Excluded is the so called “UN-Kaufsrecht”.

7.2. The place of fulfilment is Vienna and the exclusive court of jurisdiction is the court for commercial matters (Wiener Handelsgericht).

7.3. Should any paragraph of these general auction terms and conditions be or become wholly or partially invalid, this shall not affect the legal force of the remaining conditions.

7.4. Any translation of these terms and conditions to another language is a guideline, only the German language version is in force.