CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS
The Conditions of Business are made in accordance with the Auction
Law of the People’s Republic of China, other relevant laws implemented
in the People’s Republic of China, regulations of the People’s Republic
of China and the Articles of Association of the Company with reference
to international conventions. Both the Bidder and the Seller shall read
carefully the following detailed regulations and be responsible for his actions
while carrying out these regulations. Special problems and unwritten
matters not mentioned in this document shall be explained and handled
by the Auctioneer in accordance with the principles of these regulations.
Contentious law problems shall be settled in accordance with the laws and
regulations of the People’s Republic of China.
Part I Main Stipulations for the Bidder and the Buyer
1. The Bidder and the Buyer
(1) The Bidder refers to any citizen, legal person/corporate or any
organization that registers and bids at the Auctioneer's.
(2) The Buyer shall be the highest Bidder approved by the Auctioneer.
(3) The Bidder shall keep the paddle registered at the Auctioneer's property
properly and bear the liability for any consequences caused by any other's
bidding under the Bidder's paddle.
(4) Before the auction the Bidder shall complete and sign a registration form
with his own valid Identification Card, Passport or other valid identity
certificates, and shall get a bidding paddle. If the Bidder is a legal person
or an organization, the Bidder shall fill in and sign a registration form
with the valid Business License, the legal person's Identification Card or
legal authorization letter and get a bidding paddle before the auction.
(5) The Bidder shall get a bidding paddle after paying the Auctioneer deposit
as required in Notice to the Bidder in the Catalogue, unless otherwise
agreed by the Auctioneer and the Bidder. After the auction, those who
fail in bidding and do not owe money to the Company may get back their
deposit with no interests within 12 working days. The Buyer shall pay
the total price of the auction article in full and take away the lot within 7
days after the successful bidding. The deposit already paid by the Buyer
shall be deducted as part of the total purchase price. If the Buyer fails to
pay the amount in full within 7 days, the Auctioneer shall confiscate the
deposit at the Auctioneer's and pursue the Buyer’s liability.
(6) The entrance of the Bidder into the auction hall shall imply that he shall
abide by this document and other regulations of the Auctioneer.
(7) The Bidder will raise his paddle on the premise that he agrees with
the bidding increment. Any bid lower than the increased price shall be
refused, except when the auction specialist of the Auctioneer adjusts the
price on the spot.
(8) The Bidder shall be responsible for his bid at any price, once the bidding
is confirmed as successful after the Auctioneer hammers down or
declares the sale valid in other open ways. The highest bidder shall sign a
confirmation order for the deal on the spot and he shall never pull back,
otherwise he shall be legally responsible for his bid.
2. Trust bid
(1) The Bidder shall take part in the auction himself. If it is impossible for
him to be present at the auction, he shall trust the Auctioneer as his
agent, but the Auctioneer shall not be responsible in case that the bidding
is unsuccessful or the agent makes mistakes or neglects his duties in the
course of bidding. If there are two or more bidders offering the same
trust price, the one who reaches the Auctioneer first shall prevail.
(2) The Bidder who intends to trust the Auctioneer as his agent to bid
shall sign a valid written authorization bid order and submit it to the
Auctioneer to pay the deposit no late than 24 hours before the auction
date. The Bidder shall pay off the rest within 7 days after the auction.
(3) The Bidder is permitted to trust other persons to bid and will be
responsible for the trustee’s bidding at the Auctioneer’s. The Bidder
registered at the Auctioneer’s will be held responsible for the bidding
and its result if others bid under the Bidder's paddle regardless of being
confirmed by the Bidder or not.
(4) If the Buyer authorizes other person to bid, the person entrusted shall
present a written letter of authorization which indicates he will bid on
behalf of the Buyer, and get approved by the Auctioneer in written form
thereafter. Otherwise, the person entrusted shall bear the same liability
of the Buyer.
(5) If the Bidder trusts the Auctioneer and other entrusted persons to bid,
he shall be bound by the Conditions of Business and responsible for the
bidding results. The Bidder shall bear the liability resulting from the
bidding by the Auctioneer’s staffs and other entrusted persons.
3. Caption or photo to an auction catalogue
(1) The captions, photos and introductions provided by the Auctioneer are
not a formal publication, but a notice on the forthcoming auction. Parties
involved are bound by the Conditions of Business.
(2) Statements of the auction article on the catalogue or in other forms
regarding its author, origin, date, history, size, material, mount,
ownership, authenticity, source, condition, estimated price or artistic
value are for the Bidder’s reference only. It is not a guarantee by the
Auctioneer.
(3) If there is any difference in color, light and shade between the auction
article's photos on the catalogue and the original one caused by
photography or printing, the original one shall prevail.
(4) If an auction article is printed on the catalogue by the Auctioneer, and
no caption or photo for it is available, it does not mean the article has no
defect. If a particular defect has already been stated, it does not mean it
has no other defects.
(5) The Auctioneer shall undertake no guarantee for the authenticity and
quality of any article. The Bidder shall authenticate or use other means
(including asking for the opinions of experts) before the auction day
to examine the original piece to judge if it is genuine and know about
the quality of the article he intends to buy. Once he takes part in the
bidding, he shall be considered to have exercised the above rights and
acknowledged the auction article’s status quo (including defects). The
bidder is considered willing to be legally responsible for his bidding of a
certain auction article, and he will never cancel his bid or refuse to pay
the purchase price, commission and other expenses under any excuse
whatsoever; otherwise the Auctioneer shall pursue the Bidder’s liability in
accordance with the Conditions of Business.
4. Facilities in the auction hall
The foreign exchange rate offered by the currency-exchange converter
available in the auction hall is for the Bidder’s reference only. The
Auctioneer shall not be held responsible for the discrepancy between the
foreign exchange rate proposed by The People's Bank of China and the one
offered on site.
5. Commission
After the successful bidding, the Buyer shall pay the Auctioneer 15%
of the “hammer price” as commission. If the Buyer refuses to pay the
commission, the Auctioneer shall have the right to pursue the Buyer’s
liability, but also have a lien on the auction article the Buyer shall collect.
6. Payment and delivery of the auction article
(1) After a successful bidding, the Buyer shall pay the price in full and pick
up the article or pay off the rest and pick up the auction article from the
auctioneer no late than 7 days after the auction.
(2) The payment shall be paid in RMB. In the event that the Buyer makes
payments in currency other than RMB, the payment will be made at the
foreign exchange rate announced by the People’s Bank of China on the
day of the payment.
(3) The Buyer will not get the ownership of any auction article unless he
pays the total amount of the purchase price and commission. The Buyer
will not collect any one of the articles before he pays off all amounts due
and commission.
(4) The Buyer shall collect the article within 7 days of its sale. After the
specified date, the Buyer shall be liable to pay transportation fee, storage
fee and other costs arising from the loss of the auction article. The
Auctioneer shall not be responsible for the consequences caused by the
Buyer’s delay.
(5) Once the Buyer allows the Auctioneer to arrange packing and
transportation, the Buyer is deemed as trusting the Auctioneer as his
agent out of his will. The Auctioneer shall not be responsible for any
damage to the article in the process of packing or transportation.
7. The Buyer’s liabilities to an auction article after the successful bidding
After the day when the article is sold, the Buyer shall be responsible for
the article he has purchased. Even if the article is still kept by the Auctioneer
or an agent, the Buyer shall be responsible for the losses or damages not
caused by the Auctioneer’s intentional act during the keeping period.
8. Remedies for arrears and deferred collection of auctioned articles
If the Buyer fails to pay the amount in full or does not take the auction
article away, the Auctioneer shall have the right to terminate the agreement
at any time and require the buyer to pay the penalty and assume the liability
for the loss. The Auctioneer shall be entitled to exercise one or more rights
as follows without informing the Buyer in advance:
(1) Bring a suit to the court where the Auctioneer is under jurisdiction