CONDITIONS OF SALE
Registration
Please note you must register online prior to the start of the sale ideally 24 hours before. Once you have registered please keep your account details strictly confidential. You will be liable for any or all bids made via your account.
Please note that Artscoops reserves the right to reject a registration to bid online, withdraw its permission to use our online bidding platform, or end an account for any reason at any time.
Absentee Bids
Artscoops will attempt to execute bids for buyers unable to attend the auction at the lowest possible price taking into account the reserve price. Your request should be made in writing by completing the form and given to one of the auction specialists (listed in the front of the catalogue). Always indicate a “top limit”, the amount to which you would bid if you were attending the auction yourself. Absentee Bids forms are available in the catalogue and online.
We must receive your completed Absentee Bid Form at least 24 hours before the auction.
Lot Descriptions, Provenance and Condition Reports
Prospective bidders may request a condition report at any time. In certain instances, Artscoops may print the provenance or the condition in the site. Any reference to condition will not amount to the full description of condition. We shall not be liable to you for any errors or omissions with respect to sale of the artwork, including any description of or any other material with respect to the promotion, marketing and exhibition of the artwork. We make no guarantees, representations or warranties to you about the artwork, including its authenticity, attribution, legal title, condition, value or otherwise. Our liability ends after the sale and any errors of authenticity will be borne by the seller.
The auctioneer is bound by the indications in the catalogue, modified only by the announcements made at the time of the sale noted in the legal records thereof. The order of the sale will be that of the catalogue or the website.
Viewing days (if stated in the catalogue) prior to the sale permits buyers to establish the condition of the works offered for sale and no claim will be accepted after the hammer has fallen. No mention shall be made of relining, mounting or cradling as they are considered to be methods of preservation and not a default. Frames are not guaranteed.
At the Sale
When making a bid, a bidder is accepting personal liability to pay the purchase price including all applicable charges. No bids can be withdrawn after Bidding for any reason.
You will be able to place bids on a Lot during the bidding period indicated for each lot in two ways: either by submitting your next bid using the increments indicated or by submitting your Maximum Bid. The Maximum Bid is the most you are willing to bid and pay for an artwork (exclusive of Buyer’s Premium and any applicable taxes). When leaving a Maximum Bid the system will automatically place incremental bids on your behalf in response to other bids until there are no bids or your Maximum Bid has been reached.
You will be notified by email when you are outbid, but always check in regularly to the platform as we are not responsible for emails going to Junk or being delayed at the servers’ end. In the event of a tie between bids placed, the earlier bid received by our server shall be accepted.
Bidding
Artscoops reserves the right to reject any bid. The highest bidder acknowledged by Artscoops will be the purchaser. Artscoops can also cancel the sale or resell the article in dispute.
Reserves can be lowered and or changed at any time during and until the end of the auction, should your bid meet the new reserve and you are the highest bidder, you have the winning bid and are legally required to honour the payment of the lot at the new reduced reserve level.
Closing the Online Only Auction
An end time is displayed for each Lot on our platform.
It will be clearly stated of the auction will end with minute intervals only or intervals followed by an extension.
Auctions can either end in the following two ways unless otherwise stated. All details will be
Option 1:
An end time is displayed for each Lot on our platform. Lots will close at the stated time unless a bid is placed within 1 minute of a Lot’s scheduled end time. If this occurs, Artscoops will extend the whole online sale of all the Lots by 2 minutes from the time of the last bid. Upon the closing of each lot, you will receive an email indicating if you have won the lot.
Option 2:
Lots will close at the stated time with 2-minute intervals unless a bid is placed within 1 minute of a lot’s scheduled end time. If this occurs, Artscoops will extend the online sale of that lot by the suggested minutes on the page – this can vary between 2 and 5 minutes. The extension of a lot’s closing time does not affect the closing time of the lots following it. This may result in lots closing out of numerical order.
Option 3:
Lots will close at 5-minute intervals one after the others in sequential order.
We reserve the right to close early or extended the bidding at any time at our sole discretion. It is strongly recommended to submit bids early to avoid losing out to factors out of our control such poor internet connection. All times are based on Lebanon time zone.
Successful Bids
Invoices are sent out by email after the auction. Buyers are requested to contact us to obtain the outcome of their bids and to avoid unnecessary storage charges
Out of Auction
If you are interested in purchasing a lot out of auction, please contact the Artscoops team. Lots can be bought out of auction if the seller agrees or if there is no bid on the piece by the time the auction ends.
Buyer’s Premium
Often a buyer’s premium is added to the hammer price and is payable by the purchaser as part of the total purchase price.
Imports & Taxes
The purchaser will be required to pay any applicable taxes, import licenses or customs. It is the buyer’s sole responsibility to obtain any relevant import license. The denial or delay of any license shall not justify the recession of any sale nor any delay in full payment.
Payment
For convenience, the sale will be conducted in US dollars unless otherwise stated. Please note we will only accept payment from the registered bidder.
Removal of Purchases
You must collect purchased lots within three days from the auction if its being held in Artscoops offices, otherwise please follow the instructions on Winning Bidder Email on how to remove your lot. If the lot is not removed after 15 days after the sale, Artscoops may send the artwork to a warehouse or charge a storage fee at the expense and risk of the purchaser.
Shipping
It is the buyer’s responsibility to make all shipping arrangements.
Remedies for Non-Payment
We have no obligation to enforce the payment from the buyer. If we do not receive payment from the buyer within ten (10) days of the auction, we shall have the right to exercise a number of legal rights, these include, but are not limited to, the following:
a) to hold the defaulting buyer liable for the total amount due and to commence legal proceedings;
b) to offer the Property for private or public sale.
Bidders who failed to settle their outstanding accounts within 60 days are not permitted to bid in our upcoming auctions.
Events Outside our Control
Artscoops will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform or delay in performance Contract that is caused by an Event Outside our Control. An Event Outside Our Control means any act or event beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation strikes, lock-outs or other industrial action by third parties, failure of third parties to provide services, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack, war or threat or preparation for war, fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic or other natural disasters, or failure of public or private telecommunications networks or impossibility of the use of railways, shipping, aircraft, motor transport or other means of public or private transport.
If an Event Outside Our Control takes place that affects the performance of our obligations:
(a) We will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to notify you; and
(b) Our obligations under our Conditions of Sale will be suspended, and the time for performance of our obligations will be extended for the Event Outside Our Control duration.
You may cancel a Contract affected by an Event Outside Our Control. To cancel, please contact us.
Certificate of Authenticity
Artscoops does not issue certificates of authenticity.
Display of Images
The online images may vary slightly in shade from the actual artwork. Each device iPhone, iPad, Samsung etc will display the images to its own device setting causing variations in colour and shade.
It’s always recommended to see them live when possible.
Law and Jurisdiction
This auction is governed by Lebanese law. Beirut courts are the sole competent jurisdictions to hear any dispute arising or related to the present Conditions of Sale.