Pierre Bergé & associés (PBA) is a voluntary sales auction house governed by
the French law n° 2000-642 of July 10, 2000.
PBA acts as the seller's agent. The auctioneer is not a party to the sale contract
which exclusively binds the seller to the successful bidder.
GENERAL FACTS
The present general terms and conditions, the sale and everything related to it
are governed by
French law; the sellers, the buyers and their representatives accept that any
legal action
is under the sole jurisdiction of the Parisian courts (France).
Each of these general conditions are independent of each other.
Payment is due at the moment of the sale and prices are expressed in euros.
WARRANTIES
The seller guarantees to PBA and the buyer that they are the undisputed owner,
or are duly authorized by the undisputed owner, of the property offered for sale,
that this property is not subject to any claim, dispute, attachment, reservation or
pledge and that they can rightfully transfer the ownership of the said property.
The information contained in the catalogue is established by PBA, assisted by
PBA's chosen expert, with all due criteria requested from any public auction
house, and can be subject to notifications, declarations and rectifications, which
will be announced at the time of the sale and recorded in the minutes of the sale.
This information, including the indications of dimensions in the catalogue are
provided to facilitate the appraisal of the potential buyer and are subject to their
own personal judgement.
The absence of any indication of restoration, accidents, condition reports or
labels in the catalogue, or verbal announcements at the moment of the sale,
does not imply that an item is free of defects.
The condition of frames is not guaranteed.
Gemstones and pearls in general may have undergone general improvement
modifications (oiling for emeralds, heat treatment for sapphires or rubies,
bleaching for pearls etc…). These improvements are considered traditional and
are accepted by the international gemstone and pearl trade market.
No guarantee is made on the working condition of the watches. Some
watchmakers may not anymore possess original parts for the restoration of
old watches and therefore no guarantee is given to the buyer on possible later
restorations, by watchmakers, for watches sold in their actual condition.
For items with a lower estimate of more than 1,000 euros, a condition report
on the state of conservation of the lots can be provided upon request. The
information is provided free of charge and subject to anyone’s own interpretation.
PBA cannot be held responsible in any way whatsoever for this information.
In the event of any dispute, in particular concerning the authenticity or origin of
the items sold, PBA is bound by an obligation of means; PBA's possible liability
may only be incurred on the express condition that a personal and proven fault
is demonstrated against the auction house.
BUYERS PREMIUM
The auction will be conducted in euros and payment will be due immediately. In
addition to the hammer price, buyers will pay the following fees :
- up to 150 000 euros, 30% incl. VAT of the hammer price (25% excl. VAT +
20% VAT)
- Above 500 000 euros and up to 500 000 euros, 25,8% incl. VAT (21.5% excl.
VAT + 20% VAT)
- And above 500 000 euros, 21,6% incl. VAT (18% excl. VAT + 20% VAT).
This calculation applies to each lot per tranche.
For books, manuscripts and autographs :
- Up to 150 000 euros : 26,37% incl. VAT (25% excl. VAT + 5.5% VAT) for the
books and 30% incl. VAT (25% excl. VAT + 20% VAT) for the manuscripts and
the autographs.
- Above 150 000 euros and up to 500 000 euros : 22,68% incl. VAT (21.5% excl.
VAT + 5,5% VAT) for the books and 25,80% incl. VAT (21,5% excl. VAT + 20%
VAT) for the manuscripts and the autographs.
Above 500 000 euros : 18,99% incl. VAT (18% excl. VAT + 5.5% VAT) for the
books and 21,60% incl. VAT (18% excl. VAT + 20% VAT) for the manuscripts and
the autographs.
This calculation applies to each lot per tranche.
Payment is due immediately after the sale. If the lot is exported outside the
European Union within three months after the sale, the VAT on the buyers
premium will be refunded by wire transfer, to the buyer, upon proof of exportation.
In the event of non-payment, the seller may decide to cancel the sale, to conduct
legal actions or to present the lot once more on sale on the condition that any
possible difference between the first and the second hammer price is to be borne
by the faulty buyer.
As a courtesy we accept payment by Bank transfer in euros, Visa, MasterCard
as well as Amex (with additional fees of 2.75%). In cash and in euros up to 1 000
euros (incl. fees and taxes) for French private residents and up to 15 000 euros
(incl. fees and taxes) for foreign residents.
The auction house is a member of the Registre Central de prévention des
impayés des Commissaires Priseurs (Auctioneers Central Registry to prevent
overdue payments) towards which any faulty payment may be registered.
The deptor can express their rights of access, rectification and opposition on
legitimate grounds by contacting the SYMEV (National Union of Voluntary Sales
Houses) : 15 rue Freycinet 75016 Paris.
LIVE AUCTION
Buyers who have acquired their lot(s) through an online sales platform will pay
in addition :
- for lots acquired via the Drouot.com platform, the sale costs to be paid by the
buyer are increased by 1.5% (excluding VAT) of the auction price (cf. CGV of the
Drouotonline.com platform).
- for lots acquired via the Invaluable platform, the sale costs to be paid by the
buyer are increased by 3% (excl. VAT) of the auction price (see the General Terms
and Conditions of Sale of the Invaluable.com platform).
- for the lots acquired via the Liveauctioneers platform, the selling expenses to be
paid by the buyer are increased by 5% before tax of the auction price (cf CGV of
the platform Invaluable.com).
- for the lots acquired via the Bidspirit platform, the selling expenses to be paid
by the buyer are increased according to the CGV of the bidspirit.com platform).
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Concerning lots sold by foreign resident sellers, buyer will pay a 5.5% VAT
in addition to the hammer price (lots marked with ). In accordance with the
provisions of Article 321-4 of the Commercial Code, the asterisk (*) marking
some lots indicates that they are owned by an associate of Pierre Bergé &
associés.
BIDDINGS
The sale will follow the lot numbers according to the catalogue. PBA has
discretion to set the increment of the bids and all bidders must comply with
this. The highest and final bidder will be the buyer. In case of a double bidding
declared by the auctioneer, the lot will be immediately reoffered for sale and all
present prospective buyers will be able to bid a second time. At the striking of
the hammer, risk and responsibility for the lot passes to the buyer. He is therefore
responsible for insuring his lots as soon as the auction is final.
ABSENTEE AND TELEPHONE BIDS
Bidders who cannot attend the auction in person and who are wishing to bid
by absentee or telephone bid are required to submit bids on the Absentee Bid
Form of which a copy is printed in the last pages of the catalogue. This form
must be received at least two days in advance of the sale, with the bidder’s bank
details. Pierre Bergé & associés provides telephone bids as a convenience to
bidders who cannot attend the auction in person and therefore will not be held
responsible if a phone connection problem occurs, under no circumstances
Pierre Bergé & associés employees will be held responsible if an error shall occur
in the execution of the telephone bids.
REMOVAL OF PURCHASES
At the striking of the hammer, risk and responsibility for the lot passes to the
buyer. He is therefore responsible for insuring his lots, and PBA declines all
responsibility for any damage that may occur as soon as the auction is final. All
formalities, including export license and transport are the sole responsibility of
the buyer.
For the withdrawn of purchases, the books must be picked up from Thursday
June 23rd at Pierre Bergé & associés - 21, avenue Kléber 75116 Paris from 9:30
am to 12:30 pm and
2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
PRE-EMPTION
In certain cases, the French State may exercise its pre-emptive right on works of
art put up for sale, in accordance with the provisions of the Article 37 of the Law
of December 31, 1921, amended by section 59 of the Law of July 10, 2000. State
then replaces the last bidder. In such cases, the representative of the State must
express its intention after the striking of the hammer to the company authorized
to organize the public auction or private sale. The pre-emption decision must
then be confirmed within fifteen days. Pierre Bergé & associés will not assume
any liability for administrative decisions of pre-emption.
GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION
Any person who has registered with PBA has the right to access and rectify
personal data provided to PBA under the conditions of the French Data
Protection Act of 6 January 1978, as amended by the Act of 6 August 2004.
