The sale will take place in the presence of a court bailiff. Participation implies unconditional acceptance of the following conditions of sale:
1. To participate in a sale, all bidders must provide SRL “Librairie - Galerie des Éléphants”, abbreviated to “LGE”, with their name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, valid identity card or passport and bank details. Unless required by law, the data received will not be passed on to third parties.
2. The highest or last bidder will be the successful bidder. He will be obliged to pay the hammer price of the lot in cash plus expenses.
Purchasers will pay the following fees and taxes in addition to their bids: 25% exclusive of tax, i.e. 26.5% inclusive of tax for books and 30.25% inclusive of tax for all other items.
3. LGE reserves the right to refuse any bid, to make any decision, to combine or withdraw lots without having to justify its decision.
4. The lots are displayed publicly before the sale, so that each buyer can see for himself the quality and defects of the lots and examine them. The information contained in catalogs, advertisements, brochures or any other written or oral mention emanating from LGE, must be considered as mere indications which in no way engage its responsibility. LGE does not guarantee the accuracy of any statement concerning the origin, date, provenance, weight, dimensions, denomination or physical condition of the lot. The absence of any mention of restoration, accident or incident in no way implies that the lot is in perfect condition or free of restoration, wear, craquelure, lining, lack, defect or other imperfections present, past or repaired. Conversely, the mention of any defect does not imply the absence of other defects. The colors of the works shown in the catalog may vary due to the printing process. Works in lots are not collated. The buyer is presumed to have been able to appreciate in person the item sold during the exhibition, even when participating in the auction by means of remote communication or by leaving a written purchase order. Lots may not be viewed or examined during the sale. No claim or right of recourse for defects in the merchandise will be accepted once the sale has taken place.
5. As lots are sold in the condition in which they are found at the time of sale, LGE declines all responsibility for the consequences - whatever they may be - of any handling carried out on the lot by the successful bidder himself or by a third party (including, but not limited to, unframing a work, removing a passe-partout, installing or removing a binding, cleaning, restoring, unpacking, etc.).
6. Any person causing damage to a lot listed in the catalog, to another item or to a person, during the exhibition, the sale, the removal of the goods, or at any other time, must make good the loss suffered. It shall also be liable for any damage caused by any person, thing or animal for which it is responsible.
7. Purchase orders and telephone bids are a free service provided to the customer. LGE declines all responsibility in the event of technical or communication problems, errors or omissions in the execution of orders, or in the event of non-execution of orders. In the event of equal bids, the oral bid takes precedence over the written bid and the digital bid. Written bids are processed in the order in which they are received; in the event of equal bids, the first bid received takes precedence over all others.
8. Any person wishing to participate in online auctions must read and accept, without reservation, the terms and conditions of use of the platform on which he/she has registered, which are independent of and in addition to these general terms and conditions of sale. LGE cannot under any circumstances be held responsible for technical or other problems encountered on the platform, regardless of their consequences for online or live bidders.
9. The court bailiff in charge of the sale will be the final arbiter of any dispute that may arise concerning bids during the sale.
10. Buyers are required to pay for and take delivery of the lots awarded to them within 30 working days of the auction. Between the auction and the aforementioned deadline, LGE undertakes exclusively to keep the lots in good order. Once this period has elapsed, LGE reserves the right, without prior notice, to return any lots that have been paid for but not removed to a storage service provider, at the buyer's sole expense. Without prejudice to any payment proceedings against the defaulting buyer, lots unpaid within the above-mentioned period may be reoffered for sale by irresponsible bidding at LGE's discretion. In this case, the buyer will be required to pay any difference in price, as well as all costs and disbursements relating to the sales required to reauction the lot. The buyer will not be entitled to claim any surplus.
11. Invoices and statements of account are payable in cash. Any sum not paid on the due date shall automatically bear interest on arrears at the rate of 1% per month, without prior notice. In addition, in the event of non-payment on the due date, the amounts due are automatically increased by a flat-rate compensation of 15% by way of contractual damages, with a minimum of 150 euros and independently of late payment interest.
12. The successful bidder does not acquire ownership of the goods until full and final payment of the price and its accessories has been made. He can only take delivery when this payment has become final. However, the risks are entirely transferred to the purchaser from the moment of the award.
13. All successful bidders are deemed to have acted on their own behalf and are personally liable for payment of the lots awarded to them in any capacity whatsoever. Payment must be made in euros or by certified cheque before the lot is collected and within the time limit stipulated in article 8. In the event of payment by uncertified cheque, LGE will have the right to defer delivery of the auction until the cheque has been cashed. Items will remain at the buyer's risk during this additional time. Cash payments are not accepted above 2,999 euros, within the limits provided by law.
14. Transport, storage and handling of items are at the buyer's sole risk and expense.
15. In the event of dispute, the courts of Brussels shall have exclusive jurisdiction.