BALCLIS – GENERAL CONDITIONS
The Auction House’s Activity
BALCLIS Auction House, at Calle Rosselló, 227, Barcelona, trading under the name of SACLIBA SL, and with Fiscal Identification No. B-08670408, promotes and facilitates sales operations in the public and voluntary auctioning of assets and artistic objects, or those of a similar nature, that are entrusted to it for this purpose. The House acts as a middleman between the owner and the buyer of each lot. In its capacity as middleman, the House shall comply, in the auctioning of objects and works of art that are given to it for such a purpose, with the laws and regulations in force, and with the commercial customs that have traditionally governed these kinds of operations.
Condition of the Lots
The lots will be auctioned in the condition that they are presently in, and the House accepts no claims with regard to restoration work, breakages and other damage, even though these have not been mentioned in the catalogue. The purpose of exhibiting the lots prior to the auction is to enable buyers to examine and study them perfectly. The objects that are to be auctioned may be examined during the days leading up to the auction in the auction room itself.
Data in the Catalogue
The data contained in this catalogue – relative to authorship, origin, age, provenance and condition – are included after careful investigation, verification and advice, although the House does not accept any responsibility whatsoever concerning their final exactitude. Interested parties should form their own opinions with respect to the pieces during the days prior to the auction. Valuation is made in the most faithful and good understanding. Nevertheless, the sale of a lot will be cancelled and its price refunded to the buyer if within the fifteen days following the auction the latter notifies BALCLIS in writing that the purchased lot is a deliberate forgery and irrefutably demonstrates this to be so.
Weight, Measurements, Colour, Purity and Working of the Lots
All the weights and measurements of the gems are approximate, due to the impossibility of taking exact measurements because of the setting or design of the jewel. The colour and purity of set diamonds will be indicated for purposes of guidance only, as their full determination can only be made once they have been removed from their setting (Article 7, Section 1 of the CIBJO nomenclature). Wrist and pocket watches included in this catalogue are in working order unless “needs servicing” is expressly indicated. Likewise, the measurements of the pieces of furniture and objects are stated with the greatest possible precision, but due to the formal characteristics of many of them, they have to be approximate.
Information and Consultancy Services
During the exhibition period, BALCLIS provides a consultancy service for visitors to the House to inform them about the piece’s state of preservation, the maker or artist, market prices,, or any other data available about all the lots included in the auction catalogue. Consultancy will be provided according to the House’s reasonable and prudent judgement, but the latter will not take any responsibility as regards the content of the information.
Legal Requirements
The buyer will comply with that stipulated in the current legislation, in particular with the Patrimony Law, the General Taxation Law and the Intellectual Property Law. The operations in which the House takes part, as regards their legal status and consequent effects, are subject to the provisions of Spanish law and more specifically to the stipulations that regulate agreements of mediation and deposit. In the event of disagreements between the parties over the auction operations, the vendor, the buyer and the House, waiving any other jurisdiction to which they may have recourse, will submit to the Courts and Tribunals of Barcelona.
The Auctioneer and Auction Clerk
The auctioneer will be assisted by an auction clerk who will be able to bid on behalf of the offers received in writing, by telephone or by any other means accepted by the House. In the bids received in writing before the auction is held, the offers will be defended up to the maximum amount set by the bidder, although the lots will be sold at the lowest price possible.
Starting Price
In every auction the initial sale price of every object or work of art will be the one announced in the catalogue. This will constitute the minimum sale price, apart from exceptional cases in which a reserve may be agreed with the vendor.
THE BUYER’S CONDITIONS
9. Bids
ORDER OF BIDDING
Up to €100....................................... €5?
From €100 to €200 ......................... €10?
From €200 to €500......................... €25?
From €500 to €1,000...................... €50?
From €1,000 to €2,000................... €100?
From €2,000 to €5,000................... €250?
From €5,000 to €10,000................. €500?
From €10,000 to €20,000............... €1,000?
From €20,000 to €50,000............... €2,500?
Over €50,000................................ at the auctioneer’s discretion.
The House reserves the right to change this bidding system in specific cases, and to reject any bid without the need for justification.
10. Awarding of Lots
Lots will be awarded to the highest bidder. In the event of disagreement between two or more bidders concerning the amount that has constituted the highest bid, the auctioneer shall have the power to award the lot to the person who, in his exclusive opinion, he deems suitable, or he may decide to auction the said lot again in the same session or in the one immediately following. Of the offers received in writing, where two or more are the same, the one received first by order of date and time shall prevail. Offers received by telephone will be given the same consideration as bids made in the House. The House may make offers on behalf of persons not present at the Auction and accept telephone offers, but it cannot be held responsible for any error or omission that may occur in the course of them. When the bidder makes an offer by telephone, he/she agrees to the lot’s starting price.
11. Transportation Costs
Should the buyer ask the House to dispatch the objects, the costs of this service will be paid by the former. Any and all damages that may occur during transportation will also be his/her exclusive responsibility. The current charges for this service may be consulted in the House beforehand. The insurance covering possible damages caused during transportation will be paid for by the buyer. Once the objects have left the House, BALCLIS will accept no responsibility for their condition.
12. Checking Lots
During the period when the lots are exhibited on BALCLIS’s premises, anyone who wishes to take part in the auction will be entitled to check for him/herself, or through the experts that he/she deems appropriate, the attribution, the authenticity, the period, the condition and as many details as he/she requires of the piece to be auctioned. No claims whatsoever will be accepted after purchase over restoration work or damage, even if they have not been mentioned in the catalogue.
13. References
BALCLIS reserves the right to ask those intending to take part as bidders in the auction for references. Likewise, it will be able to ask the winning bidder, whenever it deems it necessary, for bank references or other kinds of guarantees. If this is the first time that he/she has been accredited to take part in the auction, either in the House or via offers in writing or by telephone, he/she will have to show his/her National Identity Card or Fiscal Identity Number in the House, or send us a copy of it by fax or email beforehand. The data that participants leave upon accrediting themselves in the House or when leaving their offer will be the same ones that appear on the purchase invoice, it being impossible to change them: in other words, the data of the bidder or the accredited person must match those of the person named on the invoice.
14. Payments
The buyer shall pay the price of the lots purchased from the day after the auction is held and within a period no greater than 10 days. The sale price of a lot will be increased by 18% due to the House’s rights or commission for its mediation in the operation, plus the current rate of VAT payable on this commission. If the sale price and the corresponding commission have not been paid by the buyer within 25 days of the auction, the House shall use every means at its disposal with the aim of being paid the outstanding sums and shall inform the vendor of this. If the said means are not satisfactory, the vendor may choose to auction the item again or to begin proceedings prior to legal action, conferring his/her representation on the House and its lawyers in order to make the appropriate legal claim. All the expenses and commissions that may arise from the legal claim will be paid for by the assignor. BALCLIS will be authorized to withhold the objects sold until all the sums owing to it have been paid in full via bank transfer or in cash, and until the buyer has satisfied any other terms that, at its complete discretion, the House may request. Subject to the above-mentioned requirements, the buyer shall collect the lots purchased within a maximum period of 10 days from the day after the auction.
Payment for the lots purchased may be made in cash – with the limitation on cash payments for invoices whose total exceeds €2,500: Law 7/2012, 29 October, published in the BOE on 30 October 2012 – with a bank cheque, by credit card (online or in person), and by bank transfer to our account, indicating the number of the lot or lots awarded.
15. Law of Data Protection
In compliance with Organic Law 15/1999, 13 October, of Personal Data Protection, the customer authorizes BALCLIS to enter his/her data on a customer file, for the purposes of managing and facilitating information about its auctions. The customer may exercise the right of access, rectification or cancellation of his/her personal data by sending the appropriate request by post to BALCLIS Barcelona, Rosselló, 227, bajos, 08008 Barcelona; by fax to 93 217 10 92, or by email to info@BALCLIS.com
16. Acceptance of Conditions
Any and all forms of participation in the auction entail the complete acceptance of these rules.
