Conditions of Sale – Buying at FA Auctions SAL
Conditions of Sale
The Conditions of Sale set out the terms on
which we offer the lots listed in the catalogue
for sale. By registering to bid and/or by
bidding at auction you agree to these terms.
A- Before the Sale
1. Description of lots: Our description of any
lot in the catalogue and any other statement
made by us about any lot, including about its
nature or condition, artist, period, materials,
approximate dimensions or Provenance::
are our opinion and/or those of the seller
and not to be relied upon as a statement of
fact. Relining, stretching and mounting are
considered measures of preservation and
not a default. Therefore, they will not be
mentioned.
If you are planning to bid on a lot, you
should inspect it personally or through a
knowledgeable representative before you
make a bid to make sure you accept the
description and its condition.
2. Estimates: Estimates are based on the
condition, rarity, quality and Provenance:: of
the lots and on prices recently paid at auction
for similar property. Estimates can change.
Neither you, nor anyone else, may rely on any
estimates as a prediction or guarantee of the
actual selling price of a lot or its value for any
other purpose. Estimates do not include the
buyer’s premium or any applicable tax.
3. Withdrawal: FA Auctions may, at its
option, withdraw any lot at any time prior to
or during the sale of the lot.
B- Registering to Bid
1. You must register at least 24 hours before
an auction to give us enough time to process
and approve your registration. We may, at
our option, decline to permit you to register
as a bidder.
At our discretion, you might be asked for a
photo identification and references.
2. Bidding on behalf of another person: if you
are bidding on behalf of another person, that
person will need to complete the registration
before you can bid, and supply a signed letter
authorising you to bid for him/her.
3. Phone bids: your request for this service
must be made no later than 24 hours prior to
the auction. We will accept bids by telephone
for lots only if our staff are available to take
bids. You agree that your telephone bid is
governed by these conditions of sale.
4. Absentee bid: you can find a Written Bid
Form at the back of our catalogue or by
asking us. We must receive your completed
Written Bid Form at least 24 hours before
the auction. Alternatively, you can leave an
absentee bid on the online platform. The
auctioneer will take reasonable steps to carry
out written bids at the lowest possible price,
taking into account the reserve. If we receive
written bids on a lot for identical amounts,
and at the auction these are the highest bids
on the lot, we will sell the lot to the bidder
whose written bid we received first.
C- At the sale
1. Who can enter the auction: We may, at
our option, refuse admission to our premises
or decline to permit participation in any
auction or to reject any bid on our online
platform.
2. Reserve: Unless otherwise indicated, all
lots are subject to a reserve. The reserve
cannot be more than the lot’s low estimate
3. Auctioneer’s discretion: The auctioneers
can at his sole option:
a. Refuse any bid;
b. Move the bidding backward or forward
in any way he or she may decide, or
change the order of the lots;
c. Withdraw any lot;
d. Divide any lot or combine any two or
more lots;
e. Reopen or continue the bidding even
after the hammer has fallen; and
f. in the case of error or dispute and
whether during or after the auction,
to continue the bidding, determine the
successful bidder, cancel the sale of the
lot, or reoffer and resell any lot. If any
dispute relating to bidding arises during
or after the auction, the auctioneer’s
decision in exercise of this option is final
4. Bidding: The auctioneers accepts bids from:
a. Online bidders;
b. Telephone bidders;
c. Written bids left by us by a bidder
before the auction
All bids are final and irrevocable
5. Currency: the auction will be exclusively
conducted in US Dollars
6. Bidding on behalf of the seller: The
auctioneer may, at his or her sole option,
bid on behalf of the seller up to but not
including the amount of the reserve either
by making consecutive bids or by making bids
in response to other bidders. The auctioneer
will not identify these as bids made on behalf
of the seller and will not make any bid on
behalf of the seller at or above the reserve.
7. Bid increments: Bidding generally starts
below the low estimate and increases in steps
(bid increments). The auctioneer will decide
at his or her sole option where the bidding
should start and the bid increments
69MAGIC MIRROR ON THE WALL –
MIDDLE EASTERN MODERN &
CONTEMPORARY ART 8 MARCH 10:00 am - 12 MARCH 7:00 pm
8. Successful bids: Unless the auctioneer
decides to use his or her discretion as set out
in paragraph C3 above, when the auctioneer’s
hammer strikes or the time expires, we have
accepted the last bid. This means a contract
for sale has been formed between the seller
and the successful bidder. We will issue an
invoice only to the registered bidder who
made the successful bid.
D-The Buyer’s Premium and Taxes
1. The buyer’s premium: In addition to the
hammer price, the successful bidder agrees
to pay us a buyer’s premium on the hammer
price of each lot sold. On all lots we charge
18% of the hammer price
2. Taxes: The successful bidder is responsible
for any applicable tax including any VAT or
sales tax or equivalent wherever such taxes
may arise on the hammer price and the
buyer’s premium. It is the buyer’s responsibility
to ascertain and pay all taxes due.
3. Total bill: For the avoidance of doubts, the
total invoice will comprise of the hammer
price + 19.98%
E-Warranties
1. Seller’s Warranties: For each lot, the seller
gives a warranty that the seller:
a. is the owner of the lot or a joint owner
of the lot acting with the permission of
the other co-owners or, if the seller is
not the owner or a joint owner of the
lot, has the written permission of the
owner to sell the lot, or the right to do
so in law; and
b. has the right to transfer ownership
of the lot to the buyer without any
restrictions or claims by anyone else
c. If either of the above warranties are
incorrect, the seller shall not have to pay
more than the purchase price paid by you
to us. The seller will not be responsible
to you for any reason for loss of profits
or business, expected savings, loss of
opportunity or interest, costs, damages,
other damages or expenses.
2. Our Authenticity Warranty: We warrant
that the lots in our sales are authentic. If
within 3 years of the date of the auction,
you give notice with reliable proof to us that
your lot is not authentic, we will refund the
purchase price paid by you. At our option,
we may require you to provide the written
opinions of two recognized experts in the
field of the lot mutually agreed by you and
us in advance. Your only right under this
authenticity warranty is to cancel the sale and
receive a refund of the purchase price paid by
you to us. We will not, in any circumstances,
be required to pay you more than the
purchase price nor will we be liable for any
loss of profits or business, loss of opportunity
or value, expected savings or interest, costs,
damages, other damages or expenses.
F- Payment
1. How to pay: Immediately following the
auction, you must pay the purchase price
being:
a. the hammer price; and
b. the buyer’s premium; and
c. any sales or service tax or VAT.
Payment is due no later than by the end of
the seventh calendar day following the date
of the auction. We will only accept payment
from the registered bidder.
Payment is exclusively in US Dollars, either
by cash or international bank transfer. For
payment by cheques drawn on Lebanese
banks in US Dollars, please speak with FA
Auction as there will be a mark up to your
final invoice. At the time of publishing, and
as an indication of the mark up, it is 5 times
the value of the cash/international US Dollar
2. Transferring ownership to you: You will
not own the lot and ownership of the lot will
not pass to you until we have received full
and clear payment of the purchase price.
3. What happens if you do not pay: If you fail
to pay us the purchase price in full by the due
date, we will be entitled to do one or more
of the following:
a. To charge a fee of 5% of the purchase
price;
b. We can cancel the sale of the lot. If
we do this, we may sell the lot again,
publicly or privately on such terms we
shall think necessary or appropriate, in
which case you must pay us any shortfall
between the purchase price and the
proceeds from the resale. You must also
pay all costs, expenses, losses, damages
and legal fees we have to pay or may
suffer and any shortfall in the seller’s
commission on the resale;
c. we can hold you legally responsible for
the purchase price and may begin legal
proceedings to recover it together with
other losses, interest, legal fees and
costs as far as we are allowed by law.
G- Collection and Storage
You must collect purchased lots within two
days from the auction. Removal of purchases
will be at the buyer’s expense.
If you do not collect any lot within fifteen
days following the auction we can at our
option: charge you storage costs, remove
the lot to another location, sell the lot in
any commercially reasonable way we think
appropriate.
H- Law and disputes
This agreement, and any non-contractual
obligations arising out of or in connection
with this agreement, or any other rights you
may have relating to the purchase of a lot will
be governed by Lebanese law. Beirut courts
are the sole competent jurisdictions to hear
any dispute arising or related to the present
Conditions of Sale.