Hellman Auktionen

Auction rules

General buying terms and conditions at Hellman Auctions

These terms and conditions shall be applied to buying items in auction between the buyer and Hellman Auctions (hereinafter Auction House). Item refers to an object or several objects or a larger entity. These terms and conditions shall also be applied as applicable to the bidder in the auction and the party giving a purchase order.

1. Starting price

The Auction House sets a starting price for the items in an auction. In the auction the items shall not be sold under the starting price. In some cases the starting price may be set at 0.

2. Information on and quality of the item

All items shall be sold in the condition they are at the time of selling. The Auction House aims at providing enough information on the items for the catalogue published on the website. The Auction House may at any time amend the information in the catalogue if it chooses to do so. The changes shall also be announced orally at the auction and, if required, to persons who have submitted a bid in advance. All information mentioned in the catalogue is only indicative, and it shall not release the buyer from the obligation to inspect the item before the auction. The buyer shall always inspect the item, evaluate its condition, and carefully review any other factors that affect the decision to buy.

The picture of the item on the website is only intended for identifying it. If required, the Auction House may have acquired an external expert’s authentication or statement on the item for sale. The Auction House shall take no responsibility for these authentications or statements, but all responsibility for them shall be borne by the provider of such authentication/statement. The Auction House shall only be responsible for any essential errors in the catalogue information, if the errors arise from gross negligence on the part of the Auction House. Furthermore, the Auction House shall not be responsible for damage or wear that is characteristic of the item, such as typical traces of use in old letters etc. They may not necessarily be mentioned specifically.

3. Registration

By registering on the website of the Auction House the buyer can participate in HellmanLive auctions. The buyer shall fill out all details truthfully. The buyer may also be a company or corporation. Each user can only have one user account. The Auction House may delete an account due to misuse, unpaid invoices or repeatedly delayed payments.

To verify the identity the Auction House may require a copy of the passport of the person to be registered or check the identity of the customer to be registered in another reliable manner.

At the auction site, registering as a bidder well ahead of the start of the auction is required. Without a bidding number it is not possible to participate in the auction on site. The Auction House may freely decide to whom it grants the right to participate in the auction.

By registering either on the website or at the auction site the buyer accepts these terms and conditions.

4. Bidding

Registered customers can participate in HellmanLive auctions through the website of the Auction House. The buyer can make a bid that is either the next possible sum (the auction system notifies how high the bid shall at least be) or a maximum bid determined by the buyer. If the buyer submits a maximum bid, the auction system will save the bid, and if counter-bids are made in the auction, the system shall automatically increase the price during the auction one increment at a time up to the maximum bid. Bidding also means that the buyer accepts the general buying terms and conditions of the Auction House. The Auction House shall not be responsible for any technical problems with online bids (network interruptions, disturbances, slowing down etc.), and is thus not responsible for the bid to get through.

The Auction House takes in written bids from buyers by post or e-mail. The written bids shall be delivered to the Auction House no later than 24 hours before the start of the auction. The schedule of the auction shall always be posted separately on the website of the Auction House. A written bid cannot be cancelled or amended. The submitter of a written bid undertakes both to redeem all purchases made through their bids and to comply with the general buying terms and conditions of the Auction House. The Auction House shall not be responsible for any recording errors.

The Auction House takes in written requests for telephone bids from buyers. The written requests shall be delivered to the Auction House no later than 24 hours before the start of the auction. The buyer shall notify in writing which items the bid concerns and in what telephone number they can be reached during the auction. The submitter of a telephone bid undertakes both to redeem all purchases made through their telephone bids and to comply with the general buying terms and conditions of the Auction House. The telephone bid shall be made on the responsibility of the bidder. The Auction House shall not be responsible for any damage incurred by the bidder because the Auction House is not able to reach the buyer or neglects to call or make the bid, or has to prioritise other bids. The Auction House shall not be responsible for any recording errors.

In the auction the highest bid shall win. The buyer that has submitted the highest bid commits themselves at the dropping of the hammer to the obliging bid to buy on usual auction terms and conditions. In the auction room it is only possible to make a bid by raising the bidding number. When a buyer registers a bidding number, they undertake to redeem all purchases made using the bidding number in question and to comply with the general buying terms and conditions of the Auction House.

The hammer price confirms the highest bid, at which time the submitter of the highest bid has made a binding purchase agreement. The Auction House has the right to ignore the bids of a specific buyer or demand a security for them. The organiser of the auction shall alone and finally solve any disputes or unclear situations that occur during the auction.

The real-time bidding status can be viewed on the website of HellmanLive auction. On actual auction days the selling shall be started at as low a price as possible. The starting price shall be the same as the second highest bid shown on the website + one increment, or the starting price, if there are no other bids for the item.

In the auction the increments (€) shall be as follows:

0-39 minimum increase 2

40-99 minimum increase 5

100-299 minimum increase 10

300-799 minimum increase 20

800-1999 minimum increase 50

2000-4999 minimum increase 100

5000-9999 minimum increase 200

10000- and over minimum increase 400

5. Commission

A 23% commission shall be added to the auction price confirmed by the broker in conjunction with invoicing which shall be payable by the buyer.

The commission includes normal careful packaging of the products for shipping. The charge for special requests is € 49/hour.

6. Delivery and payment of the items

Those who made bids at the auction site shall redeem the items they purchased right away. Payment shall be made in cash or by debit card. A delivery charge of three (3) euros shall be added to the payment.

The Auction House aims at sending the items delivered by post or courier/freight service within the next two business days after the last auction day. Items sent to new customers shall be invoiced in advance. If an old customer has paid their invoice late, an advance invoice shall be sent to them. If the payments are repeatedly delayed, bids shall no longer be taken in, and the customer account shall be closed. A delivery cost of three (3) euros per shipment shall be charged for domestic deliveries and five (5) euros for international deliveries plus freight costs. The term of payment for the invoices is 14 days.

Specific requests relating to the sending of the items shall be made no later than 48 hours before the expiration of the time for written bids. That is because the dispatch lists and instructions related to dispatch shall be printed out straight after the auction.

If the auction lasts for several days and the buyer only makes bids on the first or second day of the auction, they can notify the Auction House thereof through its website. Then the Auction House can delivered the winning items already before the completion of the rest of the auction where possible.

7. Pick-up

If the buyer wants to pick up the items after the auction for example in the shop of Suomen Filateliapalvelu Oy in Naantali, the matter shall be agreed on specifically by telephone. If the buyer has already earlier notified on the website of the Auction House that they will pick up the items from the shop, the matter need not be notified separately. The buyer shall check with the Auction House when the items can be picked up.

The costs arising from items that have not been picked up can be charged from the buyer by the Auction House.

The Auction House shall store the item free of charge for seven (7) calendar days. If the storage time exceeds seven calendar days, the item shall be stored at the buyer’s expense and risk. If the item is stored in the premises of the Auction House, the Auction House has the right to charge a storage fee in accordance with its price list which is currently € 5 per item per day.

The buyer shall always be responsible for researching the issues related to the taxation in their own country, and for all tax and customs obligations, as well as import charges etc. The Auction House operates according to the Finnish law and performs customs clearance measures in accordance with the law.

8. Copyright remunerations managed by Kuvasto

According to the copyright legislation, the resale of some objects of art and works of art involve a resale remuneration. Further information: www.kuvasto.fi. The Auction House may charge from the buyer a resale remuneration which the Auction House shall pay further to Kuvasto ry. Resale remuneration shall not be charged for hammer prices of under 255 euros.

9. Returns

Payments and any reminders shall be made in writing within one week from receiving the items. After that the buyer shall lose their right to file a complaint.

In accordance with the general international practice, the right of return does not apply to collections and sets. Hence the starting prices of most sets and collections are set low, and their catalogue value is usually multiple compared to the starting price. Collections and sets always include materials with varied quality. The Auction House strongly recommends the buyer to always familiarise themselves with collections and sets. The right of withdrawal does not apply to Hellman auctions. According to EU Directive 2011/83/EU, chapter II, article 16, a consumer’s right to withdraw from a sale is not valid regarding items bought through Hellman auctions. The right of withdrawal is not valid, because the items can always be viewed also physically before the actual auction in the premises of Hellman Auctions, and the bid can always be submitted also in person in our premises.

The items for sale shall be the property of the sellers until they have been paid in full.

Items that the buyer wants to authenticate after the auction (Extension procedure) shall be notified to the auctioneer well ahead of the auction, so that the matter can be agreed on together. The authentication shall take place within 20 days from the date of auction, and the buyer undertakes to pay all the costs related to the authentication thus agreed on. In case of possible return, the item shall be delivered to the auctioneer no later than 30 days after the date of auction and in the same condition it was in the auction.

10. Liability

The liability of the Auction House regarding the buyer shall be determined in accordance with compelling legislation and these terms and conditions. The liability of the Auction House regarding the buyer shall always be limited to the buyer returning the items to the Auction House. Then the Auction House shall refund to the buyer the hammer price and the bidding charge, value added tax and possible resale remuneration. Thus the Auction House shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damage incurred by the buyer. The prevailing language of all terms and conditions of the Auction House is Finnish. Terms and conditions published in other languages are for information purposes only.

11. Export of cultural goods

The export of cultural goods is limited by legislation in Finland. The law shall be applied to the export of cultural goods from Finland to other EU countries and exports outside the Community. In addition to the Finnish legislation, the export of cultural goods outside the EU is regulated by the Council Regulation (EEC No 3911/92). In matters concerning an export permit the buyer shall contact the Finnish Heritage Agency or the Finnish National Gallery. The Finnish Heritage Agency can impose a temporary export prohibition to an auctioned item; such prohibition shall be mentioned specifically.

12. Photographs

The Auction House has the right to photograph or otherwise record items for the internet, printed matters, newspaper advertisements or documentation. All materials photographed by the Auction House shall remain the property of the Auction House and may be freely used at a later date also for purposes that are not related to an individual auction or sales assignment.

13. Credit information

Before granting the right to bid or when a customer registers as a buyer, the Auction House has the right to check the credit information of the customers participating in the auction or otherwise verify the buyer’s ability to pay.

14. Processing of personal data

Personal data shall be processed in accordance with a separate privacy policy.

15. Force majeure

The Auction House shall be released from the consequences of neglecting its obligations in accordance with these terms and conditions, if the neglect arises from a situation set forth below which prevents or considerably hinders the timely fulfilment of these obligations. Such situations include e.g. acts of war, pandemic, foreign currency restrictions, scarcity of means of transport, fire, measures of the authorities, amendment of legislation, industrial action, general scarcity of goods, limitations to motive power, accident, and situations comparable to them.

16. Applicable law and settling of disputes

The legal relations between the parties shall be governed by the laws of Finland.

If the parties are unable to reach an agreement through negotiating or otherwise agree in any case of conflict, the disputes shall be solved in the District Court of Southwest Finland.

Hellman Auktionen