Auction Terms and Conditions

When are the auctions held?

 

Weekly Estate Auctions

Every Monday – We host two LIVE ONLINE ONLY auctions. Furniture commences Lot 1 at 9am, Gallery commences Lot 1001 also at 9am.  Once our auction catalogues are made live online, you can start leaving bids immediately.

Online Auctions

We hold exclusive online auctions throughout the month. These are generally small collections of items that will be available for inspection to the public and then all bidding is done online. These auctions range from Jewellery, Fine Art, Bronzes, Collectables, Single Vendor Collections and more.

Speciality Auctions

Scammell Auctions host many Speciality Auctions throughout the year, including our Showcase Auctions, Fine Art Auctions and Great Collectors Auctions.

 

Upcoming Auctions

AUCTION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A buyers premium of 17% plus GST applies to each lot.

All buyers must be registered (permanent buyers are welcome to use their bidding number at any Auction). Permanent numbers are issued when you register for ONLINE BIDDING – please use this number online and in our auction house.

All online bids are final and unable to be deleted.

Payment is required by 7pm Tuesday for Weekly Estate Auctions and can be made by EFTPOS, Visa and Mastercard (in house) or direct debit only, as noted on invoices. No cash and no cheques.

Payment is required by 7pm Tuesday for Weekly Estate Auctions, unless otherwise directed.  We are open Monday and Tuesday evenings until 7pm to aid in this. (view our opening hours here)

Collection opening hours: Monday 2pm-7pm and Tuesday 8.30am-7pm

N.B. Only when there is a public holiday and the Weekly Estate Auction falls on a Tuesday, pick up and payment is Tuesday 2.00pm-7.00pm and Wednesday 8.30am-4.00pm.

A storage fee of $20 per lot per day will be charged to your account for any lots not collected on time (excluding Interstate/country buyers). Failure to collect your items in the designated timeframe will result in your items being booked back into auction and sold under your name – you will be contacted prior, Furniture purchases have one week and Gallery purchases have two weeks before this occurs.

Interstate and country buyers (that live 200km+ from Adelaide) – contact our packing department to arrange storage: info@scammellauctions.com.au

PAYMENT AND COLLECTION BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON TUESDAY AFTER THE AUCTION IS IMPERATIVE FOR THE SMOOTH RUNNING OF OUR AUCTION ROOMS. We appreciate your understanding.

 


 

    • We have carriers available to delivery larger purchases at your organisation (click for details).

    • Small (non breakable) items can be packed and posted for a small fee (see bottom of page for details).

    • Country (+200km) and interstate buyers to arrange collection, please contact our Transport department (click to email).

    • All items we sell are to be expected to have some wear, use or ageing due to the nature of auction house goods. If a lot is marked a/f it informs the buyer it is sold with “all faults” and that our staff have noted damage that exceeds general wear and tear of vintage & antique goods (eg, damage to individual lots, broken chair legs, torn upholstery etc)

    • Electricals are not tested, nor are they sold as working.  The onus falls on the buyer to assure themselves of the quality and condition of each lot.

    • All measurements provided with items are approximate only.

    • Our buyers are encouraged to view our items in person during inspection hours so they feel confident with the quality and condition of the pieces they wish to buy. If you are unable to make it in, send friends or family on your behalf, or email/call the office to receive a condition report.

    • All descriptions in the catalogue are a guide only. Intending buyers are encouraged to inspect lots during viewing or contact us for a condition report and satisfy themselves as to the condition of any lot.

Please remember this is an auction house, and your items are not purchased with any sort of guarantee as to condition.

 

REFUND POLICY

Auction Rooms of the past (and still with many of our peers today) offer no refunds to Buyers, quoting “caveat emptor” or let the buyer beware.

This offers Buyers at auction very little confidence, especially if you are not in the same state!

According to the ACCC on Consumer Guarantees – Rights to a repair, replacement, refund, cancellation or compensation do not apply to items: bought at auction where the auctioneer acted as an agent for the owner (but you do have rights to full title, undisturbed possession and no unknown debts or extra charges) https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/consumer-guarantees.

It’s different at Scammells.

One of our Core Values is Courage | Honesty | Integrity, and in line with this we offer our Buyers a refund based on criteria being met.  We do this to offer you some confidence in buying from Scammells.

A refund is offered unless – 

  • The item/items are part of a group# lot
  • The item has been marked A/F (all faults – see our All Faults Policy)
  • The item has wear and tear consistent with condition, age and/or usage
  • The item is electrical or mechanical
  • The item has been removed from the building (for local buyers only)
  • The lot/item is part of a Wine/Spirits Auction

# (Group can be referred to as “Assorted”, “Group”, “Mixed”, Sundry” and/or “Quantity” in the catalogue description)

(Item refers to a lot or part of a lot)

Time is of the essence, and a refund is only offered within 48 hours of the time of the auction commencement for local buyers (within 200km of Adelaide), and 7 days for buyers intra/interstate or receiving items by pack n post service. Refunds are in full only (no partial refunds offered).

 

ALL FAULTS or A/F

Some items in our catalogue are marked A/F, which means “sold with all faults”.

Technically ALL items at Auction are A/F, as they are all secondhand or antique.  

To help buyers our Team make assessments as to what is “normal for age, condition and usage”, and what is damaged or in poor condition, and hence A/F.

Where an item is marked A/F, the onus is on the Buyer to request a condition report for more information on the damage.

We do not check electrical or mechanical items. 

Group lots are not assessed as A/F as it is accepted that anything undamaged and of value would be extracted for individual lotting.

No refunds are offered on items marked as A/F, and final determination is made by our expert Team.

According to the ACCC on Consumer Guarantees – Rights to a repair, replacement, refund, cancellation or compensation do not apply to items: bought at auction where the auctioneer acted as an agent for the owner (but you do have rights to full title, undisturbed possession and no unknown debts or extra charges) https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/consumer-guarantees

 

Examples of A/F (and not)
An outdoor chair is expected to have been aged by the weather, rusted if metal and the finish in average condition – this is not A/F, just normal for its condition and usage.

A cedar dining chair that has had the backrest broken and glued, is A/F.

A teapot of 100 years old with tea stains and crazing is not A/F, as this is considered normal for its age and usage.

A teapot of 100 years old with a broken and repaired spout is A/F.

 

DIFFERENT AUCTION STYLES

Live (Traditional)

The Live Auctions are our traditional offering, with a difference. When the catalogue is launched the Auction is live, buyers can place bids online and the auction program starts the pre-bidding auction.

For example if you leave a bid of $100, the starting price might be $20 – the system shows your winning bid at $20. Another buyer places a bid for $35, the system bids on your behalf up to $40 (the next bid above $35 – and you are still the winning bidder). If another buyer places a bid at $150, the system bids up to $110, and you are now the losing bidder.

The pre-bidding is open until the moment before the lot is offered for sale by our Auctioneer. This is the traditional or Live part of the the auction, where the Auctioneer opens bidding at the “pre-bidding” amount ($110 in the above example) and calls for further bids from the live and the online buyers.

Live Online Only (LOLO)

Our Live Online Auctions are the same as our Live or Traditional Auctions, except all buyers are Online Only (there is no live buyers in front of the Auctioneer), its just you, your computer (ipad, tablet or smart phone) and the Auctioneer on their laptop.

Timed

Our timed online auctions run differently to normal auctions. Whilst the fundamentals of bidding online, paying, buying premium are the same, the way the auction is conducted is different.

The “timed auction” is run by the computer and online only. Each lot is offered initially in order of lot number. The lots are open for pre-bidding at the start of the auction (typically 7 – 14 days prior to the final knock down).

During the “final knockdown” stage (the time when the Auction is to end), each lot is offered in order, when a bid is placed a timer is reset for x minutes (currently this is set at 1 minute). Then every time a new bid is placed the timer resets. This stops “sniping”, something common and very annoying with other major auction systems.

Once the timer on the lot reaches zero seconds, the lot is closed and sold to the final bidder at the displayed price (plus buyers premium).

The auction program constantly updates the order of the sale based on “time left”, so you might see the lots numbers out of order during the “final knock-down stage”.

BIDS – please note you can increase your “pre-bidding” bid at anytime, but cannot reduce or cancel the bid.

 

YOUR BIDDERS NUMBER

Your bidders number is the number we use to record your successful bid(s) and price against a lot.  An online (permanent) number is issued through our website when you register for ONLINE BIDDING, and this number is yours for life.

 

BIDDING ONLINE

Bidding online is simple and makes the auction room accessible for everyone.

Online registration gives you access to the online bidding room, allows you leave absentee bids, create watch lists and
assigns you a permanent number, yours for life. There is no need to register again, even if you attend one of our auctions in person.  The same registration gives you access to our free smart phone and tablet app (search Google Play Store and Apple App Store for Scammells).

Registration is free, to register for online bidding, click here and follow the login prompt to create an account.

Check our website regularly for catalogues as we are now running online auctions regularly throughout the month on top of our weekly estate auctions and speciality auctions.

All bids left online are LIVE and FINAL.

 

BIDDING INCREMENTS

Once the auction commences, the auctioneer will announce the lot number and description of each lot.  The auction takes bids in order of a bidding progression.  Typically this is fixed and based on the value of the item for auction.

For example:

$5 rises to $50
(ie 25, 30, 35, 40 45.)

$10 rises between $50 and $200
(ie 60, 70, 80, 90, 100)

$20 rises from $200 to $500
(ie 300, 320, 340, 360, 380, 400)

$50 rises from $500 to $1000
(ie 650, 700, 750, 800, 850… )

 

If an item is “knocked down” or sold to you, the auctioneer will announce your number and the sale price.

 

ABSENTEE BIDS

Absentee bids can be placed using our online bidding system.  You will need to create an account first (see link above).  The system is simple to use, and updates you live if you have been outbid.  After the sale you can log back in and see if you have been successful.

Your absentee bid cannot be seen by other buyers, just the amount the lot is currently at.  The bidding will start at the minimum bid amount for each lot and only increases when other bids are lodged for the same lot.

Please note the absentee bidding system is LIVE, which means all bids are locked in once placed and cannot be deleted or reduced.

 

PACKING & POSTAGE

Our packing department can arrange packing & postage of smaller, non breakable, purchased items to be sent Australia wide, using Australia Post delivery.  We can also pack your items for your preferred chosen courier.

For international buyers & for breakable items, we advise you use Pack and Send

For all packing and postage needs, please contact Anna for a quote (click to email) before paying your invoice as fees will be applied.

Please note – Artwork inc: paintings, prints, pictures & textiles, plus alcohol WILL NOT be sent via Australia Post.
We charge $23+gst per half hour for packing, plus Australia Post charges.

 

The fine print

The “Company” referred is Scammells, Scammell Auctions or our legal entity Adelaide Independent Auctioneers Pty Ltd

Auctioneer refers to Scammells

The Buyer

A prospective Buyer must:

(a) be over eighteen (18) years of age at the date of the Auction;

(b) provide to the Company their full name, home address, email and mobile number;

(c) register in advance of the Auction by completing the Bidder Registration Form;

(d) provide an acknowledgement that they have read and agreed to be bound by these Conditions; and

(e) provide any other information requested by the Company including but not limited to banking details, credit card details, suitable references or identification.

No person shall be entitled to bid at an Auction without first having completed the online bidder registration form acceptable to the Company.

Every bidder shall be deemed to act as principal unless prior to the commencement of the Auction there is a written acceptance by the Company that the bidder is acting on behalf of a third party and that the bidder is not personally liable.

The Company is the agent of the Seller, not the Buyer, and it is not intended that there be any legal relationship between the Company and the Buyer.

Contract of sale

The Auctioneer may knock down a Lot to the person who, the Auctioneer, in their absolute discretion believes, is the highest bidder acceptable to the Company, subject to any Reserve. Any dispute may be determined by the Auctioneer in their absolute discretion and the decision of the Auctioneer shall be final.

Subject to the Company’s discretion, on the acceptance of a bid by the fall of the Auctioneer’s hammer a contract of sale is made between the Seller and the Buyer. The Company is not a party to the contract of sale and shall not be liable for any breach of that contract by either the Seller or the Buyer.

Risk of the Lot will pass to the Buyer on the fall of the Auctioneer’s hammer.

Title to the Lot will pass to the Buyer when the full Purchase Price has been received by the Company by way of cleared funds.

Responsibility for Lots Purchased

The Buyer shall be responsible for any loss or damage to, or caused by, a Lot purchased by the Buyer from the fall of the Auctioneer’s hammer and neither the Company nor its employees or agents shall be responsible for any Claim while the Lot is in its power, possession or custody, except where the Company has been grossly negligent.

The Buyer is responsible for ensuring the quality and description of each lot prior to purchase, the Company makes no guarantee as to the description in the catalogues (printed or online), and are to be used as a guide only.

The Buyer shall be solely responsible for obtaining any export licence that may be required in connection with a purchased Lot.

Non-Payment or Failure to Collect

If the Purchase Price in respect of a Lot is not paid for in full in accordance with above the Company may, after a period of five (5) days (during which time the Company may attempt to contact the Buyer), and in its absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies it may have, exercise at its discretion one or more of the following remedies:

(a) re-sell the Lot without reserve by Auction, private sale or any other means;

(b) remove, store and further insure the Lot at the expense of the Buyer;

(c) charge interest on the Purchase Price at the Interest Rate per month or part thereof from the date upon which the Purchase Price becomes payable until the full Purchase Price has been received by the Company from the Buyer or as the result of a resale;

(d) retain any Lot sold to the Buyer at the same or any other Auction until payment of the Purchase Price by the Buyer;

(e) apply the proceeds of the Sale of any Lot then due or at any time thereafter becoming due to the Buyer in payment or part payment of the Purchase Price;

(f) exercise a lien on or exercise a power of sale over any other property of the Buyer in the power, possession or control of the Company;

(g) rescind the Sale of that Lot or any other Lot sold by the Seller to the Buyer at the same or any other Sale;

(h) repossess any goods comprising any Lot in respect of which payment is overdue and thereafter resell the same, and for this purpose the Buyer hereby grants an irrevocable licence to the Company to enter upon all or any of the Buyer’s premises (with or without vehicles) during normal business hours, without prejudice to any other rights of the Company to repossess any goods comprising any Lot;

(i) issue legal proceedings against the Buyer;

(ii) reject a bid from the Buyer at any future auction sale or require the Buyer to pay a deposit before any bid is accepted by the Company at any future Sale.

If the Lot is not collected, the Company may, after a period of fourteen (14) days (during which time the Company may attempt to contact the Buyer), and in its absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies it may have, exercise one or more of the following remedies:

(a) remove, store and further insure the Lot at the expense of the Buyer;

(b) rescind the sale of that Lot or any other Lot sold by the Seller to the Buyer at the same or any other Auction and resell the Lot or any other Lot by Auction or private sale; or

(c) dispose of the Lot by donating it to charity if possible and if not disposing of it by other appropriate means.

In the event of a resale the Buyer will be entitled to the Sale Proceeds paid for the resale but not a refund of the original Purchase Price paid.

The Company will not be liable to the to make a refund of the Purchase Price paid in the event that it takes any of the actions set out above.

The Buyer shall pay all reasonable legal and other costs reasonably incurred by the Company or the Seller (whether or not Court proceedings shall have been issued) as a result of the Buyer’s non-payment for and/or failure to collect a Lot, on a full indemnity basis, together with interest thereon at the Interest Rate from the date upon which the Buyer shall have become liable to pay the Purchase Price.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Conditions are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the law of the State in which the Sale is conducted (‘Sale State’).

The Company, the Seller, the Buyer and any bidders at the Sale irrevocably and unconditionally submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Sale State.

Privacy Statement

In our dealings with the Buyers it is necessary to collect personal information such as:

(a) name;

(b) company name, ABN and/or ACN;

(c) residential address;

(d) business address;

(e) email address;

(f) facsimile number;

(g) telephone numbers;

(h) drivers licence details;

(i) credit card details; and

(j) bank account details.

(“Information”)

When a Buyer provides the Company with the Information, the Company relies on the accuracy of the Information. If the Information is inaccurate or incorrectly recorded it is the obligation of the Buyer to advise the Company to ensure it is updated.

The provider of the Information consents to the Company:

(a) retaining the Information for future use and reference;

(b) being used for marketing purposes by the Company; and

(c) being disclosed as required by law.

The Company will upon request provide access to the Information to the Seller, Buyer or bidder for the purpose of correcting or updating their Information and will delete the Information if requested in writing by the provider of it.

The Company will store the Information in a manner that ensures security against unauthorised access, alteration or deletion at a level commensurate with its sensitivity.