CONESTOGA AUCTION DIVISION - 717-898-7284
Any Prospective Bidder (hereinafter referred to as Bidder and sometimes Buyer) who bids on any item, hereby agrees to these Conditions of Sale of John M. Hess Auction Company, Inc. (also d/b/a Conestoga Auction Company, Hess Auction Group, Conestoga Guns, LLC) (hereinafter referred to as the 'Auction Company') relative to property being offered for sale at auction. These Conditions of Sale and all other contents of the catalog are subject to amendment by the Auction Company by the posting of notices or by oral announcements made during the sale. Auction Company has made every effort to catalog and correctly describe the property to be sold, however, all lots are sold 'AS IS' and should be examined prior to bidding. Flaws and imperfections caused in the making are not noted. Expect normal wear and oxidation on antique metal wares and crazing and normal glaze loss on pottery and ceramics. Any additional condition questions should be made 24 hours prior to the start of the auction to allow for our staff to review the items. In all matters, the records of the Auction will be final.
By participating in any sale, the Bidder agrees to be bound by the following terms and conditions:
A. All bidders must register for a buyer's number and provide satisfactory identification. A 20% In-House Buyer's Premium is added to each item sold at auction. Online buyers are charged an additional premium. The online buyer's premium varies according to the listing platform that is used. Check the online conditions of sale for the buyer's premium for each auction when bidding online. 6% Sales Tax will be charged except to persons with a current Dealer's Sales Tax Exemption on file with the Auction. Upon the fall of the hammer or said sold, the title and responsibility for each item or lot passes on to the Buyer. In the case of a disputed bid, the auctioneer, at his discretion, will determine the successful bidder or re-offer and re-sell the article in dispute. In addition to signing these Conditions of Sale, Bidder agrees that he or she will not be permitted to take delivery of purchases until his or her check(s) have cleared unless he or she has previously established credit or made payment arrangements satisfactory to Auction Company. A premium equal to 20%, plus online fee, of the successful bid price will be added to all lots, and is payable by the Bidder, as part of the total purchase price. By registering for a buyer's number, Bidder agrees to allow contact information to be used for marketing and sales analysis purposes.
B. BIDDING INCREMENTS: The auctioneers will be using set bid increments. If you have placed absentee bids that do not follow the set increments, your bid will be executed at the set lower increment.
C. ABSENTEE BIDDING will be accepted with a valid credit card number to guarantee the bid. All requests for absentee bidding must be received by Hess Auction Group in written form at least (24) hours in advance of the start of the auction. In the event of duplicate in-house absentee bids, the first bid received will take precedence. In-house absentee bids will not be executed on items which are found to be other than described in the catalog. The auctioneer may reject any bid which he considers to be nominal and not commensurate with the value of the article offered. It is entirely possible to buy items by absentee bid for less than your top bid price as they are handled competitively. Due to uncertainties of bidding, a lot may sell to the floor bidder for the same amount as an absentee bid. To prevent this from happening, the absentee bidder can give Auction Company the right to bid the next higher bid by placing a (+) sign after the bid price. Auction Company will not be responsible for any omissions when processing your absentee bids. All sales are final and must be paid in full immediately. Items must be inspected before leaving absentee bids.
D. ONLINE BIDDING: Online buyers are charged an additional premium. The online buyer's premium varies according to the listing platform that is used. Check the online conditions of sale for the buyer's premium for each auction when bidding online. We are not aware of the live bids in advance, but only during the time of the auction as they are forwarded to our computer. Auction Company will not be responsible for any omissions, errors or slow communications on absentee bids from Online. In the event of a tie bid with a floor bidder and an online bidder, the floor bidder will take precedence. The auctioneer's decision in this matter is final.
E. PHONE BIDDING: Phone bidder will be accepted with a valid credit card number to guarantee the bid and agrees to an opening bid equal to the low estimate for the lot. Buyer's Premium for phone bids is 22%. Phone lines are reserved for serious bidders only. Due to a limited number of available phone lines, bids will be executed on a first come, first serve basis. All requests for telephone bidding must be received by Hess Auction Group in written form at least (24) hours in advance of the start of the auction. It is the bidder's responsibility to confirm the bid has been received by the Auction Company. Auction Company reserves the right to reject any phone bids that are submitted after the set deadline. While every effort is made to execute phone bids, it is recommended that bidders leave a back-up bid amount if the telephone bidder is unreachable. Auction Company is not responsible for inadvertently missed bids.
F. PAYMENT: Payment must be made prior to removal from the auction house. In house bidders must settle their accounts on the day of sale. Absentee, Telephone and Online Bidders must make payment within seven (7) calendar days. Failure to do so will result in a dispute on your account and in forfeiture of items unless prior approval has been granted.
G. ONLINE PAYMENTS: All invoices will be emailed to the buyers following the auction. Money Orders, Cashier's Check, Wire Transfer, Live Auctioneers Payment processing (with processing fee), MasterCard, Visa and Discover will be accepted for payment of purchases. Items must be paid for within seven (7) calendar days of the auction or will be forfeited to the Auction Company.
H. SHIPPING: Paid items must be scheduled for removal from our auction facility within fourteen (14) calendar days or they will be forfeited to the Auction Company. Auction Company does not pack or ship any items in house. Buyer pays shipping costs directly to shipper. All international customers are responsible for their own taxes and tariffs based upon the actual selling price. The declared value cannot be of lesser value than purchase price.
*For out-of-state buyers, your items will be forwarded to UPS. They will contact you with a quote. Should you wish to ship with UPS, please respond to them at auction@ship.vet. For questions of UPS, please call 717-898-9303, choose #9.
*Furniture buyers will be forwarded a list of shippers for larger items.
*If you wish to use another shipper or are a PA resident and need shipping, please contact us immediately.
For any shipping inquiries regarding any potential shipping costs prior to the auction, please direct all your shipping questions to the above-mentioned names, as we do not ship in-house and are not able to answer these questions.
I. AS IS: Bidder agrees that before the Sale, Bidder or Bidder's agents should inspect the property before bidding to determine its condition, size and whether or not it has been repaired or restored. Bidder is responsible for satisfying himself or herself concerning the condition of the property and the matters referred to in the Catalog. Condition reports, photos and video or digital images are provided as a courtesy and should not be used as a substitute for viewing the items in person. All statements made in the catalog or in the condition report or made orally or in writing elsewhere are statements of opinion and are not to be relied on as statements of fact. Except for what is provided for under Paragraph T, Auction Company and the underlying owner of the property being sold ('Owner') assume no risk, liability or responsibility for the authenticity of the authorship of any property identified in this catalog. All property is sold "as is" and neither Auction Company nor the Owner of property being sold make any warranties or representations of any kind or nature with respect to the property being sold, and no statement in the catalog or made at the sale, or in the bill of sale or invoice or elsewhere shall be deemed an assumption of liability or warranty or representation as to the description, genuineness, attribution, provenance or condition of the property. Auction Company and the Owner make no representations as to whether Bidder acquires any reproduction rights in the property being sold at the Sale.
J. Withdrawal. Auction Company reserves the right to withdraw any property before sale and shall have no liability for such withdrawal.
K. Bid Per Lot. Unless otherwise announced by the auctioneer, all bids are per lot as numbered in the Catalog.
L. Video or digital images. At some auctions a video or digital screen may be used. Auction Company is not liable for any errors in the operation or quality of the image presented.
M. Reserves. Unless the sale is advertised and announced as a sale without reserves, each lot may be offered subject to reserve. Auction Company may implement such reserves by bidding through its representatives on behalf of the Owner.
N. Bidding. Auction Company reserves the right to reject a bid from any bidder. The auctioneer has the right to split any bidding increment and to advance the bidding in any manner as the auctioneer may decide. The highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer shall be the buyer. In the event of any dispute between bidders, the auctioneer shall have sole and final discretion either to determine the successful bidder or to re-offer and resell the article in dispute. If any dispute arises after the sale, the sale record of Auction Company shall be conclusive in all respects.
O. Auctioneer's Discretion. If the auctioneer determines that any opening bid is not commensurate with the value of the article offered, he may reject the same and withdraw the article from the sale. If having accepted an opening bid, the auctioneer decides that any advance thereafter is not of sufficient amount, he may reject the advance.
P. Successful Bid. On the fall of the auctioneer's hammer, title to the offered lot will pass from Owner to the highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer, subject to these Conditions of Sale set forth herein, and such bidder (a) assumes full risk and responsibility therefore (b) if requested will sign a confirmation of purchase and (c) will pay the purchase price in full or such part as Auction Company may require for all lots purchased.
Q. Collateral/Security. The Buyer grants Auction Company a security interest in the purchase property and Auction Company may retain as collateral security for the Bidder's obligations to Auction Company any property or monies held or received by Auction Company for the account of the Bidder. Payment will not be deemed to have been made in full until Auction Company has collected funds represented by checks, or, in the case of bank or cashier's checks, until Auction Company has confirmed their authenticity. Bidder agrees that items are forfeited to the Auction Company if payment is not made in accordance with all of the conditions set forth herein and agrees to pay any returned check charges that may be incurred.
R. Removal of Property. The Bidder, at Bidder's expense must remove all property from Auction Company not later than (14) calendar days following the sale. Bidder agrees that any property which is paid for but left at Auction Company's premises for any reason more than fourteen (14) calendar days after the sale (unless prior approval for extension has been granted) has been forfeited to the Auction Company and may be resold by Auction Company.
S. Non-Payment. If the Bidder does not make full payment for the purchases within the time required, Auction Company is authorized in its absolute and sole discretion to exercise one or more of the following remedies, in addition to other remedies available to Auction Company and the Owner: Auction Company is authorized to: (a) hold the buyer liable for the total purchase price; (b) cancel the sale, retaining as liquidated damages all payments made by the Buyer; (c) resell the property at public auction or private sale with terms that Auction Company deems appropriate; (d) to resell the property at public auction without reserve and the Buyer shall be liable for any deficiency, cost, handling charges and the expenses of both sales and the commissions on both sales; (e) to offset the full purchase price against any amount owed by Auction Company to the Buyer; (f) to not allow any bids at any upcoming auctions by or on behalf of the Buyer; and (h) to take other actions as Auction Company find necessary and appropriate. The Buyer grants Auction Company a security interest in any property in Auction Company's possession which is owned by such Buyer and Auction Company is authorized to hold such property as collateral security for such Buyer's obligations. Buyer shall be liable to Auction Company for all other charges incurred because of Buyer's non-payment, including attorney fees, expenses and incidental damages. As between Auction Company and Owner, if the successful bidder does not pay for the property, collection procedures shall be the responsibility of the Consignor and not Auction Company.
T. Limited Right of Rescission. If within twenty-one days of the sale of any lot, the Buyer gives notice in writing to Auction Company alleging that the identification of authorship (as defined in the Catalog) of such lot as set forth in the Catalog description of such lot (as amended by any written notices or verbal announcements during the sale) is not substantially correct based on a fair reading of the catalog, and (b) if within fourteen days of such notice the buyer returns the lot to Auction Company in the same condition as when sold, and (c) establishes the written allegations to Auction Company's satisfaction (including by providing one or more written opinions by recognized experts in the field, as Auction Company may reasonably require), then the sale will be rescinded with only the purchase price and Buyer's premium refunded. No reimbursement shall be made for any shipping costs incurred.
U. Limitation of Liability. If, for any reason a purchased lot cannot be delivered in the same condition as at the time of sale, or should any purchased lot be stolen, miss-delivered or lost prior to delivery, Auction Company shall not be liable for any amount more than that paid by the buyer.
V. Endangered Species. International shipping is not available for items containing materials from endangered species including but not limited to; ivory and rhino horns. These items will only be shipped within the United States, except to prohibited states. All buyers agree to comply with any additional restrictions regarding the trade of endangered species as a condition of sale. It is the purchaser's responsibility to obtain any licenses and/or certificates as well as any other required documentation prior to shipment. In the case of denial or delay of any required documentation or paperwork, they buyer will still be responsible for making on-time payment for the total purchase price of the lot. Therefore, if you are unsure, we recommend that you DO NOT BID on endangered species items.
W. Governing Law and Jurisdiction. The Conditions of Sale, as well as the Buyer's, Owner's and Auction Company's respective rights and obligations shall be governed, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Pennsylvania. All persons participating in any auction sale, whether as bidder or consignor, whether present in person or by agent, or by absentee bid, order bid, telephone, internet or other means, consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state courts located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
X. Severability. If any part of the Conditions of Sale is found by any court to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that part shall be discounted and the rest of the conditions shall continue to be valid to the fullest extent of the law.

NOTE: Condition reports, photos and video or digital images are provided as a courtesy and should not be used as a substitute for viewing the items in person. All items are sold AS IS in accordance with the Conditions of Sale.
YOUR BIDDING ACKNOWLEDGES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE CONDITIONS OF SALE.

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