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AUCTIONEER: Prestige Philately (Prestige), a company
incorporated in the State of Victoria, is the auctioneer, and adheres to
the standard terms of sale of the Australasian Philatelic Traders Association.
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DESCRIPTIONS: We endeavour to describe lots fully and
accurately. The description of a lot comprises 1) the codes to the
left of the description; 2) the description; and 3) any illustration
of the lot or part of the lot. (The various codes and symbols are explained
on the previous page.
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ESTIMATES: The figure in the right-hand column following
each lot description is the starting price of the lot in Australian dollars.
A bidder - may bid at, above or below the estimate. Bids below the reserve
price (usually 75% of the estimate) will not be accepted. There is no reserve
on lots listed at $20 or less.
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BIDDING: Bids may be made to Prestige by mail,
by fax, by e-mail or by phone. Bids received by phone must be confirmed
in writing. At public auctions, bids may also be made in person, by phone
(by prior arrangement) or through an agent attending an auction. An agent
must advise Prestige of the person(s) for whom bids are being submitted
or else the agent will be personally liable for payment and delivery of
any lots purchased. Prestige reserves the right to refuse any bid,
or to refuse bids from any person, for any reason.
In most cases, Prestige's bidding steps are as follows:
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$150 - 300 |
$10 rises |
$3000 - 5000 |
$200 rises |
| |
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$300 - 500 |
$20 rises |
$5000 - 10000 |
$250 rises |
| Under $30 |
$1 rises |
$500 - 750 |
$25 rises |
$10000 - 15000 |
$500 rises |
| $30 - 50 |
$2 rises |
$750 - 1500 |
$50 rises |
$15000 - 30000 |
$1000 rises |
| $50 - 150 |
$5 rises |
$1500 - 3000 |
$100 rises |
over $30000 |
average of 5% rises |
Prestige reserves the right to raise or lower postal bids
(depending on the bidder's apparent intention) to conform to these bidding
steps.
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TELEPHONE BIDDING: Bidding by telephone during the course
of a public auction is permitted. However, clients wishing to use this service
must contact Prestige at least 24 hours before the auction regarding
the special conditions that apply. [To see these special conditions, go
to www.prestigephilately.com from where the Telephone Bidding Terms
can be read and downloaded.]
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GOODS & SERVICES TAX (GST): Australian law requires
that GST equal to 10% of the knock-down or sale price of a taxed lot shall
be payable by the buyer, unless the taxed lot is exported to another country.
Taxed lots are indicated in the catalogue by the letter 'T' following the
estimate figure: eg 150 T. GST equal to 10% of the amount of any fees or
charges added by Prestige is also payable by Australian buyers.
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BUYER: The buyer of a lot shall be the person to whom
the lot is sold ("knocked-down") by Prestige. In the event of equal
bids being received, the earliest such bid shall be successful. In the event
of a dispute, Prestige shall have absolute discretion in the settling
of the dispute.
A lot is at the buyer's risk once it has been sold ("knocked-down") but ownership
(legal title) will not pass to the buyer until Prestige has received
payment in full for the lot.
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PAYMENT: Payment is due immediately a lot is sold, or
immediately upon receipt of an invoice. For public auctions only, in addition
to the price for which a lot is sold, the buyer shall pay a premium of 15%
of that price, plus any fees for postage packing and insurance or credit
card use that are charged by Prestige, plus GST as appropriate.
No buyer's premium is charged or payable in respect of postal auctions.
(Payment should always be made in Australian dollars. If payment is made
in another currency the buyer shall add the equivalent of $A50 towards bank
fees, any resulting credit being placed to the buyer's account.)
In the event that the buyer does not make payment in full for the lot(s)
within 30 days from the date of the invoice, Prestige shall have the
right to exercise any one or more of the following rights and remedies:
| 1) To impose an accounting fee of $10 per month
(or part thereof) plus compound interest at the rate of 2.5% per month
(or part thereof) of the total amount outstanding; |
| 2) To terminate the contract with the buyer, in
which case any monies received from the buyer shall be forfeited to
Prestige; |
| 3) To terminate the contract and resell the lot(s)
at any time, in which case any resulting shortfall, plus costs including
accounting fees, interest, insurance and resale expenses, shall be
met by the original buyer; |
| 4) To apply any monies due at any time from Prestige
to the buyer in payment of the outstanding amount; |
| 5) To take legal action against the buyer for
damages for breach of contract. |
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RETURN OF LOTS: A lot may be returned, within a reasonable time,
only because of an error in the description: see clause 2 for the definition
of "the description". A lot that has been inspected by the buyer or by the
buyer's agent cannot be returned for any reason. A lot that is illustrated
in the catalogue or of which an illustration has been supplied to the buyer
or to the buyer's agent cannot be returned for any reason that is apparent
from the illustration.
A lot expressed to be a "range", "group", "selection", "array", "collection","
accumulation" or similar, or any other lot containing more than 10 items -
excepting sets of stamps - is always offered "as is" and cannot be returned
for any reason. Similarly, other lots offered "as is" cannot be returned.
"EXTENSIONS": A request for an extension to submit
a lot to a recognised expert or expert committee for a Certificate of Authenticity
must be made in writing prior to or on the day of the auction. Prestige shall
have an absolute discretion not to grant an extension. [In particular, an
extension will not normally be granted if the lot is offered with a recent
Certificate of Authenticity or if the stamp(s) has/have perforated initials
(perfins).] If an extension is granted, the buyer must make payment in full
for the lot including the buyer's premium, in accordance with the terms of
Paragraph 8. The amount paid including the buyer's premium will be refunded
in full if the lot is returned with an acceptable "bad" Certificate.
All costs associated with obtaining a certificate shall be borne by the buyer,
unless the lot is found to be not as identified in the catalogue, in which
case all costs associated with obtaining the Certificate shall be refunded
to the buyer.
A lot described as being defective in any way may not be returned should the
Certificate obtained mention any fault not noted in the lot description. The
buyer shall not be entitled to reject an item if the certificate includes
any findingt that does not materially affect the grading of the lot.
Unless otherwise agreed, nomination of the appropriate expert or expert committee
shall be made by Prestige, and Prestige will be responsible for submitting
the lot to that expert or expert committee. Should Prestige agree to the buyer's
nomination of an expert or expert committee, the extension granted will be
for a period of no more than 90 days from the date of the auction. If a Certificate
has not been obtained within 90 days from the date of the auction, the extension
shall lapse and Prestige may thereafter refuse to accept the return of the
lot.
GOVERNING LAW: These Terms of Sale shall be governed by
and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Victoria.
Submitting a bid by any method constitutes acknowledgment and acceptance
of these Terms of Sale.