These conditions govern every sale conducted by HCS Auctions Ltd. Please read them before bidding — by registering to bid you accept them in full. All of our auctions are conducted online. Every lot is offered without reserve, with bidding opening at £1.
1. Definitions
“We”, “us” and “the auctioneer” mean HCS Auctions Ltd. “You” and “the buyer” mean the person registered to bid. “The seller” means the person entering a lot for sale. “Hammer price” means the price at which a lot is knocked down to the successful bidder, before premium, fees and VAT. “Total purchase price” means the hammer price plus buyer’s premium, any online bidding fee and any VAT due.
2. Registration and bidding
- All bidding is online. You must register and be approved on our bidding platform before bidding. We may ask for photographic identification, proof of address and a payment card.
- We may refuse registration, refuse a bid, or cancel a registration at our absolute discretion.
- You are responsible for all bids placed through your online account, including bids placed by anyone you allow to use it.
- Every bid is a legally binding offer to purchase. Bids may not be withdrawn once made.
- If you bid on behalf of somebody else, you remain personally liable for payment unless we have agreed otherwise in writing before the sale.
3. Conduct of the sale
- The auctioneer has absolute discretion to refuse a bid, divide or combine lots, withdraw a lot, re-open bidding, and settle any dispute over bidding — including re-offering a lot.
- Bidding increments are at the auctioneer’s discretion.
- Every lot is offered without reserve and opens at £1. Neither the auctioneer nor the seller bids on the seller’s own lots.
- A lot is sold when bidding on it closes. At that moment risk in the lot passes to the buyer.
4. What the buyer pays
The buyer pays the hammer price plus:
- Buyer’s premium — 20% of the hammer price, charged on every lot.
- Online bidding fee — charged by the bidding platform that hosts the sale, at the rate published in that auction’s catalogue.
- VAT — charged where it is due, most commonly on the buyer’s premium and on lots entered by VAT-registered businesses. Lots affected are marked in the catalogue.
By way of example, a lot bought at a hammer price of £20 is invoiced at £20 plus £4 premium, before the bidding platform’s own fee and any VAT due.
5. Descriptions and condition
- All lots are sold as seen and with all faults. Descriptions and photographs are statements of opinion offered in good faith and are not warranties.
- We do not test electrical, mechanical or battery-operated items unless the catalogue expressly says otherwise. Anything electrical should be checked by a qualified person before use.
- We do not publish estimates. Every lot opens at £1 and its price is set entirely by bidding.
- Viewing is provided precisely so that bidders may satisfy themselves as to condition. You bid on the basis of your own inspection and judgement.
- Where a lot is later shown to have been deliberately and materially misdescribed by us, our liability is limited to rescinding the sale and refunding the total purchase price, provided the lot is returned in the same condition within 14 days of the sale.
6. Payment
- Payment of the total purchase price is due immediately after the sale and in any event before collection.
- We accept payment by debit or credit card and by bank transfer. Cash may be accepted subject to our anti-money-laundering obligations.
- Title in a lot does not pass to the buyer until we have received payment in full and cleared funds.
- We may decline to release any lot while any sum remains outstanding on your account, including sums due on other lots.
7. Collection, storage and delivery
- Lots must be collected during the collection period published for each sale.
- Risk passes to the buyer when bidding on the lot closes. Uncollected lots are held entirely at the buyer’s risk.
- Storage charges may be applied to lots left beyond the published collection period, and we may resell or dispose of lots left uncollected after 28 days, applying the proceeds against sums owed to us.
- Staff may assist with loading as a courtesy. Where they do so, it is at the buyer’s risk.
- We do not deliver or dispatch lots. Buyers collect in person or arrange their own carrier.
8. Default by the buyer
If the total purchase price is not paid when due we may, at our discretion and without notice: charge interest on the outstanding sum; cancel the sale; resell the lot publicly or privately and recover any shortfall together with our costs from you; retain any other lot or property of yours in our possession against the debt; refuse future bids from you; and pass the debt to a collection agency.
9. Prohibited and restricted lots
We do not knowingly offer items whose sale is prohibited or restricted by law. Certain lots — including but not limited to bladed articles, items containing protected species material, and age-restricted goods — may only be released against proof of age or the appropriate documentation, and may not be dispatched by post or carrier.
10. Terms for sellers
- By entering goods you warrant that you are the legal owner, or are properly authorised by the owner to sell, and that the goods are free from any lien, charge or third-party claim.
- We accept whole property contents and bulk trade consignments only. We do not accept single items from members of the public.
- Consignors deliver goods to the saleroom. We do not operate a collection or house clearance service.
- Commission is charged at 30% of the hammer price, plus a consignment charge of £1 per lot created. Both are subject to VAT.
- All lots are sold without reserve, opening at £1. Reserves are not accepted.
- We may decline, withdraw, re-lot or combine any goods entered, and may reallocate goods to a more suitable sale.
- Settlement is made after buyers have paid, normally within 21 days of the sale, accompanied by a statement showing every lot, the hammer price and all deductions.
- Because lots are sold without reserve, consigned goods are not returned unsold. Any goods we decline to enter must be collected within the period notified to you.
11. Liability
Nothing in these conditions excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for any other liability which cannot lawfully be excluded. Subject to that, our total liability to a buyer in respect of any lot is limited to the total purchase price paid for that lot, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit or loss of opportunity.
We are not liable for any failure or interruption of the online bidding platform, internet connection or telephone service, however caused.
12. Consumer rights and distance selling
Our sales are conducted online. Where you buy as a consumer, your rights under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 apply in the ordinary way, and nothing in these conditions removes them. If you believe a lot has been materially misdescribed, contact us promptly and we will put it right.
13. Data protection
Information you provide is handled in accordance with our privacy policy, which explains what we collect, why, and how long we keep it.
14. General
If any provision of these conditions is found to be unenforceable, the remainder continues in force. These conditions, and any dispute arising from them or from any sale, are governed by the law of England and Wales and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of its courts.