Terms of sale

• 1. Commission

  The auction house Venator & Hanstein KG (hereinafter V & H) auctions as commission agent in its own name and for the account of the consignor. The Consignor shall be bound to the contract until the auction has taken place.

  Unless otherwise agreed, V & H shall also be entitled to sell unsold items in the auction by private treaty within a period of four weeks after the close of the auction in accordance with these contractual terms and conditions.

• 2. Ownership

  The consignor assures that he is the authorised owner of the items or that he is acting on behalf of the owner. The items are used. The Consignor shall be liable to V & H for all material defects and defects of title of the auctioned items in corresponding application of the law on sales, subject to the proviso that the limitation period shall commence from the time of acceptance of the bid. In the case of material defects relating to the authenticity of the items, the limitation period shall be 24 months; in the case of other defects, it shall be 12 months.
  The consignor assures that he has provided all information known to him regarding the provenance and origin of the objects. If the consignor consigns cultural property whose country of origin is not Germany, he assures that he has complied with the export regulations of the country of origin (cf. §§ 21 ff. KGSG) and the import regulations of Germany (cf. §§ 28 ff. KGSG).

• 3. Settlement

  Settlement is based on the individual hammer prices.
  The auctioneer's fee (buyer's premium) shall be paid by the vendor:

  • 20 % plus VAT of the hammer price for hammer prices up to € 400 (gross 23.8 %)
  • 17 % plus VAT of the hammer price for hammer prices from € 401 to € 2,000 (gross 20.23 %)
  • 13 % plus VAT of the hammer price for hammer prices over € 2,000 (gross 15.47 %)

  The consignor shall bear the costs for special requests and additional insurance.
  All items offered in the ‘Books, Prints, Autographs’ catalogue will be professionally photographed for the online catalogue. The consignor will be charged €35 per offer number.
  In the catalogue ‘Modern and Contemporary Prints and Drawings’, all objects are always illustrated in colour and the usual 1/6 page is charged at € 35. This price also includes the image to be enlarged in the online catalogue.
  For original works of art created after 1 January 1900, a pro rata resale right fee of 1.5 % will be charged.

• 4. Additional Service

  In addition to the auction, the auction house V & H also handles the cataloguing, storage, insurance (see under 5.), exhibition, advertising and forwarding of the resale royalty.

• 5. Estimates & Limits

  The items to be auctioned will be sold for at least two thirds of the estimated prices (valuations) published in the catalogue or at the agreed minimum prices (limits).

  Minimum prices may be agreed from estimated prices of € 2,000. In any case, the minimum price may be called out. If an agreed minimum price is not reached, the auctioneer may knock down the item subject to reservation. A subsequent increase in the reserve price is excluded. If items remain unsold because agreed minimum prices could not be achieved, V & H reserves the right to charge the consignor 5% of the minimum price as compensation for expenses in addition to the agreed ancillary costs. No fees will be charged for items not sold in the auction.
  Unsold auction items can only be stored free of charge for up to three months after the auction. After this time, the consignor will be charged 1% of the estimated price p.a. - at least €15 - for insurance and storage.

• 6. Transport

  The consignor shall bear the costs and risk for the transport of the auctioned goods to V & H, as well as for any return shipment. The auction house shall insure the items against burglary, fire and water damage for the duration of its custody. V & H shall only be liable for other damage, in particular to frames, if it is guilty of intent or gross negligence. The storage of packaging is not possible.

• 7. Auction proceeds

  The auctioneer collects the auction proceeds. The Vendor shall receive the settlement within 6 to 8 weeks after the auction and, following his instructions, the auction proceeds in euros less the fees and costs to which the Auction House is entitled, as soon as V & H has received the proceeds. If the Auction House does not receive the proceeds of the auction, it may, without any legal disadvantages, also subsequently, i.e. after notification of the execution of the order, name the successful bidder to the Consignor. If the Auction House has already handed over the item to the successful bidder, it shall be liable to the Consignor for the proceeds. The costs of a non-cash payment shall be borne by the payee.

• 8. Consent

  The consignor agrees to the auction terms and conditions in effect at V & H.

• 9. Auction contract

  The auction contract contains all agreements between the consignor and V & H.

  There are no verbal side agreements. Amendments and additions to these terms and conditions must be made in writing to be valid; this does not apply to the approval of a conditional bid.

• 10. Legal basis

  Exclusively the law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply.

  The provisions of the Hague Conventions on the International Sale of Goods (EAG/EKG) as well as the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) shall not apply. The Cultural Property Protection Act shall be observed. Reference is made to the privacy policy in accordance with the GDPR.

  The place of performance and, insofar as legally permissible, the place of jurisdiction is Cologne. Should any of the above provisions be or become wholly or partially invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.