Albersheim's Auction Instructions

To register for our internet auctions, please read the instructions below. Please note that by completing the registration form you are accepting all the terms listed below.

Before the Auction

Registration:

Create an account on the Albersheim’s web site here. You must have an approved account to bid in auctions. If you have previously registered on Albersheim’s, then please use your previously established login and password to login for the current auction. You only need to register once to bid on all future auctions.

At our sole discretion, Albersheim’s retains the right to revoke any account and any bids previously placed by that account. If you have any problems registering, please contact us at 855-450-5500 or glennz@alberheims.com. All registration and bidder information shall remain confidential.

Finding Items:

Familiarize yourself with the web site. Go to the homepage where you will find links on the left hand side of the page to guide you in finding the categories of interest to you. You can also search by lot#, item#, and keywords in the titles and descriptions using the search box in the top left corner.

During the Auction

Bidding:

Bids can be placed using the web site or by calling our offices. The initial bidding period ending time for the current auction is listed at the top of the Auction page. If you’re outbid, you’ll receive an email notification (please check your account settings to ensure that they’re set to send auction notification emails). Placing a bid is a legal contract. Once a bid is placed, you cannot retract it. We reserve the right to reject bids by any bidder.

In order to bid, open the full lot description of the lot you wish to bid on. Click on the BIDDING button or scroll to the bottom of the page to enter your straight or max bid (see explanations of the bid terms below). Not ready to place your bid? Click on the WATCH THIS LOT button to add this lot to your watch list.

Extended Bidding - the 30 minute rule:

If only one bid at or above the Minimum Bid has been made on a lot when the initial bidding period ends, that bidder will be declared the winner of the lot at the end of the auction. For any lot that has two or more bidders, the lot enters into an extended bidding period. That lot will then remain open until the later of either (1) 30 minutes past the initial bidding period end time or (2) 30 minutes past the time of the last bid on that individual lot. Each lot’s end time is determined by the bidding activity on that particular lot and may be different than the ending time of other auction lots. The extended bidding period allows all bidders the opportunity to bid on lots they are eligible to bid on without getting "sniped" due to time constraints. In order to be eligible to bid on a lot during the Extended Bidding Period, you must have placed a bid on that lot before its initial closing time.

Minimum Bids, Reserves, and Bidding Increments

Each lot in the auction has a Minimum Bid (designated online as "MB") which is the lowest accepted bid for that lot. When bidding, you will be able to view the current high bid for each lot. When you want to bid, go to the individual lot page where you can view a pull-down menu of incremental bid amounts. You will have the option of selecting the next incremental bid (the lowest amount that the pull-down menu displays) or any bid higher than the next incremental bid (a Maximum Bid - explained below).

A reserve price is a confidential minimum price for a lot. Therefore, if the reserve price is not met, the lot will not be sold. Any lot with a reserve will state “reserve not met” until the reserve is met. The majority of lots do not have a reserve.

Bid increments are set at $25 for items with a minimum bid below $250. Bid increments are set at 10% increases for items over $250.

Maximum Bids (also referred to as "Up To" and "limit" bids)

A Maximum Bid is the highest price that a bidder is willing to spend for a lot. When placing such a bid, you are instructing the auction program to competitively bid on your behalf up to (but not over) a given limit with the intention of winning the item at the lowest possible price. In the event that two or more bidders place the same Maximum Bid, then the earliest received bid will be recognized as the successful high bid.

Example: A lot is bid at $100 by Bidder A who has entered a max bid of $130. Bidder B attempts to top the current high bid of $100 with a bid of $110. This will cause Bidder A’s max bid to automatically move up to $120 (a 10% increment increase). Bidder B will be informed that they are not the high bidder at $120, and that the next bidding increment is $130. If Bidder B bids $130, the new bid will be $130 and the high bidder will still be Bidder A, since they previously entered a max bid of $130. If Bidder B enters a bid of $140, then Bidder B is now the high bidder at $140 which is over Bidder A’s max bid.

Bidding Errors:

AlBERSHEIM’S IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ERRORS IN BIDDING. A Bidder should make certain to bid on the correct lot and that the bid is the maximum (plus the 15% Buyer’s Premium) that the Bidder is willing and able to pay. Since other Bidders will be present and a re-offering could damage the momentum of the sale, the winning Bidder is unconditionally bound to pay for the lot, even if the Bidder has made a mistake.

Bid Notifications via Email

You will receive bid confirmations and outbid notifications via e-mail on every item for which you are bidding, except when you are immediately outbid upon placing your bid due to an existing higher ceiling bid. In this case you will be notified on your computer screen. Some email programs will identify these e-mails as spam and will delete them or delay delivery. As this is out of our control, we strongly recommend users track their bids as we cannot guarantee timely delivery of the notification e-mails.

Monitor Your Items:

To monitor your bids, click on the link to “Items I’m Bidding On” which appears in the member menu.

Buyer's Premium

There’s a 15% Buyer's Premium for all lots. For example, should you win a lot for $1000, your actual cost will be $1150 (plus shipping, insurance and tax, if applicable). The Bidder acknowledges and agrees that a 15% Buyer’s Premium will be added to the final price on all individual lots.

Description Errors:

Albersheim’s reserves the right to remove an item from our auction at any time. Any error in a listing or lot description, whether typographical, photographic or technical, will be dealt with at our discretion. The website may be updated during the auction to provide additional images or product information.

After the Auction

Payment

Accepted forms of payment are check, money order, and wire transfer for all lots. For items over $500, payment may also be made by Visa, Mastercard, or Paypal. American Express is not accepted. All invoices should be paid in full within 14 days of the close of the auction. Copies of your invoice will be sent by mail and e-mail within 3 days of the close of the auction. Please do not call or email our office regarding invoices prior to this date as it just slows down the process. Failure to pay your invoice in a timely manner will result in your bidding privileges being revoked. If an invoice is 30 or more days due, the bidder's credit card on file will be automatically charged for the full amount due on the 31st day from the date of the invoice.

Shipping

Shipping will be $10 per bidder regardless if the # lots won for all items shipped in the continental United States. For example, if you win 5 lots, then you only pay $10 total for shipping. The exception is for larger items which will have higher shipping/handling costs and will be managed on a case by case basis. Items designated as larger will be noted in the auction lot description. Shipping Internationally and to Alaska and Hawaii will be handled on a case by case basis.

No lots will be shipped until full payment is received and items will be shipped as soon as possible after the payment has cleared. We expedite shipping as soon as possible, but please allow at least two weeks from payment clearing to delivery of packages.

Sales Tax:

Shipments made to Nevada will be charged appropriate local sales tax unless the bidder has provided to Albersheim’s a current and valid Nevada tax exempt resale certificate.

Authenticity:

All material is guaranteed genuine; we offer no reproductions unless explicitly stated. Click here for more information about authenticity.

Unsold Lots:

If a lot is unsold in the auction, it’s returned to the consignor. Albersheim’s has the right to sell certain unsold items after the close of the Auction. Such lots shall be considered sold during the Auction and all these Terms and Conditions shall apply to such sales including but not limited to the Buyer’s Premium, return rights, and disclaimers.

Additional Terms and Conditions

Albersheim’s does not provide any warranties to Bidders or Buyers, whether expressed or implied, beyond those expressly provided for in these Conditions of Sale. All property and lots are sold “as is” and “where is”. By way of illustration rather than limitation, neither Albersheim’s nor the consignor makes any representation or warranty, expressed or implied, as to merchant ability or fitness for intended use, condition of the property (including any condition report), correctness of description, origin, measurement, quality, rarity, importance, exhibition, relevance, attribution, source, provenance, date, authorship, condition, culture, genuineness, value, or period of the property. Additionally, neither Albersheim’s nor the consignor makes any representation or warranty, expressed or implied, as to whether the Buyer acquires rights in copyright or other intellectual property (including exhibition or reproduction rights) or whether the property is subject to any limitations or other rights. Albersheim’s does not make any representation or warranty as to title.

All descriptions, photographs, illustrations, and terminology including but not limited to words describing condition (including any condition reports requested by Bidder, see also Generally Terminology), authorship, period, culture, source, origin, measurement, quality, rarity, provenance, importance, exhibition, and relevance, used in the catalog, bill of sale, invoice, or anywhere else, represent a good faith effort made by Albersheim’s to fairly represent the lots and property offered for sale as to origin, date, condition, and other information contained therein; they are statements of opinion only. They are not representations or warranties and Bidder agrees and acknowledges that he or she shall not rely on them in determining whether or not to bid or for what price. Price estimates (which are determined well in advance of the auction and are therefore subject to revision) and condition reports are provided solely as a convenience to Bidders and are not intended nor shall they be relied on by Bidders as statements, representations or warranties of actual value or predictions of final bid prices.

If a winning bidder does not honor his or her bid with payment in full per the auction rules, then it is agreed that Albersheim’s may, at its sole discretion, sell the given item(s) to an under -bidder, or re-offer the given lot(s) in a future auction, and that the original winning bidder is responsible for any losses incurred or service charges involved in the sale of said item(s), and that the non-paying winning bidder explicitly agrees to pay any and all reasonable legal fees incurred by Albersheim’s in the collection of these losses and/or service charges from the non-paying winning bidder if necessary.

We reserve the right to withdraw any property at any time before the actual sale. We reserve the right to reject a bid from any bidder. The highest bidder acknowledged by us shall be the purchaser. In the event of any dispute between bidders, or in the event we doubt the validity of any bid, we shall have sole and final discretion either to determine the successful bidder or to re-offer and resell the article. If any dispute arises after the sale, our sales records shall be conclusive in all respects. If we are prevented by fire, theft or any other reason whatsoever from delivering any property to the purchaser, our liability shall be limited to the sum actually paid therefore by the purchaser and shall in no event include any incidental or consequential damages.

CONSIGNOR BIDDING AND or SHILL BIDDING are strictly prohibited and anyone found guilty of such will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Bid manipulation of any kind is expressly forbidden. A consignor is prohibited from placing bids or arranging to have bids placed on his behalf. No shill bidding is allowed. Shill bidding is any bid(s) placed by a person or persons to drive up the final price paid and realized without intent to actually take ownership of the lot. Please note that it is a violation of law to make bids in a false name or with an invalid payment method, even if our software initially accepts such a bid. Fraudulent bidders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The Arbitrator shall be empowered to order specific performance and to award consequential damages and pre-award interest, but shall not be empowered to award punitive damages. The arbitration shall be governed by the U.S. Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. 1-16, and judgment upon the award rendered by the Arbitrator may be entered by any court having jurisdiction thereof. Each party shall bear its own attorney’s fees and expenses in connection with such proceedings and shall bear one-half of the Arbitrator’s fees and expenses.

The purchase of any letter or document does not give the buyer any copyright ownership.