The Buyer
All lots will be invoiced to the name and address given at the time of registration and the issue of an allocated buyer’s number cannot be transferred to others name and addresses.
The highest bidder will be the buyer at the ‘hammer price’ and any dispute will be settled at the auctioneer’s absolute discretion. Every bidder will be deemed to act as principal unless there is in force a written acknowledgement by the AVA that he/she acts as agent on behalf of the named principal.
Minimum increment
The auctioneer will have the right to refuse any bid which does not exceed the previous bid by at least 5% or by such other proportion as the auctioneer will in his/her absolute discretion direct.
Absentee bids
Upon request, the AVA shall execute absentee bids on behalf of intending buyers. Absentee bids are a service provided by the AVA for the buyers’ benefit and the AVA cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions with respect to the bidding process. Lots will be bought as cheaply as is allowed by other bids and the reserves set. In the event of identical bids, the earliest will take precedence. When absentee bids are placed by telephone they are accepted at the buyer’s risk, and must be confirmed prior to the sale by completing the Absentee bidding form provided and emailed or faxed to the AVA. To ensure a satisfactory service, bidders are urged most strongly to send bids so that they are received at least 24 hours before a sale.
Telephone bids
The AVA will do its best to accommodate telephone bids from buyers who have made proper arrangements at least 24 hours prior to the sale and subject to the availability of sufficient telephone lines. Telephone bids will only be initiated for Lots over the R5000.00 mark. Because Telephone bids cannot be entirely free from risk of communication breakdown, the AVA cannot be held responsible for losses arising from missed bids
Payment
Immediately after a lot is sold the buyer will:
a) Give to the AVA his/her name, address, ID number and proof of identity if requested.
b) Pay to the Association for the Visual Arts (see method of payment options to the AVA) the ‘total amount due’;
Method of payment options
The AVA gallery will email an invoice to the buyer for the total amount due. The buyer can activate an EFT payment or direct deposit and then fax ( 021 423 2637 ) or email ( avaart@iafrica.com) proof of payment. Alternatively the buyer can make payment with their credit card when they collect the work from the AVA Gallery the week following the auction.
Collection of purchases
The ownership of the lots purchased will not pass to the buyer until he/she has made payment in full to the AVA (see method of payment options to the AVA) of the ‘total amount due’.
After the auction, only limited assistance with packing and/or loading of purchases is available from the staff of the AVA. Where such assistance is rendered, no liability will devolve on the AVA or its staff for any damage that may arise, from whatever the cause, during such packing and/or loading.
The buyer will at his/her own expense collect the lot purchased, the week following the auction from the AVA Gallery, 35 Church St, Cape Town. The buyer will be responsible for all packing, removal, storage and insurance charges.
Buyer’s responsibility for lots purchased
The buyer will be responsible for the loss or damage to lots purchased from the time of auction to date of collection. The AVA nor its servants or agents will thereafter be responsible for any loss or damage of any kind, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, while any lot is in its custody or under its control.
Remedies for non-payment or failure to collect purchases
If any lot is not paid for in full and taken away in accordance with conditions 5 and 6, or if there is any other breach of either of those conditions, the AVA as agent of the seller will, at its absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights it may have, be entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights and remedies”
a) To proceed against the buyer for payment and/or damages for breach of contract;
b) To remove, store and insure the lots at the expense of the defaulting buyer and, in the case of storage, either at the AVA’s premises or elsewhere;
c) To charge interest at a rate not exceeding 2% per month on the ‘total amount due’ to the extent it remains unpaid for more than 7 working days after the day of the auction;
d) to retain that or any other lot sold to the same buyer at the same time or at any other auction and release it only after payment of the ‘total amount due’;
e) to apply any proceeds of sale then due or at any time thereafter becoming due to the defaulting buyer towards settlement of the ‘total amount due’ and to exercise a lien on any property of the defaulting buyer which is in the AVA’s possession for any purpose.
The buyer shall be responsible for the payment of the AVA’s legal costs calculated on the scale as between attorney and its own client incurred in the enforcement of the AVA’s rights irrespective of whether the AVA institutes legal proceedings or not.
The AVA Gallery 