Conditions of sale

The auction will be conducted under the supervision of Philippe Willems & Philippe Matthys, Bailiffs, Gistelsesteenweg 418, 8200 Brugge-Sint-Andries.
Payment of the Purchase Price is due immediately after the sale in cash (cash till € 3.000). Payments can be made by Bancontact/Maestro or by wire transfer.
The buyers will pay a buyer’s premium of 25 % on the last bid, including V.A.T. and fees relating to the auction. Eventually plus the resale tax, if applicable: 4 % for hammer prices from 2000 euros on, only for original art and if the author died less than 70 years ago.
External partners (INVALUABLE and DROUOTLIVE) allowing their clients to bid with us, may charge a fee for this, which shall be added to our sales commission. These fees are subject to change at the partner's discretion. Payments not including this fee will be seen as incomplete.
In case of a dispute, the lot will immediately be called again.
During the exhibition of the books the candidate buyers will be able to verify the condition of the books and prints. The books and prints cannot be returned for any reason after the fall of the hammer. If the auctioneer has executed a written bid on behalf of the buyer (see section 7), the buyer has to verify the books and prints within 2 weeks after the fall of the hammer. After this period the books and prints cannot be returned for any reason.
Books designated “nc” are not collated and will be sold without guarantee even as lots of 2 or more titles, series and periodicals. Binding errors are not accepted as a reason to return a lot.
The auctioneer will execute written bids on behalf of those candidate buyers who are unable to attend the auction. The bids instructions have to reach the auctioneer no later than the last day before the auction. They have to state the maximum prices in euro and they should be in writing. In the event of identical bids, the earliest received will take precedence. Bidding by telephone will only be accepted for items estimated higher than 250 euros. The auctioneer cannot be held responsible for any problem due to difficulties with telephone connections. The auctioneer has the right at his absolute discretion to refuse any bid.
Bids are raised by approximately 10%, i.e. till €120 with €10, from € 120-400 with €20, from €400-1.000 with €50, from €1.000-2.000 with €100 etc. Written bids will accordingly be rounded off to the nearest high bid (€65 becomes €70, €420 becomes €450).
The buyers can take delivery of the goods after payment in full starting from Monday after the auction by appointment only.
The goods will only be shipped after payment of the full price. Risks and costs of the shipment will be borne by the buyer.
If full payment has not been made after one month, the auctioneer can rescind the sale of the lot(s) at any other auction. All charges being at the expense of the defaulting buyer.
The Belgian law dated 15/08/2020 transposes European Directives 2018/843 and 2015/849, whose aim is to prevent the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or the financing of terrorism. This law requires all players in the arts and antiques businesses, including auction houses, to request and register the identity of all parties involved in any transaction whose value is €10,000 or more. If a party concerned is a company, we are also required to request information on the company statutes or the identity of the ultimate beneficiary. These data remain exclusively in the possession of the auction house, and will be processed in strict compliance with the General Data Protection legislation.
The Courts of Bruges are to have exclusive jurisdiction to settle all disputes arising in connection with all aspects of all matters or transactions to which these Conditions of Business relate or apply.