Terms & Conditions

1.1. By making a bid, a Bidder acknowledges his acceptance of these Conditions and will be bound by them.

1.2. On The Square acts as agent for the Seller for the sale of a Lot to the Buyer. As such, On The Square is not responsible for any default by the Seller or the Buyer.

1.3. The contract for the sale of a Lot is between the Seller and the Buyer and is subject to these Conditions and the Seller's Conditions.

2.1. Statements made by us in a Catalogue, during the course of the Auction or elsewhere describing a Lot including its authorship, origin, age, size, condition, genuineness, authenticity or value are intended as a guide for interested Bidders. These are statements of opinion only and should not be relied on as statements of fact. Illustrations of the Lots are for general identification only.

2.2. Lots by their nature are usually aged and varied in condition. The absence of any description of a defect, damage, modification or restoration in any Catalogue does not imply that there are none.

2.3. If you are interested in a Lot, we strongly recommend that you view it in person before the Auction and form your own opinion of the description of the Lot.

2.4. We reserve the right to change any aspect of the published description of a Lot prior to the auction. Any change may be published on our website, displayed at the auction, announced by the auctioneer prior to the sale and/or communicated in any other manner.

2.5. All copyright in Catalogues including images belongs to On The Square.

3.1. If you are unable to attend the Auction personally, you may submit a Commission Bid and we will endeavour to purchase the Lot on your behalf for the lowest price possible. You must submit this in writing using the Commission Bid Form and send it to us by post, fax, email or delivery to our offices at least 24 hours prior to the Auction.

3.2. For all Commission Bids, you must supply your name and address, contact telephone number and email. You must also provide the Lot number and description of the Lot, the amount of your Bid and any other information requested in the Commission Bid Form or by us. It is your responsibility to provide the correct information and to ensure that we have received your Commission Bid. We are unable to acknowledge receipt of Commission Bids received in the 3 days prior to the date of the Auction.

3.3. We do not charge for this service and therefore we will not incur any liability for executing (or failing to execute) the Commission Bid.

3.4. If you submit a Commission Bid verbally (whether by telephone or otherwise), we shall not be responsible for any misunderstandings (by either us or our agents or you) in relation to your Bid.

3.5. If we receive two Commission Bids for equal value for the same Lot, the Bid received first by us shall take precedence.

3.6. "Buy" commissions and unlimited Commission Bids will not be accepted.

4.1. The highest Bidder for each Lot shall be the Buyer. If there is a dispute, the auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to determine the dispute including re-offering the disputed Lot for sale.

4.2. A Bidder must submit a bid for an entire Lot and each lot constitutes a separate sale. The auctioneer shall however have an absolute discretion to divide any Lot, to combine any two or more Lots, or to withdraw any Lot from the auction without giving any reason (including after the hammer has fallen). Bidding shall be regulated at the absolute discretion of the auctioneer. The auctioneer has the right to refuse any bid.

4.3. Subject to Condition 4.1, the contract for the sale of the Lot is concluded on the strike of the hammer.

4.4. All Lots are offered for sale subject to any Reserve.

4.5. You cannot cancel your purchase of a Lot once the hammer has fallen.

4.6. On The Square accepts bids through multiple sales platforms, including its own, which may operate at the same time during an Auction. A platform may show a Bidder as leading or winning even where a competing bid has been received through another platform. Such a display alone does not confirm that the Bidder has won the Lot. Where bids of the same amount are received at or around the same time through different platforms, the auction team will, acting reasonably and using the available bid records, exercise its discretion to determine which bid it believes was received first and should be accepted. The successful Buyer is determined by the bid accepted by the auctioneer, subject to clause 4.1, rather than a conflicting platform display. Nothing in this clause affects a Buyer's statutory rights.

4.7. The auctioneer will, acting reasonably and taking account of the available bid records and the circumstances of the Auction, exercise discretion to determine whether a bid was received before or after the hammer fell. A bid determined to have been received after the hammer fell will not be accepted for that sale. This is subject to the auctioneer's power to re-offer a disputed Lot under clause 4.1 and does not affect a Buyer's statutory rights.

5.1. The Purchase Price payable by a Buyer is the Hammer Price plus a commission of 20% of the Hammer Price, with VAT at the applicable rate payable on that commission. For example, at a VAT rate of 20%, a Hammer Price of £100 plus £20 commission and £4 VAT on the commission gives a total Purchase Price of £124.

5.2. The Buyer of a Lot shall, if requested, immediately notify his name and address to the auctioneer and if required provide proof of identity to our satisfaction and bank or other credit references or pay the Purchase Price in full before the Lot can be delivered to the Buyer.

5.3. The Purchase Price must be received in full and in cleared funds within 7 calendar days after the date of the auction, unless we agree a different payment deadline with you in writing. The resale period in clause 5.6 does not extend this payment deadline.

5.4. The Purchase Price is payable by you in full. You are not entitled to set-off any amounts that you claim are due from us or anyone else or make any other deductions.

5.5. Unless we have agreed in writing otherwise, you shall act on your own account as principal in respect of the sale and therefore if you accept a commission from a third party to bid on their behalf, you do so at your own risk and will remain personally liable (jointly with your principal) to us for the Purchase Price in accordance with these Conditions.

5.6. If any part of the Purchase Price remains unpaid 90 calendar days after the date of the auction, we may terminate the original sale for non-payment and resell the Lot by auction or private sale. Before doing so, we will give you at least 7 calendar days' written notice stating the amount outstanding, the final deadline for payment in cleared funds and our intention to terminate the sale for non-payment and resell the Lot if payment is not received. That final deadline will not be earlier than the end of the 90-day period or any later payment deadline agreed by us in writing. We may terminate the sale and resell the Lot only after that final deadline has passed and while payment remains outstanding. Your liability for charges, losses and costs under clause 5.7 continues after termination or resale.

5.7. If you fail to pay, you remain liable for reasonable storage and removal charges properly incurred under clause 6.4 and for reasonable losses and costs directly resulting from your failure to pay. Those liabilities apply whether or not the Lot has been resold and are not waived by termination of the original sale or resale of the Lot. If we resell the Lot under clause 5.6, recoverable losses and costs may include reasonable resale costs and any shortfall between the original Hammer Price and the Hammer Price or sale price achieved on resale. We will take reasonable steps to reduce those losses, credit payments already received from you and any amounts recovered from resale towards the same losses or charges against the amount properly due, and refund any remaining balance of your payments. We will not recover the same loss or charge twice. Nothing in clauses 5.6 or 5.7 affects your statutory rights.

6.1. Title to the Lot will pass to the Buyer when we have received the Purchase Price in full and in cleared funds. No Lot will be released for collection or delivery before full payment has been received.

6.2. Where the Buyer is a consumer, the risk of loss of or damage to the Lot will remain with us until the Lot comes into the physical possession of the Buyer or a person identified by the Buyer to take possession of it. If the Buyer commissions a carrier that we did not name as an option, risk will pass to the Buyer when the Lot is handed to that carrier. This does not affect any liability of the carrier to the Buyer. In any other case, risk will pass as required by applicable law.

6.3. Delivery is not included in the Purchase Price. The Buyer is responsible for arranging and paying for the collection, packing, shipping, insurance and delivery of the Lot.

6.4. Within 14 days of the date of the auction, the Buyer must either collect the Lot or contact us to request a shipping quote and agree collection or delivery arrangements. If the Buyer does not do so, we may charge reasonable storage and removal costs. For a Lot paid for in full, after giving the Buyer reasonable written notice, we may also resell the Lot by auction or private sale, deduct our reasonable storage, removal, insurance and sale costs from the proceeds, and pay any remaining balance to the Buyer. Resale of an unpaid or partly paid Lot is subject to the 90-day period and written notice requirements in clause 5.6. Reasonable storage and removal charges properly incurred under this clause remain payable after termination of the original sale for non-payment or resale of the Lot, subject to credit for any amounts already recovered towards those charges.

6.5. We may, but are not obliged to, help the Buyer by providing a quote for our own shipping service, subject to clause 6.9, recommending an independent delivery provider, or releasing the Lot to a carrier chosen by the Buyer. This assistance does not transfer the Buyer's responsibility for arranging delivery to us. Any independent provider is engaged by the Buyer and contracts directly with the Buyer, even where we have recommended the provider or helped to make contact. The Buyer is responsible for choosing a suitable provider, agreeing its terms, arranging any insurance and paying all charges. Nothing in this clause changes the passing of risk under clause 6.2 or excludes any liability that cannot legally be excluded.

6.6. Large, heavy or difficult-to-handle Lots must be collected by a suitably equipped transport or removals firm. We currently recommend TVM Logistics (The Van Men), telephone 028 9600 5064. This is a recommendation only and is not a guarantee of the provider's services.

6.7. Except in relation to Forgeries and without affecting the Buyer's statutory rights, the Buyer or the Buyer's representative must check that the correct Lot is handed over at collection. Where a Lot is delivered, the Buyer must notify us of any discrepancy within 24 hours of receipt.

6.8. It is the Buyer's responsibility to obtain any necessary import, export or other licences required in relation to a Lot.

6.9. We will not provide or arrange a packing or shipping quote until we have received the Purchase Price for the Lot in full and in cleared funds. This applies whether On The Square would carry out the packing or shipping itself or assist the Buyer in obtaining a quote from an independent provider.

7.1. Except where these Conditions expressly state otherwise, no warranty is given to a Buyer concerning a Lot and each Lot is sold as shown with all faults, imperfections, errors of description (including authorship, origin, age, size, condition or value) or lack of authenticity or genuineness and neither us nor the Seller nor any of our agents or sub-contractors will be liable for any damages, costs, expenses or any other liability arising out of the same whether or not caused by negligence.

7.2. Our maximum liability under these Conditions is the amount of the Purchase Price paid by you.

7.3. Neither us nor any of our agents or sub-contractors shall be liable, whether in tort (including negligence or breach of statutory duty), contract, misrepresentation or otherwise: (a) for loss of profits or business, depletion of goodwill and/or similar losses; loss of contracts; or (b) any special, indirect, consequential or pure economic loss, costs, damages, charges or expenses.

7.4. We shall not be liable to you or be deemed to be in breach of these Conditions by reason of any delay in performing, or any failure to perform, any of our obligations in the Conditions, if the delay or failure was due to any cause beyond our reasonable control.

7.5. Nothing in these Conditions excludes or limits our liability for any matter which it would be illegal for us to exclude or attempt to exclude under the law of Northern Ireland or for our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

8.1. By agreeing to these Conditions, a Bidder acknowledges and agrees that we will use personal information of a Bidder for the purpose of the auction and ancillary matters including providing a Buyer's personal details to a Seller and any other person where necessary to enforce our rights under these Conditions.

9.1. These Conditions and the Seller's Conditions constitute the entire agreement between us. All other terms, warranties and representations, express or implied by statute or otherwise are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law. No variation to these Conditions shall be legally binding unless agreed in writing by us.

9.2. All rights and benefits granted to a Bidder under these Conditions is personal to him and may not be assigned or in any other way transferred to any other person. Any such assignment or transfer will be invalid and unenforceable against us.

9.3. A notice required or permitted to be given by either of us to the other under these Conditions must be in writing. Notices to a Bidder may be sent by email to the last email address provided to us or by post to the last postal address notified to us. Notices to On The Square shall be sent to its registered office.

9.4. No failure or delay by us in exercising any of our rights under these Conditions shall be deemed to be a waiver of that right, and no waiver by us of any breach of these Conditions by you shall be considered as a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same or any other provision.

9.5. We may perform our obligations and exercise our respective rights through any of our group companies or assign our rights under these Conditions.

9.6. If any provision of these Conditions is held by any court or other competent authority to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, the validity of the other provisions and the remainder of the provision in question shall not be affected.

9.7. The law of Northern Ireland shall apply to these Conditions and we both agree that the courts of Northern Ireland shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

10.1. In these Conditions:

'On The Square', 'us' or 'we' means On The Square Auctions Limited.

'Bidder' and 'you' means a person making, attempting to make or considering making a bid for a Lot including a Buyer.

'Buyer' means the person who makes the highest bid for a Lot which is accepted by the auctioneer and if the person is acting as an agent, will be a reference to its principal only if On The Square has accepted the agency in writing.

'Catalogue' means a catalogue, price list or other publication or price list.

'Conditions' means these conditions of sale and any other additional terms notified to Bidders in writing in a Catalogue or otherwise (which includes notices displayed at the Auction) or as agreed in writing between On The Square and the Bidder.

'Hammer Price' means the amount of the highest bid for a Lot accepted by the auctioneer.

'Include' or 'including' mean including without limitation and include without limitation, respectively.

'Lot' means any item deposited with us for sale at auction including items described against any Lot number in a Catalogue.

'Purchase Price' means the Hammer Price plus a commission of 20% of the Hammer Price, VAT then payable on that 20%.

'Reserve' means a confidential price below which the auctioneer will not sell a Lot or will re-purchase on behalf of the Seller or for the account of On The Square.

'Seller's Conditions' means the terms and conditions of sale between On The Square and a Seller for the sale of a Lot as displayed in the auction room, on our website or available from On The Square.

10.2. Headings in these Conditions are for convenience only and shall not affect their interpretation.