I. FauveParis
The limited company FauveParis is a French Voluntary Sales Company (opérateur de ventes volontaires de meubles aux enchères publiques) ruled by law # 2000-642 of July 10th, 2000, which was modified by law #2011-850 of July 20th, 2011. As such, FauveParis limited (FauveParis) commits as the agent of the sellers, who contract with the buyers, i.e. FauveParis is not a party to the contract between the seller and the successful bidder.
The terms & conditions of sale of FauveParis, exposed thereafter, are accepted as a non-negotiated contract by every person placing a bid. FauveParis can modify these terms by written or oral notices before the sale.
II. Before the auction
The photos of the put on sale items, which appear in the magalogue and on www.fauveparis.com as well as on the websites of the intermediary operators of FauveParis have no contractual value.
The items are sold “as is”, i.e. such as they are presented to the auction. We advise potential bidders to vet the state of the items, and of damages or restorations which the items can have undergone, before the auction.
The exhibitions of FauveParis are public and open to all. The auctioneers and experts of FauveParis are available for any request of information or advice.
Condition or preservation reports can be established on request. However, the absence of indication regarding a damage or a restoration does not mean that an item is imperfection or restoration-free. Also, mentioning an imperfection does not imply that other flaws are absent. Besides, the state of frames is not guaranteed.
Besides, FauveParis insists that the words “attributed to”, followed by the name of an artist, guarantees that the work or the object was produced during the work timeframe of that artist and that serious grounds show that artist as the probable author. “Circle of” means that the work is the work of an artist contemporaneous with the mentioned one, who was highly influenced by the master’s work. Use of the words « studio of », followed by the name of an artist, guarantees that the work was realised in the studio of the mentioned master but produced by students under his control. The expressions “style of”“, “follower”, “spirit of”, “after”, “manner of”, do not bestow any particular guarantee about the identity of the artist, the date of the work or the school.
The information in the magalogue can be modified or corrected until the moment of the auction. These changes are made public through an announcement by the auctioneer during the auction, and by an appropriate display in the auction room. These changes are recorded in the minutes of the auction.
III. During the auction
The people who wish to place bids during the auction are asked to register with FauveParis their personal data (name, first name, address, position). FauveParis will require of the buyer that he/she provides proof of his identity and bank references. A deposit may furthermore be drawn.
The bidder is considered to be bidding on his own behalf. If he bids for others, the bidder must inform FauveParis that he is the duly authorised agent of a third party, of whom he will provide an identity document and bank references. The successful bidder will be responsible of any false information.
The sale will expressly be cash and in Euros. FauveParis may, however, offer as an indication, the transcript in foreign currencies of the auction. In the event of a mistake translating currencies, FauveParis cannot be liable.
The auctioneer organises the bids the way he deems suitable. He runs the sale in the order in which the items are numbered in the magalogue, and sets freely the auction steps. He ensures the freedom of the bids and guarantees equality between the bidders. However, he can, freely refuse a bid, withdraw an item from the auction, and indicate the successful bidder, i.e. the best-offering and last bidder, provided that the final bid be equal to or higher that the reserve price.
The reserve price is the confidential minimum price under which the item will not be sold. The reserve price cannot be higher than the lowest estimate indicated in the magalogue or publicly modified before the auction, and the auctioneer is free to begin the auction below that price and to bid on behalf of the seller. The seller himself, however, shall not bid on his own account or through an agent.
The sale is perfect when the auctioneer says the word “adjugé”, i.e. the property and risks are transferred at this moment. From then on, the winning bidder forms with the seller a sales agreement and has to pay the price of the goods he bought with no withdrawal period, whether he has bid in person, through phone or on Internet.
If it is proved that two or more bidders have simultaneously placed an equivalent bid and claim that object after the wording of “adjugé”, the auctioneer can immediately restart and pursue the bidding. The present public may bid again.
The possibility to bid through buying orders, per phone or on Internet is a service FauveParis offers free of charge to the bidders who cannot be at the auction in person. To use that service, the bidders need to communicate their request to FauveParis, in writing or online via www.fauveparis.com, before noon the day of the auction, and to ensure FauveParis has taken their request into account. In any case, FauveParis may refuse this service if the bidder did not inform FauveParis of his personal and bank references before the auction. Every phone bidder commits to buy at the low estimate.
FauveParis will execute the buying orders following the instructions of the absent bidder, and will do the possible to buy in the best conditions the coveted item.
In the case of several identical buying orders, the first order received by FauveParis will have priority.
For bidders who wish to bid by phone, FauveParis accepts to take phone bids, provided that the potential buyer has contacted FauveParis before the auction. FauveParis will not be held liable in case of mistakes, if the phone connection cannot be established or if there is no answer to a call. FauveParis can record conversations, and keep those records until the potential purchases are paid.
The same conditions apply to people wishing to bid by Internet. FauveParis accepts Internet bids, provided the potential buyer be registered before the auction according to the terms & conditions of the intermediate operator.
In some cases, a buying order or a request to bid by Internet or phone will only be taken into account if a deposit is consigned, of which the amount will be decided by FauveParis.
Articles L. 123-1 and L.123-2 of the French Code du Patrimoine authorise, in a number of cases, the French State to exercise a first right on works of art sold at auctions or in private sales, i.e. the State substitutes itself to the buyer.
The State representative present at the auction declares it to the auctioneer after the fall of the hammer. The decision to exercise the first right must then be confirmed within 15 days, and FauveParis cannot be held liable because of administrative first right decisions.
IV. After the auction
The winning bidder shall pay the auction price and a buyer’s premium of 22,5% ex. VAT (i.e. 27% with VAT, or 23,7375% with VAT for books).
In some cases, signalled with an “f”, the import VAT will be charged by FauveParis on behalf of the State (5,5% of the auction price, 20% for jewels and watches, cars, wines and spirits, and multiple lots).
The winning bidder shall pay the whole price (i.e. the auction price, plus the buyer’s premium and possible taxes) of the item immediately. That also applies to the winning bidder who wishes to export the item, even if a license to export must be obtained.
The winning bidder may pay:
– Cash : up to 1 000 €, expenses and taxes included, for French individuals and tradespeople; up to 15 000 €, expenses and taxes included, for foreign individuals, upon showing of an identity document;
– By credit card;
– By bank transfer to the account with the following IBAN : FR76 3078 8001 0008 7945 3000 248
BIC : NSMBFRPPXXX;
– Checks are not allowed.
Since the property and risks transfer takes place when the auctioneer says “adjugé”, FauveParis reminds the buyer that he will need to get insurance for his acquisitions, and declines any liability if the item is damaged or causes damages if the buyer has taken no action.
The item will be delivered to the buyer only after payment of the whole price or, if the item has been paid by check, after 8 working days after the check has been paid in.
Upon showing the paid bill, the purchases can be withdrawn at FauveParis, 49 rue Saint-Sabin – 75011 Paris, Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 1 PM to 9 PM.
FauveParis advises the buyers to withdrawn their items quickly, so as to avoid storage, handling and preservation fees, which will be billed from the 15th day following the auction, at the rate of 5 € ex. tax per day per item for small items and 10 € ex. tax per day per items for furniture and big lots.
FauveParis will recommend on request transporters who will pack and transport the purchases. The transporters are not the agents of FauveParis, and FauveParis cannot be held liable for their actions or omissions.
The buyer who chooses to send his purchases through a transporter acceptsto that transporter’s terms & conditions and renounces the possibility to hold FauveParis liable in the event of any damage happening during the transport.
Buying a work doesn’t transfer to the buyer the rights of representation and reproduction of the work.
FauveParis owns reproduction right for its magalogue. Reproducing any part of its content, the catalogue records or articles, and of the compositions and images present in the magalogue is forbidden, and will cause legal action on the ground of counterfeiting to the detriment of FauveParis.
According with the law, any civil action initiated because of an auction expires five years after the auction.
The sole French law rules the present Terms & Conditions. Any litigation regarding their existence, their validity, their opposability to every bidder and buyer, and their execution will be judged by the court of competent jurisdiction in Paris.
If one or more of this terms and conditions for sale should be held invalid, all other provisions hereof shall remain in full force and effect.
FauveParis reminds that the French Penal Code, in its article 313-6, states that « In a public auction, to rule out a bidder, to limit the bids, be it by donations, promises, agreements or any fraudulent means, is punished with six months of detention and a fine of 22 500 euros. Accepting such donations or promises is punished with the same penalties. The same penalties also apply to: 1.The fact, in a public action, to hinder or disturb the freedom of the bids, by violence, assaults or threats; 2.The fact to proceed or participate, after a public auction, in a new auction without the legally authorised auctioneer or auction house. »
FauveParis is a member in the French Central register to prevent outstanding payments of the auctioneers, where payment incidents may be registered. Rights of access, rectification and opposition for justifiable motive can be exercised by the affected debtor, through contacting the SYMEV, 15 rue Freycinet, 75016 Paris.
FauveParis reminds its clients that auctioneers have rules of conduct, which can be found in the Recueil des obligations déontologiques des opérateurs de ventes volontaires of February 21, 2002, available on the website of the Conseil des ventes volontaires.
Finally, FauveParis reminds its clients that they can use an extrajudicial procedure to settle disputes, by going to the Government commissioner attached to the Conseil des ventes volontaires, online or by mail with return receipt.