1. Bidder number
Grisebach will issue a bidder number to each bidder. Each bidder is to acknowledge the Conditions of Sale as being binding upon it. At the latest twenty-four (24) hours prior to the start of the auction, bidders as yet unknown to Grisebach must register in writing, providing a written bank reference letter of recent date, so as to enable Grisebach to issue a bidder number to them.
At the auction, only the bids submitted using a bidder number will be considered.
2. Item call-up
The auction of the individual work of art begins by its being called up by the auctioneer. The auctioneer is entitled to call up the works of art in a different sequence than that published in the catalogue, to join catalogue items to form a lot, to separate a lot into individual items, and to pull an item from the auction that has been given a lot number.
When the work of art is called up, its price will be determined by the auctioneer, denominated in euros. Unless otherwise determined by the auctioneer, the bid increments will amount to 10 % of the respective previous bid.
3. Bids
a) Floor bids
Floor bids will be submitted using the bidder number. A sale and purchase agreement will be concluded by the auctioneer bringing down the hammer to end the bidding process. Where a bidder wishes to submit bids in the name of a third party, it must notify Grisebach of this fact at the latest twenty-four (24) hours prior to the auction commencing, submitting a corresponding power of attorney from that third party. In all other cases, once the work of art has been knocked down, the sale and purchase agreement will be concluded with the person who has placed the bid.
b) Written absentee bids
Subject to Grisebach consenting to this being done, bids may also be submitted in writing using a specific form developed for this purpose. The bidder must sign the form and must provide the lot number, the name of the artist, the title of the work of art and the hammer price it wishes to bid therefor. The bidder must acknowledge the Conditions of Sale as being binding upon it. By placing a written bid, the bidder instructs Grisebach to submit such bid in accordance with its instructions. Grisebach shall use the amount specified in the written bid only up to whatever amount may be required to outbid another bidder. Upon the auctioneer knocking down the work of art to a written bid, a sale and purchase agreement shall be concluded on that basis with the bidder who has submitted such written bid.
Where several written bids have been submitted in the same amount for the same work of art, the bid received first shall be the winning bid, provided that no higher bid has been otherwise submitted or is placed as a floor bid.
c) Phoned-in absentee bids
Bids may permissibly be phoned in, provided that the bidder applies in writing to be admitted as a telephone bidder, and does so at the latest twenty-four (24) hours prior to the auction commencing, and furthermore provided that Grisebach has consented. The bidder must acknowledge the Conditions of Sale as being binding upon it. Bids phoned in will be taken by a Grisebach employee present at the auction on the floor, and will be submitted in the course of the auction in keeping with the instructions issued by the bidder. The bid so submitted by the bidder shall cover exclusively the hammer price, and thus shall not comprise the buyer’s premium, any allocated costs that may be charged, or turnover tax. The bid must unambiguously designate the work of art to which it refers, and must wherever possible provide the lot number, the artist and the title of the work.
Grisebach may make a recording of bids submitted by telephone. By filing the application to be admitted as a telephone bidder, the bidder declares its consent to the telephone conversation being recorded. Unless it is required as evidence, the recording shall be deleted at the latest following the expiry of three (3) months.
d) Absentee bids submitted via the internet
Bids may be admissibly submitted via the internet only if Grisebach has registered the bidder for internet bidding, giving him a user name and password, and if the bidder has acknowledged the Conditions of Sale as being binding upon it. The registration shall be non-transferable and shall apply exclusively to the registered party; it is thus entirely personal and private. The user is under obligation to not disclose to third parties its user name or password. Should the user culpably violate this obligation, it shall be held liable by Grisebach for any damages resulting from such violation.
Bids submitted via the internet shall have legal validity only if they are sufficiently determinate and if they can be traced back to the bidder by its user name and password beyond any reasonable doubt. The bids transmitted via the internet will be recorded electronically. The buyer acknowledges that these records are correct, but it does have the option to prove that they are incorrect.
Bids submitted via the internet prior to the auction (known as "autobids") will not be treated in legal terms as if they were bids submitted in writing as they are not visible to the auctioneer in the auction documents ("auction book"). Bids submitted via the internet while an auction is ongoing shall be taken into account as if they were floor bids.
4. Knock down
a) The work of art is knocked down to the winning bidder if, following three calls for a higher bid, no such higher bid is submitted. Upon the item being knocked down to it, this will place the bidder under obligation to accept the work of art and to pay the purchase price (Section 4 Clause 1). The bidder shall not be named.
b) Should the bids not reach the reserve price set by the Consignor, the auctioneer will knock down the work of art at a conditional hammer price. This conditional hammer price shall be effective only if Grisebach confirms this bid in writing within three (3) weeks of the day of the auction. Should another bidder submit a bid in the meantime that is at least in the amount of the reserve price, the work of art shall go to that bidder; there will be no consultations with the bidder to whom the work of art has been knocked down at a conditional hammer price.
c) The auctioneer is entitled to refuse to accept a bid, without providing any reasons therefor, or to refuse to knock down a work of art to a bidder. Where a bid is refused, or where a work of art is not knocked down to a bidder, the prior bid shall continue to be valid.
d) The auctioneer may revoke any knock-down and may once again call up the work of art in the course of the auction to ask for bids; the auctioneer may do so in all cases in which
– The auctioneer has overlooked a higher bid that was submitted in a timely fashion, provided the bidder so overlooked has immediately objected to this oversight;
– A bidder does not wish to be bound by the bid submitted; or
– There are any other doubts regarding the knock-down of the work of art concerned.
Where the auctioneer exercises this right, any knock-down of a work of art that has occurred previously shall cease to be effective.
e) The auctioneer is authorized, without being under obligation of giving notice thereof, to also submit bids on behalf of the Consignor until the reserve price agreed with the Consignor has been reached, and the auctioneer is furthermore authorized to knock down the work of art to the Consignor, citing the consignment number. In such event, the work of art shall go unsold.