Spring Couture & Textiles from Museum Collections

Internet Conditions of Sale

This is a public auction sale ("Auction Sale") conducted by licensed and bonded Auctioneers, Charles A Whitaker Auction Co. (hereinafter referred to as "Auctioneer" and at times as "CAWACo"). Bidding in this Auction Sale constitutes acceptance by you ("Bidder") of all the Terms and Conditions of Auction Sale stated herein. The offering and sale of Consignor property by CAWACo is subject to the following conditions of sale, as modified or supplemented by other written provisions and/or in announcements made by the auctioneer, prior to or at the time of the sale. Bidders shall have no recourse against the Consignor for any reason whatsoever.

 CONDITIONS OF SALE: The following Conditions of Sale and Terms of Guarantee are CAWACo and the Consignor's entire agreement with the purchaser relative to the property listed in this catalogue. By participating in this sale, Bidders acknowledge that they are bound by these terms and conditions. The Conditions of Sale, Terms of Guarantee, and all other contents of this catalogue are subject to written amendment by us or by oral announcements made during the sale. 

AGENT FOR SALE OF PROPERTY: Unless otherwise stated, CAWACo is acting as an agent for the consignor of property offered for sale, at auction or otherwise, in this catalogue. The consignor may either be the seller of the Property or an agent for the seller.

LOT/CONDITION &  DESCRIPTION: All photographs in the web catalogue are of the actual lots being sold. As a service to prospective purchasers, certain lots reference physical condition. The fact that damages, repairs, restorations or other defects are noted for certain lots does not preclude the presence of other defects that have not been described. We urge prospective purchasers to inspect all property prior to bidding. Lot condition is stated within an items description. The condition key is as follows: 

- Pristine: Near perfect. No evidence of wear. No visible flaws.
- Excellent: Gentle wear or minor damage, easily repairable.
- Good: Garment is sound. Visible repair or in need of repairs.
- Fair: Significant evidence of wear or damage.
- Poor: No longer intact. Useable for salvage or recycling of parts. 

The auctioneer has attempted to fully describe the lots in this catalogue but makes no representation of warranty with respect to the correctness or completeness of the catalogue or of the condition descriptions. Requests for additional information regarding any lot should be made at least (4) four days prior to the sale by sending an email to caw@whitakerauction.com stating the lot number(s) and the specific questions regarding each lot. Neither CAWACo nor the consignor shall be liable for damages or otherwise with respect to incorrect or incomplete information, except to the extent provided under the rescission terms outlined below. 

PRICE ESTIMATES: As a convenience to our customers, we furnish low and high pre-sale estimates for all catalogued lots in the sale. These estimates reflect our characterization of the lot and the condition as described. The estimates are merely guides for Bidders and an opinion by CAWACo. of the wholesale trade price the lot may bring at auction. Estimates should not be relied upon to predict the actual retail price the lot will command at the sale. The final hammer price may be significantly higher or may occasionally sell below the catalogue estimates. CAWACo. will not be liable if the actual selling price is different from the estimate range. Estimates do not include the buyer's premium, any applicable taxes or other charges.

INSPECTION: The Property is exhibited for inspection by Bidders prior to the sale. Preview will be held at the Auction House, New Hope Eagle Fire Company on Route 202 & Sugan Road, New Hope, Pa. Preview times are from 12 to 6PM on the day before the first sale date and  8AM to 10AM on each sale day. Buyers assume responsibility to inspect the Property and make their own decisions as to the nature, quality and value of the property. All prospective Bidders should inspect the property before bidding to determine its condition, size, and suitability to Bidder. By placing a bid, either in person, by phone, absentee or via the Internet, you signify that you have examined the items as fully as you desire to or that you have chosen not to examine them. If you require absolute certainty, and the results of your review leave any uncertainty in your mind, we recommend that you either have an expert examine the lot on your behalf or that you elect not to bid on any item that you question. It is the Bidder's sole responsibility to be fully satisfied about the characteristics and condition of the property, including matters relating to age, authenticity, restoration, repair or alteration prior to executing any bid. AS IS: All property is sold "as-is, where-is" and neither CAWACo. nor the consignor makes any warranties or representations of any kind or nature with respect to property or its value. In no event shall they be responsible for the correctness of description, genuineness, attribution, provenance, authenticity, condition or estimate of value. No statement (oral or written) in this catalog, at the sale, or elsewhere shall be deemed such a warranty or representation, or any assumption of responsibility. All measurements, if provided, are approximate. The Auctioneer and the Consignor are not responsible for errors and omissions in the catalogue, glossary, or any supplemental material. Auctioneer and Consignor make no representations or warranties as to whether the purchaser acquires any copyrights, including, but not limited to, any reproduction rights in the property. 

ABSENTEE, PHONE AND INTERNET BIDDING: As a convenience to customers who cannot be present at this sale, we will execute order/absentee bids, accept telephone bids, or allow bidding through LiveAuctioneers on behalf of absentee customers for purchase of auction lots. Absentee bids and phone bids will be executed by CAWACo. personnel in a competitive and confidential manner. Phone bid arrangements must be made at least 48 hours prior to start of the auction. Significantly more lots will be offered at the auction house than are available for bid through LiveAuctioneers. Auctioneer is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or failure by customer to purchase any lot as a result of bidding through absentee, phone or LiveAuctioners bidding. This Auction will move quickly. Attending the sale in person will reduce the risk of missed bids caused by power outages, Internet connectivity or any possible technological difficulties. All winning bids must be confirmed directly by CAWACo. in order to be valid. Notifications received through the LiveAuctioneers system are not final or binding until confirmed by CAWACo. The auctioneer will make every effort to ensure that online Bidders are treated equitably, accurately and identically to those from other venues. However, due to the unique features of online bidding, there is no guarantee that the item will not sell to another Bidder for less than your last intended bid due to internet traffic, or other delays outside of our control. The Auctioneer accepts no liability for failure of the Internet, FAX, phone or failure by any email to reach its destination within the expected time or at all. 

BIDDING INCREMENTS:
$10 increments up to $200
$25 increments up to $500
$50 increments up to $1000
$100 increments up to $3000
$250 increments up to $5000
$500 increments up to $10,000
$1000 increments above $10,000.  

The auctioneer has the sole and exclusive power, discretion, and authority to regulate the bidding and its increments. 

PRE-REGISTRATION: You must pre-register with the auctioneer in order to bid using LiveAuctioneers service, telephone bid or arrange to be an absentee bidder. All Bidders not in attendance must have a valid credit card on file with the CAWACo. with sufficient funds available to process all successful bids, including buyer's premiums and shipping/handling fees.  

BUYERS PREMIUM: A buyer's premium of 20% will be added to the hammer price of all lots sold on site. Lots sold through LiveAuctioneers will be subject to an additional buyer's premium of 3% or 23% total. This is necessary due to a fee structure change by LiveAuctioneers.

PAYMENT: All items purchased in person must be paid for in full on the date of the auction, in (a) cash, (b) cashier's check, certified check or money order payable in U.S. funds through a bank in the United States (c) Visa/MasterCard, American Express or (d) personal or business check drawn on a bank in the United States, pre-authorized by CAWACo. at least two (2) days prior to the sale unless prior arrangements have been made with auctioneer all successful Internet Bidder, absentee Bidder and phone Bidder purchases will be charged to the credit card on file at the end of the auction or on the 1st day following. No article can be removed from the premises or shipped before full settlement is made. Title to any lot remains with Consignor, any secured party of the Consignor, or Consignor's assigns, as the case may be, until the lot is paid for in full by Bidder. The foregoing notwithstanding Auctioneer shall not be obligated to store or remove purchaser's property.  Auctioneer reserves the right to impose a late charge of 1.5% per month (18% APR) on any sums due from purchaser pursuant to this agreement.
If any of the conditions of sale are not complied by purchaser, in addition to any other remedies available to Auctioneer and Consignor by law, including, without limitation, the right to hold the purchaser  liable for the total purchase price, Auctioneer, at its discretion, may (a) cancel the sale, retaining as liquidated damages all payments made by purchaser; or (b) resell the property at public auction, without reserve, and the purchaser will be liable for any deficiency, costs, handling charges, expenses of both sales, commissions on both sales, all other charges due hereunder, and any incidental or consequential damages suffered by Auctioneer or Consignor.  In addition, a defaulting purchaser will be deemed to have granted to Auctioneer and Consignor a security interest in, and Auctioneer and Consignor may retain a collateral security for such purchaser's obligation, any property in Auctioneer's possession owned by such purchaser regardless of when Auctioneer acquires such possession.  Auctioneer shall have all of the rights afforded by a secured party under the Pennsylvania Uniform Commercial Code with respect to such property and Auctioneer may apply against such obligation all monies held or received by Auctioneer for the account of, or due from Auctioneer to such purchaser.  At Auctioneer's option, payment will not be deemed to have been made in full until Auctioneer has collected funds represented by checks, or, in the case of bank or cashier's checks, until Auctioneer has confirmed their authenticity. TAX: Unless exempted by law, the purchaser will be required to pay a Pennsylvania sales tax of 6%, or for items shipped out of Pennsylvania, any applicable use tax of another state or foreign country. All purchases are subject to state and local sales tax unless the purchaser possesses a valid sales tax exemption number, or the item(s) is being shipped out of state. On any tax not paid by Bidder which should have been paid, even if not collected by CA WACo by mistake, error, negligence or gross negligence, Bidder agrees to promptly pay the same on demand together with any interest or penalty that may be assessed. Tax numbers must be registered at the time a Bidder number is issued. Signed documentation may be required to qualify for tax exemptions. 

PACKING/SHIPPING/INSURANCE: The cost of packing and shipping of purchased lots is the responsibility of the purchaser. We have added personnel to our staff to pack and ship lots purchased by on-line Bidders. A flat fee of $20 is charged for packing & handling of smaller lots, clothing and textiles whether the purchase is for one or multiple lots. For certain lots such as furniture large lots of porcelain, paintings and other items requiring special handling additional charges will be charged. Contact the auctioneer for details. In addition, the actual cost of shipping & insurance will be charged to your account. All shipments are sent via UPS, FedEx or the United States Postal Service and insured for the invoiced amount (hammer price + buyers premium). Lots won by successful online Bidders will be shipped automatically to the address provided on the registration form. The total cost will be charged to the credit card on file with no further bidder authorization required. Due to the volume of shipping anticipated after the sales event, packing and shipping may require up to ten (15) business days from confirmation of payment receipt. Once the package has been shipped, any shipping related issues or claims are between the shipper and the purchaser. CAWACo shall not be responsible for any acts or omissions in the packing and shipping of purchased lots. Bidders requesting shipment to non-US locations are responsible for compliance with customs and/or any other regulations as may apply. Auctioneer will provide needed documentation but makes no representation as to suitability of lots for export. An export license may be required from governmental agencies or departments for the export of lots purchased. It is the sole responsibility of purchasers to familiarize themselves with any license requirements or limitations. CAWACo will have no responsibility with regard to these matters. Inability to obtain a license to export purchased lots into foreign countries shall not constitute a basis for rescission or cancellation of any purchase. 

WITHDRAWAL: We reserve the right to withdraw any property before the sale and shall have no liability whatsoever for such withdrawal. 

RESCISSION OF SALE Bidders, either personally or through an agent, who bid by telephone or order bid receive a benefit similar to floor Bidders in being able to preview and inspect lots prior to the sale. Sales of all lots viewed by Bidders in advance of sale are final and may not be returned. Except as otherwise provided, no lot may be returned that is purchased by a floor Bidder, an order/telephone Bidder, or any other Bidder who has had an opportunity to view the lot(s), or anyone presenting auctioneer with a resale certificate or other evidence that they are acting as a dealer. We make no representation as to correctness of any sizes mentioned in lot descriptions. No returns will be allowed based on size, nor will we address additional questions regarding sizes of items in any lot. Limited Returns are permittet LiveAuctioneers Internet Bidders who have not had the opportunity to view lot(s). They may rescind the sale if the description is, in any material respect, inaccurate or if the physical condition of the property materially differs from what was described in the information listed, provided:
The buyer has requested and received a written condition report at least 48 hours prior to bidding,
The written condition reports received contain a material error or there is a substantive error in the catalogue description
The buyer provides written notice to auctioneer, within forty-eight hours following receipt of property, of intent to return the lot
The lot is received by CAWACo. in the same condition it was sold no later than ten (10) days from notification. All shipping and handling charges are non-refundable. The sole and exclusive remedy, available only to the original buyer, is the limited right of rescission set forth herein. This limited right of rescission is available only to the original purchaser and may not be relied upon by any heir, agent, transferee, assign or other third party or assigned to any subsequent transferee of the Property which gave rise to the claim. 

PER LOT: Unless otherwise announced by the auctioneer, all bids are per lot as numbered in the catalogue. Bids are for the entire lot and each lot constitutes a separate sale. No lot will be broken up unless otherwise permitted by the Auctioneer. Lots will be sold in their numbered sequence unless Auctioneer directs otherwise. 

GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION: These Conditions of Sale and Terms of Guaranty, as well as the purchaser's and our respective rights and obligations hereunder, shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Pennsylvania. By bidding at the auction, whether present in person or by agent, order bid, telephone or Internet bid, the purchaser shall be deemed to have consented to the jurisdiction of the state courts of, and the federal courts sitting in, the State of Pennsylvania. If any section of these Terms and Conditions of Auction Sale or any term or provision of any section is held to be invalid, void, or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining sections or terms and provisions of a section shall continue in full force and effect without being impaired or invalidated in any way. 

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY If we are prevented by fire, theft or any other reason whatsoever from delivery of any property to the purchaser, our liability shall be limited to the Hammer Price of a lot provided that the transaction has completed. If there has been no completion, CAWACo. accepts no liability to the buyer.