Before the Auction

Auction Catalog

Auction catalogues will be available on the auction page about a month before holding the auction. On the detail page of each lot it is always the "Condition Report" of the lot. However, you can request to view the objects in person up to 2 days before the auction takes place. To make an appointment or to request a more accurate estimate, you can use the dedicated button on the detail page of the lots you are interested in.

For each lot, a minimum estimate, a maximum estimate and the starting price of the auction are specified. Estimates are purely indicative assessments for potential buyers and do not include the "Buyer's Premium" and VAT, if due.

Generally there is a reserve price assigned to any auctioned item. The reserve is the lowest price that the seller is willing to accept for the item being auctioned and may be lower, equal or higher than the estimate shown in the catalog.

Bids before the Auction

You can bid even before the auction begins (absentee bid). Browse the online catalogue for the item you are interested in and indicate the maximum amount you are willing to pay for it. The system at start of the auction will raise the bid for you after the threshold you establish. Obviously if your maximum bid will be exceeded you may continue to place higher bids during live auction.

Partecipating in the Auction

Online Auction

Participating to the online auctions of Auction Affair is easy and engaging! Before auction starts you will need to register for free to the website by filling out the specific form here. In the registration form you will have to accept the General Terms & Conditions of Sale and the Privacy Policy and you can choose your access credentials (email and password), to which Mailing List you subscribe to and whether to participate in auctions anonymously. After registration, your request will be approved by Auction Affair staff.

Registered users must access the portal https://live.auctionaffair.com to participate in online auctions, which can be viewed on a PC, tablet or smartphone.

Generally there is a reserve price assigned to any auctioned item. The reserve is the lowest price that the seller is willing to accept for the item being auctioned. If the auction expires without the reserve price be reached, the auctioneer announces that the item remains unsolved. In some cases the auctioneer may apply a "Conditional Knockdown". This is a case when the reserve price was not reached but there are good chances of making a deal with the seller. Best bidder of an auction ending with "Conditional Knockdown" will be contacted by Auction Affair for more information. it is understood that the best bidder undertakes for a period of 8 days from the end of the auction to purchase the item if the seller decides to accept the bid. Let's talk about this via Skype.

Bid Increments

Bids are preset by Auction Affair. Bids increments are approximately 10% respect to the current bid as the example shown below:

After the Auction

Buyer's Premium

Whenever you win an item during an Auction Affair auction, you should pay in addition to the awarded price the auction commission which may range from 20% to 25% plus VAT is applicable calculated on the awarded price. During the auction in live management panel by clicking on the "Charges & Fees" button you may see these costs in real time. 

Resale Right

In the case of the sale of works of figurative arts or manuscripts whose authors are living or deceased for less than 70 years, the purchaser shall also paid for resale right calculated on the awarded price. 

On April 9, 2006 the Legislative Decree No. 118 dated February 13, 2006 was enacted into law, implementing the European Directive 2001/84/EC, which introduced copyright protection for works of art and manuscripts for the authors and their heirs up to the seventy-year following the death of the author with the right to receive a remuneration on the price of each sale of the original after the first one (known as "Resale Right"). The "Resale Right" is only effective when the price of the sale is not less than 3,000.00 euros. The rates are calculated as follows: 

– 4% for the portion of the sale price between € 3.000,00 and € 50,000.00;
– 3% for the portion of the sale price between € 50,000.01 and € 200,000.00;
– 1% for the portion of the sale price between € 200,000.01 and € 350,000.00;
– 0.5% for the portion of the sale price between € 350,000.01 and € 500,000.00;
– 0.25% for the portion of the sale price higher than 500,000.00 euro.

AUCTION AFFAIR S.r.l., being an auction house, is required to pay the "Resale Right" to the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (S.I.A.E.). Lots marked with the symbol (®) are subjected to the "Resale Right" in the percentage indicated above for a total amount not exceeding 12,500.00 euros. In addition to the Auction Price, Purchasing commissions and other Expenses, the Purchaser agrees to pay the "Resale Right", which would be paid by the seller according to article 152, paragraph I, of Law No. 633 dated April 22, 1941. 

During the auction in live management panel by clicking on the "Charges & Fees" button you may see these costs in real time.

Payment Methods

You should finalize the payment within 48 hours from the purchase. Auction Affair accept cash payments up to the threshold established by applicable law, bank wire transfer, PayPal. In this case an increase of 3.5% on the awarded price is required.

Shipping

After payment you made personally pick up the purchased items or decide to arrange for their transportation on your behalf. Auction Affair does not carry out transportations for the purchases. However upon request, it can provide estimates and arrange shipment through specialized companies and handle the packaging of the purchase lots and hand them to private carriers.

Unsold Lots

If you are interested in an unsold lot, you can still make an offer using the button on the lot detail page. The offer will be evaluated by the seller and, if accepted, the buyer undertakes to purchase the item for a period of 8 days from the acceptance of the offer.