Conditions of Sale

1. PRE-SALE
A. Registration.
Prospective bidders must register prior to the auction. Registration is available a couple weeks prior to the Capital Collections auction and during exhibition. For the online-only Metro auctions, registration is available the Thursday prior to the auction when the online catalogue is posted online. Internet bidders may register through the Weschler's Online platform, or through the 3rd-party platforms of Invaluable or AuctionZip. Weschler's may adjust the standards of bidding qualifications, especially for Internet bidders. Weschler's reserves the right, at its complete discretion, to refuse bidding approval, admission to the premises, and to reject any bid.
B. Exhibition.
You are strongly en­cour­aged to attend exhibition and close­ly ex­am­ine all lots of in­ter­est to you. If you purchase an item sight unseen, you accept all responsibility for such purchase; without limitation, you accept any defects, damages, past repairs, irregularities, and all other physical conditions that could have been determined by your own inspection. The exhibitions for the Metro & Gallery Auctions are held on Fridays from 11am-2pm and Mondays from 9am-4pm; the Capital Collections exhibitions are held the Saturday pre­ced­ing the sale from 11am to 1pm, Monday, Tuesday and Wednes­day from 10am to 4pm, and Thurs­day from 10am to 2pm.
C. Descriptions and Condition Reports.
All property is sold "As Is" in accordance with Section 3 of our Terms and Conditions of Sale and nei­ther the Seller (Consignor), We­schler's Auctioneers and Appraisers LLC, nor any of our officers, employees or agents, make any rep­re­sen­ta­tion, warranty or guarantee, nor assume any liability of any kind with respect to the con­di­tion of any lot offered for sale and no statement made at any time, wheth­er oral or written, shall constitute such a war­ran­ty, guarantee or rep­re­sen­ta­tion and are not in­tend­ed to re­place first hand inspection by a pro­spec­tive buy­er. Prospective buyers may request more detailed information and/or clarification re­gard­ing prop­er­ty of­fered prior to the sale day; how­ev­er, the purchaser hereby assumes all risks concerning and related, including but not limited to, the grading, quality, description, condition, authenticity, and provenance of a lot. Condition of frames on artwork is generally not described and not guaranteed. Working conditions of clocks and timepieces are not guaranteed. All measurements are approximate. All listed dimensions are: Height by Length or Width by Depth unless otherwise stated. Jewelry descriptions are only estimates as to carat size, gold content, number of stones, etc. Upholstered furniture and rugs have not been disinfected.
D. Images.
All images are not intended to represent the actual color or clarity of the item being auctioned, they are only used for identification purposes. Please note that the photos may be enlarged to show detail in the online catalogue listing.
E. Estimates.
We­schler's pub­lish­es pre-sale es­ti­mates of each lot in the auction. Pre-sale estimates stated in our catalogue and online listing are intended as a guide for prospective bidders and should not be con­sid­ered a pre­dic­tion of the sell­ing price. All property can bring prices above or below stated estimates.
2. DURING THE SALE
A. Acceptance and Rejection of Bids.
Unless otherwise announced by the Auc­tion­eer at the time of sale, all bids are per lot as num­bered in the cat­a­logue. Absentee bids for the Capital Collections auctions must be greater than 50% of the low estimate. The Auc­tion­eer re­serves the right to reject a bid from any bidder. The high­est bid ac­knowl­edged by the Auc­tion­eer shall be the pur­chas­er. In the event of any dispute be­tween bidders, the Auctioneer shall have the sole and final dis­cre­tion ei­ther to de­ter­mine the suc­cess­ful bid­der, or to re-of­fer and re-sell the ar­ti­cle in dis­pute. During a live auction, if the Auc­tion­eer de­ter­mines that any opening bid is not com­men­su­rate with the value of the article offered, they may reject the bid; and if, having ac­knowl­edged an open­ing bid he de­cides that any ad­vance is not suf­fi­cient, he may re­ject the ad­vance.
B. Absentee/Telephone Bids for Capital Collections Auctions.
Bidders who cannot attend the Capital Collections auction may submit absentee or telephone bids using the Bid form or submit online. Ab­sen­tee & Telephone bids may also be sent to We­schler's fax number (202) 628-2366 or email [email protected]. Bids placed by fax must be confirmed by telephone or email. Our facilities for telephone bidding are somewhat limited so it is strongly rec­om­mend­ed that you make arrangements at least 24 hours in ad­vance. Please con­tact Linda Niehaus at (202) 628-1281 for spe­cif­ic in­for­ma­tion on ab­sen­tee bids.
C. Internet Bidding.
Internet bidding is offered as a service to our customers, and prospective bidders shall not hold us responsible for any errors or failures in executing bids, nor shall they hold us responsible for any failure due to the loss of the auction app supplied to us by Invaluable's online bidding software. During a live Capital Collections auction, Internet bids are bid electronically through Invaluable's online bidding software and compete against live bids on our auction floor, telephone bids, and absentee bids by bidders who are not participating in the internet component of the auction. Internet bids are announced competitively by a member of our staff at the time of the live auction. Weschler's may be offered other bids of the same value as your internet bid. It is at the auctioneer's discretion which of these bids they choose to accept during the auction.
D. Reserves.
The "reserve" is a confidential mini­mum price agreed between the con­signor and
We­schler's be­low which a lot will not be sold. Lots that have a reserve will not be marked as such, but the reserves will not be in excess of the low pre-sale estimates. We­schler's will execute all reserves on be­half of the con­signor by bidding through the auc­tion­eer and plac­ing suc­ces­sive or con­sec­u­tive bids for a lot. The auc­tion­eer may open the bid­ding on any lot on behalf of the consignor up to the reserve amount. In the event the bidding does not reach the re­serve, the auc­tion­eer will an­nounce "Passed."
E. Withdrawal.
The Auctioneer reserves the right to with­draw any property at any time before actual sale.
F. Bidding Increments.
Weschler's generally uses the posted incremental amounts for all bidding, whether live, absentee, telephonic or internet:
3. LIMITATION OF WARRANTIES
No Warranties.
The Auctioneer and the Seller (Consignor) as­sume no risk, lia­bil­ity or re­spon­si­bil­ity for the au­then­tic­ity or the au­thor­ship of any prop­er­ty iden­ti­fied in the catalogue (that is, the identity of the creator or the period, culture, source or origin as the case may be, with which the creation of any property is iden­ti­fied herein). All property is sold "As Is" and nei­ther the Auctioneer nor the Seller (Con­sign­or) makes any guarantees, warranties or rep­re­sen­ta­tions of any kind or nature with re­spect to the property, and in no event shall be responsible for the cor­rect­ness or any im­plied warranty or mer­chant­abil­i­ty or any im­plied warranty of fitness for a par­tic­u­lar purpose as it relates to de­scrip­tion, genu­ine­ness, attribution, provenance, safety, re­lia­bil­ity or condition of the property. If any implied warranties of mer­chanta­bil­ity or fit­ness for a particular purpose can be construed from the cata­logue, auc­tion, or bill of sale, such war­ran­ties are dis­claimed by the Auc­tion­eer and the Seller (Con­sign­or). No state­ment in the catalogue or made at the sale or in the Bill of Sale or invoice or elsewhere shall be deemed such a war­ran­ty, guarantee or rep­re­sen­ta­tion or an ad­mis­sion of li­a­bil­i­ty.
4. GUARANTEE FOR METRO & CAPITAL COLLECTIONS AUCTIONS
Notwithstanding the preceding con­di­tion, if within 14 days of the date of the sale, on any lot, the pur­chaser must give notice in writing to the Auc­tion­eer that the lot sold is a coun­ter­feit and, if within 7 days after such notice the purchaser returns to the Auc­tion­eer in the same condition as when sold, and gives writ­ten proof from a recognized im­par­tial expert which es­tab­lishes beyond rea­son­able doubt that the returned lot is in fact a coun­ter­feit and that this was not in­di­cated by a fair reading of the cata­logue or the Auctioneer's com­ments at the time of sale, the Auc­tion­eer as agent for the Con­sign­or will rescind the sale and refund the purchase price paid defined as the amount of the successful bid price, plus buyer's premium. The guarantee is made only to the original purchaser of record (i.e., the registered bidder) and not any subsequent owners. The original buyer must have remained the owner of the lot without disposing of any interest in it to any third party.
The term counterfeit is defined as a modern fake or forgery, and made with the intent to deceive.
5. POST-SALE
A. Purchaser Responsibility.
On the fall of the Auctioneer's hammer, title to the offered lot passes to the highest bidder who, thereupon, will pay the full pur­chase price there­fore or such part as the Auc­tion­eer may require. All deposits may be ap­plied to any or all purchases made by the pur­chaser at this or any previous sale. All prop­er­ty shall be re­moved by the pur­chaser at their expense within ten (10) business days post-sale from a Capital Collections auction and four (4) business days post-sale from a Metro Online auction, and if not so re­moved, items may be sent by the Auc­tion­eer to an off-site storage facility at the risk and ex­pense of the pur­chaser, or resold as abandoned property. Any damage to or loss of any item pur­chased which is left with the Auc­tion­eer after the day of purchase is the pur­chas­er's sole re­spon­si­bil­ity. If the fore­go­ing con­di­tions or any other ap­pli­cable con­di­tions herein are not complied with, in ad­di­tion to oth­er remedies available to the Auc­tion­eer and the Con­signor by law, including with­out limi­ta­tion the right to hold the pur­chas­er liable for the bid price, the Auctioneer at its op­tion, may either (a) cancel the sale, re­tain­ing as liqui­dated dam­ag­es all pay­ments made by the pur­chaser, or (b) re-sell the property on 3 days notice to the pur­chaser and for the account and risk of the pur­chas­er, either pub­lic­ly or pri­vate­ly, and in such event the pur­chas­er shall be liable for the pay­ment of any de­fi­ciency plus all costs, including ware­hous­ing, the expenses of both sales, and the Auc­tion­eer's com­mis­sion at its regular rates and all other charges due here­un­der, and in­ci­den­tal charg­es. No claims shall be al­lowed af­ter removal of goods and no article shall be re-sold for pur­chas­er at the sale where pur­chased.
B. Purchaser Payments. The bidder acknowledges that the invoice describing a lot by number incorporates the catalogue listing and Terms & Conditions of Sale. Successful bidders are requested to make total pay­ment for purchases by cash, wire transfer, ACH, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, certified check or cashier's check (checks for in-person payment only please).
Credit card and PayPal payments are limited to a total invoice amount of $20,000. PayPal payments are accepted from domestic buyers only. Credit card payments may be made in person or through our secure online portal. Not all non-US credit cards are accepted by the online portal, and non-US invoice payments must be made by wire transfer if unable to process credit card payment online.
Buyers not known to the Auctioneer and who are planning to pay with a personal or busi­ness check are required to supply the Auc­tion­eer with a bank letter of credit prior to the auction. If such ar­range­ments are not made prior to the auc­tion, pur­chas­es will be held by the Auc­tion­eer until the check has cleared the bank.
C. Buyer's Premium. The commission the Buyer must pay to us as part of the purchase price for auction lots. The buyer's premium rate is subject to change at any time. The current premium is equal to 24%* on the first $500,000 of the hammer price of each lot, 20%* on the portion from $500,001 through $1,000,000, and 15%* thereafter.
*All bidders on Weschler's online bidding platform are charged an additional 2% buyer's premium. Bidders on Invaluable & AuctionZip marketplace bidding platforms are charged an additional buyer's premium and may incur additional fees.
D. Tax. All purchases will be subject to a 6% Maryland Sales Tax unless: (i) the property purchased is for resale and a valid Resale Tax number is presented to Weschler's business office at the time of payment, and the sales price is $200 or more; (ii) the sales price of precious metal bullion or coins is greater than $1000; or (iii) the property is being shipped to a buyer located outside the state of Maryland by an ICC/USDOT licensed shipper/carrier.
On any cash transactions or series of transactions exceeding $10,000, Treasury Form 8300 will be filed.
E. Removal of Property. No lots shall be delivered to or collected by the successful bidder until payment in full of the purchase price and all applicable taxes and charges. All property must be removed from our premises within ten (10) business days post-sale from a Capital Collections auction and four (4) business days post-sale from a Metro auction. If items are not picked up within the terms of sale, items may be sent by the Auc­tion­eer to an off-site storage facility at the risk and ex­pense of the pur­chaser, or resold as abandoned property.
For bidders requiring lots to be shipped, We­schler's can provide a list of shippers and customers may arrange for services by one of those agents or one of their own choosing to pack and ship the property. We­schler's as­sumes no responsibility for the acts or omis­sions of carriers or packers wheth­er or not they are rec­om­mended by us.
F. Exportation Permits.
Certain lots may be subject to the pro­vi­sions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Ma­rine Mam­mal Protection Act of 1972, and the Mi­gra­to­ry Bird Act of 1982. In order to export these items, the buyer must obtain spe­cial li­cens­es from the
De­part­ment of the In­te­ri­or, Unit­ed States Fish and Wildlife Service. Some items may not be exported, and others may not be resold once pur­chased. Prospective bid­ders who intend to export or resell such items are solely re­spon­si­ble for ob­tain­ing such licenses and We­schler's can­not, and will not, assure that such licenses can be obtained.
6. Additional Conditions
A. Governing Law.
These Terms and Conditions of Sale, as well as the respective rights and obligations of Weschler's Auctioneers and Appraisers LLC, the seller, and any purchasers or bidder at any sale of Weschler's, shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland.
B. Limitation of Liability.
In no event shall the liability of seller or Weschler's, its officers, employees and agents, to a successful bidder for any breach, act, omission, or claim of any nature, with respect to an item purchased, exceed the purchase price actually paid by the successful bidder for the item. In no event shall the seller or Weschler's, its officers, employees and agents, have any liability under any circumstances for special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages (including for loss of profits or revenue, costs of obtaining alternative property, claims of customers of successful bidders or otherwise), whether in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise, arising out of, resulting from or in any way relating to the property purchased, or its purchase, sale, delivery or non-delivery. In no event shall seller or Weschler's, its officers, employees and agents, be liable for any claims related to the errors, acts, omissions, websites, or technology of the online bidding software, Weschler's Live Online Bidding, Invaluable or AuctionZip.
C. Legal Fees.
In any litigation between Weschler's and any bidders (whether or not the successful bidder) the prevailing party shall be awarded full reimbursement of its actual paid legal fees in connection with the dispute.
D. No Waiver.
These Terms and Conditions of Sale may not be waived by Weschler's unless such waiver is in writing and signed by Weschler's. A waiver on one occasion shall not be a waiver on any other or future occasion or affect Weschler's right to insist on strict performance of all other provisions.

Payment Information

Invoices for the weekly Timed Online Auctions are not available until the morning after the sale. Invoices for the Capital Collections auctions are available once the sale is complete on the specified sale day. Weschler's does not invoice through the online bidding platforms, including Invaluable and AuctionZip, so winning bidders will receive an email directly from Weschler's with the invoice, as well as payment and pick up/shipping instructions. Weschler's does not have access to credit card information bidders entered during online registration, and cannot charge invoices to that credit card.
The bidder acknowledges that the invoice describing a lot by number incorporates the catalogue listing and Terms & Conditions of Sale. Successful bidders are requested to make total pay­ment for purchases by cash, wire transfer, ACH, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, certified check or cashier's check (checks for in-person payment only please).
Credit card and PayPal payments are limited to a total invoice amount of $20,000. PayPal payments are accepted from domestic buyers only. Credit card payments may be made in person or through our secure online portal. Not all international credit cards are accepted by the online portal, and payment must be made by wire transfer if unable to process credit card payment online.
Buyers not known to the Auctioneer and who are planning to pay with a personal or busi­ness check are required to supply the Auctioneer with a bank letter of credit prior to the auction. If such arrangements are not made prior to the auction, purchases will be held by the Auctioneer until the check has cleared the bank.
C. Buyer's Premium. The commission the Buyer must pay to us as part of the purchase price for auction lots. The buyer's premium rate is subject to change at any time. The current premium is equal to 24%* on the first $500,000 of the hammer price of each lot, 20%* on the portion from $500,001 through $1,000,000, and 15%* thereafter.
*All bidders on Weschler's online bidding platform are charged an additional 2% buyer's premium. Bidders on Invaluable & AuctionZip marketplace bidding platforms are charged an additional buyer's premium and may incur additional fees.
D. Tax. All purchases will be subject to a 6% Maryland Sales Tax unless: (i) the property purchased is for resale and a valid Resale Tax number is presented to Weschler's business office at the time of payment, and the sales price is $200 or more; (ii) the sales price of precious metal bullion or coins is greater than $1000; or (iii) the property is being shipped to a buyer located outside the state of Maryland by an ICC/USDOT licensed shipper/carrier.
On any cash transactions or series of transactions exceeding $10,000, Treasury Form 8300 will be filed.
E. Removal of Property. No lots shall be delivered to or collected by the successful bidder until payment in full of the purchase price and all applicable taxes and charges. All property must be removed from our premises within ten (10) business days post-sale from a Capital Collections auction and four (4) business days post-sale from a Metro auction. If items are not picked up within the terms of sale, items may be sent by the Auctioneer to an off-site storage facility at the risk and expense of the purchaser, or resold as abandoned property.

Shipping Information

We are not able to offer any in-house packing and shipping service except for fine jewelry and coins shipped within the United States (shipped Brinks/FedEx for an additional fee, which includes insurance and requires signature for delivery - please check with Weschler's for specific pricing and restrictions). We are happy to recommend a number of local and national shipping specialists (a list of these shippers is included with invoices), but it is the responsibility of each purchaser to make their own shipping arrangements.

Keep in mind, property may not be released without receipt of purchase payment. In addition, once you have finalized shipping arrangements you must notify our shipping department to confirm your intentions. No property will be released without your confirmation with our office.

The purchaser acknowledges that if they use any Weschler's staff members to assist in moving, packing, or loading purchases, Weschler's will not be held liable for any damages that may occur.

All property must be removed from our premises within ten (10) business days post-sale from a Capital Collections auction and four (4) business days post-sale from a Metro auction. If items are not picked up within the terms of sale, items may be sent by the Auctioneer to an off-site storage facility at the risk and expense of the purchaser, or resold as abandoned property.

Maryland Sales Tax is computed on the total purchase price, including Buyer's Premium. The purchaser will be required to pay the Sales Tax unless: (i) the property purchased is for resale and a valid Resale Tax number is presented to Weschler's business office at the time of payment, and the sales price is $200 or more; or (ii) the property is being shipped to a buyer located outside the state of Maryland by an ICC/USDOT licensed shipper/carrier.

If you have any questions about shipping or need a list of recommended shippers, please contact us between 9am and 4pm Monday thru Friday at [email protected] or 202-628-1281.

Buyer's Premium

Buyer's Premium is the commission the Buyer must pay to us as part of the purchase price for auction lots. The buyer's premium rate is subject to change at any time. The current premium is equal to 24%* on the first $500,000 of the hammer price of each lot, 20%* on the portion from $500,001 through $1,000,000, and 15%* thereafter.
*All bidders on Weschler's online bidding platform are charged an additional 2% buyer's premium. Bidders on Invaluable & AuctionZip marketplace bidding platforms are charged an additional buyer's premium and may incur additional fees.

Maryland Sales Tax is computed on the total purchase price. The purchaser will be required to pay the Sales Tax unless: (i) the property purchased is for resale and a valid Resale Tax number is presented to Weschler's business office at the time of payment, and the sales price is $200 or more; (ii) the sales price of precious metal bullion or coins is greater than $1000; or (iii) the property is being shipped to a buyer located outside the state of Maryland by an ICC/USDOT licensed shipper/carrier. On any cash transactions or series of transactions exceeding $10,000, Treasury Form Treasury Form 8300 will be filed.

Taxes on your purchase

Maryland Sales Tax is computed on the total purchase price. The purchaser will be required to pay the Sales Tax unless: (i) the property purchased is for resale and a valid Resale Tax number is presented to Weschler's business office at the time of payment, and the sales price is $200 or more; (ii) the sales price of precious metal bullion or coins is greater than $1000; or (iii) the property is being shipped to a buyer located outside the state of Maryland by an ICC/USDOT licensed shipper/carrier. On any cash transactions or series of transactions exceeding $10,000, Treasury Form Treasury Form 8300 will be filed.

Condition Statement

Descriptions and Condition Reports.
All property is sold "As Is" in accordance with Section 3 in our Terms and Conditions of Sale and nei­ther the Seller (Consignor), We­schler's Auctioneers and Appraisers LLC, nor any of our officers, employees or agents, make any rep­re­sen­ta­tion, warranty or guarantee, nor assume any liability of any kind with respect to the con­di­tion of any lot offered for sale and no statement made at any time, wheth­er oral or written, shall constitute such a war­ran­ty, guarantee or rep­re­sen­ta­tion and are not in­tend­ed to re­place first hand inspection by a pro­spec­tive buy­er. Prospective buyers may request more detailed information and/or clarification re­gard­ing prop­er­ty of­fered prior to the sale day; how­ev­er, the purchaser hereby assumes all risks concerning and related, including but not limited to, the grading, quality, description, condition, authenticity, and provenance of a lot. Condition of frames on artwork is generally not described and not guaranteed. Working conditions of clocks and timepieces are not guaranteed. All measurements are approximate. All listed dimensions are: Height by Length or Width by Depth unless otherwise stated. Jewelry descriptions are only estimates as to carat size, gold content, number of stones, etc. Upholstered furniture and rugs have not been disinfected.