Conditions of Sale
The bidding for this auction takes place online only. The rugs and other items may be viewed by appointment at our Mechanicsville, Virginia gallery or warehouse. All items are offered and sold through The Rug Life LLC (Hereinafter "TRL") shall be offered and sold on the terms and conditions below. By bidding at the auction, the purchaser or their agent ("Purchaser") agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions.
1. All items are sold as-is. All sales are final. No returns. No exceptions.
2. A 30% Purchaser's premium will be added to the hammer price of each lot sold.
3. All items are sold as-is, where-is, how is, with all faults, known, apparent or otherwise. We do our best to describe the items. Our descriptions are in no way to be interpreted as a guarantee of any kind as to authenticity, age, condition, attribution, provenance, authorship, completeness, size and/or materials. The descriptions of item(s) appearing in the auction, and in advertising prior to the auction, are believed to be correct. However, ALL DESCRIPTIONS ARE OPINIONS AND NOT FACTS. The bidder shall be the sole judge of value, condition, age, genuineness, authenticity, defectiveness, attribution, provenance, authorship, completeness, or any other determinative bidding factor. Neither those descriptions nor any oral statements made by TRL, consignors and/or employees concerning any item shall be construed as a warranty, either expressed or implied. Purchaser acknowledges that all items were available for inspection prior to the auction and, by these terms, TRL strongly encouraged Purchaser to carefully inspect each item in which Purchaser had any interest to determine the item's nature, quality, condition, authenticity, quantity and size. All Purchasers rely solely on their personal inspection and not on information listed in the auction listing or otherwise provided by TRL and employees. Purchaser's failure to inspect, or otherwise to be fully informed as to the nature, quality, condition, authenticity, quantity and size of any item will not constitute grounds for any claim, adjustment, refund, termination of the contract for sale, or refusal to close the sale, against TRL.
4. The photographs are part of the description. Please examine them carefully before bidding.
5. Shipping and insurance are the responsibility of the Purchaser. Purchase is not contingent upon shipping, including, but not limited to, costs. You must be aware of the shipping costs before you bid on an item.
6. No statements made at the sale, on the invoice or elsewhere shall be deemed as such a representation or warranty or subject TRL to liability. All weights and measurements are approximate.
7. All prints, lithographs, giclees, serigraphs, photomechanical prints and etchings that are offered in TRL's auctions are all copies of the original works and may be signed by the artist in one of two manners. The first manner is "signed." This means that the artist's signature has been copied along with the piece. This piece was not individually signed by the artist's own hand, but rather the artist's signature was added to the print plate or print lay out. The second manner is "hand signed" by the artist. This means that the artist signed this copy, usually in a limited-edition numbered series, by the artist's own hand. In this case, we will usually describe where this signature is located on the piece and the type of instrument used to sign this item. Failure to understand this well-known distinction of signature types shall not constitute a reason to cancel a sale after the auction has concluded.
8. All prints, lithographs, giclees, serigraphs, photomechanical prints and etchings that are listed in TRL's auctions are all copies of the original works. Even if the piece is hand signed by the artist, these pieces are always considered "after" the artist or "attributed" to the artist. TRL also states that the bidders should understand that these pieces are not original works by the artist. The bidder shall be the sole judge of authenticity, attribution, provenance and authorship.
9. Some of the items in our auctions come with Certificates of Authenticity (hereinafter COA). TRL does not produce these COAs and we state that we acquired all these COAs with the items. TRL does not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any COA. It is the bidder who must authenticate the COA before a bid is placed in the auction. Failure by a bidder to authenticate a COA prior to bidding does not constitute a reason to cancel a sale after the auction has concluded.
10. It is the rules of TRLs online auction platform, Invaluable.com, that any absentee bid cannot be cancelled within 2 hours of the start of the auction. Therefore, it is TRL's responsibility to enforce this same rule.
11. All estimates or appraisals of value, as might be listed at the auction or elsewhere, are statements of opinion as to the range of the price a willing Purchaser might pay for the item at auction. The actual price paid at auction or subsequently, may vary substantially from the estimates. TRL shall not be liable for any such differential.
12. All appraisals obtained by TRL are estimates of insurance replacement value only and are a qualified opinion only. The actual price paid at auction or subsequently, may vary substantially from the appraisals. TRL shall not be liable for any such differential.
13. Some lots in the sale may be subject to a reserve. The reserve is a confidential minimum price.
14. All items are sold to the highest bidder. The auctioneer has the right to not accept any bid. Bidding may be reopened at the auctioneer's discretion. The auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw any item and to reoffer the item at another time.
15. All items purchased from TRL must be paid in full within 5 days after the auction date. If the invoice is not paid within 5 days after the auction, TRL may, at its own discretion, consider the sale void.
16. All items purchased from TRL must be removed within 21 days after the auction date. Rugs left after 21 days will incur a $10/day storage fee per item. After 21 days, TRL may, at its own discretion, consider the sale void.
17. All items not being picked up at our Mechanicsville, Virginia Gallery, can be shipped by companies from our suggested list of shippers. TRL will charge a $20.00 fee to package each item and deliver it to your choice of shipper. Purchaser must contact the shipping company directly after the auction to arrange shipment and payment for shipping.
18. TRL strives to deliver all rugs in a clean condition to the winning bidder. TRL washes many of these rugs at their facility. This is done after the auction, but before pickup. While TRL does a more than adequate job of cleaning these rugs, TRL will not be able to get any rug 100% clean, nor will it be able to remove every stain or blemish. TRL predominantly auctions pre-owned rugs, and there is to be an expected amount of wear, abrash and minor staining on these rugs.
19. Some of the rugs that are auctioned by TRL are made with antique vegetable dyes, or dyes that are not colorfast. Therefore, the colors in these rugs will bleed when they are washed. If you are concerned with this, please inform us before we wash your rug. TRL will not offer any refund for a rug due to bleeding of dyes that occurred after we washed your rug.
20. Shipping, insurance, packaging and handling of purchased lots is at the risk and expense of the purchaser. TRL shall not, under any circumstances, be liable for the loss, theft or damage to item(s), including, but not limited to selection of shipper, the acts or omissions of any shipper or the acts or omissions occurring in packing for shipment.
21. Payments accepted; -Cash (in house only) - Credit cards (MasterCard, Visa, American Express & Discover) - PayPal, Wire Transfer, Money order and/or Certified check.
22. If a winning Bidder has not paid for their item(s) within 5 days of the end of an auction, TRL may automatically charge the Bidders credit or debit card that is listed within the Invaluable.com auction platform. By entering the TRL auction, the Bidder agrees to having their credit or debit card charged for any items that they won during that auction.
23. Any right of the purchaser under this agreement or under the law shall not be assignable and shall be enforceable only by the original purchaser and not by any subsequent owner or any person who shall subsequently acquire any interest. No purchaser shall be entitled to any remedy, relief or damages beyond return of the property, rescission of the sale and refund of the purchase price; and without limitation, no purchaser shall be entitled to damages of any kind.
24. All paid items left over 21 days, either at our offices or at UPS/FEDEX/USPS, will be considered abandoned, and no refunds will be issued by TRL.
25. If a Purchaser fails to pay for a purchased item, or otherwise does not comply with these Terms and Conditions, the Purchaser shall be in default. In addition to all remedies available in law, the Purchaser shall be liable for the entire Purchase price. Additionally, at the option of TRL, TRL may either cancel the sale and retain all payments made by Purchaser as well as retain all item(s) of Purchaser in our possession as security against payment of the sums in default, and/or we may re-offer the item(s) for sale, at auction or privately, without reserve. Purchaser shall be liable to TRL for the additional fees, commissions and costs on both sales (including handling, storage and court costs and attorney's fees) resulting from the cancellation or resale of the item(s) and in the event of resale, and any deficiency which may result. Purchaser will have no right to any profit from such resale.
26. By registering for TRL auction, Bidder agrees that any telephone number or email provided may be used to contact the Bidder about future auctions by TRL only. The Bidder may opt out of any of these notices at any time.
27. Limited Guarantee: TRL makes every effort to accurately describe all items offered in its sales/auctions. The descriptions carry a limited guarantee. It is a guarantee to protect you against major discrepancies that would have a major effect upon the value of the item. Under no circumstances do we guarantee against anything less than a major discrepancy that would have less than a major effect upon value. This limited guarantee covers authenticity, major restoration or repair not described or clearly visible, damages not disclosed in description or clearly visible in pictures, counterfeits, reproductions or major fabrications not disclosed in the description or not clearly visible in any pictures posted. Examples of what we do not guarantee against are imperfections, slight damages, abrash (fading in rugs), loose threads, holes less than 1 inch in diameter in rugs, handling marks, natural imperfections, undisclosed blemishes, finish differences, wood-to-metal fit issues, surface cracks or chips in wood, dings and dents, bore condition, and other similar differences that are inherent in the art, rug, book, antiques and collectibles industry. It is the bidder's responsibility (present, absentee or online bidders) to determine by inspection, by themselves or by a hired professional, to know the exact condition of each item prior to bidding on the item. Should TRL deny an authenticity issue dispute of the buyer, and the buyer is not satisfied, the buyer may, at his or her own expense, obtain the written opinion of two mutually agreed upon recognized experts in the field of the disputed item. The final decision of those experts will determine any refund consideration. This limited guarantee is only available to the buyer of record. Please also refer to Post Sale Return Policy at end of terms. Except as stated by this limited guarantee above, TRL will not be held responsible for typographical errors. Neither we nor any consignor, make any guarantees, warranties, or representation, expressed, or implied, regarding any auctioned item or the correctness of the online listing or other description of the authenticity of authorship, physical condition, size, quality, rarity, importance, provenance, exhibition, literature or historic relevance of the property or otherwise. It is the bidder's responsibility to initiate contact with TRL and make a request for additional information regarding the auctioned items prior to bidding. Submit all questions regarding upcoming auction items at least 48 hours prior to the date of auction. We will make every effort to answer all submitted questions in a timely manner. We will do our best, but cannot promise, that questions submitted within 48 hours of the auction date will be answered prior to the auction. All items will be available for preview approximately one (1) week prior to the auction.
28. Post-Sale Return Policy: TRL makes every effort to ensure the auction item descriptions are accurate and that they fully disclose any exceptions to condition, this includes pictures of the items. Pursuant to the Limited Guarantee listed above, any buyer who has made their payment within the due date of 5 calendar days who wishes to report a problem, must notify TRL within three calendar (3) days of receipt of their purchased item. Buyers who have not made their payment within the due date of 5 days may not return any items under any circumstances. No lots purchased by floor bidders (including those bidders acting as agents for others) may be returned. Please refer to TRL limited guarantee herein. A Return Authorization Number (RA#) must be issued by TRL before you ship anything back to our address. Any items arriving without a return authorization will not result in a refund to the Purchaser. The item in question must be shipped at the buyer's expense, with the RA# on the outside and inside of the package, with full insurance, so it arrives at TRL within one week of the aforementioned authorization. Any returned item must be returned in the exact condition it was in when we sent it out or no refund will be given.
29. Privacy Policy: This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for The Rug Life LLC (TRL) and www.rug-auction.com. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website or by Invaluable.com on behalf of The Rug Life LLC. This policy will notify you of the following: What personally identifiable information is collected from you, how it is used and with whom it may be shared, What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data, The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information and How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information. We are the sole owners of the information collected on our website. We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or another direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone. We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us or to notify you about a future TRL auction at Invaluable.com. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as necessary, to fulfill your request, e.g. to ship an order. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email or text message in the future to tell you about new auctions, specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy. You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number is given on our website, or by typing "STOP" at the bottom of any text message or by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any mass email. You can also contact us to see what data we have about you if any, change/correct any data we have about you, have us delete any data we have about you, Express any concern you have about our use of your data and Security. We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website or through Invaluable.com, your information is protected both online and offline. Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment. If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately via telephone at 908-875-5603 or via email john@rug-auction.com.
30. Modification: No modification or amendment of these Terms and Conditions shall bind TRL unless contained in a writing signed by TRL, except as may be posted, published or verbally announced at time of sale.
31. Successors and Assigns: These Terms and Conditions shall be binding on all the heirs, assigns of the Purchasers, and inure to the benefit of TRL's successors and assigns.
32. Jurisdiction, Venue, Choice of Law: Dispute resolution and/or legal jurisdiction to any dispute with TRL for any auction purchase or bid during an auction conducted by TRL, shall occur within the Courts of Hanover County, Virginia, USA. This Jurisdiction will also apply to any slanderous or liablous statement(s) made by either party against the other party. The provisions of these Terms and Conditions will be construed, and disputes determined by, application of the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to conflicts of law.
33. Notice, Service of Process: Purchasers agree to accept all notices and service of process relating to dispute resolution or lawsuits filed by TRL at the address provided by Purchaser on any registration forms required to be executed as a condition of bidding in our auction. If Purchaser changes their address, they must notify TRL by certified mail.
Once payment has been made, TRL will package and deliver your purchased item to one of the following shippers for a flat fee of $20.00. Purchaser must contact the shipping company directly after the auction to arrange shipment, and payment for shipping. We recommend.
The UPS Store - 10286 Staples Mill Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060-3064 - (804) 755-4877 - store4812@theupsstore.com
FEDEX - 8800 Staples Mill Road, Richmond, VA 23228 - (804) 261-2103
Shipping Terms
Once payment has been made, The Rug Life LLC (Hereinafter "TRL") will package and deliver your purchased item to one of the following shippers for a flat fee of $20.00. Purchaser must contact the shipping company directly after the auction to arrange shipment, and payment for shipping. We recommend;
The UPS Store - 10286 Staples Mill Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060-3064 - (804) 755-4877 - store4812@theupsstore.com
FEDEX - 8800 Staples Mill Road, Richmond, VA 23228 - (804) 261-2103
Fot International shipping, especially the Middle East, we recommend contacting Freindship Logistics in Alexandria, VA;
5505 Cherokee Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22312
703-658-1348
fhindi@friendshiplogistics.com
Ask for Feras.
