Article 1 – Object
The present General Terms of Sale define the authoritative rules between COLLECTOYS LLC and the potential buyer, for all transactions made through the www.collectoys.fr website.
Article 2 - Roles and rights of www.collectoys.fr and their partners:
It is expressly understood that all lots sold on this site are done so by COLLECTOYS.
Each lot offered for sale on the website www.collectoys.fr is appraised by COLLECTOYS LLC.
The condition of each item, as well as any comments regarding the latter, are given purely for informational purposes, and COLLECTOYS takes no responsibility for any error or omission concerning the lots presented. The obligations of COLLECTOYS are limited to the organisation of the lots’ sale and presenting them on its website.
COLLECTOYS LLC reserves the right to intervene on its website www.collectoys.fr at any time for the non-exhaustive reasons described below :
- Content Control : Collectoys has the option to verify the activities and contents associated with its own website. (www.collectoys.fr reserves the right to filter or edit all content on the website.)
- Modification : Collectoys may edit the description of a lot as long as the sale has not been confirmed. (A confirmed sale is the commercial act by which the awarded item is delivered to the buyer once the latter has made payment in full of all associated costs.) In such a case, Collectoys will have no liability regarding the potential buyer or a third party.
- Cancellation : Collectoys may cancel the sale of a lot when it has real legal, technical or commercial reasons to do so (including difficulties associated with the functioning of the internet network).
- Interruption : Collectoys reserves the right to interrupt any auction during its course, and to withdraw or examine any lot.
- Withdrawal of a lot : Collectoys reserves the right to withdraw any lot, at any time, as long as the sale has not been confirmed.
- Offense : Collectoys reserves the right to suspend or end all access of a potential buyer who is, or seems to be, in violation of any clause in the present General Terms of Sale, or who uses the www.collectoys.fr website in an abusive manner
- Fraud : If a person believes that a lot offered for sale on the www.collectoys.fr website is in violation of the legitimate rights of a third party, or has been stolen, they must immediately notify Collectoys at contact@collectoys.fr .
Collectoys reserves the right to report the event to the police, Interpol, or any other competent authority.
- Verification of electronic messages : Collectoys reserves the right to verify the electronic messages transmitted by the www.collectoys.fr server.
COLLECTOYS is entitled to verify the identity and solvency of a potential buyer and the veracity of the information provided by the potential buyer, including the ownership of the credit cards used.
In case of the wrongful use of a credit card, insolvency, or in the event that the potential buyer has given false information regarding their identity, capacity, solvency and/or their means of payment, Collectoys is entitled to block their account, to withdraw and freeze the bid made by such a buyer, and reserves the right to pursue said purchaser by any legal means.
If the buyer does not respect the terms of the payment procedure on the www.collectoys.fr website (Article 5 of our General Terms of Sale), notwithstanding available recourse, in accordance with the law, COLLECTOYS reserves the right:
- to debit the credit card of the winning bidder
- to cancel the sale and retain as damages all payments made by the purchaser
- to resell the lot in a future auction and to hold the buyer liable for any shortfall, including costs resulting from organization of sales, shipping fees, commissions, interest at the highest rate allowable by law, fees and all other costs resulting from this new sale.
The secure online payment system offered on the www.collectoys.fr website is provided by BNP PARIBAS.
COLLECTOYS and BNP PARIBAS are the technical service providers of each auction organized on the www.collectoys.fr website under the responsibility and authority of the person capable of directing sales, in accordance with French law governing auctions.
COLLECTOYS reserves the right to amend or modify at any time the General Terms of Sale by including these amendments or modifications on the information page available on its website.
These modifications and amendments include, but are not limited to, alterations related to various regulations, particularly fiscal.
The amendments and modifications will be effective immediately upon publication on the website. These amendments and modifications will not affect the sales of lots concluded before their publication on the website.
The fact that www.collectoys.fr does not require the strict application of any clause of these present General Terms of Sale, will not be considered in any case as a waiver of its rights under said clause or the entirety of other contractual provisions which remain in effect.
In case of violation of these present General Terms of Sale, COLLECTOYS may issue warnings, exclude a potential buyer in bad faith, withdraw a bid made in bad faith, suspend or cancel a sale, block access to the website or withdraw lots from the website.
Article 3 - Guarantees and responsibilities :
COLLECTOYS is not the owner of the lots auctioned on its Website.
The appraisal of lots is done by COLLECTOYS, who accepts no liability regarding the origin, market value, authenticity, ability to fulfill the desired shipping destination of the buyer, or related intellectual property rights.
We remind you that the dimensions, information, and estimates of the lots are given purely for informational purposes. No claim will be admitted once the winning bid is announced.
Each of these lots being represented by a colour photograph, the latter will prevail in cases of dispute over any element visible in this media. Collectoys accepts no liability regarding error or omission in the description of a lot, the buyer always having the option to contact www.collectoys.fr for any inquiries or additional information before purchase.
COLLECTOYS shall have no liability to the the buyer or a third party in case of withdrawal of a lot or cancellation of a sale.
COLLECTOYS does not guarantee the buyer against the possible dangers to which they may avail themselves in the conditions of article 2.
In the case of written orders, telephone orders, or orders placed via www.collectoys.fr, COLLECTOYS will not be held responsible for the misinterpretation of the amount of a limit, the number of a lot, the correspondence between the description of a lot and its number, or an error in the selection of a lot. It is thus strongly recommended to take the utmost care in drafting an order.
COLLECTOYS delivers to any buyer the lot which has been awarded to them where the buyer uses one of the shipping options specified in article 6 of our General Terms of Sale.
COLLECTOYS will not be held responsible in the case of the exercising of a possible right of first refusal by any public authority.
COLLECTOYS and its subsidiaries will not be held liable for the cancellation of a sale, the withdrawal of a lot from a sale, the interruption of bidding, the modification of the website’s content, the refusal to process a transaction, the interruption of a transaction before it is finalized, or in cases of fraud or violations of the General Terms of Sale.
COLLECTOYS applies all applicable rules to protect the confidentiality of personal information given by all users of the www.collectoys.fr website. Collectoys considers this data as an asset that must be protected in order to avoid loss or access without authorization. Collectoys puts in place all measures of security in order to prevent internal and external users from accessing data without authorization. However, perfect security does not exist on the internet.
As part of our auction business, our auction house collects personal data about the seller and the buyer. The latter therefore have the right to access, rectify and oppose their personal data by contacting our auction house directly. Our OVV may use these personal data to fulfill its legal obligations, and, unless opposed by the persons concerned, for the purposes of carrying out its business (including commercial and marketing operations). This data may also be communicated to the competent authorities as soon as the regulations require it.
COLLECTOYS reserves the right to make changes to this document based on the evolution of applicable legislation.
COLLECTOYS is not responsible for any act undertaken on the website using the password and the username of a potential buyer. Consequently, we recommend that you not give your access codes to third parties. Otherwise, the potential buyer is held completely responsible.
Communication via www.collectoys.fr between COLLECTOYS and the buyer being made by the means of the internet network, COLLECTOYS will not be held liable in case of any error or lack of transmission of information made by said network, and in particular in case of central server failure.
COLLECTOYS does not guarantee that the functioning of www.collectoys.fr will be uninterrupted, error free, or secure.
COLLECTOYS cannot be held liable for any breach of its obligations under the present General Terms of Sale caused by events beyond its control and/or resulting from a case of force majeure. Cases of force majeure will include, in addition to all cases recognized by jurisprudence, all natural disasters, all acts of war, breaches of public order, epidemics, fires, floods and other disasters, all government acts, all strikes, lock-outs, and all external electrical and technical problems preventing communications.
In the case of one of the clauses of the General Terms being considered illegal, ineffective, or unenforceable by a judicial decision, the other provisions of the General Terms of Sale will remain in force, providing that the general scheme of the contract not be upset.
Article 4 - Sale procedures :
Only bidders, (potential buyers who wish to place bids and purchase lots) who have completed the COLLECTOYS Club registration form and who are authenticated members may participate in the auctions offered on the www.collectoys.fr website.
The bidder recognizes expressly that the act of bidding does not guarantee in any way that they will win the auction.
The auction system (traditional, “online” or “automated live”) takes place as follows:
- COLLECTOYS determines the starting price for the sale of each of its lots.
- If a reserve price (starting sale price set by the seller in exceptional cases) has been set by the seller of a certain lot, this price will represent the starting price.
- The bidder places a bid which is irrevocable and considered as winning until the moment that a counterbid (a bid of superior value) is placed on the same lot by another potential buyer. The bidder having offered the highest bid becomes the winner of the lot if the provisions relating to delivery and payment are met.
- The sales offering appears in the description of the lot and includes among others:
* For online auctions :
The starting price and the amount of the highest bid at the time of consultation.
The minimum bid to offer.
The pace of bidding to be respected.
The deadlines of the auction.
* For traditional auctions in Bourges and automated sales :
The starting price.
The maximum order to offer.
The pace of bidding to be respected.
The deadlines of the auctions.
The bidder can thus place their bid online by clicking the appropriate button appearing in the description of the selected lot or directly online by using the Bidding Machine (an exclusive system for live internet auctions). With this method, you can participate in the COLLECTOYS auctions in real time as if you were in the room. The lots will scroll one after another on your screen after each auction won. ATTENTION! You must be registered and authenticated beforehand on the www.collectoys.fr website to bid during the sale! In addition, if you have sent written or telephone orders for certain lots, be sure not to bid on yourself.
The bidder who places a bid much higher than the following bid will see their bid increase successively after each bid placed by other potential buyers, until the limit of their initial amount is reached.
Once this amount is exceeded by a new counterbid submitted by a third person, the system will resume a normal rhythm of bidding.
In the cases of several bids of the same amount, the oldest bid recorded will take priority.
Any bid entered where the amount is not offered automatically by the www.collectoys.fr website will not be taken into account by the system.
The incrementation of the rate of bidding is set automatically during the activation of the system.
The end of the online sale is indicated on the website by a clock which shows the time remaining.
For traditional and automated sales, the pauses and the end of the sale are reported by an email.
The end time set for the sale generates the impossibility to place a new bid after this time has passed. It is thus preferable to transmit your highest bid before the end of this time limit.
The total applicable price corresponds to the amount of the winning bid, plus legal fees representing 22.8%, tax included, on the hammer price.
The sale is definitively concluded between www.collectoys.fr and the buyer when the total sale price is paid in full.
Article 5 - Payment procedures :
Each sale is made in Euros, the sole and unique currency accepted by COLLECTOYS.
COLLECTOYS accepts all methods of payment.
COLLECTOYS must be notified by the winning bidder of their method of payment within 48 hours. Without receipt of payment by cheque or by bank transfer within the following week, the amount of purchases and/or fees will be automatically debited from buyer’s credit card. In this case, a commission of 2.64% + 0.96 €, tax included, will be levied above the total amount of the purchases. The buyer has knowledge of this procedure and accepts it in principle.
The legislation of auctions obliges immediate payment. COLLECTOYS authorizes payment at the latest within one week following the sale. Otherwise, COLLECTOYS reserves the right to debit the credit card of the winning bidder under the same pre-cited terms.
Payment will not be considered received in full as long as COLLECTOYS has not received the totality of sums owed by the buyer.
Failing full payment of the amount of the winning bid and fees, a formal notice will be sent to the buyer by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt.
Failing payment of the full amount due within one month after the delivery of this formal notice, the buyer will be charged, for the recovery of payment, additional fees corresponding to 10% of the hammer price, with a minimum of of 250 €.
The application of this clause does not preclude the allocation of damages, interest, and expenses of the necessary procedure, and does not prejudice the eventual implementation of the “wild bid” procedure.
The COLLECTOYS computer system allows the winning bidder to pay directly online by credit card:
- The amount of their purchases, plus a commission of 2.64% tax included, plus a set fee of 0.96 € tax included.
- The amount of shipping fees.
- The purchase of catalogues.
The buyer has knowledge of this procedure and accepts it in principle.
The MERCANET automatic payment system is secured by BNP PARIBAS.
The winning bidder agrees to receive invoices in electronic format only. To receive a paper version, they must request one from COLLECTOYS (by email at contact@collectoys.fr, or by fax, post, or telephone). The invoice will then be mailed to the address indicated by the buyer.
Buyer or seller, all corporations or individuals are liable for all taxes and fees resulting from the use of www.collectoys.fr and having knowledge of this procedure, accept it in principle.
Article 6 – Terms of Shipping and Delivery :
As soon as the winning bid is announced, the lots are the full responsibility of the the winning bidder.
The delivery of lots takes place as soon as the winning bidder has paid in full the amount of their purchases and eventual shipping fees.
COLLECTOYS offers several delivery options :
- The buyer may come for on site collection of their lots at the COLLECTOYS offices (according to article 7 of our General Terms of Sale). To this end, the buyer should make contact with COLLECTOYS to arrange an appointment. A packaging fee may be charged where applicable. The buyer can delegate the collection of their lots to a third party. This signed delegation must be confirmed in writing.
- Collectoys takes responsibility for the shipping of lots (delivery address previously indicated by the buyer). Shipping fees include supplies and handling fees billed on a sliding scale and payable in advance (unit price excluding tax, by model or non-detailed group):
- Tariff 1: 2.10 € excl. VAT per unit and / or small batch without particular fragility (1/43 and small scale, small lot of figurines, motive 'HO' gauge)
- Tariff 2: 3.15 € excl. VAT per lot consisting of 2 to 10 models (including fragile models, large scales of low value even units, kits mounted and models even units)
- Tariff 3: 5.80 € excl. VAT per lot consisting of more than 10 models and / or bulky (including oversized models, books, dolls, garages, games, circuits, tinplates and big scales)
+ shipping fees + insurance (0.9% of the total hammer price of lots shipped). If the buyer refuses to purchase insurance, Collectoys is obligated to request the discharge of any responsibility in case of loss, theft, or damage of the package.
To reduce shipping costs and benefit from sliding scale pricing, Collectoys offers the option to combine purchases for shipment (3 sales maximum).
In case of shipment outside of Europe, customs fees will be paid by the buyer to the forwarder or shipping company upon delivery. REMINDER: It is essential to indicate on the shipper’s packing slip any anomaly (damaged packaging, missing packages, open packages…). Without this reference, no claim will be accepted by our insurance in case of damaged packages or broken objects.
However, if the buyer requests a precise quote, Collectoys will inform them, within 7 business days, of the total amount of the shipment. No more than 2 business days after the receipt of the quote, the buyer must inform www.collectoys.fr by fax or email of their acceptation or refusal of this quote. In case of acceptation by the buyer, the shipment will be sent once the amount of the quote has been paid. In case of refusal, or if the buyer does not desire immediate delivery, the buyer will choose another option offered by Collectoys.
The shipping period is 2 to 4 weeks following receipt of payment. Once taken by the carrier, the beneficiary of the package(s) is completely responsible for the delivery and will be personally responsible for any litigation due to transportation. In no case will COLLECTOYS be held responsible for any damage to items delivered.
- The buyer chooses their own carrier. In this case, the buyer will have to provide www.collectoys.fr all information necessary so that said carrier can take possession of the items, and will have to pay COLLECTOYS beforehand for the packaging fees of said items.
Without specific instructions in writing from the buyer within 48 hours after the sale, COLLECTOYS will take responsibility for the shipping of purchases, in France, Europe, and abroad.
The transfer of property and risks takes place at the moment that COLLECTOYS delivers the lot to the buyer, the carrier, or a third party.
If, prior to the carrier taking responsibility for the lot, or before the lot can be guaranteed by insurance, COLLECTOYS is unable to deliver the lot directly or indirectly for a cause beyond its control, including a strike, fire, flood, theft, natural disaster or any other case of force majeure, the buyer can claim only the refund of amounts already received by www.collectoys.fr and refering to the lot in question. To do this, the buyer must contact www.collectoys.fr by phone or email to obtain all information on the procedure to follow.
REMINDER : It is essential to indicate on the carrier’s packing slip “SUBJECT TO UNPACKING”. Without this statement, no claim will be considered by our insurance in case of damage to the package or broken objects.
Article 7 – Storage of lots
For any item that will not be withdrawn within the maximum period of one month after the date of sale, Collectoys reserves the right to invoice storage fees at 5€ tax excluded per day.
Article 8 - Obligations and responsibilities of the buyer
The potential buyer agrees to read and accept the present General Terms of Sale related to traditional auctions which will take place at the Hôtel Frank Hornby in Bourges (France), as well as online auctions which will be offered on the www.collectoys.fr website.
Only persons of legal age who have the legal capacity to purchase in respect of laws applicable to them can register for a sale on the www.collectoys.fr website.
To be able to bid, the potential buyer is obliged to register themselves on the www.collectoys.fr website and complete the membership form of the COLLECTOYS Club to become an authenticated member.
The bidder agrees to provide all accurate, valid and reliable information necessary to process the sale and the payment. The potential buyer guarantees that they are authorised to use the credit card provided when they enter their information on the www.collectoys.fr website.
By placing a bid, the bidder gives express authorization to COLLECTOYS to transmit the information requested above, as well as its possible updates, or to obtain information on this subject from a third party, including in particular information related to the credit card number of the potential buyer in order to establish the authenticity of their identity and to obtain an initial authorization from the banking institution for all transactions.
The potential buyer must ensure that they possess the necessary and sufficient funds to pay the principal price of each winning bid of which they are the beneficiary, as well as all charges and other fees related to the transactions which take place on the www.collectoys.fr website.
By placing a bid on a lot, the potential buyer consents irrevocably, in the case that their bid is the winning bid, to pay the total sale price of the lot and to comply with the general provisions of sales concerning the sale, payment and delivery of lots.
In addition, and without prejudice to the rights granted www.collectoys.fr, in the case of a payment by credit card, the winning bidder authorises Collectoys to debit from their bank or postal account the sums corresponding to the sale and delivery of lots purchased.
The buyer accepts that the transactions concluded in accordance with the present General Terms of Sale are made electronically and that these transactions are not rendered ineffective by reason of their electronic signature or electronic registration.
Collectoys and the buyer commit to respect the strictest commercial, legal and ethical rules and practices.
The buyer is personally responsible for all possible steps concerning the respect of legal procedures related to the sale of works of art, particularly concerning their import and export.
The buyer must comply will all applicable rules in the country of destination of the lots, the shipping of their goods always being a delivery from themselves to themselves.
The buyer is liable for the payment of all duties and taxes payable under French law, in particular the Value Added Tax and customs duties, if applicable.
If the buyer comes to collect the lot from the COLLECTOYS offices, the transfer of property and risk is made upon delivery of the lot to the buyer.
If the buyer returns a lot to COLLECTOYS under the conditions mentioned in Article 6 of our General Terms of Sale, the transfer of property and risk takes place upon the delivery of the lot by the carrier to COLLECTOYS.
If the buyer receives a lot and the packaging seems damaged on arrival, they must open the package in the presence of the delivery person, and to make note of possible damage. If any, the buyer must indicate in writing the description of damaged goods and their value so that the insurer of the carrier can note the claim.
If the delivery person refuses to witness the opening of the damaged package, the buyer must indicate this fact on the delivery note and indicate that a reserve is issued to the unpacking. In case of damage, the buyer must contact the carrier to be compensated by their insurance company.
Article 9 – Obligations of the Seller :
The seller requests COLLECTOYS to organize and conduct the sale by public auction of objects of which they declare to be the sole owner.
This request is validated by the signature of a sales requisition of which the seller accepts the terms and conditions.
COLLECTOYS is responsible for the appraisal of objects conferred, the drafting of the catalogue and the preparation of the sale. COLLECTOYS sends, by mail before each sale, a detailed inventory of the items which will be presented. The seller leaves to COLLECTOYS the task of composing lots of items in their best interests.
Depending on the schedule of sales to come and the specificity of objects conferred, the seller authorizes COLLECTOYS to present their items through traditional sales at the Hôtel Frank Hornby in Bourges and/or on its www.collectoys.fr website.
In case of disagreement on the condition or authenticity of objects, the seller authorizes COLLECTOYS to cancel the pronounced winning bid, if the claim is founded. The amount of fees and expenses related to the sale will be deducted from the total amount of the winning bids of the buyer. If unsold, the lot(s) will be relisted for sale by Collectoys, except by request of restitution on the part of the seller within 8 days of the unsuccessful sale.
In this case, and lacking travel on the buyer’s part, the corresponding items could be returned to them with packaging and shipping fees at their charge. Failing to recover the unsold items in the following month, all the items will be shipped to the seller once the shipping fees are paid, without claim by the latter against Collectoys for any cause whatsoever.
If the seller sets a reserve price, on all or part of the lots conferred to the sale, all fees mentioned above at the cost of the seller will be invoiced on the basis of the reserve prices for each of the lots not finding a buyer at the amount amount set by the seller.
According to article L 321-11 of the Consumer’s Code, a reserve price can in no case be higher than the low estimate of the lot. COLLECTOYS guarantees to the seller that the amount of the winning bid will be in no case less than the amount of the starting price which corresponds to about 50% of the estimate.
Objects not finding a buyer at the starting price will be withdrawn from the sale with the simple verbal mention “withdrawn for lack of bid”.
The seller declares that the items conferred to COLLECTOYS belong to them in full ownership, and are free of all liens, pledges, engagements or other impediments.
Any request for recovery of a lot before its sale should be made by registered mail with notice of receipt. If the receipt of this request is recorded more than 90 days before the sale of the object concerned, the return of the object will be made without fees. If the receipt of the request is recorded between 90 days and 60 days of the sale of the object requested, said seller agrees to pay COLLECTOYS LLC a commision equal to 15% (plus VAT at the applicable rate at the time of the transaction) of the amount of the high estimate of the lot recovered. If the seller’s request of withdrawal of the lot comes less than 60 days before its sale, the commission is 25% (plus VAT at the applicable rate at the time of the transaction) of the high estimate of the lot recovered. Recovery is understood to be done by the seller or any person duly authorized by him at the house of sales in Bourges. Any shipping at the request of the seller will be assumed by the latter and will be subject to a prior quote.
The seller agrees not to bid on their own behalf, nor to designate any person to place such bids during the sale.
In accordance with the law, COLLECTOYS will donate to the public treasury the capital gains tax, which will be removed automatically if necessary and paid on behalf of the seller if they are subject to it. This tax at the rate of 6.5% is subjectto a non-nominative declaration applied only on lots of which the unit amount is more than 5000€.
In case of dispute and failing amicable agreement, only the courts of Bourges are considered competent.
All judicial and defense costs generated by an action for damages of which COLLECTOYS will not be found guilty are the responsibility of the seller.
The seller gives up all possible rights to the photographs of their objects which will be presented in the catalogues and on the www.collectoys.fr website. These photographs are the full property of COLLECTOYS and can not, in any case, be reproduced without previous agreement by the latter.
Given the complexity of the ethical environment in which the international artistic community evolves, each of these parties commits to fulfill their obligations and enforce their rights in good faith.
Any violation of the code of conduct of the present General Terms of Sale could be sanctioned by the termination of any contractual relationship with www.collectoys.fr.
Article 10 - Applicable law and jurisdiction :
The present General Terms of Sale are deemed to have been concluded in France and are subject to French law.
The titles of the various articles quoted above are indicative only and do not necessarily determine the content of the articles to which they refer.
In case of dispute arising from the interpretation or execution of these General Terms of Sale, the parties undertake to seek an amicable solution.
In the absence of such a solution, the dispute will be the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Bourges, France, including summary proceedings, and whether there is or not a plurality of defendants or appellants.