BUYING

If you are interested in, and are considering bidding for, one or more items, then please note the following...

Previewing. If you wish to view (examine) items for yourself - before a sale - you can attend at any time during the view dates/times advertised (this is generally one or two days before the sale and then a couple of hours prior to the sale). If you are unable to make viewing, you can request condition reports and (if necessary) photos ... but remember that some photos are shown in the catalogue and on the website.
We check items before they go into auctions and produce descriptions which we believe are accurate. This a quick check and neither the check nor the description comes with a guarantee. If you are interested in an item, you should either come and view it for yourself or request a condition report. If you do neither of these but win the item, we cannot provide a refund.

Bidding. You can submit bids in one of a number of ways:

• By attending the auction in person and bidding for yourself.
• By conducting a "live" telephone bid.
  This is a free service, but must be arranged in advance as availability is strictly limited (depends on availability of telephone lines and staff).
• By submitting a bid in advance, by telephone, fax, email or post.
  Telephone bids must be confirmed in writing at some stage prior to the sale (no later than 30 minutes before the sale). The catalogue contains a form which you can use for submitting bids.

Attending in person. If you attend the auction in person and are intending to bid, you must first go to the main office and register (before you start bidding). If you have not registered, your bids will not be accepted. Upon registering, you will be handed a numbered card which will identify you when bidding.
If you win an item, you can go to the main office any time after winning (but allow 5 mins after winning) to pay for and collect your item. If you are bidding for a number of items, you may prefer to wait until the last one you are interested in has gone before going to pay and collect.

CATALOGUES

A catalogue is produced for each and every sale.

Catalogues are produced in two forms: the conventional paper form; electronic form.

Paper form: Catalogues are available free of charge to regular customers (buyers or sellers) and to sellers in a specific sale. For others, ther may be a small charge. You can use this Catalogue Order Form.

Electronic form: Catalogues are available online, in both plain text and (sometimes) PDF form. Note that the PDF versions (a) require Adobe Acrobat Reader (or some other software capable of understanding PDF documents), and (b) are considerably bigger than the plain text versions, and so take longer to download.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. (Selling) When do entries close for a sale ? Roughly 4 weeks before the sale. This allows time for the organisation, ordering and photographing of items and the compilation, completion, printing and distribution of the catalogue.

2. What is the commission rate ? The standard rate is 20%, inclusive of VAT.

3. (Buying) I am interested in bidding for an item. How do I go about it ? See 'BUYING' left.

4. How fast do you get through the lots in a sale ? It varies, somewhere between 100/150 lots per hour (depending on who is conducting the auction).

5. How/where do I find the results of the last sale ? Select Home & Sales (top menu), then RESULTS (last sale) (left menu).

6. What happens to unsold lots ... I am interested in one of them ? Unsold lots are available for purchase for a period of ONE WEEK after a sale.

ONLINE SERVICES

The website allows visitors to perform various functions - eg view catalogues, submit bids, request information on lots, view results, search sales - without having to make use of a number of additional functions. These additional functions - subscribe, register, login, online auctions - all provide a higher level of interaction with the company and website, but all involve leaving some personal data. They are described below...

Subscribe

This function allows a visitor to subscribe to emails notices - pre-sale notices of sales, post-sale reports, special events, etc. The visitor can unsubscribe at any time.

Register and Login

These functions allow a visitor to register (a once-only activity) and login (as and when required).

Registration brings a number of benefits, including (1) email notices relating to sales, (2) authorisation to take part in online auctions, (3) authorisation to search all past sales results. In order to register, you need to provide a password of your choice and some personal details. Some details are mandatory always (eg password), some are optional but mandatory under certain circumstances (eg address) and some are optional always (eg interests). On completion, you are provided with a registration code.

To login, you need both your registration code and password.

If you wish to take part in online auctions, then you need to register and login.

Online Auction

The Online Auction function is a new function.

The function allows users to place bids online over a period of time before the live saleroom auction. This period of time is determined by PSA, though the start point will generally be around the time that the catalogue is made available online.
When the end point is reached, the function accepts no more bids. The highest bids submitted via this function are then carried forward into the live saleroom auction (where they may or may not win).
Please note that this is NOT a live auction, and the function is not tied in or integrated with the live saleroom auction.

In order to take part (ie bid) in an online auction, you need to do the following...

1. Register, providing full details (inc address and contact details)
2. Login
3. View the catalogue in HTML form (not plain-text)
4. Select items to bid on and click on the link marked 'Bid' to place a bid

Note: The catalogue is displayed in a tabular form, with one row per lot. If (a) you are logged in, and (b) you are authorised to bid (ie have registered with full details) and (c) the sale has been activated by PSA ... then the links will be present and active.

Please note that all bids are legally binding, and that by registering, you understand and agree to this.

PACKING & POSTAGE

We provide an in-house packing and postage service.

For destinations within the UK, we use Royal Mail Special Delivery. This includes insurance (whilst the goods are in transit). Charges are as follows:

• Up to 2kg, inclusive of insurance, VAT and packing : £12.00
• 2kg to 10kg, inclusive of insurance, VAT and packing : £30.00

For destinations outside the UK (overseas), we use UPS. Again, this includes insurance. Charges depend on destination and weight (of the parcel).

Alternatively clients can make their own arrangements.

PAYMENT

We accept payment by cheque, credit card, debit card and (of course) cash.
(Cheque: requires seven working days for clearance. Credit card: 2% surcharge. Debit card: 38p per transaction).

SELLING

If you are considering selling items in an auction, then please note the following...

The first step is to let us have a list and details of the items you wish to put into auction. You can provide these details by mail, email, fax, or phone ... alernatively, you can bring the items in (if convenient to do so).
We can then disuss with you how much the items are likely to fetch, what reserves should be assigned and which is the best sale for the items to be entered into.

The next step is to bring/send the items to us, allowing plenty of time for us to organise items, lot them up, take photos and arrange for catalogues to be printed.

Note that entries for any given sale close roughly 4 weeks prior to the sale. This allows time for the organisation, ordering and photographing of items and the compilation, completion, printing and distribution of the catalogue.

When a sale has finished, sale results are normally posted on this website within a day or two.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

DEFINITIONS:
“The Auctioneers” means Potteries Specialist Auctions of 271 Waterloo Road, Cobridge, Staffs, ST6 3HR. “The Seller” means person or persons named on the schedule hereto. Where the Seller comprises two or more persons, the singular used in these Conditions shall include the plural and any obligations on the part of the Seller should be joint and several. “The Buyer” shall mean a person or persons, including a firm or Company, making the highest bid for the Goods or any part thereof whose bid shall exceed or be equal to the Reserve, if any.

1. The Auctioneers sell as agents for the seller (except where they are stated as wholly or partly to own any lot as principle) and as such are not responsible for any default by the Seller or Buyer.
2. The Auctioneers reserve the right to fix a Reserve price for any lot.
3. The Auctioneers may without giving reason refuse to accept the bidding of any person.
4. In the case of a dispute as to any bid the Auctioneers may forthwith determine the dispute or put up the lot again at the last undisputed bid or withdraw the lot.
5. No person may advance less at a bid than the sum to be named from time to time by the Auctioneers.
6. Lots on which VAT is payable by the Buyer will be indicated either in the sale catalogue or by the Auctioneer. VAT is payable at the rate prevailing on the day of the auction.
7. The Seller may bid for any lot either personally or through the Auctioneers or through any person as many times as they respectively may think fit and may withdraw any lot subject to Condition 9 contained in the Auctioneers sellers conditions.
8. The Buyer shall pay commission to the Auctioneers at the rate of 20% of the purchase price, inclusive of VAT, or such other rate which may be fixed by the Auctioneers.
9. The Buyer shall give his name and address and proof of identity (if required) to the Auctioneers at the sale.
10. Each lot shall be at the Buyers risk from the fall of the hammer but must be paid for in full before property in the Goods passes to the buyer.
11. The Buyer shall pay the purchase price plus premium inclusive of VAT to the Auctioneers. No purchase may be removed until all money due from the Buyer has been paid. All sold Lots not cleared within seven days of the Sale will be liable to Storage Charges at a rate of £1 per item per day. During this time Potteries Specialist Auctions do not accept liability for damage or loss and storage charges must be paid in full before Lots can be removed
12. Upon failure by the Buyer to comply with conditions 9 or 11 above, the lot shall be re-sold by public auction or private sale and the deficiency (if any) arising from the sale together with the expenses of it shall be due as a debt from the Buyer in default upon the first sale.
13. The Auctioneers accept no responsibility in connection with the commissioning of their staff to bid for any lot. Commissions given by telephone are accepted at the senders risk and must be received by the Auctioneers and confirmed in writing or by facsimile transmission at least 30 minutes prior to the commencement of the sale.The Auctioneers are authorised to buy in for a Buyer commissioning them to bid for any lot at a price equal to the price at which they are commissioned to buy. Bids received from potential buyers from within the auction room take precedence over commission bids.
14. Any person on the Auctioneers premises before, during or after the sale, is deemed to be there at his/her own risk and with notice of the condition of the premises and their contents. Such person shall have no claim against the Auctioneers in respect of any injury sustained or any accident which may occur from any cause whatsoever.
15. All Goods are sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of descriptions. Illustrations in catalogues are for general identification only. Buyers should satisfy themselves prior to the auction as to the condition of each lot. Any statement by the Auctioneers as to the lot is a statement of opinion only and every person should rely on his/her own judgement as to all matters affecting the lot. Any Goods sold are not supplied as new but may be unused. Refunds will not be given on any Lots unless a written Condition Report was requested by the Buyer prior to the Sale.
16. All Unsold Lots must be collected by the Seller within seven days of the Sale or Storage Charges will be applied at the rate of £1 per item per day. In some cases Unsold items can be entered into another Sale if decided by the Auctioneer.
17. Neither the Seller nor the Auctioneers, their servants or agent, is responsible for errors of description or for the authenticity of any lot for any mis-statement as to any matter affecting the lot. Neither the Seller nor the Auctioneers, their servants or agent makes or gives, nor has any person in the employment of the Auctioneers any authority to make or give, any representation or warranty in relation to any lot and any implied conditions or warranties are excluded.
18. Notwithstanding any other terms of these conditions if, within seven days after the sale, the Auctioneers receive from the Buyer, notice in writing that in his view the lot is a forgery, and within fourteen days after such notification the Buyer returns the Goods to the Auctioneers in the same condition as at the time of sale and by producing evidence (the burden of truth to be upon the buyer) satisfies the Auctioneers that considered in the light of the entry in the catalogue, the lot is a imperfect, and further that the Buyer is able to transfer a good and marketable title to the lot free from any third party claims, then the sale of the lot will be Rescinded and the purchase price refunded.The Seller and the Buyer agree to be bound by the Auctioneers decision. In Deciding whether or not the item is a forgery the Auctioneer is entitled to seek the views of any expert or other authority at the Buyers expense and the Buyer shall pay to the Auctioneers on demand such sum as the Auctioneers may reasonably require by Way of payment in advance of such expense.
19. These Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law. All transactions to which these Conditions apply and all connected matters shall also be governed by English Law.

WEBSITE

Overview

The website contains information about PSA (the company), sales (future and past), how to find PSA, the processes of buying and selling at auction and the website. It allows visitors to...

• View dates and details of all sales (past and future)
• (Next sale) View the catalogue, and optionally submit bids or requests for information about lots (eg to request a condition report)
• (Last sale) View the results
• (Last sale) View the unsolds, and optionally submit offers for unsold lots
• Search sales for specific items (by keywords)
• Subscribe, to receive email notices of sales
• Register and login

Organisation

The website consists of a number of web pages which are organised into sections, subsections and individual pages. The web pages have a common and consistent style, with a common "header" at the top of the page and a menu (set of links) on the left hand side.

Web Pages...

(Main Sections - as listed in menu at top of page)
Home & Sales	-	This is the first, or "home" page. It contains some introductory information, brief information about the next sale, news items and a menu of useful items (inc links to further information about sales, future and past).
About Us	-	This page contains information about the company and a menu of related items.
General Information	-	This page contains information of a general nature*, eg information about the processes and procedure for buying and selling at auction, information about the webste, etc. (* Not about the company or specific auctions ... these are described on other pages)
Search	-	This page allows you to search details of future and past sales. If you want to know whether a particular piece is in a future sale, or appeared in a past sale (and how much it realized), use this.
Register	-	This page allows you to register your specific interests.
Login	-	This page allows you to login.
MyPage	-	This page provides a number of functions for users who are logged in.
Logout	-	This page allows you to logout.
(Subsections / Individual pages)
CATALOGUE	-	This page shows the catalogue for the next auction.
Next & Future Sales	-	This page contains a list and details of future sales (inc the next sale). The details include: date & time, sale type, viewing dates & times, catalogue and photos.
RESULTS	-	This page shows the results for the last auction.
UNSOLDS	-	This page shows the unsold lots for the last auction.
Past Sales	-	This page contains a list and details of past sales (inc the last sale). The details include date & time, sale type, catalogue, photos, results and report.
Highlights	-	This page shows some of the highlights from past sales, and the hammer prices they realized.
PSA: Summary	-	This page contains a summary of PSA.
Contact	-	This page contains contact information (address, phone, fax, email) ... plus various specific forms of email you can send. Here, you can also subscribe to our mailing list.
Map & Directions	-	This page contains a map and directions ... and some information on hotels. If you are intending to come visit us, we suggest you print this page!
Selling	-	This page/section contains information on selling in our auctions.
Buying	-	This page/section contains information on bidding and buying in our auctions.
Site Map	-	This page lists and summarizes the main pages.