Legal

General Terms of Use

These General Terms of Use govern your use of the Auctium website, apps and related services. Together with the Buyer Terms and Seller Terms, they form a binding agreement between you and Auctium. Our guidelines and policies — including the submission guidelines and the buyer protection policy — are part of these Terms; where a help-centre article and these Terms ever disagree, the Terms prevail. By creating an account, bidding, buying or selling on Auctium, you accept them.

1. Auctium is a marketplace, not the seller

Auctium operates an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of special objects through expert-curated auctions. We do not own the objects listed, and we are not a traditional auction house.

• The contract of sale is directly between buyer and seller. Auctium is not a party to it. We provide the platform, the expert review, the escrow service and the support tools around that contract.
• Sellers are responsible for their objects — including the accuracy of descriptions, authenticity, provenance, packaging, shipping and legal compliance.
• Experts review virtually. Our specialists select and verify listings on the basis of the photos, descriptions and documentation sellers provide. Because this review is virtual, we cannot guarantee the existence, quality, safety or legality of any object — that responsibility rests with the seller. What we do guarantee is the process: escrow, inspection and dispute handling as described in these Terms.
• Minor signs of age, wear or craftsmanship are normal in special objects and do not by themselves mean an object was not as described.

2. Accounts and eligibility

You need an account to bid, buy or sell. By registering you confirm that:

• You are at least 18 years old and able to form legally binding contracts.
• The information you provide is complete and truthful, and you keep it up to date — including your delivery address and payout details.
• Your username is appropriate: not offensive, misleading, or infringing anyone's rights.
• You keep your credentials secret. We assume activity on your account is yours, including bids and payment obligations.

We and our payment providers may ask you to verify your identity or provide additional information — for example to meet anti-money- laundering or tax-reporting obligations. If verification fails, you may be unable to register, complete a sale or receive payment. We may refuse or suspend accounts at our discretion, and we may disclose basic seller details where needed to resolve legal or transactional issues.

3. How our auctions work

Auctions run for a set time and the highest bidder at the end buys the object. Every bid is binding; a bid placed in the final minutes extends the auction so every bidder can respond. Some lots carry a confidential reserve: if the reserve isn't met, the lot is not sold and no payment is taken. The full rules for bidding, payment and delivery are in the Buyer Terms.

4. Services and fees

Buyers pay a 3% buyer's premium on the hammer price; sellers pay a 3% commission, charged only when an object sells. Sellers additionally place a refundable deposit warranty before their first listing. The complete, current price list is always on our fees page, and the exact fee is shown before you confirm any bid or listing.

5. Acceptable use

To keep the marketplace safe and fair, you must not:

• Shill bid — bid on your own objects, or on objects offered by relatives or friends, or otherwise artificially manipulate prices or demand.
• Deal off-platform — use Auctium to find each other and then complete the sale elsewhere to avoid our fees. If another user proposes this, tell us.
• Offer counterfeit, stolen or otherwise unlawful objects, or objects that infringe intellectual-property, cultural-heritage, sanctions or export-control rules.
• Misuse personal data of other users — you may use it only to complete the transaction it belongs to.
• Use the marketplace for money laundering or any illegal financial activity.
• Attack or scrape our infrastructure, reverse-engineer the service, or circumvent technical protections.
• Post content that is misleading, promotional of your own business, or disrespectful to other users or our team.

Where we see fraud, abuse or violations of these Terms, we may remove bids or listings, cancel auctions or sales, suspend payments or accounts, and report matters to the competent authorities.

6. Intellectual property

All content on Auctium — text, photography, video, design and data — is protected by copyright and other intellectual-property rights, whether it is provided by Auctium, by sellers or by third parties. You may not copy or distribute it without permission or a legal basis.

When you submit a listing, you keep ownership of your photos and text, but you grant Auctium a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce and translate that material — to operate and promote the marketplace and your object, during and after the auction. You guarantee you have the rights to grant this licence.

7. Translations and AI-assisted content

These Terms and our content are originally written in English. We may use artificial intelligence to translate content or assist in generating listing summaries, so that objects can be offered to bidders in multiple countries. AI-assisted content may contain errors; if a translated version conflicts with the English version, the English version prevails. Sellers remain fully responsible for the accuracy of their listings, including any AI-suggested text they accept.

8. Liability

Except where the law requires otherwise, Auctium is not liable for loss or damage arising from:

• the performance, conclusion, cancellation or termination of the contract of sale between buyer and seller;
• the accuracy, authenticity or legality of listings, descriptions or provenance documents provided by users;
• estimates we publish — they are a guide, never a guarantee or prediction of value or selling price;
• errors introduced by translation or AI-generated content;
• the availability, security or uninterrupted operation of the marketplace, or the services of third-party providers such as payment or shipping companies;
• decisions we take to resolve disputes or to keep the marketplace safe.

Objects on Auctium are bought for their craftsmanship, uniqueness and collectability — not as financial-investment products. If you purchase for investment or resale, you do so at your own risk.

Where we are held liable despite the above, our liability is limited to direct damages only and capped at the total fees you paid us in the three months before the event, or €500, whichever is lower. This limitation does not apply in cases of gross negligence, wilful misconduct, or injury to life, body or health.

9. Governing law and disputes

These Terms, your use of Auctium and any dispute arising from them are governed by the laws of Ireland. Disputes are submitted to the competent courts of Dublin — unless you are a consumer and mandatory consumer law gives you the right to bring a claim before the courts of your own country, in which case that right is unaffected.

If you have a complaint about us, raise it through the help centre first — we aim to respond quickly and constructively. Complaints should be raised within six months of the issue occurring.

10. Changes to these Terms

We may amend these Terms, our policies and our guidelines by publishing the updated version. If a change significantly affects your rights or obligations, we will notify you by email or when you next use the marketplace. Continuing to use Auctium after a change means you accept it; if you do not accept, you must stop using the marketplace and may close your account. If any provision is found void, the rest of the Terms continue to apply.