Legal

Buyer Terms

These Buyer Terms apply whenever you bid on or buy an object through Auctium. They supplement the General Terms of Use, which apply to everyone. In short: bid carefully, pay promptly, and inspect your object when it arrives — our escrow protects you throughout.

1. Every bid is binding

A bid cannot be amended, retracted or revoked. If you are the highest bidder when the auction ends — and any reserve is met — you enter into a contract of sale with the seller and agree to pay the hammer price, the buyer's premium and any shipping costs. We are not responsible for bidding errors, so always double-check the amount before confirming, especially in the final minutes.

Proxy bidding is binding authority. When you enter a maximum bid, you authorise us to place bids on your behalf — always the smallest increment needed to keep you in the lead, up to and including your maximum. Your ceiling stays hidden from other bidders and the seller, but every bid the system places within it is as binding as if you had placed it yourself.

We assume every bid placed through your account is yours — keep your credentials secret.

2. The buyer's premium

On every winning purchase you pay a 3% buyer's premium on the hammer price. It is the only fee a buyer ever pays Auctium: no membership fees, no listing fees, no hidden charges. The exact total — hammer price plus premium plus shipping — is shown next to every bid before you confirm, and again at checkout. The premium funds the expert review of every lot, the escrow service and the buyer protection described in these Terms.

3. Payment within 3 days

You must pay within 3 days of winning. If you don't, we may suspend your bidding, and the seller — or we on the seller's behalf — may cancel the sale after a notice of default. Repeated non-payment leads to account restrictions.

Your payment never goes directly to the seller. It is held in escrow by Auctium while the seller ships. Escrow releases only when:

• your 7-day inspection window (from confirmed delivery) closes without a dispute, or
• you confirm earlier from your order page that the object is as described.

If you open a dispute within the inspection window, the payout is paused while our team reviews the case with both sides. If the claim holds, the sale is unwound: the object returns to the seller insured, and you are refunded in full — hammer price and premium. See the buyer protection policy for the full process.

4. No withdrawal right for auction wins

Under EU distance-selling rules, sales concluded at public auction are exempt from the standard 14-day right of withdrawal. A winning bid on Auctium is therefore final: you cannot cancel simply because you changed your mind. What protects you instead is the inspection window — if the object is not as described or never arrives, buyer protection applies in full.

5. Objects are sold as described

Each object is described and photographed by its seller and reviewed by our experts, but special objects are rarely perfect: age, restoration and wear are part of their nature. Read the description and study the photos before you bid. Estimates we publish are an informed opinion, never a guarantee of value, and colours may render differently on screen. If condition matters to you beyond what is documented, ask the seller through the order page before or after bidding.

You are responsible for ensuring that buying, importing or owning an object is lawful for you — including import duties, taxes, and rules on cultural property or protected materials.

6. Delivery and inspection

Sellers ship within 3 business days of your payment, fully insured and tracked, with signature on delivery. Make sure the address in your account is a correct, complete physical address. From the day the object arrives you have 7 days to inspect it — with your own expert if you like. Examine it the way you would in a shop, handle it with care, and keep the packaging until you accept.

7. Disputes

If the object arrives damaged, not as described or not at all, open a dispute from your order page within the inspection window and include clear photos. We pause the payout and review the case with both sides; you agree to cooperate — providing photos or documentation — while the case is open. Minor blemishes, signs of age or slight colour variations that were visible or disclosed in the listing do not make an object “not as described”. Where a claim holds, the sale is unwound and you are refunded in full; the seller's deposit warranty stands behind the outcome.

8. Your obligations as a buyer

• Pay on time — within 3 days of winning.
• Don't file a chargeback when the seller has fulfilled their obligations; contact us instead — chargebacks in such cases lead to account blocks and may lead to legal claims.
• Cancel only for legitimate reasons; repeated cancellations can suspend your bidding and your account.
• Comply with the General Terms and with all laws that apply to your purchase.

If you don't meet these obligations, we may suspend your account, cancel sales, and recover damages, costs and statutory interest — out of court or before the competent courts.