CHIAME Auction Site User Agreement and Conditions of Sale

Welcome to CHIAME. By using our site you agree that you have read, understand and agree to the following terms of use, policies and conditions of sale. We only offer the use of our site to people who are 18 or older and who may lawfully enter into contracts under applicable law. Any user of our site agrees to adhere to any laws or statutes which govern the use of this site. If you disagree with any of the following terms of use, please do not use our site.

We may from time to time modify the terms of use of our site. If you do not agree with the modified terms of use, please do not use the site. By using the site after we have made the changes, you are agreeing to abide by the new terms.

Please note that the individual sellers using the CHIAME site are independent businesses with their own conditions of sale which may be applicable for the lots which they offer on the CHIAME site in addition to the user agreement and conditions of sale described below which pertain to CHIAME as a sponsor of this site.

1) CHIAME is not an auctioneer. While some of the sellers on the site are auctioneers and are licensed according to the jurisdiction where they are located, CHIAME is only a venue, a marketplace to sell fine art, antiques, and collectibles in an online format. CHIAME is not party to any third party transactions which take place and therefore cannot be held responsible for any omissions or errors. CHIAME is not responsible for any aspect of the listings nor for the actions of any of the sellers on the site and cannot vouch for the accuracy or legality of the descriptions and cannot ensure that buyers or sellers will adhere to the site guidelines or if a transaction will be completed. All sellers on the site are however contractually bound with CHIAME and may be dealt with for any violations of the contract terms.

2) Bidding and Buying. Users who bid on an item are required to complete the transaction. A bid is a legally binding agreement to complete a sale. Successful buyers who fail to complete a transaction may be blocked from the site or from that sellers lots offered on the site, and at CHIAME's disgretion, may be required to post a non-refundable deposit prior to bidding on any lots.

a) All lots on the site have a minimum bid or reserve requirement and sellers are not obligated to sell an item unless the sale closes and the minimum bid or reserve has been met.

b) Owners of property may not bid on their own lots.

c) All lots are subject to extended bidding. In this process, bids received in the final 5 minutes of sale will extend the bidding by an additional 5 minutes. This time extension allows all users who wish to bid, time to bid.

d) Bid retractions may be permitted on CHIAME under special circumstances. CHIAME retains complete control and has the right to terminate, modify, or re-start any bid for any reason. Should a lot on which you are bidding be modified or discontinued, you agree to hold CHIAME and its Officers and agents harmless from any legal action. Occasionally we recognize that bids are made in error and want to help users who make a mistake, bidding on the wrong lot. CHIAME may decide upon consultation with the Seller to either continue the transaction or discontinue and realist the item. Notification to other bidders will be made on lots which have been discontinued and relisted. Should a contested bid take place, the user should contact the seller immediately. Any fraudulent bidding or other activity on the site will be cause for immediate loss of user privileges.

e) We reserve the right to reject bids, suspend or block any users access to our site at our sole discretion. Users who are blocked or otherwise prohibited from bidding agree to forgo any legal remedy against CHIAME or the Sellers on the site and agree that their names and user information may be shared with other CHIAME users to prevent them from accessing use of the site. Sellers on CHIAME are authorized to reject bids or bidders and to set the terms for where and to whom an item may be sold or shipped.

f) After winning an auction the seller will receive a courtesy email notice with the winning bidder's email address. All sellers are required to obtain from the site the successful bidders information directly. The courtesy forwarding by CHIAME does not remove the responsibility of the seller directly obtaining the purchasers contact information. CHIAME is in no way responsible for any delays, incorrect email data, or other errors which may result from providing this courtesy email contact.

g) CHIAME and the sellers reserve the right to remove any lot from the site, modify descriptions, or make any changes to any auction at any time. CHIAME and the sellers may for any reason and at any time refuse to process a bid, restrict bidding, or block a bidder from the site. All users of this site agree to hold CHIAME and the sellers completely blameless for any of the above.

3) Buyers Premium. A buyer's premium will be applied to all lots sold, to be paid by the purchaser as part of the purchase price (purchase price and buyers premium) in addition to all applicable local taxes or user fees (taxes, shipping and handling).

4) Sellers Warranty. The sellers on CHIAME warrant for the benefit of the buyer that:

a) The seller has the right to sell the item, there are no encumbrances on the lot offered for sale, and the clear and good title will pass to the buyer without any claims. The seller does not have any information which would lead a reasonable person to believe the object was stolen.

b) If applicable, the object has been lawfully imported or exported and all appropriate duties or fees paid and the seller will facilitate the shipping of the item to the successful buyer.

5) Guarantee Policy. All items on CHIAME are guaranteed for authenticity and condition, subject to the specific terms of these guarantees listed below:

a) Each seller guarantees the authenticity of the object as described in the lot heading for a period of 60 days from the closing date of the sale of that lot on CHIAME. This guarantee is only given to the person who bought the lot and not to any third party or subsequent owner.

The terms of guarantee for authenticity do not cover adjectival terms or statements of opinion and only apply if the lot is worth materially less due to the amended description.

b) Each seller guarantees the condition of the lot as described in the lot condition field for a period of 21 days from the closing date of the sale of that lot on CHIAME. The guarantee warrantees that the description of the lot condition is substantially correct based upon a fair reading of the lots description. No guarantees of condition are made for any frames, mountings, glass, or bases accompanying a lot.

c) All property sold on CHIAME is expected to show some evidence of age and wear. Other than the specific guarantees for authenticity or condition, all property is sold "as is" and the seller and CHIAME make no representations or warrantees about any other aspect of the property including reproduction or intellectual property rights.

d) All buyers on CHIAME agree to hold CHIAME completely harmless in any dispute and that any refund or canceled sale constitutes the only remedy for any damages and that damages may under no circumstances exceed the purchase price (closing bid plus buyers premium) plus shipping and insurance costs if applicable for that lot.

e) If any seller breaches any of the terms of guarantee, the buyer must immediately contact the seller and seek recompense, returning the item in the same condition in which it was received. Once the item has been returned, it is the sellers responsibility to immediately upon receipt of the lot to remit the entire purchase price to the buyer.

6) Payment Policy. Payment will be made immediately and will constitute the total purchase price of the high bid plus the buyers premium plus any associated transaction fees. Payment must be made in a manner acceptable to the seller. No lots will be shipped until good payment has been made. If payments are not received within 14 days in spite of communications and attempts to receive payments by the seller, the seller may choose to cancel the sale and reoffer the lot. In addition the Associate/seller may charge a late payment fee. The seller may also choose to pursue legal action. The buyer will be held liable for damages incurred, including costs to reoffer the item, full commissions, legal fees, and other related expenses and the buyers account may be deactivated by CHIAME or the seller.

7) Shipping Policy. The Seller will arrange with the buyer (unless otherwise agreed) for the shipping of the purchased lots and the Buyer is responsible for the cost of shipping and all associated fees. CHIAME and the sellers are not responsible for any acts which result in damages by carriers or packers of purchased lots, whether or not recommended by the seller or CHIAME, and will not be liable for any losses which result. Sellers are to provide a reasonable amount of assistance to buyers in arranging shipping and insurance, but the buyer is responsible for claims of loss or damage and for contacting the insurer or carriers directly.

Once good payment has been received, sellers are expected to release the item and coordinate as soon as is reasonably possible but not later than 30 days after payment has been received, with the buyer for the transportation of the object.

If a seller is prevented from delivering a lot because of circumstances outside of his control, such as weather, fire, or illness and the sale is canceled, the seller will be liable only for the amount of the purchase received by the seller. Once the lot is delivered to the shipper, the title and obligations pass to the buyer.

8) Limited License of Use. Users of the site agree to a limited license of personal use of the site with the express understanding that no data extraction of any kind is permitted except for the purpose of considering a bid.

9) Copyright Protection. All content on the site is the property of CHIAME and is protected by all applicable domestic and foreign copyright laws and international conventions. CHIAME is a registered trademark and is protected by applicable US and Foreign copyright laws. Use of any of this content except for the purpose of considering a purchase is strictly prohibited. If you believe any material on the site constitutes a copyright infringement, please reply in writing to the seller of the lot with your contact information, the name of the party with the copyright, the name of the contact person, description of the lot in question, and a signed statement by you that the information is correct and you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

10) Archived Images. The successful purchaser, its successors, assigns, and heirs, acknowledge that they have no claim to the images of lots on CHIAME LLC. and that CHIAME has the right to use the images of purchased property in perpetuity with no restrictions and without compensation.

11) Indemnity and Limited Liability. CHIAME and the sellers on CHIAME will not be liable for any damages of any type which arise from the use of this site, including: lost data, messages received, goods or services received, lost revenues or profits, or any transactions of any kind. Nor will CHIAME or the sellers be liable for indirect or consequential damages, or damages which result in lost profits arising from the use of the site. All users of this site agree to hold CHIAME and the employees or agents of CHIAME harmless from any claims made by any third party for any sellers or users failure to adhere to the rules and regulations governing the use of the site.

12) Site Functionality. All users of our site are prohibited from interfering with the proper functioning of the site or infecting the site with any programming routine which may interfere with the site functionality. CHIAME makes no representations or warranties of any kind whatsoever as to the site functionality.

The site is provided "as is" and "as available" and we may at our sole discretion discontinue the use of the site or any features on the site or auctions for any reason and with no liability to the user. Any material obtained in any manner from our site is at the discretion and risk of the user and any resulting damages to a computer, program, or data is the responsibility of the user.

13) Links. Users of the site are advised that many sellers have links on our site and we are not responsible in any way for the availability or content of these sites and are not in any way liable for any losses or damage that may result from the use of these sites.

14) Privacy Policy. The privacy of all registered users of the site is protected. We are dedicated to keeping all user information confidential.

Information generated by transactions on the site is available to CHIAME and will be used to improve site features and functionality. CHIAME employs outside firms to analyze web traffic. These firms do not collect user profiles or capture other user data other than session data used to make site enhancements. Cookies are used on the CHIAME website for the purpose of enabling auction services. If you disable the cookies, you will be unable to log onto the auction site. Collecting preferences, addresses, user id, email addresses, and customer names are available to CHIAME and if you do not opt out of receiving email notification, will be used by CHIAME for notification purposes about future sales on the site or other events which may be of interest. Confidential information will not be shared with other users but may be shared with Sellers on the site if deemed necessary to complete a business transaction. Users of the site authorize CHIAME to maintain paper files relating to transactions. Sellers may enter into separate agreements with buyers regarding notification of future sales or other matters, and these contacts are outside the domain of CHIAME's jurisdiction and are entered into solely by the buyer and seller. CHIAME does not control or oversee these arrangements. Should CHIAME sell or merge operations, user information and site data will be shared with the new operators.

Users of the site are responsible for all transactions taken under the users id and / or password. If you suspect your id or password is not secure, it is your responsibility to change it immediately. Occasionally CHIAME or the sellers on CHIAME may contact a site user to verify their authorization to use the site. Bidding on high value lots may require additional verification procedures to be determined by CHIAME or the Seller.

To protect the site, all users authorize CHIAME and the sellers on CHIAME to make available to law enforcement authorities personal transaction information without a subpoena.

To remove your name from our database or ask a question about privacy please email the site operator at: auction@chiame.com.

15) Arbitration. Any legal claim or controversy arising over the terms of this agreement will be subject to binding arbitration in the state of New York in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association.

Should a claim be filed contrary to these terms, then the other party may recover attorney's fees and costs.

16) Severability. If any part of this agreement is for any reason unenforceable, the exclusion of that part will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.

17) Contact. All communication regarding this site should be sent in writing to: