Auction House Policies

General Policies

Conditions of Sale

1. Some of the lots in this sale are offered subject to a reserve. The reserve is a confidential minimum price agreed upon by the consignor and Sharon Boccelli & Co. below which the lot will not be sold. In most cases, the reserve will be set below the estimated range, but in no case will it exceed the estimates listed. A representative of Sharon Boccelli & Co. will execute such bidding reserves by bidding for the consignor. In any event, and whether or not a lot is subject to a reserve, the auctioneer may reject any bid or raise not commensurate with the value of such lot.
2. All property is sold “as is”, and neither the auctioneer nor any consignor makes any warranties or representation of any kind or nature with respect to the property, and in no event shall they be responsible for the correctness, nor deemed to have made any representation or warranty, or description, genuineness, authorship, attribution, provenance, period, culture, source, origin, or condition of the property and no statement made at the sale, or in the bill of sale, or invoice or elsewhere shall be deemed such a warranty of representation or an assumption of liability.
3. Except as provided in paragraph 1 above, the highest bidder as determined by the auctioneer shall be the purchaser. In the case of a disputed bid, the auctioneer shall have sole discretion in determining the purchaser and may also, at his or her election, withdraw the lot or reoffer the lot for sale.
4. All merchandise purchased must be paid for and removed from the premises the day of the auction.
   • Sharon Boccelli & Co. may impose, and the purchaser agrees to pay, a monthly storage charge of 1.5% of the purchase price of any lot or portion of a lot not removed by the purchaser within three (3) days after the date of the sale.
   • Sharon Boccelli & Co. shall have no liability for any damage to property left on its premises for more than three (3) days after the date of sale.
   • At the option of Sharon Boccelli & Co., the merchandise may be transferred to and stored at a bonded warehouse and the purchaser agrees to pay all transfer and storage expenses.
   Sharon Boccelli & Co. may impose, and the purchaser agrees to pay, a monthly interest charge of 1.5% of the purchase price of any lot or item not paid by the purchaser within thirty (30) days of the date of sale.
5. Personal checks will be acceptable only if credit has been established with Sharon Boccelli & Co. or if a bank authorization has been received guaranteeing a personal check. Sharon Boccelli & Co. reserves the right to hold merchandise purchased by personal check until the check has cleared the bank. The purchaser agrees to pay Sharon Boccelli & Co. a handling charge of $25.00 for any check dishonored by the drawee.
6. If the purchaser breaches any of its obligations under these Conditions of Sale, including its obligation to pay in full the purchase price of all items for which it was the highest successful bidder, Sharon Boccelli & Co. may exercise all of its rights and remedies under the law including, without limitation,
   • canceling the sale and applying any payments made by the purchaser to the damages caused by the purchaser’s breach, and/or
   • offering at public auction, without reserve, any lot or item for which the purchaser has failed to pay in full the purchase price, holding the purchaser liable for any deficiency plus all costs of sale.
7. In no event will the liability of Sharon Boccelli & Co. to any purchaser with respect to any item exceed the purchase price actually paid by such purchaser for such item.
8. Sharon Boccelli & Co. may, in its discretion and at a purchaser’s request, package and ship items, excepting furniture, as directed by the purchaser. In such event, purchaser agrees that
   • all such packaging, handling and shipping is at the sole risk of the purchaser and that Sharon Boccelli & Co. shall have no liability for any loss or damage to such items, and
   • purchaser shall pay in advance, all packaging expenses, including labor, materials and postage and carrier fees, and all insurance charges. Allow four to six weeks for shipping. Arrangements for shipping furniture must be made by the purchaser.
9. All purchases are subject to the Vermont 6% sales tax unless the purchaser possesses a Vermont sales tax exemption number. Exemption numbers from other states are accepted.
10. Except for property purchased via online live auctions, a premium equal to 15% of the final bid price will be applied to each lot sold, to be paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The buyers premium on property purchased via online live auctions will be equal to 18% of the final bid price of each lot sold.
11. Bidding on any item indicates your acceptance of these terms and all other terms announced at the time of sale.