PFK STANDARD CONDITIONS OF SALE

1) Penrith Farmers’ & Kidd’s (hereinafter called PF&K) take care to ensure that any statement as to authorship, attribution, origin, date, age, provenance and condition is accurate, but such statements should be read as if prefixed by the phrase: “In the opinion of PF&K this lot is…” PF&K reserve the right in forming their opinion to rely upon any authority reasonably considered by them to be reliable.

2) All lots are sold as shown, with all faults, imperfections and errors of description. Neither PF&K nor the vendor(s), for whom PF&K act as agents only, give any warranty whatsoever in respect of any lot, neither has any employee of PF&K authority so to do. Any measurements given are approximate and any statement regarding damage to specific lots does not preclude the possibility of the existence of other faults, not mentioned. BUYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SATISFYING THEMSELVES AS TO CONDITION.

3) Any statements, conditions or descriptions in the catalogue or elsewhere are subject to any qualifying or modifying statement made by the auctioneer from the rostrum prior to any bid being accepted for any lot.

4) The highest bidder shall be the buyer. If any dispute arises the auctioneer shall have the discretion to settle it and put any disputed lot up again. PF&K shall have full discretion to refuse any bidding, to divide any lot, to combine two or more lots and to withdraw any lots from the sale without in any case giving any reason. PF&K cannot accept responsibility for any expense incurred by any intending purchaser of any lot so withdrawn.

5) Gold and Silver: Articles which are not hallmarked but which would have been described as gold or silver prior to the restrictions imposed by the Hallmarking Act, 1973, are now described as yellow metal or white metal.

6) Books: Are sold as seen, uncollated, and are non-returnable.

7) All lots are put up for sale subject (a) to any reserve price imposed by the vendor OR (b) to the right of the vendor to bid either personally or by any one person (who may be the auctioneer). Vendors may NOT bid against a reserve price.

8) The property in a lot shall pass to the purchaser only on payment in full of the purchase price, but every lot is at the sole risk of the purchaser from the fall of the hammer.

9) Bidding via www.the-saleroom.com: In completing the bidder registration on www.the-saleroom.com and providing your credit card details and unless alternative arrangements are agreed with Penrith Farmers & Kidds, you: (i) authorise Penrith Farmers & Kidds, if they so wish, to charge the credit card given in part or full payment, including all fees, for items successfully purchased in the sale via the-saleroom.com, and
(ii) confirm that you are authorised to provide these credit card details to Penrith Farmers & Kidds through www.the-saleroom.com and agree that Penrith Farmers & Kidds are entitled to ship the goods to the card holder name and cardholder address provided in fulfilment of the sale.

10) Lots shall be paid for in full and removed from the auction sale venue at the buyer’s risk and expense at the end of the sale. In the case of venues other than PF&K’s own premises, lots not so removed will be taken, at the buyer’s expense and sole risk, into PF&K’s own premises and will be subject to a warehousing charge. If after thirty days such goods have not been paid for and removed by the buyer they may be sold by PF&K by auction or by private treaty without further notice, any loss arising from such re-sale to be borne by the said buyer.

11) Notwithstanding the foregoing conditions, if within seven days of a catalogue auction sale PF&K receive, in writing, a notice from the purchaser of any lot that, seen in relation to the catalogue description, that lot is a deliberate forgery, and within fourteen days of that sale satisfies PF&K (the burden of proof to be the purchaser’s,) that the lot is a deliberate forgery, then the sale will be rescinded and the purchase price of the lot refunded. The vendor, for whom PF&K act as agent only, and the purchaser agree to be bound by PF&K’s decision in this case.

12) PF&K, acting as agents only, disclaim any responsibility for default either by the vendor or the purchaser. Payment will be made to vendors of any lot only after payment is received from purchasers of that lot.

13) Commission bids/requests for telephone bid received prior to the sale, will be carefully carried out by PF&K, but at the intending purchaser’s sole risk. Bids/requests for telephone lines received after 7.00pm on day prior to sale are not guaranteed to be executed.

14) All persons attending Auction Sales on PF&K’s premises or other PF&K venues shall be deemed to be there at his or her own risk, and shall have no claim against PF&K for any injury, damage or loss howsoever caused, unless caused by the negligence of PF&K employees.

15) Insurance: Unless PF&K receive instructions to the contrary, all goods consigned for sale and whilst in the custody of PF&K will be held insured against the risks of fire, burglary and water damage (but not against accidental damage).

16) Reserves: Unless instructed in writing prior to a sale, or in the case of reserves agreed on PF&K’s entry form, all goods will be sold without reserve. Goods which fail to reach the reserve price may be sold by PF&K on behalf of the vendor subsequent to the auction by private treaty at a price not less than the reserve price.

17) Value Added Tax: A vendor who is VAT registered must disclose the fact to PF&K and provide his VAT Registered Number, where the goods consigned for auction are assets of his business; if the vendor is operating the Special Scheme for Antiques and Works of Art, PF&K must be informed on, or prior, to consignment of the goods. Goods which are subject to VAT on the hammer price are marked in the catalogue with the following symbol X .

18) The vendor shall give PF&K a complete indemnity against any claims in respect of goods sold by PF&K on his behalf.

19) In the event of any failure of the buyer to comply with any of the above conditions, the damages recoverable from the defaulter shall include any loss arising on resale of the lot, together with the charges and expenses relating to both sales, and any money deposited in part-payment shall be held by PF&K on account of any liability of the defaulter to them.

20) The consignment of goods for sale by a vendor, or a bid at auction by an intending purchaser shall be deemed to imply an acceptance of these standard conditions and of any other conditions for the time being published by PF&K.

Buying with PFK

and Catalogues Our Catalogue Sales of Antiques and Collectors’ Items include a wide variety of antiques across many disciplines, priced from around £80 to several thousand pounds.
They are available to view online around 10 days to 2 weeks prior to the sale date, with most lots illustrated, and condition reports appear next to every lot.
Printed catalogues are also available for these sales - click on the Catalogues button for subscription details.
Our fortnightly Victorian and Later Furnishings and Effects sales comprise a wide selection of general antiques and collectibles plus a selection of more modern items including electrical goods, suites and reproduction furniture, from a few pounds to several hundred pounds.
Antique sales are always held on Wednesdays, and are viewable for the two days prior to the sale, Monday 10am to 5pm and Tuesday 10am to 7pm.
Our fortnightly sales of Victoriana and Later Furnishings and Effects (also Wednesdays) are viewable on prior Tuesdays, noon to 6pm. Dates are given on the “Catalogues and Calendar” page.
A permanent paddle number is required for all sales. These are available free of charge at all times from the office.

Commission Bids

Absentee commission bids may be left in person, by telephone, or by fax. For quarterly catalogue sales they may also be left via e-mail - a link is available on the catalogue viewing page. We would greatly appreciate the receipt of bids by the end of the previous day’s viewing, to allow time to process them. We cannot guarantee the execution of bids left after the start of the sale.
Items are purchased as cheaply as reserves and other bids allow - recent commission purchases include a print at £700 where £1800 was left, so you can trust that we will not “run you up”!

Telephone Bids

Telephone bids may also be organised for quarterly antique sales. Again, these should be made prior to sale day to ensure adequate time for processing. Lines are reserved on a “first come, first served” basis up to a maximum of 6 lines per lot so early booking is always advantageous. We will telephone you around 5 lots prior to the relevant lot to ensure a good connection (especially mobiles/international). A secondary back-up number and a back-up commission bid (not placed on the auctioneer’s book, but kept with the staff member telephone bidding on your behalf) are both good ways to ensure your bid is not missed (e.g. if you are engaged/in an area of poor reception).

Condition Reports

These are prepared in advance for every lot at the time of cataloguing. Where appropriate (e.g. ceramics, oil paintings), items suspected of post-production “interference” have been examined under UV light for signs of restoration. We will stand by any report that we give - however, any questions regarding condition not covered by the report MUST be resolved by further communication with the auctioneers to the buyers satisfaction before leaving a bid. Our full terms and conditions for buyers are viewable by clicking here).
Each lot is subject to a Buyers Premium of 17% PLUS VAT - i.e. £100 on the hammer is £115.00 premium-inclusive. Please note that lots bought through ATGMedia will incur an additional 3% premium.
Payment can be made during the sale and, where possible, items may be removed - a porter will always be on hand to collect items from the restricted area behind the rostrum. Larger items (e.g. furniture) may be removed immediately after the sale - again, porters will be on hand to offer assistance.
We are pleased to offer a full in-house packing service for most items in our quarterly sales. We send nationally and internationally by the preferred method of the purchaser - e.g. Parcelforce, Special Delivery or Courier. We charge postage at cost, plus a modest charge for packing materials and time - typically no more than £10 per parcel, whatever the size/contents. Costs can be established prior to settlement of the account, to make one easy overall payment.
For light and small items under 2kg including packing we recommend Special Delivery, with appropriate insurance if requested, typically costing from £4.10 for 100g to £18.50 up to 10kg, equating to £10-£23 inclusive of packing charges.
For parcels over 10kg (where Special Delivery jumps to £18.55) we recommend national couriers Interlink, who deliver next day for around £20 - again, this equates to a flat £25 inclusive of packing, regardless of the number of items. The advantage of Interlink is that (although they are principally parcel couriers rather than antiques couriers) they have a national network of smaller vans (which keeps costs down), and (unlike Parcelforce) do not use mechanical lifting apparatus. As their flat charge covers items up to 10kg, most postable items do not require quoting for, so transactions can be processed quickly. BUYERS SHOULD NOTE THAT INTERLINK ARE PARCEL COURIERS AND DO NOT OFFER INSURANCE FOR THE CARRIAGE OF ANTIQUES. WHILST WE WILL ENDEAVOUR TO PACK BREAKABLE ITEMS AS CAREFULLY AS POSSIBLE, NEITHER PFK NOR INTERLINK OFFER COMPENSATION FOR ITEMS DAMAGED IN TRANSIT. THIS GOODWILL SERVICE IS THEREFORE OFFERED STRICTLY AT THE SOLE RISK OF THE PURCHASER. In our experience antiques are almost impossible to insure in transit.
We are also pleased to offer a local post-sale delivery service for larger items - please telephone the office for a quote. For buyers from further afield, we have contact details of a number of hauliers who regularly travel to (e.g.) London, and can obtain quotes as needed.