1. Artmark receives works of art and collectibles on consignment with the purpose of public sale (“items” or, thereafter, “lots”). The reception of the items in custody, the expertise and the appraisal take place at the Artmark office.
2. The reception of the artworks can only be done during the working hours of the Evaluation Department, as follows: Monday to Friday from 11:00 to 18:00 and on Saturdays by appointment only. For added discretion and in order to avoid overcrowding, we recommend making an appointment by email or telephone (numbers and email addresses can be found on our contact page (deponenti@artmark.ro; telephone numers: (+4) 021 210 30 16; (+4) 021 210 30 16; (+4) 0756 163 400; (+4) 0758 056 115, https://www.artmark.ro/ro/departamente)). In order to shorten the waiting time, we recommend you to submit a few images of the item and relevant information (dimensions, provenance and your contact details) at the following email address: deponenti@artmark.ro. You will receive a preliminary opinion concerning the market value of the item and the level of acceptability in an Artmark sale, as soon as possible.
3. Artmark is pleased to offer provisional auction estimates free of charge for items which we consider appropriate for auction. A copy of the Custody/Consignment certificate is issued to the consignor.
4. Artmark Evaluation Department will establish the estimation for the artwork’s market value (non-negotiable) and will recommend a starting price (negotiable) significantly lower than the minimum estimated price. The estimation is established by the Consignor’s Valuation Committee and reflects the collective professional opinion of the Consignor’s art appraisers upon the current market value of the submitted art piece, whilst taking into consideration the theme and dimensions of the item, current tendencies of the art market, conflict with other similar items in the same auction, the item’s condition, rarity, quality, provenance and recent auction prices of comparable artworks. The estimation can never be optimistic, but practical, in order to guarantee the sale. Artmark reserves its right to decide whether or not to publish the estimation and/or the starting price in auction catalogue.
5. The lots selected for public sale must be consigned to Artmark at least 6 weeks prior to the date of the sale (for reasons related to the editing and shipping of the auction catalogue and other advertising campaigns).
Some lots may require a longer consignment period, depending on the legislation available in each country (E.g: documents that are part of the Romanian National Archives category).
6. Artmark sets the bidding order of the consigned lots.
7. If the item is sold, provided that we have received the client’s payment in full, Artmark will proceed with the payment after retaining the sale fee, import taxes and any other direct expenses with the artwork, such as restoration, framing, framing reconditioning, previously agreed within the consignment contract. The payment is made in the national currency of the saleroom, at the official EUR/national currency exchange rate available on day of the sale. If a non-resident (expat) consignor requests for the payment to be made in a different currency, it will be done so only at his/hers handwritten request, and Artmark will proceed to the payment resulted from the exchange rate
8. Artmark charges a variable consignment commission rate for the services provided, depending on the number and value of the sold items, and also on the performance of the sold item in comparison with its estimation or starting price. From the hammer price, Artmark will retain the sale fee, import taxes and any other direct expenses concerning the art item, such as restoration, framing, framing reconditioning, import taxes, additional certifications etc, previously agreed with the seller. In the case the art item is not sold, the seller will ensure the payment of the above mentioned and agreed expenses.
9. Previous payments for a consigned and not sold lot, as well as any other prior debt of the consignor to Artmark (e.g: the price of items bought by the consignor from Artmark, or the penalty fee for adjudicating one’s own items, erroneous payments made by Artmark etc.) will be deducted from the your payment
If the consignor has a prior debt to Artmark, items consigned by him can be offered for sale for a price that would cover the consignor’s debt.
10. Taking into consideration the expenses for the auction catalogue ( both online and hardcopy), but also for any other promotional online and offline ads, If the consignor decides to withdraw the lot from sale before the auction date, he/she is contractually bound to pay any direct expenses taken with the art item (such as restoration, framing, framing reconditioning, import taxes, additional certifications, marketing campaigns etc), previously agreed with the seller, as well as the consignor’s minimum auction fee, adjusted to the starting price times two. Nevertheless, the minimum withdrawal fee cannot be less than 500 EUR. This fee is also due if Artmark is forced to withdraw the consigned lot as a result of a written complain submitted by a third party and followed by documents that might lead to the conclusion that the consignor is not the rightful owner of the consigned item and/or he does not have the right to sell it.
11. Unsold items can be stored in Artmark’s warehouse for up to one month after the auction. While in Artmark’s warehouse, unsold items can still be offered for sale for a price at least equal to the minimum estimated value (as mentioned in the sale catalogue). If the items are sold in the after-sale period, the Seller’s fee remains the same as mentioned in the Seller’s agreement.
In the event described at article 22 of the Auction Rules, if the buyer is directly or indirectly refusing the payment (including the cases when: the buyer cannot be reached until the payment’s deadline, his contact details are no (longer) valid, the buyer is not solvent, he postpones the payment sine die, the buyer used a false identity or other illegal means to defraud the auction house), Artmark is entitled to choose the most effective way to sell the lot, including imposing penalties, charging interest, commencing a civil or criminal suit, or reselling the lot to one of the clients who offered a previous bid. The lot will remain in our warehouse, until the payment of the lot is received, either from the initial buyer or from reselling it to another client.
12. Unsold lots are to be collected from the warehouse within one month from the date of the sale. Items that have been in Artmark’s custody but they were not selected for sale are to be collected from the warehouse in two weeks’ time since the day their consignment was declined.
13. Considering the physical limitations of the Artmark’s warehouse, Artmark is entitled to transfer any item that was not collected within one month after the sale to an external warehouse location, all storage related expenses to be paid by the consignor.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing with you, Artmark’s responsibility for physical loss or damage to the property shall end on the earlier of collection of the property or the expiry of the applicable free storage period (one month after the auction date, or two weeks since the consignment was refused).
When collecting unsold or un-consigned items after the free storage period, the consignor will pay transportation costs and any additional storage fees (10% of the minimum estimated price of the item for each month). If the consignor does not collect his items in 6 months after they were transferred to the external storage, Artmark is entitled to sell the items in any commercial way it finds appropriate in order to cover the transportation, storage and other related costs.
14. If the authenticity of the sold object is successfully contested by the buyer, Artmark will return the buyer the amount paid and will demand and cash in from the consignor the sale price, returning the contested item to the consignor.
15. In certain countries, local laws entitle the artist or the artist’s estate to a royalty known as ‘artist’s resale right’ when any artwork created by the artist is sold. If these laws apply to an artwork, the consignor must pay an extra amount equal to the royalty. Artmark will deduct the amount and pay the royalty to the appropriate authority on the seller’s behalf.
16. If the consignor is also the author of the consigned work, Artmark will calculate, retain and transfer the income tax, applying a percentage of 10 % to the net income (the hammer price minus the consignor’s commission), and the mandatory social contributions and insurance according to the national law of the sale location.
17. Artmark will not disclose the sellers and buyers’ identity, except for the exceptional case when they wish to reveal it. The sellers have the right to attend the auction when their consigned item is offered for sale.
The seller does not have the right to bid for his own item, not directly nor through a nominee. If the case, Artmark is entitled to cancel the sale of the item and proceed to a) cease any future collaboration with the seller, or b) ask for the seller to pay both the consignment commission and the buyer premium, if he is the final bidder or if the final bidder refuses to pay.
The auction house has the final right to asses that the seller has participated, based on evidence that might include software/audio/video recordings of the auction.
18. Artmark has the right to publish images and descriptions of the items received into custody or consignment in any promotional materials.
19. The consignor guarantees that he/she has the legal possession of the object, and he/she is the sole owner of the consigned object and/or has the right to dispose of it through selling, that he/she has the necessary legal authority, that has undertaken all the necessary actions required by laws and regulations in order to validly conclude this contract, and to meet and/or properly comply to the obligations under this contract, and that there is no any other approval required for the conclusion of this contract. If we are confronted with written documents from third parties that contain possible justified oppositions concerning the sale of the consigned item, and/or might prove ownership of it (any ownership legal claims, partition agreements, judicial executors’ notifications etc.), the consigned object will be withdrawn from auction by Artmark Auction House and all costs involved will be paid by the consignor. The consignor will also be contractually liable to the buyer and in the eventual cancellation of the sale he will be bound to repay all debts arising on his account. The consignor will deliver and make available all documents that might prove his right of ownership.