There are a few important things to know about buying at auction before you begin. We encourage you to read our Conditions of Sale carefully prior to bidding at one of our auctions.
Our auctions are free and open to the public. Watching an auction live is a great way to become familiar with the auction process. We invite to you attend one of our upcoming auctions and if you have any questions please feel free to ask us for guidance.
To commence bidding you will need to register by completing a Bidder Registration Form. You can print and complete this form and bring it with you or forms are available at the Showroom 01-01 or in the Office 02-04. Once this has been completed you will be issued with a Bidder Number, which will be your permanent number.
Click on any of the titles below to expand them and view the contents.
CONDITIONS OF SALE FOR BIDDERS
1. In this Agreement: -
1.1 “Auctioneer” means Expat Auctions Pte Ltd (Reg. No. 200818292C trading as Expat Auctions) and any of its associated and subsidiary companies and entities or their duly appointed employees, subcontractors, and the servants and agents of each of them;
1.2 “Fall of the Hammer” means such time as a Purchaser has bid for a particular Lot and the Auctioneer has acknowledged that Purchaser as being the Purchaser at which time a binding contract subject to this Agreement has been entered into;
1.3 “Lot” means any Lot or Lots for sale either individually or as a group at the Auctioneer’s sole discretion;
1.4 “Purchaser” shall mean the successful bidder on the Fall of the Hammer for a particular Lot as determined by the Auctioneer and will be deemed to have entered into a binding Agreement (subject to these conditions set out below) with the Auctioneer as owner of the Lot in its own right or with the Auctioneer as the duly appointed agent of the owner (as the case may be); and
1.5 “Seller” means the owner or the person in possession of a Lot.
2. In the event of any dispute as to the bidding in respect of any Lot, the Auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to settle the dispute as sole arbitrator and his decision shall be final and binding.
3. The Auctioneer has a right to: -
3.1 refuse any bids;
3.2 advance the bidding at his absolute discretion;
3.3 place a reserve on any Lot;
3.4 keep secret the existence and amount of any reserve price of a Lot prior to the close of bidding;
3.5 withdraw a Lot from sale;
3.6 bid on behalf of any prospective Purchaser with or without disclosure;
3.7 place bid or bids on behalf of the owner;
3.8 withdraw any Lot from sale;
3.9 require a Purchaser to pay forthwith the whole or part of any of the purchase price;
3.10 refuse any person or persons admission to or eject them from the auction site;
4. Subject to clauses 5 and 6 below, the Purchaser acknowledges that the Auctioneer acts as the agent of the owner of the Lot or as the owner of the Lot in its own right and as such neither the Auctioneer in either capacity (as the case may be) or the owner of the Lot shall be responsible for any defects or faults in respect of any Lot. All Lots are open for inspections prior to sale and it is the prospective Purchaser’s sole responsibility to inspect such Lots prior to the commencement of the auction.
5. As from the Fall of the Hammer all risks in relation to the Lot passes to the Purchaser notwithstanding that the title to the Lot sold remains with the owner until such time as payment for the Lot has been made in full. The Auctioneer or Seller is not liable to pay compensation to a Purchaser for any fault or defect in a Lot or for any error or misstatement or for any missing part or quantity. No sale shall be invalidated by reason of: -
5.1 any fault or defect in a Lot; and/or
5.2 any error or misstatement in the catalogue or elsewhere as the quantity, authenticity, measurements, specifications or quality of a Lot and the Purchaser remains bound to take delivery without any allowance or reduction in the purchase price.
6. The Auctioneer and the Seller make no warranties – either express or implied – other than those implied by the laws of Singapore, the exclusion of which would render this condition void or voidable or which would constitute an offence by the Auctioneer or the Seller.
7. Time is of the essence in the sale of any Lot and in the performance of the above terms and conditions.
8. In addition to payment of the amount of their bid, the Purchaser will also be responsible for payment of a buyer’s premium calculated at ten percent (10%) of the successful bid at the Fall of the Hammer.
9. Payment is to be made by cash, Visa, Mastercard or personal cheque acceptable to the Auctioneer. Where payment by cheque is accepted, payment will not be deemed to have been made until the cheque clears. Visa and Mastercard payments shall be subject to additional fees at the discretion of the Auctioneer.
10. All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges will be given.
11. Following receipt of payment by the Auctioneer, each Lot shall be removed at the expense of the Purchaser before 5.00pm on the next Wednesday following the auction (or the first day before this Wednesday which is not a public holiday). Failure of the Purchaser to comply with this condition will be deemed a breach of this Agreement whereupon the Auctioneer will be entitled to forfeit any deposit paid and to terminate the Agreement without any further recourse to the Purchaser.
12. The Purchaser understands that they: -
12.1 shall pay interest on overdue amounts at the rate of 1.5% per month in addition to the rate prescribed by the appropriate court having jurisdiction in relation to any claim for monies owing
12.2 shall remain liable for the amount of the successful bid plus the buyer’s premium referred to above if the Purchaser fails to pay as herein provided and, until such payment is made in full, any deposit forfeited shall be payable by way of liquidated damages.
13. Every person at the auction site before, during and after the auction sale shall be deemed to be there at their own risk. No person shall have any claim against the Auctioneers, their agents, employees or principals for any injuries sustained nor for damages to or loss of property which may occur from any cause whatsoever.
14. The Purchaser agrees that this Agreement and any claim and any dispute between the Auctioneer, Purchaser or any other relevant party, shall be construed by the laws of Singapore.
15. The provisions contained in each clause of this Agreement, and any part thereof, shall be enforceable independently of the remainder of this Agreement and its validity shall not be affected if any other part is invalid to any extent.
Before every auction photographs of each item are available via our website. Click Sneak Peek to see what’s on offer. Printed catalogues are also available from our warehouses on Fridays prior to an auction. You may also like to join our mailing list.
Our catalogues provide descriptions for each lot. A lot may refer to a single item or to a group of items auctioned together.
Some lots in a catalogue are subject to a “reserve”. The reserve is the minimum price that the seller is willing to accept for a lot. This amount is strictly confidential.
Auction previews are your chance to inspect each lot prior to the auction. We encourage you to come along on viewing days to look closely at each item you may want to bid on. All items are sold “as is”. Photographs in our catalogues, website and other materials are provided for identification only. When viewing an item we encourage you to examine it closely for defects, scratches or faults. We provide power points to enable you to check electrical items are in good working order. We accept no liability for damaged or defective goods. Once an item is sold it cannot be returned.
At Expat Auctions, you can bid in many ways: in person, via absentee bid, or over the phone.
If you would like to bid, you will be asked to fill out a bidder registration form (details including name, photo ID, bank or credit card information & address will be collected) and you will be given a bidder card with your personal bidder number on it. By bidding at auction, whether in person or by agent, by absentee bid, telephone or other means, the buyer or bidder agrees to be bound by our Conditions of Sale.
To place a bid, hold up your card so that the auctioneer can clearly see it. Decide on the maximum amount that you wish to pay, exclusive of buyers premium, and continue bidding until your bid prevails or you reach your limit. If you are the successful bidder on a lot, the auctioneer will acknowledge your bidder number and bid amount.
Absentee bidding
If you are unable to attend the auction personally simply fill out an Absentee Bids form or e-mail us the lot number you wish to bid on and the maximum price you’re prepared to pay and we will ensure your confidential, absentee bid is presented to our auctioneer.
In the event identical bids are submitted, the earliest bid submitted will take precedence. Absentee bids shall be executed in competition with other absentee bids, any applicable reserve, and bids from other auction participants. A friend or agent may place bids on your behalf, provided that we have received your written authorisation prior to the sale.
Absentee bid forms are also from our auction room.
Please email absentee bids to admin@expatauctions.com.sg and please be sure to quote your bidder number when placing an absentee bid.
To illustrate the Absentee process we will use the following example:
a. The Absentee Bid will be placed on a Sleigh Bed estimated at $800
b. The Absentee Bid will be $880.
c. The Auctioneer is commencing the bidding at $650
1. The Auctioneer would state “I have absentee interest in this bed and I will start the bidding with my absentee bidder at $650 and I am looking for $675″
2. If there are no other bids the Absentee Bidder will win the bed for $650. Otherwise a bidder at the auction house will bid $675 and the Auctioneer will be $700 on behalf of the Absentee Bidder.
3. If the bidding finishes before the maximum bid of $880 is reached then the Absentee Bidder will win the bed at that amount. Otherwise bidders in the auction house will have to bid more than $880 to win the bed.
Phone Bidding
Phone bidding is available on certain lots. A representative from Expat Auctions will call you from the auction room several minutes before the item you are interested in is offered for sale. The representative will talk you through the auction and ask you when and at what increments you would like to bid. Because we must schedule employees to be available in the auction to phone bid with you, please register at least 24 hours in advance of the auction. You may download one of our phone bidding forms or pick up a copy from our auction house. We do not accept phone bids for lots with a low estimate of less than $100 and may not accept any bids on the day of the sale.
All sales are final and subject to our Conditions of Sale found on the back of the form.
We require 24 hours prior notice before an auction should you wish to place an absentee bid or bid by phone.
There is no online bidding.
We assume no responsibility for failure to execute bids for any reason whatsoever.
Once you have bid successfully on a piece please go to our office to receive your invoice.
A Buyers premium of 10% of the hammer price is payable for each lot sold.
We accept payment via cash, VISA, Mastercard and cheque (made out to Expat Auctions Pte Ltd). Please note that payment made by cheque may result in property not being released until purchase funds clear. No GST is payable.
Once payment has been made in full you can collect your lot immediately or arrange for delivery.
All items left on the premises one week after the auction may incur storage and other fees.
