Sale Terms & Conditions

ALDE is an operator of voluntary auction sales started by Jérôme Delcamp, regulated by the law of 10th July, 2000. It has a share capital of 10 000 Euros and is registered with the Paris Registry of Companies. As such, ALDE acts as the agent of the seller who contracts with the buyer. The relations between ALDE and the buyer are subject to the present conditions of purchase outlined below which can be modified by salesroom notices or oral indications that will be recorded in the official sales records.

1 – Goods for auction

a) The prospective buyers are invited to examine any goods which they may be interested in, before the auction takes place, and notably during the exhibitions. ALDE is at the disposal of the prospective buyers to provide them with reports about the condition of lots.

b) The statements made by ALDE about any restoration, mishap or harm arisen concerning the lot are only made to facilitate the inspection thereof by the prospective buyer and remain subject to his own or to his expert’s appreciation. The absence of statements by ALDE by relating to a restoration, mishap or harm, whether made in the catalogue, condition reports, on labels or orally, does not imply that the item is exempt from any current, past or repaired defect. Inversely, the indication of any defect whatsoever does not imply the absence of any other defects.

2 - The Sale

a) In order to assure the proper organisation of the sales, prospective buyers are invited to make themselves known to ALDE before the sale, so as to have their personal identity and bank reference data recorded.

b) Any person who is a bidder undertakes to pay personally and immediately the hammer price plus any other costs to be born such as taxes or fees/expenses which could be due. Any bidder is deemed to be acting on his own behalf except when prior notification is given to and accepted by ALDE, that he is acting as an agent on behalf of a third party.

c) ALDE may accept bids by telephone or via the Internet from a potential buyer who has made himself known before the sale. As this is a free service, ALDE cannot be held responsible for any errors, omissions or malfunctions. ALDE reserves the right to record telephone communications during the sale. The recordings will be kept until the payment of the price, unless challenged.

d) ALDE will be able to accept free of charge to execute purchase orders which will have been transmitted to it before the sale and which ALDE will have accepted. In the event of purchase orders of identical amount, the order that has been transmitted first will be taken into account. ALDE cannot be held responsible for any error or omission in the execution of the written order.

e) In the event where a reserve price has been stipulated by the seller, ALDE reserves the right to bid on behalf of the seller until the reserve price is reached. The seller will not be allowed to bid himself directly or through an agent. The reserve price may not be higher than the lowest estimate for the lot printed in the catalogue or publicly modified before the sale.

f) ALDE will conduct auction sales at their own discretion and according to the pre-determined established norms. ALDE reserves the right to refuse any bids, and to organize the bidding in such manner as may be the most appropriate. It further reserves the right to move, to withdraw and to combine or to divide any lots in the course of the sale. In case of challenges or disputes, ALDE reserves the right to designate the successful bidder, to continue the bidding, to cancel it, or to put the lot back up for bidding.

g) Subject to the decision of the person conducting the bidding for ALDE, the successful bidder will be the bidder who will have made the highest bid provided the final bid is equal to or higher than the reserve price if such a reserve price has been stipulated. The hammer stroke will mark the acceptance of the highest bid and the pronouncing of the word “adjugé” or any equivalent will amount to the conclusion of the purchase contract between the seller and the last bidder taken in consideration. No lot will be delivered to the buyer until full payment has been made. In case of payment by an ordinary draft/check, payment will be deemed made only when the check will have been cashed.

3 - Incidents during the sale

a) In case two bidders have bidden vocally, by means of gesture or by telephone for the same amount and both claim title to the lot, after the bidding the lot, will immediately be offered again for sale at the previous last bid, and all those attending will be entitled to bid again.

b) So as to facilitate the presentation of the items during the sales, ALDE will be able to use video technology. Should any error occur in operation of such, which may lead to show an item during the bidding which is not the one on which the bids have been made, ALDE shall bear no liability whatsoever, and will have sole discretion to decide whether or not the bidding will take place again.

c) So as to facilitate the price calculation for prospective buyers, a currency converter may be operated by ALDE as guidance. Nevertheless, the bidding cannot be made in foreign currency and ALDE will not be liable for errors of conversion.

4 - Pre-emption of the French state

The French state in entitled to use a right of pre-emption on works of art, pursuant to the rules of 31th of December, 1921 and 10th of July, 2000 laws.The use of this right comes immediately after the hammer stroke, the representative of the French state expressing then the intention of the State to substitute for the last bidder, provided he confirms the pre-emption decision within fifteen days. Alde will not bear any liability/responsibility for the conditions of the pre-emption by the French State.

5 - The Performance of the sale.

a) In addition to the lot’s hammer price, the buyer must pay the following costs in terms of fees/taxes:

1. Lots from the EU : 22 % or 25 % including VAT, always look at the catalogue.


2. Lots from outside the EU : in addition to the commission and taxes indicated above, an additional import fee will be charged (5,5% of the hammer price).


3. VAT on commission and import fees can be retroceded to the purchaser on presentation of written proof of export outside the EU. An EU purchaser who will submit his intra-community VAT number will be refunded VAT on buyer’s premium. The payment of the lot will be made in cash, for the whole of the price, costs and taxes, even when an export licence is required. The purchaser will be authorized to pay by the following means: in cash: up to 1 000 euros, costs and taxes included, for French citizens, up to 15 000 euros, costs and taxes included, for foreign citizens on presentation of their identity papers ; by cheque ; by bank transfer ; by credit card: VISA or MASTERCARD.

b) ALDE will be authorized to reproduce in the official sales records and on the bid summary the information that the buyer will have provided before the sale. The buyer will be responsible for any false information given. Should the buyer have neglected to give his personal information before the sale, he will have to give the necessary information as soon as the sale of the lot has taken place. Any person having been recorded by ALDE has a right of access and of rectification to the nominative data provided to ALDE pursuant to the provisions of Law of the 6 July 1978.

c) The lot must be insured by the buyer immediately after the purchase. The buyer will have no recourse against ALDE, in the event where, due to theft, loss or a deterioration of his lot after the purchase, the compensation he will receive from the insurer of ALDE would prove insufficient.

d) The lot will be delivered to the buyer only after the full payment of the price, costs and taxes. In the meantime ALDE may invoice to the buyer the costs of storage of the lot, and if applicable the costs of handling and transport. Should the buyer fail to pay the amount due, and after notice to pay has been given by ALDE to the buyer without success, at the seller’s request, the lot is re-offered for sale, under French procedure known as “procédure de folle enchère”. If the seller does not make this request within one month from the date of the sale, the sale will be automatically cancelled, without prejudice to any damages owed by the defaulting buyer. In addition, ALDE reserves the right to claim against the defaulting buyer, at their discretion : the amount due at an additional 5 points over the current legal interest rates, the reimbursement of additional costs generated by the buyer’s default and the payment of the difference between the initial hammer price and the price of sale after “procédure de folle enchère” if it is inferior, as well as the costs generated by the new auction. ALDE reserves the right to exclude from any future auction, any bidder who has been a defaulting buyer or who has not fulfilled these general conditions of purchase. ALDE is a member of the SYMEV in which the payment incidents will be registrable.

e) For items purchased which are not collected within seven days after the sale (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays included), ALDE will be authorized to move them into a storage unit at the defaulting buyer’s expense, and to release them only after payment of corresponding costs, in addition to the price, costs and taxes.

6 - Payment & sale terms for online biddings

The payment is due right after the sale :

• by cash (euros) up to 1 000 € for French citizens or up to 15 000 € for foreign nationals (proof of address, notice of taxes, identification card required)
• by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, no American Express)
• « 3D Secure » payment on our web site : http://alde.fr,
• by bank transfer
• by cheque payable to ALDE

If the invoice is not paid within 3 weeks after the sale, ALDE will debit the credit card registered by the bidder on ALDE Live.

Notez que vous avez le droit de vous inscrire sur ALDE live, sans communiquer votre numéro de carte bancaire sur simple demande à : contact@alde.fr