Our Terms and Conditions
Our Business Framework:
We provide a website platform whereby sellers may sell their whiskey or other Goods and a buyer may purchase the Goods by auction. Goods will be sold by auction using software under licence with fees charged by us for services provided.
These auctions take place online only on our website and require registration and verification of personal details as a precondition of participation.
By using our website and premises, you are deemed to have read and agreed to the following terms and conditions:
Definitions
“Client“, ”You“, ”Yours“,“Buyer” or “seller” refers to you, the individual accessing this website and accepting these Terms and Conditions.
“The Company“, ”Ourselves“, ”We“, ”Us“, ”website” refers to Irish Whiskey Auctions LTD. , registered in the Republic of Ireland. COMPANY NUMBER 628144 (“Irish Whiskey Auctions”)
“The Buyer” is the person who has successfully bid on a lot.
“The Seller” is the person who offers the lot for sale.
“lot” means any bottle of whiskey, grouping of bottles, miniature bottles or other whiskey related items consigned to us for sale by auction online.
“Auction” means group of lots offered for sale for a designated period of time with a defined end date and time.
“Legal Age” means at least eighteen (18) years old or such other minimum age as is required in any foreign other jurisdiction for the lawful purchase and consumption of alcohol.
“Courier” means the delivery company used by Irish Whiskey Auctions to fulfil delivery of lots. This will vary according to location of delivery address.
Unless the context requires a contrary construction, the singular shall include the plural and the plural the singular: and the masculine, feminine or neuter shall include the masculine, feminine and neuter.
Website Registration
- In order to sell any item or place a bid on any item in our auction you must register as a user to our website. This is to verify and legitimise bidders.
- To register to our website, use the login/register option. The Registration fee, which is inclusive of VAT, is required to be paid at the time of registration, this amount may be subject to change.
- As part of the registration process we may ask you to provide some personal details such as your name, address, date of birth, email address and a contact phone number. We may also ask for some payment details to handle payments to and from Irish Whiskey Auctions. We will ask for a verification process to be followed to verify your phone/email and any other details we deem appropriate to verify identity and address.
- All personal data held by us shall be held and processed in accordance with all current EU and Irish legislation including GDPR regulations.
- To ensure that your credit, debit or bank details are not being used without your consent and you are over the age of 18, we will validate name, address and other personal information supplied by you during the order process against appropriate third-party databases. By accepting these terms and conditions, you consent to such checks being made.
- In performing these checks, personal information provided by you may be disclosed to a registered Credit Reference Agency which may keep a record of that information. You can rest assured that this is done only to confirm your identity, that a credit check is not performed and that your credit rating will be unaffected. All information provided by you will be treated securely and strictly in accordance with our data protection policy.
- All persons registered will be expected to keep their account details strictly confidential at all times. The registered user must not allow third parties to use or access your account on your behalf, or for their own interests. The registered user will be liable for all bids made using their account.
Notes For Sellers
By using our website we agree to act as your agent in selling the lot on your behalf and you hereby agree to the following:
To be bound by all of these terms and conditions.
>You as the seller confirm that:
- You are the legal owner of the lot or, if you are not the owner (whether or not you have notified us that you are acting as an agent for a disclosed or undisclosed principal) that you are duly authorised by the owner of the lot to sell it.
- You sell the lot with full title guaranteed free from all liens, charges, encumbrances or third-party claims.
- You have notified us in writing of any material alteration to the lot and have provided us accurately with all information (including any concerns expressed by third-parties relating to the authorship, attribution, condition, provenance, authenticity, age, suitability, quality and origin of the lot) in relation to the lot, or any description of it, of which you are aware or which is in your possession or of which any principal for whom you act in relation to the lot is aware or possesses;
- Unless you notify us in writing to the contrary at the time the lot is delivered to us, there are no restrictions ( whether copyright or otherwise) affecting the lot, or which would prevent us reproducing any photographs or any text of any information or description of, about or relating to the lot provided by you or on your behalf.
Indemnities undertaken by the seller
You agree to indemnify us against all claims, proceedings, liabilities, costs, expenses or losses arising from:
- Any actual or alleged breach of any undertaking or obligation by you to us, whether by act or omission or otherwise.
- Any injury, loss or damage caused to any person by you.
- Our exercising any of our rights, powers and /or duties in terms of this Agreement
- Our receiving or recovering ( or seeking to recover where you have authorised us to do so) any successful bid price obtained.
- Your fraud and our exercising any of our rights or powers in the event of fraud.
- Any error or omission in any description of the lot so long as it was not caused by a breach of our duty to you under this agreement to exercise reasonable care and skill.
Selling Details
- Costs to the seller – we charge €4.00 per lot listing fee, to be entered into the next available auction or next auction deemed to be appropriate. Reserves are optional and are charged at €8.00 per lot. These rates are subject to change.
- Our sellers commission charge is 5%, unless previously agreed with Irish Whiskey Auctions .VAT is charged on our commission and together with additional charges that may include, but are not limited to, delivery and Insurance.
- We reserve the right to refuse reserves we feel exceed the current market value. A lot can be entered into three consecutive auctions. In the event of non-sale, we reserve the right to refuse the lot for the fourth consecutive auction or postpone it for a future sale.
- Reserves are not allowed to be placed on new releases for the first three auctions after release. This is to allow the releases to find their true market value without interference.
- Items should be described and pictured accurately upon submitting them to us.We have the right to refuse items that are in a substandard condition or do notreflect the initial description or photos and in these instances all costs ofreturning the item will be borne by the seller.
- Should there be any doubt on the authenticity of an item, the onus is on the seller to prove it is genuine. If a deliberate fraud is suspected then the relevant authorities will be informed and the seller fully indemnifies Irish Whiskey Auctions LTD. against any liability whatever. In this event , the item may or may not be returned tothe seller at the sellers expense.
- The seller should ensure relevant insurance cover until the lot reaches us. We will not be liable for items damaged or broken while in transit to us.
- If you are a successful Seller, we will not process your payments until the buyer has paid us, funds have cleared and the buyer is satisfied that the lot is as contained within the auction description. If an objection to the lot is received by us within the set out time frame then we reserve the right to withhold payment until all objections are settled or resolved.
- Payments will begin as soon as practicable subject to cleared funds. Should a delay be foreseen we will notify you within 21 days and advise you of all relevant information pertaining to payment resolution.
- Payments from the Company to the Seller can be made using direct bank transfer (further charges may be incurred by international bank transfer) or other agreed payment facility.
Notes for Bidders/Buyers
By using our website we agree to facilitate your purchase of lots advertised here and you hereby agree to the following:
To be bound by each of these terms and conditions.
You as the seller SELLER/BUYER acknowledge and confirm:
- By using the website to bid for and purchase lots advertised for auction that Irish whiskey Auctions agrees to act in good faith in all transactions.
- You are over 18 years of age and that any document or information required for age verification is provided immediately on demand to the Company.
- Any responsibility for local customs taxes or duties rests solely with the buyer of all lots bought from the website.
- Irish Whiskey Auctions will not be liable in any way or under any circumstances for any loss or damage that you may incur as a result of such item listings, nor for any errors or omissions in item listings. Use of and reliance upon item listings and descriptions is entirely at your own risk.
- Bidders are required to conduct their own research and due diligence. All items are sold on an “as is” basis. Please examine the images of the bottle, packaging and labels carefully and satisfy yourself as to their condition before making a bid. Once a bid has been made, no claims will be entertained for damage that was evident before the bid was made, whether it was explicitly mentioned or not.
- Bidders may bid on any item at any time during a live auction.
- It is illegal for you, friend or a family member, to bid on your own items in an auction to falsely increase the bidding. This is known as shill bidding and we have mechanisms in place to detect any occurrence of this. Shill bidding will result in the item being withdrawn from the auction immediately, the item returned to the seller at their own cost, a fee being charged and removal of their account.
- A bid is an irrevocable offer made by a bidder to buy the listed Item. If an incorrect amount has been bid in error, contact the Company immediately. If it does not interfere with the smooth running of the auction the Company may consider retracting or reducing the bid to the winning bid amount at that point. Bids cannot otherwise be retracted. The Company reserves the right to prevent the bidder from any participation in future auctions as a result of bid retraction.
- Once the auction has ended, the winning bid cannot be retracted.
- If a bidder's bid is the highest bid on an item at the end of an auction, and is above the seller's reserve price, that bid shall be deemed to have been accepted by the company. A legally binding contract then exists under which the bidder is obliged to purchase the Item at the price of their winning bid.
- Costs to the buyer- We charge 10% commission on the hammer price of the buyers winning lots.
- VAT is charged on our commission together with additional charges that may include, but are not limited to delivery , Insurance and late fees.
- Bidders are responsible for ensuring that they have sufficient funds available to cover their bid(s). All outstanding balances for lots won must be discharged within 72 hours or incur a penalty. THIS PENALTY WILL BE 3% OFTHE HAMMER PRICE TOTAL OF THE INVOICE.
- The ownership of the goods will not be transferred to the buyer until all of the funds due to the Company are paid.
- Irish Whiskey Auctions reserves the right to charge debt recovery costs if applicable.
- Any person who wins an auction and fails to pay for their invoice may be banned from future auctions.
- The company will only release winning items to bidders when all funds have cleared. Delivery is commenced within 5 days of all funds clearing IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES. IRISH WHISKEY AUCTIONS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LATE DELIVERY DUE TO EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL UNAVOIDABLE DELAYS.
- Bidders may, in limited circumstances, have a legal right to return Items to the company. Any request for a return must be made to us within 7 days of the conclusion of the relevant auction irrespective of the date of delivery or collection. Refunds will be processed only upon receipt of the returned Item by the company. Any cost for returns to the company shall be the responsibility of the buyer/bidder.
- You acknowledge that the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 do not apply to the sale of goods by Public Auction and thus do not apply to any transactions completed through this Website.
- Although we strive to ensure that you receive your item in perfect condition, due to the various ages of bottles and their seals, condition of liquid is at the Buyer's risk and no claim can be lodged against failure/leakage in transit. The Buyer shall bear all risk in respect of loss or damage to an Item in transit.
- All deliveries must be signed for by a person of legal age for the consumption of alcohol in your country of residence and we reserve the right for ourselves and our agents to ask for ID from the person receiving the delivery.
Cancellation Rights
Our Rights to Cancel or Terminate the contract
- Irish Whiskey Auctions reserve the right to terminate a contract to sell and/or facilitate the purchase of goods via our website in the event of (i) a material breach of these terms and conditions, Privacy Policy and/or Cookie policy. Where we terminate a contract with a seller or a buyer, we reserve the right to ban such parties from using our services again.
A Seller's right to cancel
- Sellers have the right to cancel any lot provided for auction and receive a refund of all monies paid to us for listing or reservation fees, subject to notification being provided to Irish Whiskey Auctions in writing, within seven (7) days of the day after we send the seller a confirmatory email informing the seller we shall auction their goods. Notwithstanding the foregoing, should the seller agree to the goods being auctioned before the expiry of the seven (7) day cancellation period, the seller acknowledges that he/she waives their right to cancel the contract without liability once this time passes.
- Sellers may withdraw their bottles from the auction up until 24 hours prior to the auction commencement. The Company reserves the right to charge an administration fee of €40 (+VAT) for any cancellations. Any costs involved in returning the item to the seller following a cancellation are the responsibility of the seller. Please note that all other fees paid by the Seller are non-refundable in the event of a cancellation.
- In the event of (a) the seller cancels a contract to auction goods; or (b) a buyer cancels their contract to purchase the goods, the seller may either pick-up the goods from our premises or request us to deliver them back to the seller. The seller shall be responsible for all costs incurred by us in returning goods to the seller and it is the seller's responsibility to ensure adequate insurance is in place to cover any loss or damage to goods while in transit from our premises to their own premises.
Buyer's right to Cancel
- Buyers have the right to cancel their purchase for whatever reason within seven (7) days from the day after the buyer receives the goods, or where goods are delivered separately, once all goods from a lot have been received.
- We have a duty to provide the goods in line with the description of the goods at auction. These terms and conditions do not affect the buyer's statutory rights to cancel consumer contracts.
- If a buyer has received the goods before HE/SHE/THEY/THEM cancelled the contract then the buyer must send the goods back to our contact address. You undertake to return the goods to us at your own cost and risk and Irish whiskey auctions cannot be held liable for any damage to the goods incurred during transit. It is the buyer's responsibility to ensure adequate insurance is in place to cover any loss or damage to goods while in transit from their own premises to our premises. An exception to this would be where the buyer cancels the contract and returns the goods due to the items not conforming with the description at auction.
- Once we have received the goods and are confident the items have not been damaged by you or during the time you had possession of the items, any sum paid by you will be re-credited to your form of payment made as soon as possible and no later than fourteen (14) days from the day we received the goods back from you. If the items have been damaged, we reserve the right to retain some or all of monies paid to us.
Force Majeure
- Neither party shall be in breach of these terms nor liable for delay in performing (whether temporarily or permanently), or failure to perform, any of its obligations under these terms if such delay or failure results from Force Majeure events, circumstances or causes beyond its reasonable control.
- A Force Majeure event shall include but is not limited to any Act of God, terrorism, war, political insurgence, insurrection, riot, civil unrest, act of civil or military authority, uprising, earthquake, flood or any other natural or man-made eventuality outside of our control.
- Any Party affected by such event shall immediately inform the other party of the same and the two shall agree a mutually acceptable course of action to minimise any effects of such episode.
The Irish whiskey auctions platform is provided on a "availability" basis.
You understand and accept that access to the platform is offered on a "availability" basis and that it is technically impossible to deliver the platform free of defects, bugs, and failures. You are in control of setting up your software and system to access our website. Anti-virus software that is current is highly advised.
Platform Responsibility
We are not responsible for errors that may cause the website to be temporarily unavailable. We will always try to mitigate any issues and auction extensions and other resolutions are possible to ensure all users have fair access to the platform.
The use of, inability to use, or reliance on any of the content on our platform shall not give rise to any liability on our part to you for any loss or damage of any kind, whether in contract, negligence, breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable.
Privacy Policy
Irish Whiskey Auctions recognises your right to privacy. We take steps to protect your privacy and comply with all applicable EU data protection legislation in place at the time of your use of our website in respect of any personal information relating to you gathered by us.
The Types of personal information that we may collect.
- As part of our website you may be required to enter personal details which may include but not limited to your name, home address, delivery address, date of birth, contact phone numbers, email address, Identification.
- As part of using our website we may also collect additional data including but not limited to session information stored in cookies, IP address, browser information, location information , operating system, date, time and duration of usage.
We may use personal information you provide in a number of different ways to provide specific services requested by you as well as to provide additional services that may be considered of interest to you.
- Marketing Communications help us communicate with you about our products and services (and those of our subsidiaries, affiliates, and parent companies and any of their related businesses).
- Marketing analysis helps us assess trends or to measure traffic to our website.
- Transactional communications aid us to improve the quality of service in dealing with your queries and requests, updating your account(s) information and to manage transaction specific tasks such as credit card payments for goods or services that you order from us (or our associated companies) or fulfilment of such transactions (e.g. delivery). You may also at any time request that the information we hold concerning you and held in our database be removed by sending an e-mail to us at info@irishwhiskeyauctions.com.
- Following any such removal, certain parts of our website may no longer be available to you. You may at any time un-subscribe from any marketing or promotional material that is sent to you using these details by clicking on the links at the bottom of all such promotional material.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
Irish Whiskey Auctions reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy as we may deem necessary from time to time or as may be required by law. Any changes will be immediately posted on the web site and you are deemed to have accepted the terms of the amended policy on your first use of the website following the alterations.
COPYRIGHT
- Copyright and other relevant intellectual property rights exist on all text relating to Irish whiskey Auctions services and the full content of its website.
- You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our site for your own personal use. You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text. Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of content on our site must always be acknowledged.
- No right, title or interest in any of the contents of our website shall be in any way whatsoever transferred to you as a result of your gaining access to our website, downloading, electronically copying, printing or attaching these contents by email.
- You are prohibited from creating a link to any page of our website without our prior written consent. Subject to such consent being obtained, you may do so at your own risk and the exclusions and limitations hereinbefore referred to shall apply to your use of our website by linking to it.
- We do not monitor or review the content of other parties' websites which a user may link from our website. Should you do so, we shall not accept responsibility for any subsequent loss or damage, howsoever caused.
Irish Whiskey Auctions Loss & Breakage Cover
You will not be eligible for compensation if you ship without loss & breakagecover and your items are lost or broken. You will not be able to get a refund fromthe courier or Irish Whisky Auctions. If you choose not to include Loss & Breakagecover, you ship entirely at your own risk.
We strive to provide a high-quality service at Irish Whiskey Auctions. We are constantly striving for continuous improvement, with the goal of consistently providing a positive customer experience. We understand that the world is not perfect and that mistakes can and do occur. We want to make sure that if you have a problem with your order, you understand how we will handle it going forward.
All customer service issues and complaints must be sent by email. Please send notify any issues or complaints to info@irishwhiskeyauctions.com with as much detail as possible in the first instance. If there is a delay in our process, we will try to communicate with you on a regular basis to keep you updated.
Damage Claims Policy
Damage claims must be submitted within three days of your order's arrival date. Any claim submitted after this date will be automatically refused. All damage claims must be submitted by email. Please include details about any problems, as well as clear photographs of the damage or problem, as well as the external packaging, including packing material and the shipping box. This evidence is vital for your claim, so please send as many detailed photographs as you can to show us how your order arrived, how it was packed, and any damage or issues you want us to be aware of.
Irish Whiskey Auctions accepts no responsibility for bottles that have not been shipped or packed by us, including courier uplifts, collections, and bottles packaged for shipping forwarding. Irish Whiskey Auctions accepts no responsibility for the condition in which bottles arrive at our facility, and we will do our best to notify you of any flaws as soon as possible. If we believe this occurred during transit, we will contact you to notify you of any damage we discover. Lots collected in person from Irish Whiskey Auctions premises must be thoroughly inspected at the time of collection. Irish Whiskey Auctions accepts no responsibility for any issues discovered after a lot has left our premises. Any flaws or issues must be reported to us at the time of purchase.
You will not be eligible for compensation if you ship without loss & breakage cover and your lots are lost or broken. You will not be able to get a refund from the courier or Irish Whisky Auctions. If you choose not to include Loss & Breakage cover, you ship entirely at your own risk. IWA Irish Whiskey Auctions will do everything possible to pack your items to the highest standards, but fragile goods may be damaged in transit, which is unavoidable. Claims for cosmetic or presentation packaging issues with the bottle that do not affect the safe consumption of the product will be denied. Dents in tins, scuffs or creases in boxes, broken wax, or any other issue that does not affect the integrity of them item. We accept no responsibility for components that are brittle, such as plastics etc.
If your order is lost in transit, we will initiate a 'Tracer' investigation through the Courier. This can take up to 10 working days to locate the parcel and determine if there has been any damage or theft. Customers who purchased Loss & Breakage coverage will be refunded if the parcel has been lost or stolen in transit. If you have not purchased Loss & Breakage cover, we will work with the Courier to locate your order, but compensation will not be paid and, in some cases, we will be unable to assist you. If you choose to ship without Loss & Breakage coverage, you do so completely at your own risk.
Please include photographic proof or as much information as you can if your damage complaint concerns something else, such the legitimacy of a bottle. This will help us conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that your concerns are heard.
Cork and capsule failure is a common problem with bottles of a certain age, despite the fact that Irish Whiskey Auctions inspects each lot both when it arrives and when we package it for shipping to its new home. We are unable to provide compensation in situations of cork or capsule failure unless loss & breakage cover has been applied. Irish Whiskey Auctions is unable to control how a bottle has been handled before it gets to us or during transportation to you.
All decisions made on your claim or dispute are final.