Terms of Service

1. Using Mayells

Accounts

You must be at least 18 to register or bid. Give accurate information, keep your password private and tell us promptly if you think someone else has used your account. You are responsible for activity on your account, including bids.

Fair use

Don’t misuse the site: no bidding to inflate prices, no bidding on lots you consigned or on behalf of their consignor, no collusion between bidders, no multiple accounts to get around bidding limits, and no scraping, automated bidding tools or attempts to interfere with the service. We may cancel bids, suspend or close accounts that break these rules.

Content

Catalogue text, photographs and site design belong to Mayells or the people who licensed them to us. You may share links and view them for personal use, but not copy them for commercial use without permission.

2. Conditions of Sale

2.1 Mayells as agent

Mayells sells as agent for the consignor (the seller). When a lot is sold, the contract of sale is between the buyer and the seller; Mayells manages the sale, invoicing, payment and release of the lot.

2.2 Where each sale is bid

Every sale takes bids in one place only: either here on mayells.com or on LiveAuctioneers. The sale’s page says which and links to it. A lot is never open for bidding in both places at once. For sales bid on LiveAuctioneers, its terms of use and any fees it charges also apply; these Conditions of Sale govern your purchase from Mayells.

2.3 Registration and bidding limits (mayells.com)

• With a verified email address you may bid up to $1,000 on a lot.
• Verifying a payment card (no charge is made) lets you bid up to $24,999 on a lot.
• Bids of $25,000 or more need identity verification.

We may ask for further information, set a deposit or limit, or decline any bidder at our discretion.

2.4 Bids

Every bid is a binding offer to buy the lot at that amount plus the buyer’s premium, any tax and any shipping. Bids can’t be withdrawn once placed. If you leave a maximum bid, it bids for you automatically, only as high as needed to keep you in the lead, up to your maximum. Your maximum stays confidential. Bidding increments are set by the platform and shown when you bid.

2.5 Timed sales and closing

In a timed sale, lots close one after another at the times shown. A bid placed in a lot’s final minutes may extend that lot’s closing time by a few minutes so other bidders can respond. The sale platform’s clock and records decide the order of bids and the time a lot closes. The highest bid accepted when a lot closes is the winning bid, subject to any reserve.

2.6 Reserves

Many lots are offered subject to a confidential reserve, the minimum price agreed with the consignor. A lot whose reserve is not met may go unsold.

2.7 Our discretion

Mayells may withdraw any lot before or during a sale, divide or combine lots, and refuse any bid. If there is a dispute, a clear error (for example, a technical fault or a mistake in a lot’s description or estimate) or a reasonable suspicion of fraud, we may reopen bidding, re-offer the lot, or cancel the sale of that lot, and our decision is final.

2.8 Estimates, descriptions and condition

Estimates are our opinion of a likely price range, not a prediction or guarantee. Descriptions, attributions, dates, provenance and condition reports are statements of opinion made in good faith, and photographs may not show every flaw. Lots are sold “as is”, in the condition they are in at the time of sale. Please ask for a condition report or additional photographs before you bid; you bid on the basis of your own judgement. Except as the law requires, Mayells and the seller give no warranty about a lot’s authorship, authenticity, origin, age, condition or fitness for any purpose.

2.9 Buyer’s premium

The buyer pays the hammer price plus a buyer’s premium, a percentage of the hammer price shown on each sale’s page: 25% unless that page states a different rate.

2.10 Taxes

The buyer is responsible for any sales, use or other tax that applies to the purchase. Where Mayells is required to collect tax, it is shown on the invoice. If you are exempt, send us a valid resale or exemption certificate before paying.

2.11 Invoices and payment

Winning bidders are sent an invoice after the sale. Payment in full, in US dollars, is due within seven (7) days of the invoice date unless the invoice says otherwise. You can pay by card through the secure checkout linked from your invoice, or by bank wire; other methods only by prior arrangement. For sales bid on LiveAuctioneers, your invoice may be issued through LiveAuctioneers and will say how to pay.

2.12 If a buyer doesn’t pay

If payment isn’t received when due, Mayells may, as the law allows: cancel the sale, re-offer the lot and hold the defaulting buyer responsible for any shortfall and our costs, refuse or restrict future bids, and pursue any amount owed.

2.13 Ownership and risk

Ownership passes to the buyer once we have received payment in full in cleared funds. Until then the lot is not released. Risk of loss or damage passes to the buyer when the lot is collected or handed to the buyer’s shipper, or fourteen (14) days after payment, whichever comes first.

2.14 Collection and shipping

Shipping, packing, insurance in transit and any import or export duties are the buyer’s responsibility and cost. We can arrange shipping through fine-art and antiques shippers worldwide, and quote it after the sale; local collection is available by appointment. Some materials (for example ivory, tortoiseshell or certain woods) may need permits to export or import, and obtaining them is the buyer’s responsibility; a delay or refusal doesn’t cancel the sale or delay payment.

2.15 Fixed-price (Gallery) purchases

Gallery pieces are offered at the price shown. A purchase is agreed with a Mayells specialist, who confirms availability and sends an invoice. The price shown is payable plus any tax and shipping, with no buyer’s premium unless the listing says otherwise. Sections 2.8 and 2.10–2.14 apply to Gallery purchases too.

2.16 Returns

All sales are final, except where the law requires otherwise. If there’s a problem with a lot you bought, contact us promptly and we’ll look into it.

3. Consigning with Mayells

Selling through Mayells is governed by the written consignment agreement each consignor signs, which sets out the commission, reserves, consignment period, withdrawal and payment. You can read our standard consignment agreement. We may decline any consignment.

Free estimates, including any estimate prepared with the help of software, are informal auction estimates of what an item might sell for. They are not formal appraisals and should not be used for insurance, tax, estate or probate purposes.

4. General

Liability

To the extent the law allows, Mayells is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, and our total liability to a buyer in connection with a lot is limited to the amount the buyer paid for it. Nothing in these terms limits liability that the law does not allow to be limited.

Privacy

How we handle personal information is described in our Privacy Policy.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida. Any dispute will be heard in the state or federal courts located in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Changes

We may update these terms; the date at the top shows the latest version. The terms in force when you place a bid apply to that sale.

Contact

Questions about these terms: info@mayells.com or (561) 987-7200.