About the Auction

Price - Estimates

Each lot has a listed price range. These estimates are provided only as a guide for buyers. You may check the comparable prices of similar works of art through a link, called 'comparables' which is listed next to each lot in the online catalogue. Please note that the estimates for individual lots have been 'rounded off' for easy reference and do not necessarily reflect the exact exchange rate used for bid calculations. Price-estimates for each lot are prepared well in advance of the sale and may be subject to revision. Estimates do not include the buyer's premium or any applicable additional charges such as shipping, insurance and taxes.

How to Bid

Pre-registration and Verification

You must be registered and verified for the AstaGuru auction in order to bid. If you are already a registered user, you will still have to pre-register for the auction and accept the conditions for sale, but you may participate using your AstaGuru login id. In order to pre-register fill up the pre-registration form online or call AstaGuru. Once you pre-register and accept the conditions for sale, an AstaGuru representative will call to verify your details and request additional information prior to giving you bidding access. In the event the AstaGuru representative cannot reach you on the phone, an email will be sent to you, asking for additional information and providing you with phone numbers to get in touch with AstaGuru. Please note that if we do not receive a response from you to the additional information request, bidding access may not be available to you. Please also note that the verification process might take time in some cases and so bidders are advised to pre-register at least 24 hours prior to the start of the auction so that bidding access is available to them at the start of the auction.

Once your pre-registration has been accepted you will be sent an email confirming your bidding authorization along with your login id and password.

Bidding access shall be given at AstaGuru's discretion and AstaGuru may set limits on bidders and/or require payment guarantees or deposits prior to giving bidding access. You will be informed of the limits if any and will not be allowed to bid further if your bidding limit is exhausted across all lots in the auction. If you are informed of limits, please feel free to request additional information or assistance if you have doubts.

Entering an Online Bid
Once you have identified the lot that you would like to bid on, click on "Bid Now" and enter either the bid amount for regular online bidding, or a maximum price for proxy/automatic bidding (for more information, please see the section on proxy/automatic bidding).

Regular online bidding is essential when you actively participate in the bidding process by entering the next available bid (or one of a higher value) each time you are outbid. Your screen will display the next (minimum) valid bid, based on a predetermined increment. You may enter a bid at that value or a value higher than the next valid bid. You may also view the entire bid history prior to making your decision. After you enter your bid it is advisable to view the bid history to verify that your bid has been recorded. Please note that bidders may be contacted during the auction for bid verification in order to protect all bidders and maintain the efficacy of the process.

Entering an Offline/Written bid

You can also place offline bids, by faxing the written bid form available in the online and printed catalogue)

Bid Cancellation

Once recorded, neither regular online bids nor proxy/automatic bids may be cancelled by the bidder.

AstaGuru reserves the right to cancel a bid at its discretion if it considers it necessary to do so in order to protect the efficacy of the bidding process.

Bid Increments

Any new bid must be higher than the current highest bid by a minimum increment, which applies to each bid value. The next valid bid amount is the current highest bid plus the minimum increment value. This minimum increment will be indicated on the detail page (on the website) for each Lot The bidder may enter a value at the next valid bid amount or an amount higher than that.

Minimum increments are 10% of the current valid bid.

Personalized Bid Notifications

You may choose how frequently you would like to be notified of a change on your bid status. After you have entered your bid, you can specify the types of automatic email bid notifications that you would like to receive, by clicking on 'My Bid Summary', which is your personalized bid page.
For example, you can specify that you would like notifications: (i) when you are outbid and (ii) 24 hours before the close of bidding. 'My Bid Summary' will display the lots that you have bid for as well as give you the status of your bids at any time during the auction. It will also give you an option of choosing a nickname for yourself that displays in the bid history when you enter your bid.

Reserve Price

All lots in this auction are subject to a reserve price, which is confidential. The reserve price is the minimum price that the lot may be sold for. No lot can be sold below its reserve price and the reserve price will not exceed the low price-estimate (see the price-estimate section for more information). Reserve prices will not be disclosed

Opening Bid

Bidding on all lots begins at the opening bid value. The opening bid is the value at which the auction house starts the bidding on a particular lot. Offline/written bids received before the start of the auction will be recorded as follows:

  • If the offline/written bid is less than the opening bid value it will be recorded and displayed below the opening bid value at the time of the start of the auction in the bid history for that particular lot.
  • If the offline/written bid is greater than the opening bid value and is less than the next valid bid for that lot (based on the minimum increments) it will be recorded and displayed as the current highest bid above the opening bid value at the time of the start of the auction in the bid history for that particular lot. The next valid bid in this case will be higher than the current highest bid by a minimum increment, which applies to that bid value.
  • Multiple offline/written bids received on a particular lot before the start of the auction will be recorded and displayed in the bid history of the lot according to the values with the highest bid being the current valid bid at the time of the start of the auction. Offline/written bids received at the same value will be prioritized based on the time of receiving the bids and will be shown in the bid history of the lot.

Closing and Winning Bids

The closing bid for a lot is the highest bid at the time at which a particular lot's bidding has ended. No further bids can be made after the close of the bidding for that particular lot. The closing bid is considered a winning bid, only if the bid equals or exceeds the reserve price. If the closing bid on a particular lot is below the reserve price, it will not be considered a winning bid and the lot will be deemed unsold. However, if the closing bid belongs to a proxy bidder and is below the reserve price, but the proxy bidders' maximum bid price exceeds or equals the reserve price, then the lot will be sold to the proxy bidder at the reserve price. The winning bids for all sold lots will be posted on the website after the close of the bidding.

Tracking Bids

The bid history provided on the website page for each lot will indicate the values that have been recorded since the start of the auction to the current highest bid. You may also view 'My Bid Summary' for bidding information on all the lots that you have bid for in this auction. Note: for ease of tracking, bidders are advised to assign bidding nicknames to themselves in 'My Bid Summary'. They are also requested to refresh their page frequently to get latest bid updates.

Currency of Bidding and Special Lots

Bids will be placed in US Dollars (USD) or Indian Rupees (INR). However, only buyers in Indiamay pay for their purchases in INR at the close of the auction. All other buyers must complete payment in USD.

Condition of Lots

All lots will be shipped out in an 'as is' condition. Condition reports for all lots are available upon request by email, fax, or telephone. AstaGuru shall not be responsible for, or shall not be liable for any lot in respect of its condition to the extent that such condition has been recorded in the condition report or provided by the consignor for the condition report. Failure by a bidder to request a condition report shall further prevent AstaGuru from being liable in this respect.

Buyers Premium

AstaGuru will charge the buyer a premium on the winning bid value. The buyers' premium is calculated at 10% of the winning bid value on each lot. There will be a service tax applicable on the Buyers' Premium for deliveries within India which will be included in the invoice.

Completing the purchase

If you win a bid, you will be informed on email immediately upon closing of bidding on that particular lot. You will be sent a subsequent email after the close of the auction, which will contain an invoice for the winning bid and an invoice for the Buyer's Premium (with payment options specified). You may review acceptable modes of payment described in the section below. If you are the winning bidder, you are legally bound to purchase the item from AstaGuru. Please note that purchases will not be shipped out until full payment has been received and cleared.

Invoicing

Bidders are required to provide all invoicing details to AstaGuru prior to the sale at the time of registering for the auction as no invoices will be changed after the sale and the bidder will be as registered with AstaGuru invoiced. After the sale, the Buyer is required to pay the amounts as invoiced  in full (including the additional charges). No shipment or delivery will be made if this amount is not received or until all proper documentation is completed. No payments will be accepted from any other party/parties other than the Buyer mentioned on the invoice.

Shipping and Insurance

Price-estimates do not include any packing, insurance, shipping or handling charges, all of which will be borne by the buyer. Shipping will be charged on courier rates and determined by the size, weight and destination of the package. Bidders may, review on the website, an estimate of applicable additional charges for the lots during the auction. The additional charges for the current as well as the next highest bid may be reviewed, to help bidders make bid value decisions. Buyers may request reframing, restoration or cleaning of works, or may leave specific packing or shipping instructions. Any additional expenses in such cases shall be borne by the buyer.

Duties & Taxes

All duties and taxes applicable on the purchase of the art work shall be borne by the buyer. An estimate of applicable charges for each lot and buyer destination may be viewed online.

Sales in India :  Any sale that takes place within India is subject to a 12.5% VAT on the winning bid value and a 12.36% Service Tax on the buyers' premium. A CST of 3% instead of the 12.5% VAT will be applicable on the winning bid value only if the delivery location of the lot is outside the state of Maharashtra, and the buyer provides the necessary documentation required by the Sales Tax authorities. The Service Tax on the buyers' premium will still apply at 12.36%.

Payment

Buyers will be required to complete payment within a period of 7 working days from the receipt of the invoice via email.

Delivery/collection of purchases

Purchases are typically shipped out within 7 working days of the payment being cleared, however, there may be a delay in the shipping if the buyer requests a work to be reframed or unstretched (the costs of which will be borne by the buyer). If there is an expected delay in dispatch, the buyer will be informed of the delay via email, unless the buyer has indicated an alternative preferred mode of communication. The artworks are packed according to carrier standards and are fully insured (without the frames) for international destinations. If the Buyer wants to appoint a logistics agent (on their behalf) for shipment then the documentation supporting the shipment will be generated by AstaGuru. If the documentation is not completed to the specified requirements then the Buyer will be liable for any duties or taxes that might be levied by the authorities on the transaction.

Buyers may choose to collect their purchases from the AstaGuru office in Mumbai. In such cases, buyers are requested to make an appointment to collect purchases within 7 working days of completion of all payments and documentation formalities.

Storage and Demurrage

The Buyer shall ensure that all payment formalities are completed within seven working days of the receipt of the invoice. In case payment is not received within such period, this shall be treated as a breach of contract and AstaGuru may take any steps (including the instituting of legal proceedings), which appear to AstaGuru to be appropriate to enforce payment by the Buyer. The Buyer will also be charged demurrage @ 1% per month on the value of the artworks.

Buyers who have completed payment formalities and have not taken delivery of their art works from AstaGuru within 30 days of the completion of payment formalities will be charged demurrage @ 1% per month on the value of the artworks.

Receipt of Purchases

All purchases from this sale are final. If an artwork has been damaged during shipping, please contact us at: contact@astaguru.com and we will process your case as expeditiously as possible. In the remote event of your receiving a damaged product, please make note of the damage on the courier's copy of the airway bill, and a copy of the airway bill which you retain. Also, appropriate remarks should be made on the delivery sheet (if applicable) of the courier making the delivery. Buyers must notify AstaGuru directly within five days of receipt of the artwork if there is any damage. This will help in processing claims in time.

Participate in our next auction

If you are interested in consigning works from your collection to our next sale, please contact us at contact@astaguru.com or at the auction help desk #91 22 22075232

If you would like to keep informed of AstaGuru's upcoming events, please register with us online.