Agreements between you and us
Article 1: Terms of Use
Our Terms of Use (‘Terms’ for short) and other documents we mention below are legally binding agreements between you and us. The Terms apply to your use of our website, including any subpages and subdomains of the website, our mobile, tablet, and other smart device apps, our app program interfaces, and all associated services.
Our Terms are the rules that govern browsing, bidding, buying, and selling on or through Catawiki. All users of our online marketplace need to accept and are bound by our Terms.
We’ve split parts of our Terms into Buyer Terms and Seller Terms. This helps you focus on what’s most relevant to you.
If you’re looking to bid or buy, these apply to you.
If you’re looking to submit or sell, these apply to you.
We also give extra guidance in our help centre. If there’s any discrepancy between what’s said in the Terms and the help centre, the Terms prevail.
We've written our Terms in plain language so they're easy to understand. But if there are any words or phrases you need more clarity on, you can find definitions in our glossary.
All content on our website and apps, including these Terms, was originally written in English but is available in multiple languages. If there’s a conflict between the English version of any content on our website and apps and another language version, the English version prevails.
Our Terms, policies, and help centre articles have been prepared in accordance with Dutch law. Any legal terms and concepts used in these Terms will be interpreted according to Dutch law.
Article 2: Guidelines & policies
In addition to our Terms, we have a number of guidelines and policies to keep our online marketplace safe and reliable for our users. These include:
Our submission guidelines guide sellers on what objects our experts usually accept for auction and on the best way to present them. Find out more in our Seller Terms.
Buyers can provide feedback to sellers they buy from. Sellers can respond to this feedback. For the sake of transparency, we include this feedback on our platform.
It’s important to us that everyone is treated with courtesy and respect. We don’t tolerate inappropriate, offensive, hateful, or threatening communications towards any of our users or employees.
All guidelines and policies are considered part of our Terms. But if there are any discrepancies between our Terms of Use and our guidelines and policies, the Terms of Use prevail.
Article 3: Other agreements and laws
Your use of our online marketplace might also be governed by other agreements or applicable international laws and regulations and we expect you to comply with these. These include:
Contract of sale
A buyer and seller enter into a contract of sale for each object sold through our online marketplace. For more detail, see Article 10.
Professional sellers’ terms and conditions
In certain situations, professional sellers may have their own terms and conditions. These can apply to a purchase in addition to the contract of sale. But only if they’re made known ahead of the sale and don’t go against our Terms. In case of conflict, our Terms and template contract of sale always supersede the terms of other parties.
Laws and regulations for certain objects
There are laws and regulations for certain types of objects sold on Catawiki. For example alcohol, weapons (including antique weapons), explicit content, or objects protected by cultural heritage or endangered species legislation.
Laws and regulations applicable to you
By using our online marketplace, you are obliged to comply with all applicable national, EU, and international laws and binding regulations regarding bidding on, purchasing, offering for sale, and selling objects.
How Catawiki works
Article 4: Catawiki is an online marketplace
Catawiki is an online marketplace. We connect buyers and sellers of special objects through automated online auctions or other selling methods. Find out more about us here.
We’re a facilitator, not a seller
Catawiki is not a traditional auction house. We don’t own anything listed or sold on our online marketplace. This means our buyers purchase directly from the sellers that list their objects on our online marketplace. The contract of sale is directly between buyer and seller and it’s important for both buyer and seller to fulfil their obligations under the contract of sale. We provide services to buyers and sellers to give them the best experience in bidding, buying, and selling on our online marketplace.
Article 5: Services and fees
We run an online marketplace that provides different services to buyers and sellers. Both parties pay a fee for these services. By using our marketplace, you agree to us providing services to both buyers and sellers.
Experts virtually review and select objects
We employ in-house experts who have many years of experience in their field. They virtually review and select objects to be sold on Catawiki. Experts consult our submission guidelines when deciding what objects to select. It’s up to us and our experts to decide which objects fit in one of our auctions. You can find out more about the role of our experts here.
Platform services
We provide a number of other services to our users, so buyers can find the special objects they’re looking for and sellers can offer their objects to an international audience of bidders who share their passion. Our services also help ensure a seamless sale and after-sale process.
Third-party service providers
To enhance your experience and offer you a safe and reliable online marketplace, we may use or recommend third-party service providers, such as payment or shipping providers. Your use of their products, services, applications, or websites may be subject to their terms and conditions and other policies. This means that separate fees can sometimes apply. If that’s the case, we’ll let you know.
Ancillary services
We may offer additional services also known as ancillary services. This can include shipping, insurance, photography, and third-party appraisal services. We may charge you an additional fee if you use these services. We’ll inform you before charging you.
Buyers pay a Buyer Protection fee
For every sale, buyers pay the Buyer Protection fee. The fee for buyers is usually 9% of the purchase price and an additional fixed amount. This includes VAT (if applicable). We add this fee to the total costs buyers pay at checkout. Discounts or promotions may apply. We will always inform you about what fee is applicable, before charging you.
Sellers pay a seller success fee
The fee for sellers is usually 12.5% of the purchase price and an additional fixed amount. This excludes VAT (if applicable). We deduct this fee from the payment sellers receive after the sale. We’ll let you know if a different fee applies to you.
You and your account
Article 6: Your Catawiki account
Before you can bid, buy, or submit an object to sell, you need to create a Catawiki account. Anyone of legal age may create an account.
Supported countries
To create an account, you need to live in one of our supported countries. You can only bid from supported bidder countries and sell from supported seller countries.
If for some reason a previously supported country is added to our register of unsupported countries and you live in that country, we’ll let you know. In this case, we may have to restrict our services or suspend or terminate your account.
Supported bidder and buyer countries
Supported seller countries
If for some reason a previously supported country is added to our register of unsupported countries and you live in that country, we’ll let you know. In this case, we may have to restrict our services or suspend or terminate your account.
Supported bidder and buyer countries
Supported seller countries
Provide complete info
Provide complete and truthful info about yourself and/or your company. You may not provide false info or impersonate another person and/or company.
Keep your info up to date
You’re responsible for keeping your account info up to date to make sure the sale and shipping of objects runs smoothly. Also keep in mind, we or our payment providers may ask for additional info after you create your account.
Data for reporting obligations
Subject to laws and regulations that apply to us, we may need to collect certain data from you, for example to provide to tax authorities. You confirm that if we request such data from you, you will provide it in a correct and timely manner. Failure to share required data may mean that we can (temporarily) suspend your account or take any of the other measures mentioned in Article 13.
Info verification
We, and some of our service providers, are under a legal obligation to verify certain data you share with us. This means that we may ask you to complete or correct certain data you have shared with us in case of inconsistency or incorrectness.
Identification
We, our payment providers or any other third party we use in providing our services, may ask you to identify yourself as part of your account registration or to complete a sale. Failure to successfully verify your identity might mean that you cannot register an account,complete a sale or receive your payment.All data provided for reporting and/or identification purposes will be processed in accordance with our Data Protection and Privacy Notice.
Minors
If you're using our online marketplace as a minor, meaning that you haven’t reached the legal age in your country of residence, we may assume (and rely upon) you having created an account with permission from your parent or legal guardian.
Pick an appropriate username
Your username must be appropriate and not offensive, vulgar, or misleading. It may not infringe on the intellectual property rights or other rights of third parties. We may not accept a particular user name or ask sellers to amend their user name, if it is the same or very similar to that of an existing seller.
Keep your account safe
Keep your username and password secret. You’re responsible for any activity related to your account, including any payment or delivery obligations. We assume that only you can sign in using your username and password. To keep your account secure, we advise you to regularly update your password.
Your account is your responsibility
Your account is your responsibility and you use our online marketplace at your own risk. The same applies to your use of technical means, such as a computer, phone, or internet connection.
Terminating your account
You may terminate your account at any time. However, we have the right to refuse deletion of your account, for example, if you still need to perform certain obligations (such as payment or delivery obligations) towards us or a user.
If you terminate your account, it doesn’t automatically mean all your personal data will be deleted. Our Data Protection & Privacy Notice contains more detail on the data that will and can’t be deleted.
If you terminate your account, it doesn’t automatically mean all your personal data will be deleted. Our Data Protection & Privacy Notice contains more detail on the data that will and can’t be deleted.
Reject account registration
It is at our absolute discretion to reject any account registration to bid or sell on our online marketplace.
Article 7: Your personal data
We’re dedicated to treating your personal data with care and respect, and processing it responsibly. For more details, you can read our Data Protection & Privacy Notice. In general, we rely on three principles when processing your data:
Be transparent
We want to make sure you understand what happens with your personal data and how we process it. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Be careful
You trust us to protect your personal data properly. Therefore, we are careful how we use it and with whom we share it. We constantly monitor any risk that may impact the security or integrity of our online marketplace and our internal databases and also other risks, like fraud.
Be relevant
In the course of our operations, we collect your personal data to help us understand how you use our online marketplace, and where we can make improvements and be more relevant to you. Still, we try not to collect any more data than we need, and to delete data when it is no longer relevant to us.
Buying and selling
Article 8: How auctions work
On Catawiki, we run online auctions of special objects. Bidders can bid on these objects and the highest bidder at the end of the auction buys the object. Here’s a little more detail on how it works:
The ranking of objects in an auction or feed is based on the expertise of the expert and certain other criteria including algorithms and, if available, paid advertisement.
The way objects are shown to you or how they appear in search is sorted on relevance by default (for example artist, year, colour, or material) and, where available, paid advertisement. You can filter your search with different criteria (for example category, brand, or if the object has a reserve price). Additionally We use personalisation to help you find the special object you love.
The way objects are shown to you or how they appear in search is sorted on relevance by default (for example artist, year, colour, or material) and, where available, paid advertisement. You can filter your search with different criteria (for example category, brand, or if the object has a reserve price). Additionally We use personalisation to help you find the special object you love.
Every bid or successful use of buy now is binding
Every bid or successful use of buy now on our online marketplace is binding. This means you can’t retract your bid or use of buy now and if you’re the highest bidder or successfully used buy now, you agree to pay for the object (and any other costs like the Buyer Protection fee and shipping). Find out more about bidding in our help centre.
We’ll assume you’re the only one using your account. Which means we’ll assume you place every bid placed through your account. That’s why it’s important to keep your account secure (see Article 6).
We’ll assume you’re the only one using your account. Which means we’ll assume you place every bid placed through your account. That’s why it’s important to keep your account secure (see Article 6).
Auctions end when the time runs out or buy now is used
Auctions run for a set amount of time and end when the time runs out. You can see how much bidding time is left on the object page. If you use buy now, the auction will end as soon as you’ve paid for the object.
Auctions can be extended
If you place a bid in the last minute of an auction, the bidding time increases by 90 seconds. This gives other interested bidders a fair chance to place a counter bid. The timer will increase by 90 seconds with every additional bid placed in this extra time.
How reserve prices work
A seller can set a reserve price for their object. The reserve price is the minimum bid amount the seller will accept for the sale of their object. If at the end of an auction the reserve price isn’t met, the object won’t be sold and no contract of sale is concluded.
We may facilitate after-auction sales
If a seller’s reserve price isn’t met or a sale is cancelled, we may offer a range of options to the seller. These include facilitating after-auction sales by giving the seller a chance to offer the object to the highest or next highest bidders. Or letting the seller offer the object in another Catawiki auction. We may contact users to explore and facilitate these options.
Auctions are supervised by an independent notary
Our auctions are supervised by an independent civil notary, who makes sure that our Terms are followed. You can find out more about the role of the civil notary here.
Article 9: Rules of online auctions
It’s important that our auctions are fair to all and run smoothly. To maintain the integrity of our online marketplace and our auctions and to ensure these are free from interference, fraud, and unlawful behaviour, the following rules apply:
Upload appropriate content
You may not post, list, or upload inappropriate content or objects anywhere on Catawiki. This includes but is not limited to material promoting you or your business.
Make sure you can legally use our services
You can only use our services if you’re allowed to form legally binding contracts (for example, if you’re of legal age). You may not use Catawiki if you are temporarily or permanently suspended from using our services. Also, be aware that some objects offered for sale are only available for buying or viewing upon a certain age (e.g. alcohol).
Respect feedback and ratings
You may not take any action that may undermine our feedback or rating systems. Find out more in our Review Policy.
Don’t transfer your account
You may not transfer your account (including feedback) or user ID to another party without our consent.
Keep user info private
You may not harvest or otherwise collect info about other users, such as email addresses, without their consent.
Use contact info mindfully
You can only use the contact info of other users in relation to a specific transaction on our online marketplace (see Article 16).
Shill bidding is not allowed
Shill bidding is when someone bids on an object to artificially increase its price, desirability, or search ranking. This behaviour is strictly forbidden. You are prohibited from bidding on your own objects or objects offered by relatives or friends.
Side deals between users are not allowed
Buyers and sellers registered on our platform are prohibited from making a sales agreement which avoids our Buyer Protection and seller success fees or that negatively impacts other users. We can take certain measures if this happens (see Article 13). If another user asks you to complete a transaction outside of Catawiki, please let us know.
Payments need to be legal
You may not participate in our online auctions if you’re directly or indirectly involved in money laundering or terrorist financing, or are subject to any economic sanction laws. To check this, our payment providers may ask you to provide additional info.
Respect intellectual property
It’s important for you to respect the intellectual property rights (including copyright, trademark, patent, moral, database, and others) that belong to or are licensed to Catawiki. You must also respect the intellectual property rights of other users and third parties affected by your use of our services.
Report unlawful material
If you think that certain user material is unlawful, we kindly ask you to report this to us. We are only obliged to remove unmistakably unlawful user material after being notified. We may refuse a request to block, remove user material, or discontinue an activity if we have concerns about the validity of the notice or the legitimacy of the evidence submitted.
Harming our infrastructure is not allowed
You may not perform any actions or use any software such as viruses, Trojan horses, worms, bots, or other software or technical tools that can harm the operation and infrastructure of our online marketplace. This includes reverse engineering, trying to obtain the source code, making our marketplace inaccessible, or circumventing technical protective measures.
Article 10: Contract of sale
In most cases, the highest bidder at the end of an auction or the person who successfully used buy now automatically enters into a contract of sale with the seller. This contract applies to all purchases on our online marketplace, including any after-auction sales. You can find the template for this contract here. Make sure to read this contract carefully.
Rights and obligations
The contract of sale determines the rights and obligations of both buyer and seller. For the buyer, the most important obligation is to pay the purchase price and all related costs such as shipping. For the seller, the most important obligation is to carefully ship or transport the object to the buyer.
Amending the contract of sale
If both buyer and seller agree, you can amend the contract of sale, as long as the changes follow the law and are in line with our Terms and policies. Our Terms always prevail in case of conflicts.
We aren’t a party to the contract of sale
We aren’t directly involved in the contract of sale but if there’s a conflict, we’ll use reasonable efforts to provide a solution and in exceptional cases we can also cancel the contract of sale (see Article 11).
Failure to fulfil obligations
If the buyer or seller doesn’t fulfil their obligations under the contract of sale, the other party - or we on its behalf - can send a notice of default including a reasonable deadline to fulfil the obligations. If, after this deadline, obligations still aren’t fulfilled and/or can no longer be fulfilled by the defaulting party, the other party - or we on its behalf- can cancel the sale.
Cancellation
If a sale is cancelled, then the contract of sale is cancelled. If a user or us cancels a sale, in most cases the buyer must ship the object back to the seller to receive a refund of the purchase price.
The party that is at fault is, in most cases, also responsible for any costs and damages caused by not fulfilling their obligations under the contract of sale. This includes any costs for measures we or the party that is not at fault take to try to continue with or cancel the sale. In these cases, we can also claim the Buyer Protection or seller success fee from the party at fault.
We may, but are never obliged to, send a notice of default and/or a notice of cancellation on behalf of a user.
The party that is at fault is, in most cases, also responsible for any costs and damages caused by not fulfilling their obligations under the contract of sale. This includes any costs for measures we or the party that is not at fault take to try to continue with or cancel the sale. In these cases, we can also claim the Buyer Protection or seller success fee from the party at fault.
We may, but are never obliged to, send a notice of default and/or a notice of cancellation on behalf of a user.
Right of withdrawal
The contract of sale is also cancelled if a buyer makes use of the right of withdrawal (see our EU & UK Consumer Rights Policy).
Avoiding and resolving problems
Article 11: Claims with other users
We work hard to make sure sales run smoothly, with both buyers and sellers satisfied. However, in exceptional cases, a buyer or seller might ask us to open a claim, for example if the object a buyer bought isn’t as the seller described.
Finding a solution with the other user
We provide tools, like our internal messaging system (see Article 16) to help you and the other user reach a resolution. For example, you might jointly agree to a partial refund.
We may provide a solution for claims
If we’ve opened a claim and you and the other user can’t agree on a solution, we’ll use reasonable efforts to help resolve the claim. This means we can decide on a fair solution, including fully or partially refunding the buyer or paying the seller.
If you use our online marketplace, you agree that we can come up with solutions for claims. You also agree to follow our instructions during a claim, for example if we ask you to send photos or contact the shipping company.
If you disagree with our solution, you can try to find a different solution with the other user involved. If that happens, we won’t help with the solutions you discuss together. Also, we may still decide to continue with the solution we initially proposed. For example, we can decide to refund the buyer or pay the seller.
We’ll always keep you informed about the solution and what’s expected of you.
If you use our online marketplace, you agree that we can come up with solutions for claims. You also agree to follow our instructions during a claim, for example if we ask you to send photos or contact the shipping company.
If you disagree with our solution, you can try to find a different solution with the other user involved. If that happens, we won’t help with the solutions you discuss together. Also, we may still decide to continue with the solution we initially proposed. For example, we can decide to refund the buyer or pay the seller.
We’ll always keep you informed about the solution and what’s expected of you.
Contact us within 3 days after receipt
If you’re a buyer and you have concerns about an object you’ve bought, let us know within 3 days of receiving the object. We’ll then pause payment to the seller while a solution is discussed.
Our payment processes are automated, so if you don’t contact us within 3 days, the seller will be paid. This payment doesn’t affect the rights of a buyer under the contract of sale. This means that if, for example, your object is not as described but the seller has already been paid, the seller should still provide a solution or refund.
Our payment processes are automated, so if you don’t contact us within 3 days, the seller will be paid. This payment doesn’t affect the rights of a buyer under the contract of sale. This means that if, for example, your object is not as described but the seller has already been paid, the seller should still provide a solution or refund.
Contacting us after 3 days after receipt
If you don’t contact us in time, we might still be able to resolve the claim, but in most cases it will be more difficult to find a solution because the seller will have already been paid. If you contact us 1 month or more after receiving the object, we usually can’t open a claim and you will have to turn directly to the seller
Limitations to our reasonable efforts to resolve a claim
Because we can only virtually assess objects, in finding a solution some aspects are outside of our control. For example, we can’t verify with complete certainty whether an object is as the seller described. But we collect evidence, like detailed photos and info, to keep the process as fair as possible.
We may pay the seller or refund the buyer
During or after a claim, we can decide to pay the seller or refund the buyer. We’ll let you know if this happens.
Refunding the buyer after the seller is paid
If the seller has been paid, but we determine the buyer is entitled to a refund, we may cancel the sale and refund the buyer and seek reimbursement (including the Buyer Protection fee, any penalties, and costs) from the seller.
We could, for example, cancel a sale and refund the buyer if:
- We confirm that the buyer never received the object.
- We receive proof that the object is not authentic, not as described or damaged in a way that wasn’t made clear in the object description and photos.
- The seller won’t or shows that they can’t supply the object to the buyer.
- The buyer uses the right of withdrawal.
- Both buyer and seller mutually agree to cancel the sale.
Refunding the buyer after the seller is paid
If the seller has been paid, but we determine the buyer is entitled to a refund, we may cancel the sale and refund the buyer and seek reimbursement (including the Buyer Protection fee, any penalties, and costs) from the seller.
We could, for example, cancel a sale and refund the buyer if:
- We confirm that the buyer never received the object.
- We receive proof that the object is not authentic, not as described or damaged in a way that wasn’t made clear in the object description and photos.
- The seller won’t or shows that they can’t supply the object to the buyer.
- The buyer uses the right of withdrawal.
- Both buyer and seller mutually agree to cancel the sale.
We may ask you to reimburse us
If we decide to refund or pay another user on your behalf, you’ll need to reimburse us for the refunded or paid amount.
We may take protective measures
You agree that during the claim process, we may take protective measures to keep Catawiki safe and fair. These measures include:
- Suspending, withholding, or reversing payments or refunds to you.
- Temporarily or permanently suspending your account or blocking you from bidding, buying, or selling.
We’ll usually let you know when we take these protective measures.
- Suspending, withholding, or reversing payments or refunds to you.
- Temporarily or permanently suspending your account or blocking you from bidding, buying, or selling.
We’ll usually let you know when we take these protective measures.
Article 12: Disputes between you and us
If you’re unhappy with our services or if you’re in violation of our Terms, we’ll try to find a solution. If we can’t find a solution, you or we may seek resolution in or out of court.
For users and third parties
If you feel like we have not been able to reach a good outcome after you used our internal complaint resolution system, you can engage with a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body. Should we be required to participate, we will. For consumers, you can also find more info on the ODR Platform.
For professional sellers
If you’re a professional seller, you and we can engage either the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) or e-POM for any disputes that we’re not able to resolve together.
Report complaints about us within 6 months
If you have any complaints about us, especially if you feel we aren’t fulfilling our obligations, let us know in writing within 6 months of the issue occurring. If you report beyond this time, we’ll qualify your complaint as lapsed and it can no longer be invoked against us.
We may offset claims
We may direct debit or offset any financial claim we have towards you with a financial claim you have towards us.
We may seek refund reimbursement from a buyer
If a buyer receives an incorrect refund, the buyer will need to reimburse us for the full refund amount (including any penalties and costs). We’ll always let the buyer know if they need to reimburse us.
An incorrect refund includes:
- Receiving a refund and a chargeback on their credit card.
- Receiving a refund but refusing to ship the object back to the seller.
- Receiving a refund, despite having received their object as described by the seller.
An incorrect refund includes:
- Receiving a refund and a chargeback on their credit card.
- Receiving a refund but refusing to ship the object back to the seller.
- Receiving a refund, despite having received their object as described by the seller.
Limitation period
Any dispute against us, including but not limited to disputes for damages or relating to undue payment or the fulfilment of obligations, will lapse after a 12-month period after being reported.
This 12-month period also applies if you’ve reported a dispute and we (or a third-party service provider) have asked you for more info or details, like bank account details to send you a payment. If you don’t respond within 12 months, we’ll qualify the dispute as lapsed. We’ll send you reminders to respond before the 12 months are up.
This 12-month period also applies if you’ve reported a dispute and we (or a third-party service provider) have asked you for more info or details, like bank account details to send you a payment. If you don’t respond within 12 months, we’ll qualify the dispute as lapsed. We’ll send you reminders to respond before the 12 months are up.
Applicable law and jurisdiction
The Terms, your use of our online marketplace, and any disputes that arise from this are exclusively governed by Dutch law.
Any disputes between you and us following from your use of our online marketplace or these Terms will be submitted to the competent court in Amsterdam. If you’re a consumer and consumer law allows, you can submit to another court. You’ll need to choose an alternative court within 1 month of notifying us about the dispute. If you don’t do this within 1 month, the competent court in Amsterdam will have exclusive jurisdiction.
Any disputes between you and us following from your use of our online marketplace or these Terms will be submitted to the competent court in Amsterdam. If you’re a consumer and consumer law allows, you can submit to another court. You’ll need to choose an alternative court within 1 month of notifying us about the dispute. If you don’t do this within 1 month, the competent court in Amsterdam will have exclusive jurisdiction.
We may take protective measures
During the dispute process, we may take the protective measures explained in Article 13.
Article 13: Keeping our marketplace safe
If we notice irregular or suspicious situations that put the reliability or integrity of our platform or online auctions at risk, if we reasonably consider that there is abuse of the system, fraudulent activity or another reasonable reason or where a manifest error becomes apparent in case of a user dispute and/or if we’re trying to resolve a claim, or if a user violates our Terms, we may take certain measures. If this happens, you’ll need to comply with any and all reasonable instructions and solutions we provide.
We may limit your participation
We may temporarily or permanently suspend your bidding or selling capacity. Where possible, we’ll let you know why. We may also remove any special status associated with your account or terminate any agreement between you and us.
We may limit access to your account
We may disable or deactivate your account at any time during the sale orlimit your ability to access or update your account settings.
We may revoke or not accept a bid or use of the buy now option
We may reject any bid or use of the buy now option. We may also revoke previously accepted bids or uses of the buy now option. For example, if a user makes a mistake entering their bid or if there’s a technical issue.
We may remove a bid or object or cancel an auction or sale
We may remove a bid, use of the buy now option, or an object from an active online auction. We may also cancel an auction or sale.
For example, if a bidder makes a mistake typing their bid, if a bid or use of the buy now option violates our Terms, such as with shill bidding, or if there are technical issues.
For example, if a bidder makes a mistake typing their bid, if a bid or use of the buy now option violates our Terms, such as with shill bidding, or if there are technical issues.
We may restart, pause or extend online auctions
We may restart an auction, pause the end time, or extend an auction beyond its original end time, either for the entire auction or an object in the auction. For example, if we experience an outage or a technical problem.
We decide the outcome of an auction or sale
We use our bidding log to determine the successful bidder or buyer. If there’s a discrepancy between the bidding log and any online records or messages, the bidding log will prevail.
We may also cancel a sale or re-list an object, for example if we experience an outage or a technical problem. If this happens after an error or dispute related to bidding, we’ll let the highest bidder know as soon as is reasonably possible.
We may also cancel a sale or re-list an object, for example if we experience an outage or a technical problem. If this happens after an error or dispute related to bidding, we’ll let the highest bidder know as soon as is reasonably possible.
We may cancel a sale
If necessary, we may cancel a sale. This can happen if, for example:
- We believe the object is counterfeit or stolen.
- The wrong bidder or buyer gets the object because of a technical issue, outage or irregularity. We decide this at our sole discretion based on if we feel the result was unfair or if we can’t identify the rightful buyer.
- An unforeseeable situation means the contract of sale can’t be fulfilled (called force majeure).
You irrevocably agree that we have this (third party) right under the contract of sale and that this right can be invoked against you. You also grant us an irrevocable power of attorney to invoke this right.
If a user is at fault, we still have the right to collect the Buyer Protection fee from the buyer and the seller success fee from the seller and any penalty invoked against the user in default.
We’ll always let you know that we’re cancelling the sale and what’s needed from you.
- We believe the object is counterfeit or stolen.
- The wrong bidder or buyer gets the object because of a technical issue, outage or irregularity. We decide this at our sole discretion based on if we feel the result was unfair or if we can’t identify the rightful buyer.
- An unforeseeable situation means the contract of sale can’t be fulfilled (called force majeure).
You irrevocably agree that we have this (third party) right under the contract of sale and that this right can be invoked against you. You also grant us an irrevocable power of attorney to invoke this right.
If a user is at fault, we still have the right to collect the Buyer Protection fee from the buyer and the seller success fee from the seller and any penalty invoked against the user in default.
We’ll always let you know that we’re cancelling the sale and what’s needed from you.
We guide the seller on what to do with an unsold object
If an object doesn’t sell, we may re-list it for auction, offer it to the highest or second highest bidder, or sell it through buy now. We make this decision in consultation with the seller.
We may take protective measures
If you’ve violated our Terms, particularly if you haven’t fulfilled your obligations under a contract of sale, we may suspend, withhold, or reverse payments or refunds to you.
We may use these and other protective measures to keep Catawiki safe and fair from infringing, fraudulent, or otherwise inappropriate behaviour or to comply with any applicable laws. Examples of behaviours we may take protective measures against include repeatedly making false and unjust claims or refusing to ship objects you’ve sold on our online marketplace.
We may use these and other protective measures to keep Catawiki safe and fair from infringing, fraudulent, or otherwise inappropriate behaviour or to comply with any applicable laws. Examples of behaviours we may take protective measures against include repeatedly making false and unjust claims or refusing to ship objects you’ve sold on our online marketplace.
Our decision is final
If any error relating to bidding or selling arises before, during or after the auction, our decision in exercising any of the rights at our disposal is final.
Penalty for violating our Terms
We can impose an immediate payable penalty of 15% of the purchase price of an object or €1,000, whichever is higher, for every individual violation of our Terms. For any violation of our Terms that is unrelated to a specific sale, this penalty will be €1,000.
The penalty amount will increase by 10% for each payment deadline missed and for each subsequent violation.
The penalty amount will increase by 10% for each payment deadline missed and for each subsequent violation.
Practicalities
Article 14: The nature of an online marketplace
Running an online marketplace means availability, security, and functionality are different from an offline marketplace. Because of this, there are some situations we can’t control or actions we need to take to keep Catawiki safe and fair.
Availability
We may make changes to our online marketplace at any time. For example, to:
- Correct any errors or omissions in any portion of our online marketplace.
- Test new features or make changes to existing features.
- Make any changes to the functionality or content of our online marketplace.
We may also pause or stop the operation of parts or all of our online marketplace. For example, if we need to do maintenance. We can’t guarantee that our online marketplace or any of its features will be available at any particular time or in any particular location or for a particular user.
- Correct any errors or omissions in any portion of our online marketplace.
- Test new features or make changes to existing features.
- Make any changes to the functionality or content of our online marketplace.
We may also pause or stop the operation of parts or all of our online marketplace. For example, if we need to do maintenance. We can’t guarantee that our online marketplace or any of its features will be available at any particular time or in any particular location or for a particular user.
Security
We have a dedicated security team who monitor our marketplace for threats and proactively work to keep it safe. However, we can’t guarantee we won’t experience a security breach, for example hacking attempts or viruses.
Functionality
We do our best to listen to your feedback and consistently improve. But we can't guarantee our online marketplace will be free from errors or that it will meet your expectations.
Virtual review
Our experts virtually review and select objects to be sold on Catawiki. However, because the review process is virtual, we can’t guarantee the existence, quality, safety, or legality of objects sold on our online marketplace, or that objects are as the seller has described them. This is the sole responsibility of our sellers.
Independent users
Our users are independent. This means we can’t guarantee the truth or accuracy of seller’s user material, listings, or feedback, the ability of sellers to sell objects, the ability of buyers to pay for objects, or that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction or return an object.
Your expectations
We can’t guarantee that the results of using our online marketplace will meet your expectations. For example, we can’t guarantee that your object will sell or will sell for a price that meets your expectations.
No liability
We can't be held liable for issues that are outside of our control or for actions we take to keep our marketplace safe and reliable. This includes, but is not limited to, any damages caused by:
- Actions that go against our Terms and unlawful use of our marketplace.
- The provision of our services and our online marketplace, including but not limited to your use of our services.
- False or inaccurate account info, not sharing any info or data we ask for.
- Your bidding, buying, or selling of objects on our online marketplace.
- Your sending or returning of objects.
- The accuracy of our estimates, the event that objects are valued at or sold for more or less than the estimated amount.
- Errors in object descriptions caused by (machine) translation.
- Any user material we might remove or change.
- The performance, conclusion, cancellation, or termination of the contract of sale, including the enforcement of our rights under the contract of sale.
- The condition or functioning of objects bought on Catawiki.
- Any reasonable measures we take to resolve claims or keep our marketplace safe and fair, including any solution provided to resolve a claim (see Article 11 and Article 13).
- Errors in any of our published text. For example in our help centre or our Terms and policies.
- User material or communications that are incorrect, unlawful or infringe on the rights of third parties.
- Your use of the services of third-party service providers.
- Unavailability, technical problems, or other issues that limit your access to our marketplace.
- Actions that go against our Terms and unlawful use of our marketplace.
- The provision of our services and our online marketplace, including but not limited to your use of our services.
- False or inaccurate account info, not sharing any info or data we ask for.
- Your bidding, buying, or selling of objects on our online marketplace.
- Your sending or returning of objects.
- The accuracy of our estimates, the event that objects are valued at or sold for more or less than the estimated amount.
- Errors in object descriptions caused by (machine) translation.
- Any user material we might remove or change.
- The performance, conclusion, cancellation, or termination of the contract of sale, including the enforcement of our rights under the contract of sale.
- The condition or functioning of objects bought on Catawiki.
- Any reasonable measures we take to resolve claims or keep our marketplace safe and fair, including any solution provided to resolve a claim (see Article 11 and Article 13).
- Errors in any of our published text. For example in our help centre or our Terms and policies.
- User material or communications that are incorrect, unlawful or infringe on the rights of third parties.
- Your use of the services of third-party service providers.
- Unavailability, technical problems, or other issues that limit your access to our marketplace.
Limitation of liability
If despite the above we are held liable for any (wrongful) act or omission, we can only be liable for direct damages.
Direct damages only includes actual (financial) loss, and reasonable costs incurred to prevent or limit damage or investigate the cause of damage. We can’t be held liable for indirect damages, for example through lost income, lost profits, reduced revenues, or standstill loss.
In cases where we are liable, our liability is capped at the fees we charged you in the preceding 3 months of the event leading to the liability or €500, whichever is lower.
This limitation of liability also applies to our management, directors, experts, and other employees, representatives, and legal successors.
This does not exclude our liability for gross negligence or wilful misconduct committed by us or for damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health.
Direct damages only includes actual (financial) loss, and reasonable costs incurred to prevent or limit damage or investigate the cause of damage. We can’t be held liable for indirect damages, for example through lost income, lost profits, reduced revenues, or standstill loss.
In cases where we are liable, our liability is capped at the fees we charged you in the preceding 3 months of the event leading to the liability or €500, whichever is lower.
This limitation of liability also applies to our management, directors, experts, and other employees, representatives, and legal successors.
This does not exclude our liability for gross negligence or wilful misconduct committed by us or for damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health.
Indemnification
If you violate these Terms, breach a contract of sale, take any improper actions during your use of our services or online marketplace, breach any laws, regulations or third-party rights, or commit a wrongful or fraudulent act, you agree, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable laws, to fully indemnify us, our management, directors, experts, other employees, representatives, legal successors, and any companies affiliated with us against claims from other users and third parties and all damages and costs we suffer or incur as a result of such act or omission from you.
Non-enforcement
If we for any reason choose not to enforce any part of our agreements with you, it does not mean we waive those or other rights we have under our agreements.
Article 15: Amending our Terms
We may amend parts or all of our Terms, policies, guidelines, and help centre at any time by publishing the amended info on our online marketplace. If an amendment of the Terms significantly affects your rights or obligations, we’ll email you or bring the changes to your attention when you use our online marketplace or impacted services.
Accepting the amended Terms
If you continue to use our online marketplace after the Terms have been amended or supplemented, you irrevocably accept the amended or supplemented Terms.
Rejecting the amended Terms
If you do not wish to accept the amended or supplemented Terms, you cannot continue using the online marketplace and we will have to delete your account.
Severability
If any parts of our Terms are void for any reason, you’re still bound by the rest of the Terms. We'll aim to replace void parts of the Terms with the correct info as soon as possible. The updated parts of the Terms will have the same legal consequences as the void parts they’re replacing.
Transferring rights to a third party
We may transfer rights and obligations that follow from these Terms to third parties. By accepting these Terms, you accept such transfer of rights.
Article 16: Reviews and contact
Contacting other users
Contacting other usersAfter you’ve bought or sold an object, you can use our internal messaging system to communicate directly with the other user. This system is a great way to arrange the delivery or pickup of an object, or for buyers to ask questions about the object. You may not use the internal messaging system to:
- Send unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations, or spam.
- Insult, harass, or discriminate against other users or our employees.
- Enter into an agreement with a user outside of our online marketplace, with the aim of avoiding Buyer Protection and seller fees.
We expect you to always follow our User Communication & anti-Harassment Policy when communicating with other users.
- Send unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations, or spam.
- Insult, harass, or discriminate against other users or our employees.
- Enter into an agreement with a user outside of our online marketplace, with the aim of avoiding Buyer Protection and seller fees.
We expect you to always follow our User Communication & anti-Harassment Policy when communicating with other users.
You can leave reviews and respond to them
Feedback is very important. It helps buyers feel the same confidence as you when placing their bids or buying, and it helps sellers by showing them what they are doing well and what they can improve.
After an object is bought and the seller has shipped it, the buyer can leave a review of their experience. The seller can then respond to this review.
In some cases we will amend reviews if claims have since been resolved or there is an apparent mistake.
Read more in our Review Policy.
After an object is bought and the seller has shipped it, the buyer can leave a review of their experience. The seller can then respond to this review.
In some cases we will amend reviews if claims have since been resolved or there is an apparent mistake.
Read more in our Review Policy.
Be respectful and follow the rules
You may not use the internal messaging system, the review system, or any other form of communication to:
- Send unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations, or spam.
- Insult, harass, or discriminate against other users or our employees.
- Enter into an agreement with a user outside of our online marketplace, with the aim of avoiding Buyer Protection and seller success fees.
We expect you to always follow our User Communication & anti-Harassment Policy when communicating with other users.
- Send unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations, or spam.
- Insult, harass, or discriminate against other users or our employees.
- Enter into an agreement with a user outside of our online marketplace, with the aim of avoiding Buyer Protection and seller success fees.
We expect you to always follow our User Communication & anti-Harassment Policy when communicating with other users.
Contacting us
If you have questions about our online marketplace, our services, or our Terms, or if you’re experiencing technical issues, our experienced in-house support team is on hand to assist you. We try to get back to you in a timely manner and, where possible, provide you with an answer or solution.
