How To Use Asian Collection Japanese Print Auction

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Introduction
Auction Rules
Become a registered user
How to find an item you like
Place your bid
Consigning prints to the auction

Introduction


• Staff: The Asian Collection is owned, staffed, and operated by Paul and Janiece Knutson. The Knutsons have been collectors of Japanese prints for over 30 years and have been print dealers since 1988. Janiece is a retired (1999) flight coordinator for Delta airlines. Paul spent 20 years as a Wetland Scientist with the Coastal Engineering Research Center, is a past-editor of the scientific journal "Wetlands" and is past-president of the international Society of Wetland Scientists. The Knutsons describe the Japanese print business as a hobby that just got out of hand.
  
  
• Auction: The Asian Collection Internet Auction has been on the Internet since 1997. During its first ten years of operation more than 50,000 Asian prints and paintings were posted. A new auction catalogue is published twice per month and contains 100-200 prints. Auction closings are approximately 10 days after the catalogue is posted (exact times for "Bid Opening" and "Auction Closing" are posted on the Home Page). Clients that have registered their e-mail address are notified when the new catalogue is posted.

  At the conclusion of the 10 day "Competetive Auction" most unsold lots will change to a "Buy Now" or "Claim at Reserve" status. At this point any bidder can claim any lot at its minimum bid. Occasionally, consignors request that their unsold lots not be available for claiming. Such lots are pulled at the conclusion of the competitive bidding. Unsold lots remain in the "Claim at Reserve" status until the conclusion of the subsequent auction. Unsold lots are returned to the consignor after the claiming period.

  A new feature in the auction is the addition of "Specialty Galleries". These galleries are like on-line stores. Items in these galleries are always in a Buy Now/Claim at Reserve status. They are established in cooperation with cooperating dealers, publishers, and artists to promote their individual specialties. These items are discounted to encourge shoppers and are linked to the cooperating person's web site. Our first two specialty galleries were the publishers Uchida Arts in Kyoto, Japan and Hoke Arts in Taiwan.

• Auction Rules
  
  
  1. Bids are automatically processed in order received.
  2. Tie bids are awarded to the first submission based on the server clock.
  3. All prints have a minimum bid or reserve which has been established by the consignor.
  4. The starting bid must be equal to or greater than the stated minimum bid. Starting bids equal to the minimum, will be posted at the minimum. Starting bids greater than the minimum, will be posted as the amount bid unless the "AutoBid" feature is used. The AutoBid feature is an optional feature which allows you to place an upper limit bid on an item. This way you do not have to be present to raise your bid to the next acceptable bid level should someone else outbid you. If someone outbids you, the AutoBid acts as your agent and raises your bid to the next bid increment above the new bidder. This will continue until your AutoBid limit is reached. Your AutoBid always wins in the event that someone ties your upper limit bid. Caution: Using the AutoBid feature will always increase the Current Bid one increment (amount posted in the Next Bid box). This will occur even if you are currently the high bidder. Therefore, by repeatedly changing your AutoBid it is possible to bid against yourself.
  5. The minimum raise is $10 above the current posted bid or reserve.
  6. You may increase your bid at any time before auction closing. You can increase or decrease your AutoBid at any time before auction closing as long as your new AutoBid is greater that the Current High Bid. However, the auction will only recognize one of yours bids at a time for each item in the auction. For example, the submission of a standard bid will cancel any previous AutoBid.
  7. The winning bidder will be the highest bid received prior to 12:00 (noon) EST on "bid closing."
  8. The Server clock is the final arbiter of the "bid closing."
  9. The hammered price will be equal to the high bid. The lot will be awarded to the winning bidder at the hammered price.
  10. The final results of the auction will be published on the site shortly after auction closing.
  11. Winning bidders will have two weeks to provide payment (personal checks, money orders, VISA, MC and Discover accepted.) There are no extra charges for the use of credit cards.
  12. In addition to the posted bid, the winning bidder will be assessed a 15% buyers premium.
  13. All prints will be shipped within one week of receipt of payment. The base shipping fee is $10. An additional $15 shipping charge will be added orders shipped to Canada and an additional $25 on orders shipped outside the US and Canada. There is no handling fee.
  14. Prints will be shipped "US Mail Priority" to any address in the US and "US Priority International" to all shipments outside the US.
  15. All prints are shipped on approval and may be returned for any reason within a two weeks.
  16. The auctioneer has the absolute discretion to determine the winning bidder; to cancel the sale or reoffer and resell any disputed lot.
  
  
  
• Become a registered user of the site by accepting our user agreement and completing our easy-to-follow registration page. Once you have completed the registration and clicked the "Submit" button you will be emailed a six-digit id# which you will use when placing your bids/orders. Hang on to this number. You can use it every time you visit the site. There is no charge for registering. Only one registration is permitted per e-mail address.
  
  
• Find an item you like by visiting our category listings on the left side of the Home Page. From here you can select and "click" on a category of interest. This will lead you to one of our "Category" pages. The Category page will provide you with a summary of all the prints that are being offered in that category. From the category page you may select and "click" on a particular print. This will lead you to the "Item" page. The item page will provide you with a detailed description of the print and will include a full color image and close-up image. You can bid from the "Item" page.

• Place your bid! Once you have selected the item you want to bid on, enter your unique customer ID# and password. You can even place an AutoBid if you like. The AutoBid feature allows you to place an upper limit bid for this item. This way, your bids will be automatically increased to the next acceptable bid increment should someone outbid your initial bid. Also, the AutoBid always wins in the event that someone ties your maximum acceptable bid.

  If you have chosen to be notified when outbid, you will be sent an email message as soon as someone overbids you. You can also feel free to use our AuctionWatch feature to track ALL your bids, past and present. It's an easy way to see your progress without having to go to every item bid page.

  
  
  

• Consigning prints to the auction. With two sales per month of about 100 prints each, we are always accepting consignment. It seldom takes more that 30 days to have your works auctioned. Our only restrictions are (1). that they are in loose condition (no framed materials), (2). that they are in our possession to permit an estimate of value and an evaluation of authenticity, (3). that they are your property with no liens or encumbrances, and (4). that the estimated value of each print exceeds $100 US. The following is a sample consignment form

  
  
  ASIAN COLLECTION JAPANESE PRINT AUCTION
  PO BOX 404
  WHITE MARSH, VIRGINIA USA 23183
  
  E-MAIL: paul@woodblockprint.com
  PHONE: (804) 693-2154
  
  
  CONSIGNMENT FOR SALE
  
  CONSIGNOR commissions ASIAN COLLECTION to sell the items listed under the following terms and conditions:
  
  1. Consignor warrants that Consignor is owner of and has good title to the goods, free from all liens and encumbrances.
  
  2. Consignor agrees to pay commissions to Asian collection in the amount of 15 percent of the gross sales price of the goods sold.
  
  3. Final sale price for each item will be determined by market demand but will not be less than the reserve prices indicated below.
  
  4. Asian Collection will make settlement in full on the 15th of the month which immediately follows the sale of the item, and shall deduct the above commission.
  
  5. Description of goods and their reserve prices are below:
  
  Date:
  Name of Consignor:
  Address:
  
  Phone:
  
  Signature of Consignor:
  Signature of Asian Collection Representative:
  

GOOD LUCK AND THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!