Shipping Purchases from European Auctions 0

[Rick2you2]

I am thinking of bidding on a piece in Europe, but the bidding requirements do not provide for shipping. Are there services who I can contact to pick up and ship the art here if I win? Is there some other way this is handled?

[Eltanin]

Who is the auction house? Some are better than others when it comes to shipping.

I still shudder when I remember the horror story I've read here about damaged art due to awful packing by Cornette de St Cyr (on page 3): 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Eltanin

[Rick2you2]

1 hour ago, Eltanin said:

Who is the auction house? Some are better than others when it comes to shipping.

I still shudder when I remember the horror story I've read here about damaged art due to awful packing by Cornette de St Cyr (on page 3): 

 

Invaluable. Live auction in Belgium.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Rick2you2

[cstojano]

I almost think you are better off not using the house if they do offer it. The UK has plenty of courier type services like this, unsure of the continent itself (language barrier may be an issue). My biggest frustration is the customs delays. Professional shippers should know that certain forms are needed but invariably there are issues. I am waiting for a 20k package from the UK, shipped 3-4 days service last Thursday, scheduled for Tuesday delivery, except its been in "exception clearance" since Friday. DHL US and DHL UK don't speak to each other's business wings apparently. I called Friday, got a ticket to trace the issue, no call back. DHL US closed for the three day weekend, DHL UK can't access the ticket because, despite specializing in international shipping, they don't use the same system apparently. So the package likely won't leave the UK until Wednesday at the earliest, the day after its meant to be delivered to me here. Two grails sitting somewhere for some reason.... 

Thanks for reading my venting. I wish the OP luck in their shipping if they do bid and win.

 

edit: apparently on the sender's end customs called to confirm the artwork was not "culturally relevant."

Edited May 25, 2020 by cstojano

[-m]

Having purchased comic and other art from different European art auctions and houses and then shipping to the US, the "rules" vary dramatically.

Shipping is a small part of a much bigger equation that can involve exchange rates, fees, commissions,  fees on exchange rates, wire fees, credit card fees, international bidder fees and even VAT, regardless of whether you think it should (or really does) apply or not. For shippers, I recommend Fedex or DHL international - if those options are available to you through the auction house.

I highly recommend reading the fine print and even going so far as to confirm with them directly.

[Varanis]

2 hours ago, cstojano said:

edit: apparently on the sender's end customs called to confirm the artwork was not "culturally relevant."

Just curious, what does this mean and why does it matter?

[cstojano]

6 minutes ago, Varanis said:

Just curious, what does this mean and why does it matter?

Export license would be needed if the items were culturally relevant. I am more familiar with this in the realm of non-Western/primitive/tribal art where people like the Maori restrict the export of items culturally affiliated with their tribes. In this case, I suppose a portrait of the queen, Churchill's doodles, etc. could be considered culturally relevant. 

[Varanis]

1 minute ago, cstojano said:

Export license would be needed if the items were culturally relevant. I am more familiar with this in the realm of non-Western/primitive/tribal art where people like the Maori restrict the export of items culturally affiliated with their tribes. In this case, I suppose a portrait of the queen, Churchill's doodles, etc. could be considered culturally relevant. 

Interesting. I suppose it's intended to prevent dealers from taking advantage of tribal art for profit or from unique cultural icons leaving the country?

[cstojano]

3 minutes ago, Varanis said:

Interesting. I suppose it's intended to prevent dealers from taking advantage of tribal art for profit or from unique cultural icons leaving the country?

Correct, its part of the broader post-colonialism trend, you know Elgin marbles and all. But I know it mostly from indigenous, non-Western contexts. I think in my case the declared value was what raised eyebrows. I am saying this as if I am in the clear, must not jinx myself. 

[Rick2you2]

3 hours ago, -m said:

Having purchased comic and other art from different European art auctions and houses and then shipping to the US, the "rules" vary dramatically.

Shipping is a small part of a much bigger equation that can involve exchange rates, fees, commissions,  fees on exchange rates, wire fees, credit card fees, international bidder fees and even VAT, regardless of whether you think it should (or really does) apply or not. For shippers, I recommend Fedex or DHL international - if those options are available to you through the auction house.

I highly recommend reading the fine print and even going so far as to confirm with them directly.

That’s another problem. The fine print isn’t in English. I have to register and ask for it, I assume. 

[NicoV]

11 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

Invaluable. Live auction in Belgium.

Invaluable is just an online platform / third party, it is not an auction house by itself. But Belgium + right now on Invaluable, I would assume it is Septimus. It's a really small auction house created 2-3 years ago. Their t&c state:

Quote

Les lots devront être enlevés, après le paiement complet, soit pendant la vente, soit au plus *spoon* dans les 5 jours ouvrables suivant l'adjudication et sur rendez-vous. A la demande expresse et écrite de l'acheteur, les lots achetés pourront faire l'objet d'un envoi par un transporteur agréé aux frais et risques exclusifs de l'acheteur.

Which means that you're supposed to take care by yourself about shipping if you cannot come and take the art in Belgium. If I were you, my preferred option if the art is not too expensive would be to find someone in Bruxelles to get the art, check the package (and reinforce it if need be) and ship it by classic ways (up to you to decide if you want to declare the value, don't know if you have custom fees in the US). My second option would be to use FedEx or equivalent.

 

[Rick2you2]

53 minutes ago, NicoV said:

Invaluable is just an online platform / third party, it is not an auction house by itself. But Belgium + right now on Invaluable, I would assume it is Septimus. It's a really small auction house created 2-3 years ago. Their t&c state:

Which means that you're supposed to take care by yourself about shipping if you cannot come and take the art in Belgium. If I were you, my preferred option if the art is not too expensive would be to find someone in Bruxelles to get the art, check the package (and reinforce it if need be) and ship it by classic ways (up to you to decide if you want to declare the value, don't know if you have custom fees in the US). My second option would be to use FedEx or equivalent.

 

I can use all the guidance I can get on this one. Your guess was accurate. Why doesn’t Septimus have their rules in English when they have so many other languages? Particularly, where the word balloons in the piece are in English? 

I don’t know anyone in Belgium, and wouldn’t know how to find someone. Are there commercial services that do the checking? If I go with Fed Ex, what happens? Does Septimus call Fed Ex for pickup, which then does additional packaging? 

I really do not want to fly there just to pick it up. The flight will cost more than the piece.

[The Voord]

10 hours ago, cstojano said:

I almost think you are better off not using the house if they do offer it. The UK has plenty of courier type services like this, unsure of the continent itself (language barrier may be an issue). My biggest frustration is the customs delays. Professional shippers should know that certain forms are needed but invariably there are issues. I am waiting for a 20k package from the UK, shipped 3-4 days service last Thursday, scheduled for Tuesday delivery, except its been in "exception clearance" since Friday. DHL US and DHL UK don't speak to each other's business wings apparently. I called Friday, got a ticket to trace the issue, no call back. DHL US closed for the three day weekend, DHL UK can't access the ticket because, despite specializing in international shipping, they don't use the same system apparently. So the package likely won't leave the UK until Wednesday at the earliest, the day after its meant to be delivered to me here. Two grails sitting somewhere for some reason.... 

Thanks for reading my venting. I wish the OP luck in their shipping if they do bid and win.

 

edit: apparently on the sender's end customs called to confirm the artwork was not "culturally relevant."

I often send out art packages from the UK to overseas destination using a Global Express service for big-ticket items that carry a three-day delivery window.  Delays can and will happen due to things like customs clearance, which is usually a matter of routine.  Same thing works the other way when I'm getting in artwork from the USA.  Never had a parcel go astray, but delays are always something to be sweated over . . .

[cstojano]

1 hour ago, Rick2you2 said:

I can use all the guidance I can get on this one. Your guess was accurate. Why doesn’t Septimus have their rules in English when they have so many other languages? Particularly, where the word balloons in the piece are in English? 

I don’t know anyone in Belgium, and wouldn’t know how to find someone. Are there commercial services that do the checking? If I go with Fed Ex, what happens? Does Septimus call Fed Ex for pickup, which then does additional packaging? 

I really do not want to fly there just to pick it up. The flight will cost more than the piece.

I was going to use Fedex for this recent purchase of mine. I even got an account setup. They told me that the pickup side of the business was delayed several weeks due to COVID issues. In the end I did not use Fedex, despite being cheaper than the route I took, because (to put it bluntly) I could never get on the phone with someone whose command of English was strong enough to communicate about a complicated situation. They did tell me that they do fully insure artwork, unlike collectibles which they notoriously cap at 1k regardless of how much insurance they actually let you buy.

[NicoV]

3 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I can use all the guidance I can get on this one. Your guess was accurate. Why doesn’t Septimus have their rules in English when they have so many other languages? Particularly, where the word balloons in the piece are in English? 

So many other languages? What are you talking about? In their T&C they say that they have an English and a Dutch version, but I can't even find them on their website. Maybe you're talking about Invaluable T&C?  In all cases, I'm not surprised at all. As I told you they are a really small auction house, maybe you should contact them through their contact form: https://www.septimus.auction/contact/contact.html

[Rick2you2]

19 minutes ago, NicoV said:

So many other languages? What are you talking about? In their T&C they say that they have an English and a Dutch version, but I can't even find them on their website. Maybe you're talking about Invaluable T&C?  In all cases, I'm not surprised at all. As I told you they are a really small auction house, maybe you should contact them through their contact form: https://www.septimus.auction/contact/contact.html

I can't even read their menu. You may be right about the reference to a lot of other languages, since it popped up on the Invaluable auction site.

I have to straighten this out.