Timed auctions
Buyer Premium and Costs
Auction lots may involve hammer price, buyer premium, delivery, insurance, VAT, customs duties, brokerage, payment and currency costs. Each lot or event should state the applicable cost structure before bidding.
1. Buyer premium
Where a buyer premium applies, it is charged in addition to the winning bid or hammer price and is shown in the auction event, lot terms, pending payment order or invoice workflow where configured. The buyer premium is part of the auction cost of buying the lot, subject to mandatory rights and legal review.
2. Delivery, insurance and specialist handling
High-value watches, bags, jewellery and diamonds may require tracked, insured, signature, adult ID, armoured, specialist or concierge delivery. These costs may be included, calculated at checkout, quoted manually or unavailable depending on the item, value and destination.
3. Customs, VAT, duties and brokerage
Cross-border buyers may be responsible for import VAT, duties, brokerage, clearance, local taxes, re-delivery, storage or re-import costs unless the written lot or checkout terms state otherwise. Buyers must cooperate with courier and customs requests.
4. Refused delivery or customs non-cooperation
If an auction buyer refuses delivery, fails to collect, does not pay duties, gives inaccurate customs information or does not cooperate with clearance, Maison Designers may document the resulting courier, insurance, storage, return, customs and re-import costs and take them into account where permitted by applicable law and the auction terms.
5. Payment and currency costs
Issuer fees, FX differences, bank transfer charges, wallet charges and payment-provider costs may be outside Maison Designers’ control. Any B2B, reseller or seller processing-fee allocation must be disclosed in the applicable commercial terms.
6. Cost transparency
Buyer premium, VAT, import responsibility, payment-fee allocation and cross-border costs are disclosed so buyers can understand the auction cost structure before committing to a bid.