Auction Bidder Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of Terms

By registering, bidding, using Buy Now, or purchasing through a Great Lakes Estate Co. LLC (“Company”) auction, the bidder or buyer (“Bidder”) agrees to these Auction Bidder Terms & Conditions, the specific terms posted for the applicable auction or lot, and any pickup, payment, or sale instructions provided for that auction.

A bid is a binding offer to purchase. Do not bid unless you are prepared and authorized to complete the purchase.

2. Bidder Registration and Account Responsibility

Bidders must provide accurate registration and contact information and maintain a valid email address. Bidders are responsible for all activity conducted through their account and for safeguarding account credentials.

Company may require email verification, identity verification, payment-method verification, or additional information before allowing bidding or pickup. Accounts may not be transferred or shared to avoid bidding restrictions or other requirements.

3. Bidding, Proxy Bids and Bid Increments

The auction platform may use automatic or proxy bidding. A Bidder may enter a maximum bid, and the system may automatically increase that Bidder’s bid only as needed, up to the entered maximum, subject to the applicable bid increment.

The highest accepted bid at the close of bidding is the winning bid, subject to any reserve, seller confirmation, or other auction-specific condition. Bids normally cannot be retracted. Company may, but is not required to, correct or remove a bid when there is clear evidence of a material bidding or system error.

Company may establish or change reasonable bid increments, starting bids, lot groupings, or lot order before or during an auction when operationally necessary.

4. Soft Close / Extended Bidding

Auctions may use a soft-close feature. If a bid is received within the extension period shown for the auction, bidding on that lot may be extended automatically. Additional qualifying bids may continue to extend the closing time until no qualifying bid is received during the applicable extension period.

5. Reserve and Buy Now

Some lots may be subject to a reserve price. If the reserve is not met, the lot may remain unsold.

A Buy Now option may be offered on selected lots. Completion of a Buy Now transaction ends bidding for that item unless otherwise stated.

Company may remove an unsold lot, combine lots, or relist property when permitted by the seller agreement and applicable law.

6. Buyer’s Premium, Sales Tax and Total Purchase Price

A buyer’s premium may be added to the winning bid or Buy Now price. The applicable buyer’s premium will be disclosed on the auction or lot page before purchase.

Applicable sales tax will be collected when required by law. Sales tax may be calculated on the winning bid or Buy Now price, the buyer’s premium, and any other charges that are included in the taxable sales price under applicable law.

A Bidder claiming a sales-tax exemption must provide valid exemption documentation acceptable to Company before the transaction is finalized.

The total amount due may include the winning bid or Buy Now price, buyer’s premium, applicable sales or use taxes, shipping or handling charges if expressly offered, and any other disclosed auction-specific charges.

7. Payment

Winning Bidders are responsible for prompt payment of the full amount due through the payment methods offered at checkout. A winning bid creates a binding purchase obligation, and failure to complete checkout or payment does not cancel or void that obligation.

Payment deadlines may vary by auction and will be displayed in the auction-specific terms, invoice, or winner notification.

Company may require cleared payment before releasing property. Returned payments, failed payments, chargebacks, or unauthorized payment disputes may result in account suspension and recovery of amounts lawfully due.

8. All Property Sold AS IS, WHERE IS

Unless expressly stated otherwise in writing, all property is sold AS IS, WHERE IS, WITH ALL FAULTS and without warranties or guarantees as to condition, quality, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, age, authenticity, provenance, completeness, measurements, functionality, or value.

Photos and descriptions are provided as a convenience and are not a substitute for inspection. Normal wear, damage, missing parts, repairs, odors, stains, defects, or other conditions may not be visible in photographs or specifically described. Bidder is responsible for determining condition and suitability before bidding.

9. Inspection

When an inspection or preview is offered, Bidders are encouraged to inspect property before bidding. Failure to inspect does not relieve a winning Bidder of the obligation to pay for and remove purchased property.

10. Pickup, Removal and Shipping

Unless shipping is expressly offered, purchases are pickup-only at the location and during the pickup window stated for the auction.

Bidder is responsible for providing sufficient labor, tools, vehicles, packing materials, and equipment necessary to remove purchases safely. Company is not obligated to provide loading assistance unless specifically advertised.

Bidder must avoid damage to the premises and is responsible for damage caused by the Bidder, the Bidder’s helpers, contractors, vehicles, or equipment. Property may not be removed until Company has confirmed payment and authorized release.

11. Missed Pickup and Abandoned Purchases

Pickup deadlines are material terms of the sale. If a winning Bidder fails to pay for or retrieve property within the stated deadline, Company may, to the extent permitted by law and the auction-specific terms, cancel the sale, restrict the Bidder’s account, charge reasonable storage or handling fees, and/or treat the property as abandoned after required notice.

Any specific abandonment period, storage charge, alternate pickup fee, or disposal procedure may be stated in the auction-specific terms.

12. Title and Risk of Loss

Title to purchased property transfers as provided by applicable law and the transaction terms. Company may retain possession until payment has cleared. After Company authorizes release or the stated pickup deadline passes, the Bidder bears responsibility for timely removal and any resulting storage, handling, or loss exposure to the extent permitted by law.

13. Errors, Technical Problems and Auction Administration

Company may take reasonable action to preserve the fairness and integrity of an auction when there is a platform outage, duplicate listing, catalog error, payment-processing issue, obvious clerical mistake, or other material technical problem.

Possible actions may include extending bidding, reopening a lot, correcting a description, voiding an affected bid, canceling a transaction, or rescheduling an auction when reasonably necessary. Company does not guarantee uninterrupted access to the website, email delivery, internet connectivity, or availability of any third-party service.

14. Prohibited Conduct

Bid manipulation, collusion, shill bidding, fraudulent bidding, use of false identities, payment fraud, or interference with the auction platform is prohibited.

Company may suspend or terminate bidding privileges and cancel affected bids or transactions when it reasonably believes prohibited conduct has occurred. Bidders may not scrape, reverse engineer, disrupt, overload, or attempt unauthorized access to the auction website or accounts.

15. Right to Refuse or Restrict Service

Company may refuse registration, restrict bidding, require additional verification, suspend an account, or refuse release of property when reasonably necessary to address fraud, nonpayment, safety concerns, legal requirements, prior violations, or suspected misuse.

16. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Company will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages arising from participation in an auction, use of the website, or inability to access the platform. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited or waived.

17. Bidder Responsibility and Indemnification

Bidder is responsible for claims, damage, or loss caused by the Bidder’s own conduct, including unsafe removal, property damage during pickup, misuse of the auction platform, or violation of these terms, to the extent permitted by law.

18. Governing Law and Venue

These terms are governed by Michigan law. Subject to applicable jurisdictional requirements, disputes relating to an auction or purchase will be handled in a court of competent jurisdiction in Berrien County, Michigan.

19. Electronic Transactions and Notices

Bidder agrees that registration, bidding, purchases, notices, invoices, and acceptance of these terms may be conducted electronically. Electronic acceptance is intended to have the same effect as a handwritten signature to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Auction notices may be delivered through the website, bidder account, email, invoice, or other contact information supplied by the Bidder.

20. Auction-Specific Terms and Changes

Each auction may include additional terms for buyer’s premium, tax, reserve, soft close, payment, pickup, shipping, removal, or other matters. Those auction-specific terms are incorporated into these Terms & Conditions and control if they directly conflict with a general provision here.

Company may update these general terms prospectively. The version accepted by the Bidder for the applicable auction or transaction will govern that transaction.