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. Bids cannot be withdrawn, cancelled or reduced once placed, including maximum (proxy) bids. Do not bid unless you are prepared and authorized to complete the purchase.

2. Eligibility, Registration and Account Responsibility

Bidders must be at least 18 years old, legally capable of entering into a binding contract, and must provide accurate registration and contact information. A person registering or bidding for a business, estate, organization, or another person represents that the person has authority to bind that party.

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.

Payment method on file. Before placing a first bid, each Bidder must save a valid credit or debit card to their account. Company does not charge the card when a bid is placed. Winning Bidders pay through the invoice issued after the auction closes, within the payment deadline stated in these terms. Company may suspend bidding privileges for any account without a valid payment method on file.

3. Company’s Role

Unless expressly stated otherwise, Company acts as auction manager or agent for the owner or seller of the property and does not claim ownership of the property. References to Company’s rights or actions include actions taken on behalf of the seller when appropriate.

4. 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 recorded by the auction platform when bidding closes is the winning bid, subject only to a reserve or seller-confirmation requirement expressly disclosed on the applicable auction or lot page. A lot advertised as “no reserve” is not subject to seller confirmation.

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.

The auction platform’s clock, bid history, transaction records, and closing status control in the event of a timestamp, bid-sequence, or tie dispute, unless Company determines that a material system error occurred. If identical maximum bids are entered, the bid first recorded by the platform will generally receive priority.

5. 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.

6. Reserve, No-Reserve Sales and Buy Now

Some lots may be subject to a reserve price or seller confirmation only when that condition is clearly disclosed on the applicable auction or lot page. If a disclosed reserve is not met, the lot may remain unsold.

A lot advertised as “no reserve” will be sold to the highest accepted Bidder when bidding closes, subject to these terms and any action reasonably necessary to correct fraud or a material system error.

A seller may not bid directly or indirectly on the seller’s own property unless the seller’s right to bid is expressly disclosed in advance and permitted by law. Shill bidding and undisclosed bidding intended to artificially increase a price are prohibited.

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.

7. 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 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.

8. Payment and Nonpayment

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 is due within 48 hours after the auction closes, unless the auction-specific terms state a different deadline. Winning Bidders pay by checking out through their account; the deadline is shown in the winner notification and in My Auctions. Company may send payment reminders by email as a courtesy, but not receiving a reminder does not extend the deadline. Company may require cleared payment before releasing property.

If payment is not completed by the stated deadline, Company may, at its discretion, take any one or more of the following actions: cancel the transaction; offer the property to the next-highest bidder or relist it for sale; suspend or terminate the Bidder’s account; charge a nonpayment fee of up to 20% of the unpaid invoice total (minimum $10), which Bidder authorizes Company to charge to the payment method saved on Bidder’s account; and recover amounts and reasonable costs lawfully due. Cancellation or resale does not automatically release the winning Bidder from responsibility arising from the original purchase.

Returned payments, failed payments, chargebacks, or unauthorized payment disputes may result in account suspension and recovery of amounts lawfully due. A Bidder who believes an invoice or charge is incorrect should contact Company promptly so the issue can be reviewed before initiating a payment dispute.

9. Final Sale; 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.

All sales are final. No returns, exchanges, refunds, or credits will be provided because of condition, buyer’s remorse, failure to inspect, or a Bidder’s misunderstanding of a description, except when required by law or expressly approved by Company because the wrong item was released or a material listing error occurred.

10. 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.

11. Pickup, Authorized Representatives, 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.

A Bidder may authorize another person to collect purchased property only by providing any advance authorization, identification, paid-invoice confirmation, or other information reasonably requested by Company. Release to an authorized representative is treated as release to the Bidder.

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

12. 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 disclosed and reasonable storage, handling, alternate-pickup, removal, or disposal fees, and provide a final retrieval notice.

The auction-specific terms or final retrieval notice will state the applicable final deadline, any charges, and the available retrieval procedure. Notice may be delivered through the Bidder’s account, email address, telephone number, or other contact information supplied by the Bidder.

If the Bidder does not retrieve the property by the final deadline stated in the notice, Company may treat the property as abandoned and may resell, donate, remove, or dispose of it without refund, to the extent permitted by law. The Bidder remains responsible for disclosed charges and damage caused by the failure to retrieve the property.

13. Title and Risk of Loss

Title does not transfer until Company receives cleared payment and any other stated conditions of release have been satisfied. Risk of loss transfers when the property is released to the Bidder or the Bidder’s authorized representative. Property not retrieved by the stated deadline remains subject to the missed-pickup and abandonment provisions above.

14. 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, fraud, 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.

15. Prohibited Conduct

Bid manipulation, collusion, shill bidding, fraudulent bidding, use of false identities, payment fraud, undisclosed seller bidding, 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.

16. 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.

17. 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. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Company’s aggregate direct liability concerning a lot will not exceed the amount actually paid to Company for that lot. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited or waived.

18. 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, acts of an authorized representative, misuse of the auction platform, or violation of these terms, to the extent permitted by law.

19. 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.

20. Electronic Transactions, Records 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.

Company may retain electronic records of registration, acceptance, bids, purchases, notices, and the version of the terms associated with a transaction. Auction notices may be delivered through the website, bidder account, email, invoice, telephone number, or other contact information supplied by the Bidder.

Personal information is handled in accordance with Company’s Privacy Policy.

21. Auction-Specific Terms and Changes

Each auction may include additional terms for buyer’s premium, tax, reserve, soft close, payment, pickup, shipping, removal, abandonment, 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.

22. Entire Agreement, Severability and No Waiver

These terms, together with the applicable auction-specific and lot-specific terms, constitute the agreement between Company and Bidder concerning the auction transaction and supersede prior discussions or representations concerning that transaction.

If any provision is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect to the fullest extent permitted by law. A failure or delay by Company in enforcing a provision does not waive Company’s right to enforce that provision or any other provision later.

23. Contact Information

Questions about an auction, invoice, payment, or pickup should be directed to Great Lakes Estate Co. LLC at support@greatlakesestate.com or (269) 332-1864.