Auction Rules
Rules for the Bidder:
- All persons wishing to participate in today's auction must have a bid card.
- You are responsible for your purchases and the security of them. PVAS, its auction staff or committee, nor the venue where the auction is being held will be responsible for the security of your items once purchased.
- All items are being sold “as is, where is” with all faults, known and unknown. Please inspect any items you are interested in thoroughly to your satisfaction before purchasing anything. Once the auctioneer announces an item sold, ownership immediately transfers to the winning bidder. Sellers give no guarantee or warranty on anything in the auction.
- ALL SALES ARE FINAL.
- Forms of payment: Cash, Check, VISA, Master Card, Discover.
- Payment is due the day of the auction.
- All items purchased must be removed the day of the auction.
- You can register either as a cash buyer or credit/check buyer.
- Cash buyers will receive a bid card that will have the word CASH on it in place of a bid number. Anytime a cash buyer wins an item at the auction they must pay for it on the spot to the runner. There will be no receipt issued for cash purchases. Change will be provided, however exact change is appreciated.
- Check/Credit Card/Tab buyers will be issued a numbered bid card upon registration. Credit/check/tab buyers will be required to fill out a quick registration form clearly and accurately and may be asked to produce a driver license or picture ID for verification.
- To use your bid card, raise it in the air when you would like to convey a bid to the auctioneer, and make sure he/she sees you. Hold the bid card up in plain site. Using the bid card to signal a bid instead of your empty hand is a much more effective way to get the attention of the auctioneer.
- Credit card users will be charged a 3% administrative fee that will be added to the selling price of each item.
- You must pay for all items you purchase. In the event an item is bought and then abandoned and not paid for, the buyer will still be liable for payment and any related disposal costs. Debt collecting means will be used if necessary.
- If you need to re-bag your fish, a self-service re-bag station is available to use at no charge.
- Items will be offered for auction in a random fashion. If you would like to move a particular item up, a “bump-up” as we call it, you can do so for a $2 dollar fee. Bump up stickers are available at the data processing table located in the auction room and may be purchased at check-in as well. Please see one of the auction staff members for assistance. You can do as many bumps at any time during the auction as you want.
- Minimum bid increment will be $1.00 and bid increments used will be at the discretion of the auctioneer.
- The auctioneer's decision is final and absolute.
Please remember to properly acclimate your fish and plants when you get home. It is strongly recommend that all new fish be quarantined for a minimum of 2 weeks in a separate aquarium before introduction into any community or established aquarium. Please, be a responsible aquarist, NEVER RELEASE ANY FISH OR AQUATIC PLANT INTO THE WILD.
Rules for the Seller:
- This is a public auction and participation is open to anyone who is interested in selling aquarium fish, equipment, literature, food cultures, artwork or related aquatic items only. This is an all fish-all aquatic animal and related auction. PVAS reserves the right to accept or reject any item brought to the auction to be sold.
- Seller registration packages will be available at the April 3rd PVAS meeting and on the morning of the auction, Sunday, April 25th. Sellers must pickup and use the seller's registration package materials to enter items into the auction. The packages contain a listing sheet and item lot labels. These item lot labels must be used on all items. You can download the seller's listing sheet and fill out ahead of time, but you will still need to pickup a seller's registration package to use other materials contained within. By accepting the seller's registration package you agree to all of the rules herein.
- Item registration begins at 8:00AM Sunday morning and will be open until 12 Noon. Only donated items will be accepted after 12 Noon.
- The order in which the items will be sold will be determined by the auction committee and auction staff.
- PVAS members will pay a discounted commission of 25% of the final selling price; Non-PVAS members pay a commission of 30% of the final selling price. Any item that sells for $2 or less, will be retained by PVAS and considered a donation, no commission is paid.
- A “priority” or “bump-up” system will be used at the auction where anyone can request an item be moved to the front of the auction line for an additional fee of $2.00. These fees will be retained by PVAS.
- A convenience fee of 3% will be charged to credit card users at the auction. These fees will be retained by PVAS to offset expenses of offering credit cards and will not be shared with any of the sellers.
- Payment to sellers will be sent within 10 business days after the auction along with a seller's settlement sheet and copy of original seller's listing sheet. No payments will be made the day of auction.
- Sellers of live fish or aquatic animals must provide the following information on a label or very clearly written with a Sharpie Magic Marker on the bag: Species name (scientific and common if applicable), Quantity in bag. There is no warranty required of sellers of livestock. A brief description along with water requirements and a picture of the mature fish is recommended, but not required. IMPROPERLY LABELED BAGS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE AUCTION. We strongly encourage you to make your labels ahead of time but labels will be available at the auction on Sunday.
- Use proper terminology on fish bags. PAIR means a male/female of a species. MATED PAIR means the pair has spawned successfully. TRIO means 2 females and 1 male of a species. REVERSE TRIO means 2 males and 1 female of a species. COLONY means a mix of males and females of a species.
- Proper bagging of fish and aquatic animals is required. We strongly recommend that all fish are double or triple bagged. Adult males and female fish should be bagged separately and the bags taped together or put into a third bag. Ziploc type bags will not be allowed for fish but will be permitted for plants. Buckets, tanks and bowls will be allowed to house fish for the auction and any container that is used will become part of that lot and sold along with the fish it contains. IMPROPERLY BAGGED FISH WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE AUCTION. A re-bagging station will be available for improperly bagged fish and sellers will be encouraged to use it. PVAS also reserves the right to reject any fish or aquatic animal that appears to be sick or otherwise unsuitable for sale.
- Live aquatic plants and starter food cultures should also be properly housed and labeled as to their contents and quantities, if applicable.
- All dry goods and aquatic equipment must also have a condition sticker on it to identify it and tell its working condition, if parts are missing, and any other pertinent data. The label must also include the seller's name and phone number or email address. Most used aquatic equipment and decor is usually acceptable for the auction. The following items are prohibited from being sold at the auction: Used light bulbs of any kind, open containers of food or medicine, used carbons or filter resins. PVAS reserves the right to reject any item judged as unsuitable for auction.
- All unsold items will be put aside to be picked up by the seller. Any items that have not been claimed by the end of the auction will become the property of PVAS and disposed of at the discretion of the auction chair.
- Livestock restricted by either federal or state statutes will not be accepted.
- Neither PVAS, volunteers for the auction, or the auction site will be held responsible for damage or injury occurring before, during, or after the auction.
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