{"id":477,"date":"2007-07-24T10:40:56","date_gmt":"2007-07-24T17:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/?p=477"},"modified":"2008-08-17T10:24:31","modified_gmt":"2008-08-17T17:24:31","slug":"auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/","title":{"rendered":"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the third in a series of articles looking at auction house policies, terms, and conditions of sale.<\/p>\n

The first such article, “Auction House Buying Considerations, Part I: Overview<\/a>“, reviewed excerpts from the policies of Little John’s Auction Service, Profiles in History, Odyssey Auctions, and Heritage Auctions.<\/p>\n

The second article, “Auction House Buying Considerations, Part II: Chandelier Bid Legislation<\/a>“, provided an article about legislation seeking to prohibit unidentified “for the consignor” bids at auction.<\/p>\n

What follows are excerpts from a recent Bonhams<\/a> catalog from earlier in the year.<\/p>\n

3. DESCRIPTIONS<\/em> OF LOTS<\/em> AND ESTIMATES<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Bonhams’<\/em> responsibility to you<\/strong><\/p>\n

You have the opportunity of examining the Lot<\/em> if you want to and the Contract for Sale<\/em> for a Lot<\/em> is with the Seller <\/em>and not with Bonhams<\/em>; Bonhams<\/em> acts as the Seller’s<\/em> agent only (unless Bonhams<\/em> sells the Lot<\/em> as principal).<\/p>\n

Bonhams<\/em> undertakes no obligation to you to examine, investigate or carry out any tests, either in sufficient depth or at all, on each Lot<\/em> to establish the accuracy or otherwise of any descriptions or opinions given by Bonhams<\/em>, or by any person on Bonhams’<\/em> behalf, whether in the Catalogue<\/em> or elsewhere.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You should not suppose that such examinations, investigations or tests have occurred.<\/p>\n

Bonhams<\/em> does not make or agree to make any representation of fact, and undertakes no obligation or duty (whether in contract or tort) in respect of the accuracy or completeness of any statement or representation made by Bonhams<\/em> or on Bonhams’<\/em> behalf which is in any way descriptive of any Lot or as to the anticipated or likely selling price of any Lot.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No statement or representation by Bonhams<\/em> or on its behalf in any way descriptive of any Lot<\/em> or any Estimate<\/em> is incorporated into our Buyer’s Agreement<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Alterations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Descriptions <\/em>and Estimates <\/em>may be amended at Bonhams’<\/em> discretion from time to time by notice given orally or in writing before or during a Sale<\/em>.<\/p>\n

THE LOT <\/em>IS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION AND YOU MUST FORM YOUR OWN OPINION IN RELATION TO IT. YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO EXAMINE ANY LOT<\/em> OR HAVE IT EXAMINED ON YOUR BEHALF BEFORE THE SALE<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This language is similar to that used by some of the other auction houses we have reviewed. In essence, the burden is placed on the potential bidders to research and verify the marketing descriptions of each piece, which of course related directly to provenance and authenticity.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, as with all auction house events, in practical terms, it is truly buyer beware, and nothing should be accepted at face value without first hand verification and research. Of course, given these are terms and conditions, written by attorneys, the work these companies do in regards to provenance and authenticity is understated, but it still is what it is. My feeling is, buyers should perform their own due diligence to counterbalance concerns raised by these stated policies.<\/p>\n

Jason De Bord<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the third in a series of articles looking at auction house policies, terms, and conditions of sale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1176,5,2000],"tags":[171,403,132,360,372,152,21,398,18,20,98,75,24,713],"class_list":{"0":"post-477","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-auction-event-bonhams","7":"category-editorials-features","8":"category-featured-articles","9":"tag-authentic","10":"tag-authentication","11":"tag-authenticity","12":"tag-bonhams","13":"tag-certificate-of-authenticity","14":"tag-contract","15":"tag-costume","16":"tag-hobby","17":"tag-original","18":"tag-prop","19":"tag-provenance","20":"tag-studio","21":"tag-wardrobe","22":"tag-warranty","23":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nAuction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams - Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams - Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is the third in a series of articles looking at auction house policies, terms, and conditions of sale.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/originalpropblog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-07-24T17:40:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2008-08-17T17:24:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jason DeBord\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jason_debord\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@jason_debord\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jason DeBord\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jason DeBord\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bdb327ea93e27defacdf4c1618889aea\"},\"headline\":\"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams\",\"datePublished\":\"2007-07-24T17:40:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-08-17T17:24:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/\"},\"wordCount\":492,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"authentic\",\"authentication\",\"authenticity\",\"bonhams\",\"certificate of authenticity\",\"contract\",\"Costume\",\"hobby\",\"Original\",\"Prop\",\"Provenance\",\"studio\",\"Wardrobe\",\"warranty\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bonhams\",\"Editorials\",\"Featured Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/\",\"name\":\"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams - Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-07-24T17:40:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-08-17T17:24:31+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Original Prop Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/dylsoagh\/2025\/05\/Original-Prop-Blog-Vimeo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/dylsoagh\/2025\/05\/Original-Prop-Blog-Vimeo.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Original Prop Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/originalpropblog\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/jason_debord\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bdb327ea93e27defacdf4c1618889aea\",\"name\":\"Jason DeBord\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/518172167ed774f853f0b09d6cd3f3975ad0fe2d1321605be9a36aa827b88f4d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/518172167ed774f853f0b09d6cd3f3975ad0fe2d1321605be9a36aa827b88f4d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/518172167ed774f853f0b09d6cd3f3975ad0fe2d1321605be9a36aa827b88f4d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Jason DeBord\"},\"description\":\"Jason DeBord is a collector of original props and wardrobe\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.originalpropblog.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams - Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams - Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource","og_description":"This is the third in a series of articles looking at auction house policies, terms, and conditions of sale.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/","og_site_name":"Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/originalpropblog","article_published_time":"2007-07-24T17:40:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2008-08-17T17:24:31+00:00","author":"Jason DeBord","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jason_debord","twitter_site":"@jason_debord","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jason DeBord","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/"},"author":{"name":"Jason DeBord","@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bdb327ea93e27defacdf4c1618889aea"},"headline":"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams","datePublished":"2007-07-24T17:40:56+00:00","dateModified":"2008-08-17T17:24:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/"},"wordCount":492,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["authentic","authentication","authenticity","bonhams","certificate of authenticity","contract","Costume","hobby","Original","Prop","Provenance","studio","Wardrobe","warranty"],"articleSection":["Bonhams","Editorials","Featured Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/","url":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/","name":"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams - Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2007-07-24T17:40:56+00:00","dateModified":"2008-08-17T17:24:31+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/24\/auction-house-buying-considerations-part-iii-bonhams\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Auction House Buying Considerations, Part III: Bonhams"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/","name":"Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Original Prop Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/dylsoagh\/2025\/05\/Original-Prop-Blog-Vimeo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/dylsoagh\/2025\/05\/Original-Prop-Blog-Vimeo.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Original Prop Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/originalpropblog","https:\/\/x.com\/jason_debord"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bdb327ea93e27defacdf4c1618889aea","name":"Jason DeBord","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/518172167ed774f853f0b09d6cd3f3975ad0fe2d1321605be9a36aa827b88f4d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/518172167ed774f853f0b09d6cd3f3975ad0fe2d1321605be9a36aa827b88f4d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/518172167ed774f853f0b09d6cd3f3975ad0fe2d1321605be9a36aa827b88f4d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Jason DeBord"},"description":"Jason DeBord is a collector of original props and wardrobe","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.originalpropblog.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5KqHO-7H","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4934,"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477\/revisions\/4934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}