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Frequenty Asked Questions
(FAQ)
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Terms and Conditions of Sale
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Effective 06/20/03
Item sold "as is, where is"
This item is sold "as is, where is" without warranty of merchantability,
fitness or other warranty express or implied.
Inspection of items, errors in description
The
winning bidder ("buyer") is allowed an inspection period to
verify that the item substantially complies with the published
description. A buyer who has inspected an item prior to final bid
shall be deemed to have accepted the condition of the item at the time of
the inspection but may reserve inspection following close of the auction
only as to any changes in the item between the time of the initial
inspection and a subsequent inspection made within the time for voiding
the sale as set forth herein. The time period for voiding the sale
and giving notice to USauctions of such ends the earlier of the time
buyer ships or otherwise takes possession of the item, 24 hours
following actual inspection of the item or 10 days following close of the
auction. In the event there is a material difference between the
item and the item description and buyer desires to void the sale, buyer
shall so notify USauctions by email or by fax to (800) 385-8566 prior to the end of the
time period set forth.
A buyer who voids a sale when the item substantially complies with the
published description shall be banned from future bidding with
USauctions in addition to any other
remedies provided for hereunder. In the event
buyer properly voids the sale in a timely manner as required hereunder,
buyer's sole remedy shall be to receive a refund of the portion of the
purchase price paid.
BUYER SHALL HAVE NO RIGHT TO ANY PRICE ADJUSTMENT SHOULD BUYER ELECT NOT TO VOID THE SALE AS PROVIDED FOR HEREIN. Neither USauctions nor the owner of the item
shall be liable for any of buyer's costs incidental to the sale including,
but not exclusively, travel, inspection, shipping or repairs. Any actions undertaken by
USauctions or any item owner to assist buyer with
shipping this item shall not be construed as placing an
obligation upon USauctions or an item owner to ship the item, pay for
shipping or be responsible for the shipment in any manner
whatsoever.
Payment of bid, default
Buyer shall be obligated to pay the lesser of 25% of the bid amount or $25,000
not later than the close of business on the third business day following the
close of bidding. Payment instructions will be sent via buyer’s listed e-mail
following the close of the auction. Payment may be made by bank wire, by credit card through Paypal (LIMITED TO $10,000 PER ITEM), by sending a cashier's check by mail, or by direct deposit of a cashier's check into the USauctions trust account. NO CASH OR PERSONAL CHECKS ACCEPTED.
Payment in full by collected funds is
due no later than 10 days following the close of bidding. Buyer shall be
responsible for payment of all applicable sales taxes, registration fees and
transfer fees. In the event buyer fails to make all or any portion of the
initial deposit or final payment as required hereunder, Buyer shall be in
default and Buyer’s right to purchase shall terminate. In the event buyer
defaults, Buyer shall be obligated to pay a fee to USauctions equal to 10%
of the bid amount and Buyer shall further be obligated to pay the owner of the
item any shortfall between the bid price and the amount received from an arms
length resale of the item whether sold at a private or public sale. Buyer
agrees to pay reasonable attorney fees incurred in any action to collect any
sums due from Buyer. The venue for any action pertaining to the sale of this
item shall be Broward County, Florida and shall be governed by the law of the
State of Florida
Removal of items, storage charges, risk of loss
Items must be removed not later than
10 days
following the close of bidding unless other arrangements are made. It shall be buyer's responsibility to make
arrangements for moving the item or, in the alternative, for making
arrangements to store the item beyond the 10 day grace period. It
shall be buyer's responsibility for making arrangements to load and
transport items. Buyer shall give USauctions notice of intent to pick up
an item in sufficient time to ensure the storage charges are paid. When picking up vessels, Buyer shall make necessary arrangements with the boat yard
where the vessel is located with not less than 24 hours notice
before picking up a vessel to ensure the vessel is cleared for transport,
any storage liens are paid, any necessary equipment is available and the
vessel is not blocked in. Buyer assumes risk of loss of the
item as of the earlier of the time buyer's right to void the sale
terminates or the time buyer acquires insurance on the vessel. In the event Buyer fails
to remove items in a timely manner, daily storage fees may be charged at the sales
location and/or the items may be removed and stored at buyer's risk and
expense.
Delivery of title
For titled items, delivery
of free and clear title shall be the responsibility of the owner of the
item. General processing time of titles is 4 to 6 weeks. In the event the item owner fails to deliver
free and clear title to buyer in a timely manner, Buyer shall have the option of
voiding the sale or of seeking specific performance directly against the
item owner. USauctions shall have no liability to
buyer or the item owner for failure to deliver free and clear title to buyer beyond refund of funds
collected by USauctions to the parties entitled thereto, upon return of
the item in substantially the condition sold. Buyer shall be solely responsible for applying for and taking all actions
necessary to complete registration, titling or documentation as buyer may
desire.
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How to Bid on eBay
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Some of our auctions are conducted on eBay.
Registration with eBay is required. To locate bid page, click
on the "auctions in progress" link. If the vessel does not appear in this
list, the auction either has not started yet or it has ended. If the
vessel does appear, click on the item number to go to the bid
page.
REGISTERING
TO BID:
Click
here to register with 
Ebay
requires ID verification to accept bids over $15,000. This is done by
verification of a credit card (for ID purposes only - your card will not be
charged) or, if you do not have a credit card, then by a credit check. We
recommend getting verified right away so you are ready in case the need
arises.
Click here to go to Ebay's ID verification process.
If you would like additional
information on the ID verification process,
click here.
AUTOMATIC / PROXY
BIDDING - AVOID BEING "SNIPED":
We
recommend you take advantage of Ebay's "proxy bidding". It works like
this: You place a bid higher than the minimum bid. Ebay's computer
will bid for you only to the extent necessary to outbid others - it will not
automatically raise the bid to the full amount. If the entire bid is not
necessary, your winning bid will be less than your proxy bid. The
computer can only have one proxy at a time since one bid will outbid
another. Proxy bidding will protect you being "sniped" - a practice of
holding back a final bid until it is too late for others to bid again.
Make sure you place your absolute highest bid before its too late - we
constantly receive e-mails immediately after the auction from people who wanted
to bid higher but didn't feel it was necessary stating that they would like to
buy the boat if the high bidder doesn't perform. (Note: if the high
bidder does not perform the second highest bidder has first rights on the boat
unless the seller decides not to sell).
Click
here for more about proxy bidding.
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| Bid
history, irregularities, manipulation, and retracting a bid
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We frequently receive an e-mail incorrectly claiming
another bidder is attempting to manipulate the bidding, that shill bids are
being made because bidders have no feedback or because vessels are relisted,
that eBay failed to record their bid correctly, etc. Many people who have
been watching our site for some time decide to register with eBay only after
they see a boat they want to bid on. Consequently, many of our bidders
are new eBay members with no feedback. Sometimes bidders become alarmed
when one party bids on several items. This is of no consequence in the
beginning of the auction, however. Relists almost always occur because a
buyer "flakes out" without even seeing the boat. We always request eBay
contact information on non-performing bidders, make an investigation and
permanently block the party from future bidding. Our primary sellers are
large insurance companies who would never consider bidding on their
auctions. eBay's process of recording bids and bid history can be
confusing. Multiple parties can be placing proxy bids in the last seconds
on an auction. Since the bid page does not automatically refresh, it is
possible the bid you are attempting to place may be less than the minimum bid
by the time you place it. Proxy bids are dated at the time the bid was
made, not the time the proxy caused the high bid to be increased.
Bid
manipulation is prohibited. Sellers are also entitled to a fair
auction. Because of past abuse of bid retractions, and complaints from
other bidders, we simply do not permit bidders to make their own retractions
but rather contact us to make the retraction for them. As soon as we see
a retraction, we block that account from future bidding. We reserve the
right to cancel any auction in which we reasonably believe there has been bid
manipulation or in the event there is a bid retraction within 48 hours prior to
the end of the auction. We further may treat any auction as void in the
event there have been bid retractions within 12 hours prior to the end of the
auction even if the auction ended with a high bidder.
Because
of past abuse, we prohibit any form of contact between bidders.
Contacting another bidder will result in your account being blocked from future
bidding.
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| No
shills, no reserves, absolute auctions |
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In
general, all of our auctions start at $1. In rare cases, such as when the
government is the seller, we are required to have a minimum, however, when we
do have a minimum, it is low. We sell items to the highest bidder -
period. We do not employ "secret" reserve prices. We do not use
sealed bid auctions which are often a prospecting tool to find potential buyers
who then have to negotiate with a salesperson.
Our
contract with sellers prohibits them from directly or indirectly bidding on
their own merchandise and provides penalties for sellers caught making "shill"
bids. We screen our sellers and monitor our auctions carefully to ensure
compliance with our rules.
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| Question
on a particular item or availability of other items |
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We
generally post an item as soon as we receive an order to sell it, however, we
may not have pictures or details about the item when it is first posted.
We post pictures and details as they are received. Often the information
is not complete until shortly before the auction begins. We
generally start an auction on an item as soon as the information is
complete. Questions about a particular item or when an auction will start
should be held until we are finished posting the information and have scheduled
the item for auction. If, after this, you have a question on a particular
item, please click on the "Questions?" link on the description page for that
item.
Customers
sometimes ask us if we have a particular part or to let them know if we run
across a particular vessel. We liquidate vessels wherever they happen to
be stored. We do not maintain a salvage yard. Everything we have to
sell is posted on our web site. We hope to implement a program to assist
our customers to locate used parts in the future.
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| Error in a
description |
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We
endeavor to describe our items fairly and accurately. Errors can occur,
however, and sometimes an item can be damaged after the auction begins.
If we discover a material error after an auction begins, we will cancel the
auction or post the corrected information. Please see our
terms of sale for the winning bidder's
rights and obligations when there is a material error in the description.
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| Payments |
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Payments
are payable to USauctions.com, LLC and may be made by credit card through
Paypal ,wire, direct deposit to our bank account, or by check as follows:
Payment
by Wire
This is
the quickest way to have your funds credited. Wires should be sent to USauctions.com, LLC.
If you wish to make a payment via wire transfer, please contact us after the auction via email at ebay_sales@usauctions.com for wire instructions.
Please reference your name, user ID, and the item number in the email. IMPORTANT: note your item number in the wire transfer and send us e-mail notification
of the date and amount of your wire so we can properly credit your account.
International wires generally take an extra day. IMPORTANT: Add a comment to
the wire stating the USauctions item number.
Sending
a check by mail
Mail a
cashier's check payable to USauctions.com, LLC to 3325 Griffin Rd. #280, Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida 33312. Be sure to include the item number on the check.
PERSONAL CHECKS ARE NOT
ACCEPTED. WE WILL NOT SHIP OR RELEASE ITEMS ON THE BASIS OF A PERSONAL CHECK
AND WE WILL NOT HOLD IT UNTIL IT CLEARS.
No
cash payments
WE
DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENTS IN CASH either in
person or by direct deposit. We have no way of verifying cash deposits. If you
make a cash payment in violation of this policy, you assume all risk of loss of
these funds even if they are lost or stolen while in our custody because WE DO
NOT ACCEPT CASH PAYMENTS. We will not ship or release items on the basis of
cash payments. If you wish to use cash to purchase a vessel, use it to purchase
a cashier's check.
Direct
deposit to BankAmerica
You may
make a direct deposit of a CASHIER'S CHECK to our bank account.
If you wish to make a payment via direct deposit, please contact us after the auction via email at ebay_sales@usauctions.com for deposit instructions.
IMPORTANT: send us e-mail notification of the date and
amount of your deposit so we can properly credit your account. You MUST have
the teller fax a copy of the cashier's check and the deposit slip to (800)
385-8566 along with the item number, teller's name and phone number so we can
verify collected funds were deposited. We will not ship or release items on
unverified funds. Please note that BankAmerica Branches are not all on the same
computer system so it may take a day or two for funds to show up in our
account.
Paypal
Credit
card payments up to $10,000 may be made via Paypal. Paypal accepts Visa and
MasterCard. In order to use PayPal, you must first register and
verify with PayPal.
Verification can take a couple of days so we recommend you begin the process
even if you are not bidding at this time - its free and a widely accepted
method of payment.
To
register, go to www.paypal.com
. You will then be given instructions on how to verify your identity. This can
take a couple of days. Once your account is verified, you can make credit card
payments to our account,
payments@usauctions.com Following is
a summary of the confirmation process:
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Once you have
requested verification, PayPal automatically makes two deposits to your
checking account. Each deposit is between $0.01 and $0.99. These deposits will
usually appear in your account within 2 days.
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Go to your
checking account statement online or call your bank to find out the amounts of
these two deposits.
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Click on the
'Confirm Checking Account' link under the 'Activate Your Account' box in your
Overview.
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Enter the amounts
of the two deposits and click on 'Confirm'.
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| Relists |
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Relists
are almost always due to bidders "flaking out" without seeing the vessel.
If a problem with the description is detected at the time of sale and we are
unable to agree on an adjustment, we will correct the description on the
relist.
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| Rights,
obligations and notice to winning bidder |
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Unless
there has been a material error in the description of the vessel, the
winning bidder is required to complete the sale in accordance with the Terms of
Sale. Sellers have a vested interest in the sale and are
frequently damaged when the high bidder fails to perform in a timely
manner. In addition to other remedies, winning bidders who fail to
perform will be banned from future bidding. Sales are "as is, where is"
and bidders who attempt to "nitpick" or "haggle" after the auction will be
treated as non performing bidders. In the event there is a bona fide
material error in the description of the vessel, the high bidder is not
obligated to complete the sale. If the high bidder is unwilling to
complete the sale for the bid amount, the seller is not obligated to compete
the sale under any different terms. Although in such an event, we will
attempt to resolve the issue in a manner satisfactory to both parties, since
bidders have control over the amount of their bid while seller's are at the
mercy of the auction results (which may be unfavorable to them) sellers have no
obligation to offer to make an adjustment due to an error and can simply
re-list the item with the corrected information or withdraw the item from sale
completely.
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| Rights
and obligations of bidders and second highest bidder |
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Bidders
are obligated to follow the rules posted by eBay and USauctions.com and have
the right to have USauctions.com follow its own rules and that of eBay.
If the winning bidder fails to complete the purchase, we generally give the
second bidder the option to purchase. The item will not generally be
available for purchase by anyone else. We are not, however, obligated to
offer the item to the second bidder and we will not do so where the seller
desires to withdraw or relist the item or if we feel there was bid
manipulation.
Bidders
often make requests that we ban a particular bidder, such as an eBay member
with negative feedback, or to conduct an auction in a certain manner.
These requests are invariably designed to reduce the final bid. Our
sellers are entitled to a fair auction and we will not conduct the auction in
an manner detrimental to their interest.
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| Vessel
Titles |
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All
vessels are sold free and clear of all liens. All storage charges are
paid to the date the buyer's responsibility for storage begins.
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| Shipping
or picking up an item |
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Items
must be removed not later than 10 days following the close of bidding unless
other arrangements are made. It shall be buyer's responsibility to make
arrangements for moving the item or, in the alternative, for making
arrangements to store the item beyond the 10 day grace period. It shall be
buyer's responsibility for making arrangements to load and transport items.
Buyer shall give USauctoins.com notice of intent to pick up an item in
sufficient time to ensure the storage charges are paid. Buyer shall make
necessary arrangements with a boat yard with not less than 24 hours notice
before picking up a vessel to ensure the vessel is cleared for transport, any
storage liens are paid, any necessary equipment is available and the vessel is
not blocked in. Buyer assumes risk of loss of the item as of the earlier of the
time buyer's right to void the sale terminates, or the time buyer acquires
insurance on the vessel. In the event Buyer fails to remove items in a timely
manner, daily storage fees may be charged at the sales location and/or the
items may be removed and stored at buyer's risk and expense.
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| Buying
items prior to auction |
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Items
are consigned to us for auction and cannot be purchased outside the auction and
we cannot accept trade-ins. On those rare occasions we do have a vessel
for sale at a fixed price, we will give all interested parties an equal
opportunity to purchase. In the past, we have drawn names from an
electronic "hat" to determine who may purchase.
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