Which terms govern website use and a particular auction?
The existing website agreement governs use of True Blue Auctions’ websites and co-branded website services. Separate rules apply to particular transactions, registrations, lots and auction services. Read the complete event terms, notices, disclosures, accepted amendments and sale documents before registering or bidding.
This general website document does not change a signed seller agreement, establish a single buyer’s premium or deposit for all auctions, or convert an auction with reserve into an absolute auction. Where documents differ, the actual agreement, its order-of-precedence provisions and applicable law must be examined rather than assuming this page overrides them.
How are these terms accepted and updated?
The existing agreement states that use of the website signifies acceptance and that users who do not accept its provisions should not use the site. It also describes updates by posting, while its final section requires changes in writing signed by an authorized True Blue Auctions representative.
PUBLICATION HOLD — owner/counsel confirmation required. Resolve those two amendment mechanisms and implement an appropriate, conspicuous acceptance flow. Determine when click-through or electronic signature is required, how the applicable version and assent are recorded, and how material changes are communicated. Merely placing terms in an accordion or footer does not prove assent or satisfy every electronic-record requirement.
Who may participate in auctions or commercial services?
The auction and commerce portions are available only to qualifying clients and exclude minors under 18. A bidder must meet the legal-capacity and event-specific requirements. Someone acting for another person, a company, trust or estate must identify that role and have the authority required by the applicable agreement.
The legacy terms warn that auction listings can contain uncensored material or restricted goods inappropriate for minors. A listing does not waive age, licensing or other legal restrictions applicable to the item.
What registration and qualification information must be accurate?
Provide true, accurate, current and complete registration information and promptly correct information that changes. The existing website agreement permits suspension or termination and refusal of website access if information is false, incomplete, outdated or reasonably suspected to be so.
Auction registration is a separate qualification step. The event terms may require identification, proof of funds, a deposit method or advance registration by a buyer’s agent. Issuing website credentials does not necessarily qualify a person for every auction.
Who is responsible for accounts, bidder numbers and signatures?
Keep account passwords, signature credentials and bidder credentials confidential. The existing agreement assigns responsibility for activity using a user’s account or digital signature, requires prompt reporting of unauthorized use and requires the user to end the session when finished.
Specific bidder terms can allocate responsibility for bids recorded against a bidder number, including use before the auction company receives notice of compromise. Review the applicable contract and report lost or stolen credentials immediately. No policy should be read as eliminating rights that cannot lawfully be waived.
What is True Blue Auctions’ role in a sale?
The inspected real-property terms state that True Blue Auctions acts as the seller’s agent unless otherwise stated and is not itself the seller. They separately disclaim responsibility for the seller’s acts or omissions and performance of the seller’s covenants.
The identity of the seller, the auction company’s authority and the scope of services must be determined from the applicable auction and seller agreement. The event terms also state that bidders are not intended third-party beneficiaries of the seller’s agreement with the auction company unless that agreement expressly provides otherwise.
How do bids, acceptance, reserves and final sales work?
Review whether the lot is offered with reserve, without reserve/absolute, or subject to seller confirmation. A high bid is not necessarily an accepted purchase when confirmation is required. The event’s definition of acceptance may involve the auctioneer’s announcement, close of online bidding, confirmation or required sale documentation.
The inspected real-property terms make obligations arise on acceptance or confirmation as specified and describe later memoranda as confirmatory. They also state that sales are final, subject to specified confirmation and error-correction provisions. Those mechanisms should not be assumed to be identical for personal property or a different platform.
Can a bid be cancelled or retracted?
The inspected real-property agreement contains no-retraction provisions, including for certain permitted email/text bids. A bidder must read the agreement before bidding and should not assume that changing their mind, failing to obtain financing or having a technical problem releases the bidder from an obligation.
PUBLICATION HOLD — owner/counsel confirmation required. Do not apply the real-property no-retraction wording to all goods auctions without legal review. Pennsylvania’s goods-auction statute addresses retraction before completion; real-property contracts and other states can involve different rules. The final event terms and platform flow must use the correct rule for the type of sale.
Who controls increments, announcements and auction conduct?
The inspected terms allow the auction company to set bid increments, reject nominal bids, determine qualification, address clerking disputes and take stated steps such as extending or reopening bidding to maintain auction integrity. Announcements and posted amendments can have the priority specified in the event terms.
These powers must be exercised within the applicable contract and law. A provision concerning reserve auctions or seller bidding is not an unrestricted authorization for undisclosed seller bids or bidding contrary to an absolute-auction commitment.
What applies to online, telephone and absentee bidding?
Online, telephone, absentee, email or text bidding is available only when offered and authorized for the particular auction. The inspected event agreement does not require True Blue Auctions to accept every method. Its email/text procedure requires the auction company to confirm that a bid has been accepted and entered; transmitting a message is not proof of entry.
The event terms allocate risks of delayed communications, incorrect destinations, connectivity and equipment failure and permit refusal of an unverifiable or improper bid. The website agreement does not warrant continuous or error-free availability. Notify the auction staff promptly of a problem; do not assume that an unsuccessful transmission obligates the company to reopen a sale.
How are premiums, deposits, payment and taxes determined?
A buyer’s premium is an additional amount payable as specified in the auction terms, typically calculated from the hammer price. The published event documents determine the percentage or amount, deposit, acceptable payment methods, deadlines, taxes and other charges. Include these obligations when deciding how much to bid.
The inspected Grassflat real-property agreement has a 10% buyer’s premium, a minimum $5,000 deposit and specified closing obligations. Those are examples from that contract, not universal True Blue Auctions rates or payment requirements. The applicable event terms govern each separate purchase.
How should descriptions, inspections and “as is” language be read?
The website agreement warns that material can contain errors and disclaims accuracy, reliability, completeness and timeliness except as separately provided for a sale. Auction descriptions can be supplied by a seller or based on visible attributes. The inspected bidder terms place importance on independent inspection, investigation and due diligence and use “AS IS,” “WHERE IS” and “WITH ALL FAULTS” language.
Read all property disclosures, title provisions and exceptions. An “as is” label is not a substitute for disclosures required by law. Generic warranty exclusions must not silently override an express title commitment in the same agreement or a mandatory disclosure obligation.
What additional conditions can apply to real estate?
The property-specific sale documents determine the deposit, settlement date, financing contingency or absence of one, title and conveyance, possession, transfer taxes, closing costs, required inspections, prorations and maintenance responsibilities. The inspected agreement places reasonable lawn care and outdoor maintenance on the purchaser before closing and imposes a stated closing deadline; those provisions belong to that sale.
Other source protections include time being of the essence, assignment not releasing the original purchaser without written agreement, restrictions on recording the agreement, and a defined remedy when the promised title cannot be conveyed. Obtain the actual auction packet rather than treating this overview as a purchase contract.
What applies to personal property, pickup, delivery and returns?
Personal-property event terms determine payment, collection dates, loading, removal, shipping availability and costs, risk of loss and any sale-specific remedy or return restriction. Confirm that an item can be collected or shipped before bidding, and do not assume that an online purchase has a standard retail return window.
PUBLICATION HOLD — owner/counsel confirmation required. Review the current personal-property bidder agreements and actual shipping/removal procedures before adopting additional rules here. The draft “Refund and Returns Policy” found in the old installation is an unadopted retail template with placeholders and is not a basis for a 30-day auction-return promise.
What happens after default or a disputed payment?
Failure to pay, provide a required deposit, execute documents or complete closing can trigger remedies in the applicable agreement. The inspected real-property terms address retention or application of deposit funds, damages or liquidated-damages elections, resale, auction production expenses and related obligations. They also address holding reasonably necessary proceeds in escrow when a relevant claim is received.
PUBLICATION HOLD — owner/counsel confirmation required. Have counsel confirm the appropriate remedy, election, fee and disputed-payment provisions for each transaction. Preserve the source stop-payment and chargeback restriction for review, but do not state that a contract eliminates nonwaivable statutory payment-dispute rights. Do not invent cumulative recovery where an agreement requires an election.
What conduct is prohibited?
The existing terms prohibit rights violations, impersonation, unlawful conduct, harmful code, interference and unreasonable loads on the website. They also restrict unapproved solicitations, abusive or prohibited public submissions and harvesting of personal information. The inspected auction agreement prohibits collusion, bid pooling, bid rigging and other interference with legitimate bidding.
True Blue Auctions retains the stated ability to refuse registration, reject improper bids, revoke access, remove offending submissions and refer suspected unlawful conduct to appropriate authorities, subject to the applicable agreement and law. These restrictions do not authorize the company to misstate its role or override mandatory bidder protections.
What rights apply to website materials and submissions?
The existing agreement reserves rights in text, graphics, photographs, recordings, data, software, trademarks and other website materials. Its limited browsing/use permission, dealer-display exception, restrictions on copying and watermarks, copyright-notice procedure and public-submission conditions are reorganized in the [tba_legal_link slug="website-policy"]Website Policy[/tba_legal_link].
A private seller inquiry, identity document or payment communication is not automatically a public submission. The original broad public-area content license must not be silently extended to private materials. Separate sale or photography agreements may have their own scope.
What website warranties and liability limitations are stated?
Except as separately provided for a particular sale and to the fullest extent permitted by law, the existing website agreement provides the website and materials “AS IS,” disclaims merchantability, fitness and non-infringement warranties, does not promise error-free or uninterrupted service, and places the risks of reliance on website information on the user. It states that dissatisfaction with the website is addressed by discontinuing use.
The source agreement excludes direct, indirect, punitive, exemplary, incidental, special and consequential damages, including loss of use, data or profits, arising from website access, performance, delay or associated services, including when advised of the possibility. It recognizes that some jurisdictions do not permit certain exclusions.
PUBLICATION HOLD — owner/counsel confirmation required. Review the scope and enforceability of these exclusions and appropriate nonwaivable-rights exceptions before adoption. This provision concerns website use and must not be used to silently erase an express transaction obligation, fraud remedy or mandatory right.
What indemnification and downstream protections are stated?
The existing website agreement requires the user to defend, indemnify and hold harmless True Blue Auctions and its officers, directors, employees and agents against losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses, including reasonable legal, expert and accounting fees, incurred in connection with claims alleging or resulting from the user’s use of materials, breach of the agreement, violation of law or infringement of third-party rights. It provides for prompt notice and reasonable assistance at the user’s expense for covered third-party claims.
The inspected bidder terms separately address premises-risk indemnity, downstream purchaser claims, and restrictions on attributing warranties or representations to the auction company. These are distinct provisions, not a license to impose a new release on every website visitor.
PUBLICATION HOLD — owner/counsel confirmation required. Counsel must review indemnity scope, defense control, legally required exceptions and the separate premises/media release, especially where other people or minors are involved.
Which law, forum and dispute provisions apply?
The existing website agreement selects Pennsylvania law, state courts for or within Centre County, Pennsylvania, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. It includes an inconvenient-forum/venue-objection waiver to the extent permitted by law, an initiator-pays legal-fee provision, and a requirement that website-related claims be filed within one year or be barred.
PUBLICATION HOLD — owner/counsel confirmation required. Confirm the intended federal forum and obtain counsel review of the forum, fee-shifting and one-year limitation provisions. Centre County is in the Middle District; that geographic fact does not by itself determine whether the source’s selection of another district was intentional or enforceable. Do not replace Eastern with Middle silently. The event-specific real-property agreement has its own Centre County/PA provisions. No arbitration provision is added by this draft.
What about severability, waiver, the complete agreement and notices?
The existing agreement states that invalidity of one provision does not invalidate the remaining provisions, that a failure to enforce is not a waiver, and that a waiver is not a continuing waiver. It also provides that the website agreement is the entire agreement concerning website use. Separate auction, seller and purchase documents continue to govern their respective subjects.
For general website questions, email info@TrueBlueAuctions.com or call 844-243-2255. Use the specific notice recipient, timing and method required by the relevant transaction agreement for contractual notices; a general website inquiry is not necessarily sufficient.