Conditions of Sale: 15 September 2026
Archived conditions published 15 September 2026. The current conditions do not retrospectively change earlier purchases. Read current conditions.
Last updated 15 September 2026
1. Who we are
Teals Auctions (“Teals”, “we”) is operated by Whitestone Capital Holdings Pty Ltd (ABN 37 643 764 096). These conditions apply to lots offered through Teals. Nothing in these conditions excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded, including applicable rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
2. Registration and eligibility
You must register an account and be at least 18 years old to bid. You are responsible for activity under your account and for keeping your sign-in email secure. We may decline a registration, and may suspend or close an account that breaches these conditions, at our discretion.
3. Bids are binding
Every bid you place is a binding offer to buy that lot at that price. Bids cannot be retracted once placed. If you set a maximum (proxy) bid, you authorise Teals to bid on your behalf, in increments, up to that maximum. Your maximum is private, but it can become the visible price when another bidder reaches it.
4. How lots close
Lots close in run order during a live session. An accepted bid that changes the current price during the closing window resets the countdown. Raising your maximum without changing the current price does not extend it. The lot closes when its server countdown expires. A bid placed before the live session remains active and can win if it is not surpassed. The auction clock is our server's clock, which is authoritative over anything displayed on your device. Allow time for your bid to reach the server.
5. Reserves
Some lots carry a reserve - a minimum price below which the lot will not sell. Where a reserve applies it is shown as met or not met, and for some lots the reserve figure itself is displayed. Reserves are fixed before a lot opens and are never raised during bidding. If a lot does not reach its reserve, it is passed in and no sale occurs.
6. No vendor or dummy bidding
Teals does not bid on lots offered through the platform. Our operators and staff are barred from bidding, and the platform enforces that bar. We do not place bids to increase sale prices. Automatic maximum bids are placed only on a buyer's instructions.
7. Price - no buyer's premium, GST included
The winning bid is the price you pay for the lot. Teals charges no buyer's premium and adds no commission. All prices are in Australian dollars and are inclusive of GST. Delivery and transit protection are added at checkout, charged once per auction however many lots you win in that auction, and are also GST-inclusive. The charge is $19 plus 2.5% of your winning total in that auction. The percentage does not apply to the delivery charge itself. If you win in more than one auction, a separate charge applies to each.
8. Payment
When you win, we group everything you won in that auction onto one invoice and email you a payment link after the auction ends (you can also choose to check out earlier from your account). Wins in different auctions are invoiced separately. Payment is due within 72 hours after your invoice is sent. We will send you reminders before that deadline passes.
9. How you pay
All payments are made through our online checkout using the payment methods displayed there. We do not accept cash or cryptocurrency, and we never ask for payment by any other means. Refunds, where due, are returned to your original payment method through the same checkout.
10. Unpaid wins - forfeiture and suspension
If an invoice remains unpaid 72 hours after it is sent and you have not arranged payment with us, the win is forfeited: the sale is cancelled and the lot may be re-offered or returned to stock. Forfeiting a win also suspends your account from bidding for 90 days. If you are genuinely mid-payment or something has gone wrong, contact us before the deadline - we hold the clock for buyers who are actually paying.
11. Second-chance offers
If a win is forfeited, we may offer the lot to the next-highest bidder at their own highest bid. A second-chance offer is genuinely optional: accept it and a normal sale proceeds at that price; decline it (or let it lapse after 24 hours) and you owe nothing, with no effect on your account.
12. Title and risk
Title to the goods passes to you on receipt of full payment. The goods remain at our risk until delivered to your address. We bear some transit risk ourselves and use carrier cover where applicable; this does not reduce our responsibility to you. From delivery, the goods are at your risk, without limiting your statutory consumer rights.
13. Description, certificates and condition
Review each lot's description, condition, photographs and any supporting documents before bidding. For gemstones, descriptions include any treatments we are aware of. Where a lot carries an independent laboratory report, it records the lab's opinion and is identified by lab and number. Colour reproduction varies between screens. A listing is not an appraisal, valuation, or statement of resale or investment value. These conditions do not exclude, restrict or modify your Australian Consumer Law rights, including applicable rights about description and acceptable quality.
14. Problems, returns and disputes
If a lot is not as described, arrives damaged, or does not arrive, report it from My Wins or contact us. Where a product has a major problem under the Australian Consumer Law, you can choose a refund or replacement, or keep it and seek compensation for its reduced value. For a minor problem, we may provide a repair or another remedy required by law. Other statutory rights, including compensation for reasonably foreseeable loss, are not limited. We do not accept change-of-mind returns on auction purchases or offer an additional voluntary refund guarantee. Refunds are made to your original payment method unless we agree otherwise with you. See our Returns page for the practical steps.
15. Delivery
Teals ships within Australia only, to the address you provide at checkout. Every order ships by Australia Post Express Post with Signature on Delivery. We do not authorise delivery without a signature. Teals bears the transit risk, whether we cover that risk ourselves or arrange eligible carrier cover. Delivery times are estimates. If a shipment is lost or damaged before delivery, contact Teals. The transit risk remains ours and your statutory remedies apply.
16. Live sessions and technical matters
We may pause a live session (for example, to resolve a technical issue) and resume it, in which case the current lot gets back the time it had remaining. In exceptional circumstances we may cancel the remainder of a session: lots already sold stand as binding sales and will be invoiced; unsold lots are withdrawn and no sale occurs. We take care to run a reliable room, but we are not liable for a bid that fails to register because of your device or connection, and we may refuse or annul a bid that was accepted in error.
17. Room conduct
The live room includes a public chat. Keep it courteous: no abuse, no defamation, no sharing of contact details, and no arranging off-platform sales. Chat is moderated; we may mask, mute, or remove messages and restrict chat access for an account that breaches this clause. Chat restrictions never affect your ability to bid.
18. Your account and privacy
Your public presence in the room is an anonymous handle - your legal identity is never shown to other bidders. Our handling of your personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy. You may close your account from the account page at any time once you have no outstanding wins or payments.
19. Liability
Nothing in these conditions excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy you have under the Australian Consumer Law or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded. Subject to that, our liability to you in connection with a lot is limited to the amount you paid for it, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss.
20. Changes, severability and governing law
We may update these conditions from time to time; material changes will be re-presented for your acknowledgement before your next bid. If part of these conditions is found unenforceable, the rest still applies. These conditions are governed by the laws of Western Australia and the Commonwealth of Australia, and disputes are subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Western Australia.