Yes. With over 60 years’ experience, Koller guarantees the catalogue descriptions according to our auction conditions. All items in our ibid online only auctions are examined with the same care and by the same specialists as the works in our classic saleroom auctions. The works in our catalogues are also checked by the Art Loss Register. In this way we ensure that none of the items offered has gone astray of its rightful owner.

If you do not have the opportunity to personally inspect the items in which you are interested, you can always contact the department to obtain further information and condition reports. All lots offered in the ibid online only auctions already have a condition report in each description. Please note, however, that the items offered at auction are generally not brand new, and often show signs of wear.

The estimates in our auction catalogues reflect the price range for comparable works of art sold at auction in recent years. They are the result of agreements between our specialists and the owners who entrusted the works to us for auction. Sellers (also called consignors) may set minimum prices, called ‘reserves’, below which their items may not be sold. If any such reserves have been agreed upon, they are normally equal to or slightly below the lower catalogue estimate.

In an ibid online only auction, the reserve is the same as the starting price.

All items indicated with an asterisk * are fully liable to VAT, meaning that for these items, VAT will be charged on the sum of the hammer price plus buyer’s premium. Buyers who provide an officially stamped export declaration will receive a refund of the VAT.

Items marked with a ♣ were made from material of a protected species that is subject to certain trade restrictions. If you want to buy this item and export it from Switzerland, please inquire about the import regulations of the destination country before the auction.

You can order printed catalogues here or contact our shipping department: erb@kollerauctions.com, +41 44 445 63 54.

On our website, you can download all images in high resolution, by clicking the download button in the detail view of each catalogue entry, directly below the main image. For our saleroom auctions, Koller can only send additional photos in certain cases.

For our ibid online only auctions, it is unfortunately not possible for us to send you additional images of any lot. Each lot has between 3 and 6 images in the online catalogue, which can be enlarged with the zoom feature. If you are still uncertain, you can always examine the lot in person during our auction preview.

All auction items are on display at our premises on the Hardturmstrasse in Zurich for several days before the auction. Our previews are open to the public, with no obligation to register to bid. During our previews, you can examine the objects in person and speak with our specialists about the condition and the expected interest for individual lots. If you do not have the opportunity to personally inspect the items in which you are interested, you can always contact the department for further information and condition reports. The dates and locations of our previews are listed in the auction calendar.

No, in principle all of the items we offer for sale are sold in the public auction. However, we do have a ‘Private Sales’ service for customers who do not wish to buy and/or sell at auction.

Our auctions are public and open to everyone. In order to bid you must register beforehand, and your registration must be approved by our client services department.

For more detailed information about how to bid, click here.

In our classic saleroom auctions you have the following bidding possibilities:
- Bid in person in the saleroom
- Leave a written absentee bid or a telephone bid (by clicking the button next to each lot in the online catalogue, submitting a bid form by email or in person during the preview)
- Bid online via livestream (video and audio link to the auction with the possibility to bid in real time)

In our ibid online only auctions you can only bid by clicking the ‘Bid now’ button in the online catalogue. It is not possible to leave a written bid or a telephone bid for these auctions.

For more detailed information about how to bid, click here.

You can follow all of our saleroom auctions live on your computer, tablet or smartphone via livestream. Simply click on the ‘Livestream Auction’ button next to the catalogue cover image on the ‘Auction Calendar’ page of our website, once the auction begins. If you would like to bid live online, you need to register at least 24 hours before the auction.

For in-person bidding in our saleroom auctions, we require your name, address, telephone number and passport or ID.

For our ibid online only auctions, besides your name and address, we ask for your email address and your mobile number, in case you wish to be notified about your bids via SMS. For security reasons, we also require valid credit card information.

Because you are bidding in real time, against other bidders, we need your credit card information as additional proof of your identity. You are not required to pay for your purchases by credit card. However, if you do not pay your invoice by its due date, we reserve the right to debit the amount due from your credit card.

Yes, your credit card information is safe. The information is encrypted and stored by SIX Payment Services. Koller Auctions has no access to this information.

The bidding begins with a starting price. In saleroom auctions, this price is set by the auctioneer and is usually about half of the upper estimate.

In an ibid online only auction, the starting price or the ‘next bid’ is indicated in the online catalogue.

A reserve, or minimum sale price, is the price agreed to between the consignors and Koller Auctions below which an object may not be sold at the auction. In a saleroom auction, the auctioneer may start the bidding for an item below the reserve. As long as the reserve has not been reached, the auctioneer may bid on behalf of the consignor. The auctioneer can also ‘conditionally’ sell an auction item under the reserve price.

In an ibid online only auction, the reserve is the same as the starting price.

If you don’t want to keep bidding step-by-step, another way to participate in an ibid auction is to leave a maximum bid. The system will then bid automatically for you up to the maximum amount you entered. If the bidding stops before your maximum bid is reached, you will obtain the item for the last bid plus fees, not the maximum.

If you leave an absentee bid for a saleroom auction, you will not be informed when you are outbid. All pre-auction absentee bids remain confidential.

For ibid online only auctions, you will be informed each time you are outbid. When you register to bid, you can choose whether you wish to be informed by email or by text messaging. You will receive a notification each time you are outbid, as well as when you are the successful bidder. Please note that no further notifications will be sent during the last two minutes of bidding.

If a new bid is entered within the last 30 seconds before the end of the auction for a lot, the bidding for that lot will be automatically extended by one minute. That way you have time to decide whether you wish to bid again. The last 30 seconds will be clearly indicated on a status bar.

For saleroom auctions, it is possible to withdraw a pre-sale bid by submitting a written request at least 24 hours before the auction.

For ibid online only auctions, it is not possible to withdraw a bid. Because you are bidding in real time against other bidders, each bid is binding and cannot be withdrawn.

The hammer price is the price for which an item is attributed to the winning bidder. It does not yet include any additional fees. With the fall of the hammer, the purchase contract between the seller and the purchaser becomes valid. In an ibid online only auction, the lot is awarded to the bidder who has submitted the highest bid at the end of the auction period determined by the system.

In addition to the hammer price, the purchaser must pay a buyer's premium. The amount of the buyer's premium can be found in our auction conditions. For lots purchased over an online bidding platform during a classic saleroom auction, an additional fee of 3% of the hammer price will be charged.

For credit card payments an additional processing fee of 3% of the total invoice will be charged. This fee does not apply to purchases in ibid only online only auctions.

The buyer must pay the Swiss Value Added Tax (VAT) on the buyer's premium. All items marked with * in our auction catalogues are fully subject to VAT, i.e. for these items VAT will be charged on the total of the hammer price plus buyer's premium. The VAT will be refunded to purchasers who present a legally stamped export declaration.

The auctioneer may designate an item in a classic saleroom auction as ‘sold conditionally’. Such sales are subject to confirmation. Among the reasons for a conditional sale may be the absence of a signed agreement between the auctioneer and the consignor, or the failure to reach the reserve price. In case of the conditional acceptance of a bid, the winning bidder remains bound to his/her bid for 14 days. After consultation with the consignor, Koller will definitively confirm or cancel the sale within 14 days.

In ibid online only auctions, no lots are sold conditionally.

Here are our auction conditions for classic saleroom auctions.
Here are our auction conditions for ibid online only auctions.

If you are the highest bidder for an item, you will receive an invoice by email. If you left an absentee bid for an item and you were outbid, you will also be notified by us at the end of the auction series.

You can see all of the items on which you bid in your Koller account under ‘Bids’. You can also see if you were the successful bidder on those items.

Invoices can be paid by bank transfer, or on our premises by Maestro (debit) or credit card. Cash payments are also possible within the current legal limits. For cash amounts of CHF 30,000 or more, the completion of a form in accordance with anti-money-laundering legislation is mandatory. Koller may refuse to accept cash payments at any time without specifying a reason.

If you pay directly after the auction, you can collect the auctioned items immediately. All invoices will be sent by e-mail after the auction and must be paid within 7 days.

For purchases in classic saleroom auctions, Koller charges an additional handling fee of 3% of the invoice amount for credit card payments. This fee does not apply to purchases in ibid only online only auctions.

For lots purchased over an online bidding platform during a classic saleroom auction, an additional fee of 3% of the hammer price will be charged.

You can pay for the auctioned items with Maestro (debit) or credit card. For credit card payments in the classic saleroom auctions Koller charges an additional handling fee of 3% of the invoice amount. This fee does not apply to purchases in ibid only online only auctions.

After paying the invoice amount, which includes the hammer price as well as the buyer's premium and fees noted in the catalogue and on our website, you can collect the auctioned item at our premises or instruct us to organise the delivery. Our logistics team will be happy to assist you with the shipping of your purchase and will also take care of any customs formalities. Objects that have not been picked up within four weeks after the auction will be stored by us or a third-party company at the purchaser’s expense.

Our logistics team (logistics@kollerauctions.com) will be happy to assist you with the shipping of your purchase and will also take care of any customs formalities. Shipping costs are the responsibility of the purchaser.

Yes, for a period of 10 days (five days for ibid sales) after the auction, you can purchase unsold items. Just click on the ‘Buy now’ button under the lot description and follow the instructions.

A Koller account allows you to create your personal ‘My Catalogue’ list of selected items from our current catalogues, bid in our auctions directly through the online catalogues or during livestream auctions, bid in our ibid online only auctions, view your invoices and bid history, create a ‘My Search’ wish list, and much more. You can register and create your account here.

If you forget your password, we will help you to quickly and easily get a new one. Just enter the email address you used to register at Koller here and we will send you a link to reset your password. If you haven’t received an email within a few minutes, please check your spam folder. If you have forgotten your registered email address, please call our help desk: +41 44 445 63 99.

With the ‘My Catalogue’ feature, you can make your own personal catalogue containing exclusively the items in which you are interested. You also have the possibility to show only the items on your screen which you would like to watch or have bid on. To use this feature you need to sign in to your account on our website, or to create an account if you don’t have one yet.

We regularly send newsletters to our customers to inform them about upcoming auctions, events and other news. You can sign up for our newsletter here.

If you are looking for works by individual artists or items from specific collecting fields, you have the option of registering your individual searches on our website via ‘My Search’. This way you will automatically receive a message as soon as an object with the corresponding criteria comes up for auction in one of our upcoming sales. If you need help registering your search, please email or call us at: webmaster@kollerauctions.com, +41 44 445 63 99

If you need technical support concerning the auction or your registration, you can contact our help desk by email (support@kollerauctions.com) or by telephone (+41 44 445 63 99). If you have questions concerning an item in the auction, please click on the ‘Query’ button, located next to each lot description. This will enable you to get in touch by telephone or email with the appropriate specialist for this item.