Auction Rules

1. Purpose, the platform’s role and the condition of sale

A Watchlabb auction is a listing method that brings together a seller offering a watch and interested members through a ranking of bids. Watchlabb does not take a commission on the sale of the watch; it is not the seller or the buyer of the watch, nor a guarantor of payment or hand-over. PASS, store and Doping services are separate from the sale of the watch.

When creating the auction, the seller states from the outset that the system’s determination of the winner does not, on its own, constitute final acceptance of the sale, and that the seller reserves the right to approve the sale separately. The bidder sees this condition before bidding. Acceptance of the winner or of a sale offer starts the stage of direct contact and completion between the parties; it does not mean that Watchlabb collects the price of the watch or undertakes to carry out the sale.

The rights and obligations arising from any sale agreement the parties make separately, and from any payment and hand-over they carry out, are subject to their own terms. The fact that the Platform gives no sale guarantee does not of itself cancel obligations that have arisen separately in this way.

2. Participation and verification

To bid, a member must be logged in and must have a verified phone, an approved identity verification and a valid PASS. PASS is only a time-limited right to participate; it is not the price of a watch, a deposit or a right to buy a particular watch.

The seller may not bid on their own watch, either directly or through linked accounts. Bids that are not genuine, that are collusive or that aim to push up the price are prohibited, as are acting with another person’s account or identity and opening a new account to get round a block.

3. Offering the watch and ownership

The seller declares that they own the watch or are authorised to sell it, that the item is original and its sale is lawful, and that all information and images are accurate. Malfunctions, damage, replaced parts, repairs and missing items may not be concealed. The content obligations in the Listing Rules and Seller Declaration also apply here.

A new individual auction application is sent for review once the ownership verification image required by the form and the other checks have been completed. The watch is set to the requested time, or the alternative method offered is used. When a previously approved standard listing is converted, the existing verification and approval record may be used; a further check may be requested where necessary. Identity and image checks are not a guarantee of legal ownership or of the item.

A new individual application is added to the auction list after approval; an eligible store application and the conversion of an existing approved listing are added subject to the relevant eligibility conditions. Watchlabb may also carry out a review and apply security measures afterwards.

4. Schedule, list closing and changes

Sessions are held on Wednesdays and Sundays. The start time and duration of each watch are scheduled by the management for each listing individually; the start, the planned end and the duration are shown on the listing itself. Not all watches start and end at the same time.

The list for the relevant session closes at 12.00 on the day of the session. A watch submitted after this time is moved to the next session, subject to the relevant eligibility and approval process. Until it is scheduled, the start information may show as “To be announced”.

During the permitted list stage, the seller may edit or withdraw the watch until 12.00. A significant change to an individual listing may require a new review; a change to the reserve price alone is assessed separately. In the ordinary course, a live auction cannot be cancelled by the seller, nor can its details be changed arbitrarily. Urgent security and content issues are reported to Watchlabb; any necessary measures are applied separately.

5. Starting price, increment and reserve price

The starting price, the minimum increment and the schedule are set by a system recommendation subject to management oversight, taking into account the watch, the brand/model and market information. The applicable starting price, increment, currency and duration are shown before bidding. A price estimate is not a definitive expert appraisal or a sale guarantee.

The seller sets a reserve price, the amount of which is not disclosed to bidders. The lower limits in the form apply. The starting price and the reserve price are not the same thing. The listing shows whether the reserve price has been reached; the hidden amount itself is not disclosed.

If the session ends without the reserve price being reached, no winner is declared. The existence of a highest bid does not, on its own, mean that the reserve price has been met.

6. Bidding and confirmation

A bid is submitted, in an amount that complies with the starting price and the increment rule, through the confirmation step shown. If the amount has changed before confirmation, the new amount is presented to the user again; an earlier confirmation cannot be used for a different, higher amount.

Typing an amount or pressing a button does not, on its own, show that the bid has been recorded on the server. The validity of a bid is determined by the server’s acceptance, the time of recording and the status of the session. Sending the same bid again should not produce separate bids or duplicate results.

The member checks the amount they confirm and the listing. They may report a claim of technical error to support, together with the listing and transaction details. The records do not exclude other lawful evidence or the right to object.

7. Automatic bid

With an automatic bid, the amount selected is the upper limit up to which the system may bid on the member’s behalf; the full amount is not in every case deemed to have been bid directly. The system places bids against other valid bids in line with the increment rule shown, without exceeding the limit.

When setting up or changing the upper limit, the member confirms the amount shown. If a value that does not fit the increment is to be adjusted, the final amount to be saved is shown clearly before confirmation. The limit is not disclosed to other bidders as personal upper-limit information.

Cancelling an automatic bid only stops automatic bids that would be generated in the future; it does not withdraw bids already recorded on the server. When the limit is exceeded, there is no guarantee that a higher bid will be placed or that the member will win. Technical access problems and notification delays may be assessed separately. A member cancelling their own automatic bid is different from the seller blocking the member; where the seller blocks a member, earlier bids and automatic instructions are invalidated to the extent set out in section 10.

8. Time extension, connection and closing

Each valid bid accepted by the server within the final minute resets the remaining time to three minutes. This does not mean that three minutes are added to the remaining time with every bid. If the same condition arises again, the extension may be repeated; the current end time shown on the listing applies.

When the timer reaches zero, the field for new bids closes and the server finalises the result. The “Finalising” stage does not mean that a new bid is accepted on the basis of the timer on the user’s own device.

Connection loss, device or browser problems, delays and outages of external infrastructure may affect the sending of bids. On reconnection, the current status is retrieved. Members should act without leaving it to the last second and should not rely on notifications alone. A bid that is not transmitted, or not accepted by the server in time, does not create a vested right. Watchlabb’s liability for its own negligence and its liabilities that cannot be excluded by law are reserved.

9. Winner and sharing of contact details

At the end of the time, the holder of the highest valid bid that meets the reserve price condition is determined as the winner. The result and the bid ranking may show a participant label specific to that auction (e.g. Bidder 1) and the amount; this display does not mean that the sale and the payment have been completed.

So that they can complete the transaction, the necessary name/surname, city and phone/contact details are made available between the seller and the winner. This information may be used only for the transaction concerned; it may not be used for unsolicited marketing, disclosure or pressure.

The seller and the buyer agree directly on the inspection of the watch, payment of the price, the currency, hand-over and the other terms of sale. Watchlabb does not assume these persons’ obligations relating to the item or to payment. The “Sold” mark must be based on an actual sale; a marking does not, on its own, prove payment at a bank or physical hand-over.

10. Disruptive bids, blocking and the backup member

The seller may block a bidder whom they consider to be disrupting the auction, stating a reason. For example, a bid that is thought not to be made with the intention of buying and that in effect halts other bids with an amount far above the normal market value may be assessed in this context. A high price is not, on its own, a definitive finding of fraud; blocking is intended to let the seller manage participation in their own auctions.

Blocking is not applied only to the selected bid. All manual and automatic bids of the blocked member in all live auctions of the blocking seller that are ongoing at that time are invalidated and removed from the visible bid lists. The automatic bid instructions the member has given for these auctions are also stopped. While the block remains in place, the member cannot place new bids in the same seller’s other or later auctions. Other sellers’ auctions are not automatically affected by a block specific to this seller.

In the affected live auctions, the highest bid, the bid ranking and whether the reserve price has been reached are determined again on the basis of the remaining valid bids. The removed bid of the blocked member cannot be used in determining the winner, the backup member or the price of a sale offer. If no valid bid remains, this is shown; the removed amount is not retained as if it were the highest valid bid.

If the winner states that they will not buy, or does not respond to the contact attempts made to complete the sale and does not complete the transaction, the seller may block that member, recording the reason. In that case, the winner’s bids in the auction concerned are also invalidated. Moving to an eligible backup member becomes available only after the blocking has been completed. A sale offer may be sent to the next member among the remaining eligible bids, at that member’s own last valid bid amount and on the conditions in section 11; the backup member does not automatically become a buyer or a debtor.

A block is not the closure of the entire Platform membership, nor a monetary penalty. By this action, Watchlabb does not make a judicial decision on fraud, negligence or debt. Other sales that have actually been completed and rights the parties have acquired separately do not lapse automatically because of the blocking. A claim of wrongful use may be reviewed through official support.

The seller may later lift the block from the “Blocked members” section. Once the block is lifted, the member may again bid in eligible auctions; bids previously invalidated and automatic instructions that were stopped are not restored automatically. The results of completed auctions are not changed retrospectively by this action.

Removal from the visible list is not the destruction of transaction evidence. The amount and time of invalidated bids, the auction concerned, the blocking seller, the reason and the records of blocking and lifting the block may be kept with restricted access, limited to the scope and period necessary for security and possible disputes.

11. Sale offer below the reserve price or to the backup member

If the reserve price has not been reached, the seller may send a sale offer once to the holder of the highest valid bid, at that member’s own last bid amount. This offer is the seller’s consideration of a lower price for the transaction concerned; it does not retrospectively add a winner to the ended auction.

If the winner has not bought and has been blocked, the same offer option is used for the eligible backup member. An offer is sent once per auction result; if the recipient rejects it or does not respond, it is not passed on to other members in turn.

Once sent, an offer cannot be withdrawn in the ordinary course; the recipient is given one hour to respond. The recipient may accept or reject it; silence is not acceptance. On acceptance, the necessary contact details are made available to both sides and the transaction moves to the sale pending stage. Even in this case, no guarantee is given for the watch or the payment.

If the member who accepts the offer also does not buy, the seller may use the relevant blocking option; no new and unlimited backup chain arises.

12. Conversion with a standard listing

When moving from a standard listing to an auction, the same watch is not kept on sale by both methods at the same time. An auction that has not sold, or that has been properly cancelled, may be converted into a standard listing by stating a standard sale price. Where there is a sale offer or another open transaction, conflicting bids should not be created for the same watch.

Returning a watch previously published as a standard listing is different from creating a new standard listing from a watch first created for an auction. In the second case, the listing may be deducted from the member’s free listing limit; the remaining limit and the outcome of the conversion are shown before the action. Although approved content may be used, review for security and for significant content changes is reserved.

Removal and conversion do not automatically delete the related bid, acceptance and result records, or rights of the parties that have already arisen.

13. Misuse, support and records

Bids that are not genuine, collusive price raising, misuse of identity/accounts and misleading blocking may be investigated. A single sale not going ahead is not automatically misuse. In cases of concrete and repeated misuse, access to the service concerned may be restricted; no monetary penalty, contractual penalty or withdrawal penalty is applied.

Bids, automatic bid instructions, the amounts shown/confirmed, server time, time extensions, the schedule, the document version, blocks/reasons, and offer and response records are linked to the transaction. The necessary records are kept only for as long as the purpose and the legal period require.

Requests and objections may be sent to Watchlabb’s official support channels, together with the listing number. The Membership Agreement, the data privacy notices and the paid service terms apply within their own subjects. Rights that cannot be excluded by law and the routes of application to the competent authorities are reserved.