Terms and Conditions – Adventure House Auctions

Please be sure to read the Terms and Conditions of Sale, Guide to Prospective Bidders, and related information presented on the following pages. The Auction Rules are designed to encourage and reward bidding. You will be at a disadvantage if you do not read them.

1. This auction is offered by Adventure House.

2. Any person participating in or who registers for the auction agrees to be bound by and accepts these Terms and Conditions of Auction.

3. Bidding will be offered to any item that is scheduled to begin up until the end time for that particular lot.

4. The final day of bidding for lots will vary by lot, they will close at the time scheduled.

We recommend bidders leave maximum bids and Adventure House’s auction software will bid for you to avoid disappointment. If you are a bidder on any lot and are outbid, you will receive an email warning you of this outbid. But this is not a guaranteed alert or one that should be interpreted as signaling a set amount of time remaining in the auction. Our system will also send you an alert one day in advance of the close of auction to anyone who has either bid, or been outbid for any particular lot.

5. All bidders must be registered through the website.

6. All new bidders must be registered prior to placing a bid.

7. Bids update in real time on our website, and in order to top the bid, you must conform to the next bidding increment, or place a MAX BID. Placing a bid constitutes acceptance of the terms of sale as outlined herein.

8. Internet system-generated bid confirmation and outbid notices are always sent, but Adventure House cannot guarantee that they will be received. An automated email notice may not be received for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, the computer settings of recipients, which sometimes interpret system email as spam. We recommend that bidders do not rely exclusively on email outbid notices and actively check the status of your bids online. To check your bids, login at the “Login” link at the top of the page. From there, you’ll be able to update your registration, or see orders previously placed, and of course all bids you’ve made.

9. Each item in the auction is accompanied by an opening bid. Select items may have a confidential reserve placed on them by a consignor. These items will be clearly designated as such on the individual lot pages. Until such time that the confidential reserve is met, the item page will display “Reserve Not Met” directly underneath the current bid. Bidders may continue to bid on the item using all available bid increments. Once the confidential reserve is met, the status of the item will change to “Reserve Met” on the item page.

10. In accordance with the applicable government regulations, consignors may not bid on their own materials or have others secretly do this for them on their behalf.

11. Maryland residents must pay 6% state sales tax or have valid resale certificate.

12. There will be a 15% Buyers Premium added to the final gavel price.

13. No retractions of bids are permitted. Once a bid has been placed, it may not be retracted unless it becomes apparent that it was done by mistake. Corrections may be made, but no retractions.

14. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. No returns are accepted.

15. Adventure House reserves the right to postpone or delay the auction, for a reasonable period of time, due to any significant, relevant event, which in the sole discretion of the auctioneer, makes it inadvisable to hold the auction as scheduled, without recourse from any bidder or prospective bidder.

16. Payment is due within 14 days of your invoice sent. Each winning bid will be accompanied with an email announcing the win, and you’ll also have a winning notice on your DASHBOARD. If you do plan on waiting for additional lots to close, please contact Adventure House to let us know your intentions to do so.

17. Any person participating in or who registers for the auction agrees to be bound by and accepts these Terms and Conditions of Auction. If an entity places a bid, then the person executing the bid on behalf of the entity agrees to jointly and personally guarantee payment for any successful bid.

18. Adventure House disclaims all liability for damages, consequential or otherwise, arising of or in connection with the sale of any property by Auctioneer to Bidder. No third party may rely on any benefit of these Terms and Conditions, and any rights established under the Terms and Conditions are personal to the Bidder and may not be assigned. Any statement made by the Auctioneer is a statement of opinion and does not constitute a warranty or representation.

19. Placing a bid constitutes express acceptance of all terms and provisions contained in these Conditions of Sale.

There will be a 15% Buyer’s Premium added to the final gavel price. Therefore if your gavel price is $100, there will be an additional 15% added or in this case $15 for a final price of $115.00 plus shipping.

20. Max Bids – You may place a Max Bid for the auction software to automatically bid for you. Once someone tops your max bid, the system will send you an email to inform you of being outbid. Please be aware that this email won’t be sent with mere minutes left in the closing time of that lot.

21. Closing – Each auction will commence to close on a specific day and specific time. Each lot in turn after the first will close exactly one minute after the previous lot. Therefore, if the auction has 200 lots, the auction will take 200 minutes to complete.

Once the auction is complete, please use the checkout feature of to receive an invoice showing the subtotal of your winning lots, the 15% buyers premium and shipping via USPS if within the United States or Puerto Rico.

22. Check In.

Click on the Login link in the top gray menu. Enter your email or username and password to gain access and allow you to place bids.

If you’ve never bid before, you’ll need to register. Click on the Register link in the top gray menu. You’ll need to create a username. We recommend a username that won’t give away your identity to other bidders. You may use numbers, or a nickname, or perhaps a combination of both. There is no need to remember this name, as you can login by using your email. As a first time member, you’ll have to enter your first and last name and email address. Create a password for yourself and enter it. You’ll also have to place your mailing address, so we will be able to figure shipping on your winning lots.

23. Payment. All winning bids will be subjected to a 15% buyers premium. You will receive a PDF invoice for the total price including this 15% buyers premium. You may pay via check, money order, Paypal, or credit card through Square.

24. Placing Bids. A regular bid, would be the next highest bid. The auction software will display the next available bid, and you may place that next highest bid. If you are the highest bidder, the system will display you as the highest bidder.

You may also choose to place a Max Bid and allow the auction software to bid for you. Once placed, the software will then place a higher bid up until it reaches your Max Bid amount. You will receive an email warning once your Max Bid has been overbid by another bidder. At that point you can decide to place another bid, or allow the bid to go to someone else. This Max Bid will bid automatically for you up to the last seconds before the lot closes.

25. Condition of Items.

PULPS –

We use the grading system that we published in our Adventure House Guide to the Pulps with a single alteration. We almost never grade anything as Near Mint.

Very Fine [VF] – the top grade for a pulp with overhanging cover edges. Should appear almost new, clean, with high cover gloss and no fading. It should have white or off-white paper. The overhang may bend around the interior paper and exhibit several small defects.

Fine [F] – A clean, flat copy with only minor defects generally confined to the overhang. the cover may have lost some gloss. The paper may be yellowing but not browning.

Very Good [VG] – A well-read copy with a proliferation of lesser defects including significant edge war, tears that radiate from the overhang, light cover creases or wrinkling, a light rubber stamp of other minor cover discoloration, small pieces missing from the edge, light tap at spine ends, minor spine fading, light warping. Paper may exhibit light edge browning or tanning.

Good [G] – a well-worn copy with a number of moderate to major defects including fading to spine or cover, taped spine, major tears cleanly repaired with tape on the inside, lighter tape on the outside, larger pieces missing from the cover, browning but not brittle paper.

Fair [F] – A beat-up copy with many major defects including pieces missing from cover, or missing interior pages, missing spine, heavy cove tape, significant water damage or warping. Paper may be brown or brittle.

In some cases, we will apply a dual grade if the item fits into the middle of two grades. We’ve not listed the grades of POOR or COVERLESS, as we don’t imagine most people would bid on those items…unless it’s something very special.

PAPERBACKS

For paperbacks, we’ve gone with the early paperback grades as highlighted through several paperback price guides.

Fine [FN] – pristine and nearly flawless copy. Might have very minor shelf wear to spine or cover edges. Should be as closest to newsstand fresh as you might find. Paper should be no less than off-white. Perhaps some minor discoloration to inside covers.

Very Good [VG] – might show some additional shelf wear with perhaps some minor reading creases near spine. Minor spine of cover edge bumps allowable. Some discoloration to inside covers or foxing visible. Paper could be off-white to light tan, but not brittle. Spine intact.

Good [G] – heavy creases visible. Paper light tan but not brittle. Small piece perhaps missing from spine or cover edge. Spine roll permissible.

Anything less than GOOD is not going to be listed.

HARDBACKS

For paperbacks, we’ve gone with the early paperback grades as highlighted through several paperback price guides.

Good [G] – heavy creases visible. Paper light tan but not brittle. Small piece perhaps missing from spine or cover edge. Spine roll permissible.

Anything less than GOOD is not going to be listed.

MAGAZINES

Please refer to the Pulp Grades. Be aware that most magazines use a better quality of paper than pulps. So paper whiteness is ignored.

GOOD FOR ITS AGE

You will never see this in our auctions. It’s a cop-out for those who might want to inflate the price of a magazine beyond it’s grade. VF is VF regardless if it’s 20 years or 120 years old.

Please contact us for any additional questions you might have. Use the link above listed as Contact Us, to register your name and question. We will endeavor to respond as soon as possible. Please don’t send us a question just prior to the auction, as we might not have time to respond to your query.