HUUTOKAUPAT.COM SELLER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please note that this is a translation of the Finnish language version of the Huutokaupat.com Seller Terms and Conditions. In case of any discrepancies between the Finnish version and this English version, the Finnish version shall prevail.
1. GENERAL
These seller terms and conditions (“Seller Terms”) apply to all services (“Services”) offered by Mezzoforte Oy (business ID: 2004568-7) (“Huutokaupat.com”) to Sellers (defined below) and the transactions concluded in connection with the use of Services.
2. DEFINITIONS
In addition to the terms defined above, the following terms shall be used in these Seller Terms:
“Huutokaupat.com Transaction” refers to a transaction where Huutokaupat.com purchases an Item from a Seller and re-sells it to an End Customer.
“Auction” refers to an auction organized by Huutokaupat.com with a related listing published in the Online Service.
“Auction Terms” refer to the applicable auction terms and conditions in force at each time, which are prepared by Huutokaupat.com and which can be found here (Huutokaupat.com Transactions) and here (Transactions Between Buyers).
“Seller” refers to a person (company, municipality, etc.) who has registered to the Online Service and: i) creates a Listing and sells an Item to Huutokaupat.com (Huutokaupat.com Transactions) or to an End Customer (Transactions Between Users); or ii) publishes an Other Listing
“Listing Rules” refer to the rules for listing applied to Auctions in force at each time, which are prepared by Huutokaupat.com and which can be found here.
“Listing” refers to a notice of an Item listed for sale in an Auction published in the Online Service.
“Item” refers to a piece of property comprising the subject of an Auction.
“Item Rules” refer to the rules applied to Items in force at each time, which are prepared by Huutokaupat.com and which can be found here.
“Transaction Between Users” refers to a transaction concluded between the Seller and an End Customer.
“Terms and Conditions” refer to the terms and conditions of the Online Service prepared by Huutokaupat.com in force at each time, which can be found here.
“End Customer” refers to the person (often a consumer) who has placed the highest bid on an Item in an Auction.
“SHB clause” refers to a Sold to the Highest Bidder clause which means that the Item is sold to the person who has placed the highest bid (the highest bid in an Auction is automatically considered as accepted).
“Other Listing” refers to a listing published in the Online Service pertaining to some other sales procedure than those organized by Huutokaupat.com
“Sales Terms” refer to the terms and conditions of sale applied to Auctions in force at each time, which are prepared by Huutokaupat.com and which can be found here.
“Withdrawal Rules” refer to the rules relating to withdrawals from contracts of sale by End Customers under the Consumer Protection Act applied to the relationship between the Seller and Huutokaupat.com in force at each time, which are prepared by Huutokaupat.com and which can be found here.
“Confirmation Message” refers to an email sent by Huutokaupat.com to a Seller where Huutokaupat.com gives notice of the execution of the Auction and the transfer of ownership of the Item to Huutokaupat.com.
“Confirmation Message Deadline” refers to the second weekday after the payment time reserved for an End Customer in accordance with the Sales Terms has expired (if the End Customer is expected to pay for the Item on Friday, the Confirmation Message Deadline is Tuesday).
“Online Service” refers to the online service pertaining to the Services at huutokaupat.com maintained by Huutokaupat.com
3. TERMS RELATING TO SERVICES AND AUCTIONS
Huutokaupat.com provides Sellers the opportunity to offer their property for sale in Auctions. The Auctions can consist of Huutokaupat.com Transactions or Transactions Between Users, in addition to which the Online Service can be used to publish Other Listings. In addition to the Seller Terms, the following terms and rules, which the Seller is considered to have accepted by using the Services, shall always apply to the sales of property in Auctions:
a) Listing Rules;
b) Item Rules;
c) Withdrawal Rules;
d) Terms and Conditions;
e) Auction Terms; and
f) Sales terms.
These Seller Terms and the other documents referred to in the terms are based on the premise that the Seller is the owner of the Item. If a Seller is using the Services on behalf of a third party (i.e. the owner of the Item), the Seller must be appropriately authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the Item such that the actions of the Seller are also binding on the owner of the Item. In the above circumstances, the provisions of these Seller Terms and the other documents referred to in these Seller Terms that apply to the Seller are applied to both the owner of the Item and the Seller acting on their behalf such that both parties are fully responsible for all obligations regarding the Seller provided by these Seller Terms and the Terms and Conditions.
4. TRADING
4.1. General
Trading by way of Auctions is carried out in accordance with the Auction Terms.
If an Auction is considered a Huutokaupat.com transaction, the transaction is concluded such that Huutokaupat.com purchases the Item from the Seller and re-sells it to the End Customer as described in further detail in these Seller Terms. If an auction is considered a Transaction Between Users, Huutokaupat.com is not a party to the Auction and the role of Huutokaupat.com is limited to providing the Services that enable the parties to the Auction to engage in a commercial transaction. Huutokaupat.com shall not participate in any way in transaction proceedings pertaining to Other Listings or accept any responsibility for transactions pertaining to Other Listings.
Huutokaupat.com shall decide on the basis of information provided for each Item and Seller, whether the Auction in accordance with the Listing is considered a Huutokaupat.com Transaction or a Transaction Between Users. The nature of an Auction is not indicated when preparing a Listing. If the Seller does not accept the decision of Huutokaupat.com, the Seller must refrain from publishing the Listing and contact the customer service of Huutokaupat.com.
4.2. Acceptance of bids
When an Auction has ended, the Seller shall receive notice of the highest bid through the Online Service. The Seller has, unless the Item is sold subject to the SHB clause, the right to accept or reject the sale of the Item at the price indicated by the highest bid. Acceptance of the purchase price indicated by the highest bid is a binding act for the Seller, which is considered in Huutokaupat.com Transactions as a binding and an irreversible offer to sell the Item to Huutokaupat.com (Huutokaupat.com Transactions) or the End Customer (Transactions Between Users) in accordance with the conditions provided by these Seller Terms. If the Seller does not accept the bid in the Online Service during the period reserved by Huutokaupat.com for the acceptance of the bid, Huutokaupat.com shall have the right (but not the obligation) to consider the bid as rejected by the Seller. The aforementioned does not apply to items sold subject to the SHB clause where the Seller is automatically considered to have accepted the highest bid.
4.3. Terms relating to End Customers
The Sales Terms shall apply to the relationship between the End Customer and the seller (Huutokaupat.com or Seller) in all Auctions unless the transaction is a Transaction Between Users in a category to which Huutokaupat.com considers the Sales Terms to be inapplicable (such as the sales of real estate or share of stock in a housing corporation). The Seller shall receive notice of the possible unsuitability of the Sales Terms and/or the possibility of diverging from the Sales Terms as part of the process of submitting a Listing. The Sales Terms shall always apply to Huutokaupat.com Transactions. The possibility of diverging from or amending the Sales Terms is stipulated in the Sales Terms.
4.4. Conclusion of Transactions
In Huutokaupat.com Transactions, the right of ownership and possession of the Item is transferred from the Seller to Huutokaupat.com immediately after Huutokaupat.com has sent a Confirmation Message to the email address provided to Huutokaupat.com by the Seller in the Service. Huutokaupat.com shall only send the Confirmation Message after it has received payment for the Item, and Huutokaupat.com is under no obligation to purchase the Item until it has sent the Confirmation Message. These Seller Terms shall apply to the transaction between the Seller and Huutokaupat.com (incl. the purchase price determined in accordance with these Seller Terms), and the Seller shall have no right to propose or stipulate additional conditions for the conclusion of the transaction. The conditions applicable in a situation where an End Customer exercises their right of withdrawal under the Consumer Protection Act are provided in the Withdrawal Rules (incl. the conditions pertaining to the right of Huutokaupat.com to cancel a contract of sale concluded between it and a Seller in certain circumstances).
In Huutokaupat.com Transactions, the purchase price of the Item is always paid directly to Huutokaupat.com and the Item is delivered once the purchase price has been paid and Huutokaupat.com has given notice of the payment to the Seller. If: i) an End Customer pays the purchase price of an Item directly to the Seller; or ii) a Seller delivers an Item sold in a Huutokaupat.com Transaction to the End Customer who placed the highest bid for the Item before the right of ownership of the Item has been transferred to Huutokaupat.com, the transaction regarding the Item shall be treated as a Transaction Between Users to which Huutokaupat.com is not a party. In this case, the Seller shall be personally responsible for all rights and obligations regarding the transaction in question (such as the charging of the purchase price and the offering of a right of withdrawal under the Consumer Protection Act). A Huutokaupat.com Transaction that has become a Transaction Between Users shall be subject to a fee in accordance with its normal price list, but not to a contractual penalty under paragraph 10. The Seller must immediately give notice of the payment of an Item to Huutokaupat.com if it has received a payment from the End Customer or delivered the Item before Huutokaupat.com has given notice of the payment of the Item to the Seller.
4.5. Unpaid items
If Huutokaupat.com does not send a Confirmation Message to the Seller for an Item listed as a Huutokaupat.com Transaction by the Confirmation Message Deadline, the Seller shall have the right to cancel the Auction in question (by issuing a cancellation notice in the Online Service). If the Item was listed for sale as a Transaction Between Users, the Seller shall have the right to cancel the Auction (by issuing a cancellation notice in the Online Service) if the End Customer does not pay the purchase price within the time specified in the Sales Terms.
Cancellation of a transaction by the Seller shall not however be possible after Huutokaupat.com has sent a Confirmation Message or the End Customer has paid the purchase price to the Seller. Huutokaupat.com shall have the right (but not the obligation) to consider an Auction as cancelled if notice has not been given of the Auction being completed or cancelled within fourteen (14) days of the closing of the Auction.
5. OBLIGATIONS OF THE SELLER
Unless the Seller and Huutokaupat.com have specifically agreed otherwise to a certain extent, the Seller is responsible for ensuring and assures Huutokaupat.com that:
a) the listings it prepares are compliant with the Listing Rules and the Items it offers for sale are compliant with the Item Rules;
b) it complies with the Withdrawal Rules;
c) the Item does not have defects under the Sales Terms or any laws or regulations concerning consumer protection when it is sold as the result of an Auction to an End Customer (even where the End Customer is a consumer);
d) it is responsible for the Item on behalf of Huutokaupat.com at its own expense until it has been delivered (liability for risk lies with the Seller);
e) it is responsible for the delivery of the Item to the End Customer on behalf of Huutokaupat.com without delay and without separate charge (in accordance with the delivery terms indicated by the Listing; Huutokaupat.com shall pay any delivery fees it charges from the End Customer to the Seller);
f) the Seller is a company that is taxable in Finland for VAT purposes or another legal person, or where the Seller is not taxable in Finland for VAT purposes, the Seller shall not sell Items whose sale or resale is subject to VAT;
g) it has provided the correct information pertaining to the VAT of the Item (incl. marginal tax) while submitting a Listing to the Online Service; and
h) it aims to ensure good cooperation with Huutokaupat.com and take any action reasonably requested by Huutokaupat.com that are necessary for the processing of complaints issued by an End Customer.
The Seller must immediately give notice to Huutokaupat.com of any breaches of the above obligations it becomes aware of. A breach of these obligations may lead to loss of access to the Services, liability for damages, as well as other consequences.
6. RESPONSIBILITY OF HUUTOKAUPAT.COM FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS
Huutokaupat.com shall primarily be responsible for any contacts by End Customers after Huutokaupat.com Transactions and the related customer service activities, such as cancellation requests, handling of complaints, and responding to feedback.
Huutokaupat.com shall handle any complaints pertaining to Huutokaupat.com Transactions it receives as follows:
a) if Huutokaupat.com considers that the matter is a question of a non-conformity concerning an Item or Listing, Huutokaupat.com shall primarily aim to resolve the matter with the End Customer, by offering reasonable compensation paid by Huutokaupat.com where necessary;
b) where necessary, Huutokaupat.com shall request additional information on the matter from the Seller and assesses whether the matter is a question of a material non-conformity concerning and Item or Listing;
c) if Huutokaupat.com considers the matter to be a question of material non-conformity concerning an Item or Listing, which Huutokaupat.com is not willing to compensate at its own expense, it shall offer the End Customer the option to cancel the contract of sale (with regard to products sold as new, Huutokaupat.com shall also explore the option to exchange the product for a new product free of defects with the Seller);
d) if Huutokaupat.com considers itself compelled to offer the End Customer some other compensation instead or in addition to cancelling the contract of sale (such as making reparations or the payment of costs pertaining to the return of an Item), and if Huutokaupat.com intends to seek compensation from the Seller, it must give notice of the matter to the Seller in writing (by email, for example) in advance and reserve at least two (2) weekdays for the Seller's response concerning the planned measures. Huutokaupat.com shall not seek compensation from the Seller as mentioned above unless it considers the Seller to have materially breached their obligations.
Huutokaupat.com shall direct any complaints concerning Transactions Between Users to the Seller and reserves the right to take part in the discussions pertaining to complaints between the parties to a transaction.
7. REGARDING THE RIGHT OF HUUTOKAUPAT.COM TO CANCEL A CONTRACT OF SALE
Huutokaupat.com shall have the right to cancel a contract of sale concluded between it and a Seller regarding an Item sold in a Huutokaupat.com Transaction if:
a) the Seller is materially in breach of these Seller Terms or any other terms or rules referred to in the Seller Terms (such as the Listing Rules or Item Rules);
b) it considers the cancellation of a contract of sale to be necessary in order to prevent misconduct concerning the use of the Service; or
c) said right is based on the Withdrawal Rules.
At each time before a decision concerning the cancellation of a contract of sale, Huutokaupat.com must reserve two (2) weekdays to allow the Seller to provide a written response to Huutokaupat.com, unless Huutokaupat.com considers the provision of a response to be manifestly unnecessary (in the event of a clear non-conformity, misuse of the Service, or cancellation, for example).
8. SELLER'S RESPONSIBILITY
If a Seller breaches their obligations (such as these Seller Terms, Listing Rules, Item Rules, Withdrawal Rules, Auction Terms, or Sales Terms) and Huutokaupat.com suffers damage as a result of the breach, the Seller shall be obligated to reimburse all damage suffered by Huutokaupat.com as a result of the breach, excluding any voluntary compensation paid under paragraph 6 in each case. Huutokaupat.com shall have the right to deduct the amount corresponding to the damage suffered by Huutokaupat.com which the Seller is obligated to reimburse from any payments made to the Seller.
9. PURCHASE PRICE, PAYMENTS, AND HUUTOKAUPAT.COM FEES
Huutokaupat.com shall pay the purchase price of an Item sold as a Huutokaupat.com Transaction corresponding to the highest bid received plus any delivery fees charged by Huutokaupat.com to the Seller. Huutokaupat.com shall pay the purchase price to the Seller in accordance with its payment policy in effect at each time. The payment policy accounts for the value of the Item, the listing history of the Seller (incl. any complaints) and any questions regarding the possible right of withdrawal. Payments are generally made on the same day as the Item is delivered to the End Customer, and no later than within 21 days of the Item having been delivered to the End Customer in a verifiable manner, provided that Huutokaupat.com has not received a complaint concerning the Item or some other cause for refraining from the payment of the purchase price.
Huutokaupat.com shall charge the Seller for any published Listings and Other Listings the price in accordance with the price list of Huutokaupat.com. Huutokaupat.com may at its discretion either send an invoice to the Seller or deduct its fees from the purchase price paid to the Seller such that payments pertaining to other Items (or Other Listings) of the Seller may also be deducted from the purchase price of a sold Item.
Huutokaupat.com shall deliver the invoice for the purchase of an Item sold in a Huutokaupat.com Transaction to the Seller by email or by another method chosen by Huutokaupat.com. The Seller must verify the accuracy of the invoice (incl. the amount of delivery fees and the VAT rate applied to the sale of the Item) and submit a complaint for any inaccuracies without delay. The invoice provided by Huutokaupat.com shall be considered to have been accepted by the Seller if the Seller does not submit a complaint within seven (7) days of the delivery of the invoice. The self-billed invoice prepared by Huutokaupat.com shall be used as a receipt in the accounting and tax reporting of the parties. The Seller shall be responsible for any damage suffered by Huutokaupat.com as a result of inaccurate information pertaining to invoicing provided by the Seller.
Unless otherwise agreed by the Seller and Huutokaupat.com, Huutokaupat.com shall pay the purchase price that is payable by it to the appropriate bank account entered by the Seller into the Huutokaupat.com system. The purchase price shall be considered as paid when the bank of Huutokaupat.com has debited the payment in question from the account of Huutokaupat.com. No interest shall be paid on the purchase price (incl. any delivery etc. fees).
The fees and remunerations charged by Huutokaupat.com are indicated by the price list of Huutokaupat.com in force at each time. In Transactions Between Users (as well as any transactions pertaining to Other Listings), the parties to the transaction shall be personally responsible for the measures pertaining to the payment of the purchase price.
10. CONSEQUENCES OF BREACHING THE SELLER TERMS
Huutokaupat.com shall have the right to prevent a Seller from using the Service if Huutokaupat.com considers the Seller to have breached these Seller Terms or any other terms, conditions or rules referred to in these Seller Terms.
If the Seller does not deliver the Item sold as a Huutokaupat.com Transaction to the End Customer is accordance with these Seller Terms (also incl. the Auction Terms and Sales Terms), Huutokaupat.com is entitled (but not obligated) to cancel the contract of sale pertaining to the Item and to collect an amount corresponding to twenty percent (20%) of the price that the End Customer has paid for the Item to Huutokaupat.com from the Seller as a contractual penalty, but in any event no less than 200 euros and no more than 2,000 euros. Huutokaupat.com shall additionally be entitled to charge the Seller for any damage in excess of the contractual penalty.
If the Seller has listed and Item subject to the SHB clause but cancels the Auction without a justified and appropriately proven reason, Huutokaupat.com shall have the right to charge the Seller for two (2) times the amount of the sales commission of the Item in question in accordance with the normal price list as compensation, either based on the highest bid placed or the starting price of the Item, but in any event no less than 200 euros.
If Huutokaupat.com discovers any bids placed by the Seller (incl. the Owner of the Item) or a representative of or a party related to the Seller for an Item they have listed, Huutokaupat.com shall have the right to cancel the Auction of the Item in question and to block the person who placed the bid from signing into the Service. If a bid has been made by a representative of the Seller's company or by a related party, Huutokaupat.com shall have the right to charge the Seller for twice the amount of the sales commission of the actual purchase price of the Item in question calculated in accordance with its price list, but in any event no less than 200 euros, and to block the Seller and the person in question from signing into the service. Huutokaupat.com also reserves the right to submit a request for investigation to the police regarding the misconduct of the Seller or their related parties.
11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Subject to mandatory legislation, Huutokaupat.com shall not be responsible or liable to compensate for any: i) direct or indirect damage; or ii) expenses or losses pertaining to the Online Service or its use (including the potential loss of data and the cost of re-creating data) or the sales and purchase of Items. The liability of Huutokaupat.com toward the Seller is always limited to the amount corresponding to the amount of the service charge charged by Huutokaupat.com for the damaging incident in question or another similar compensation.
12. CHANGING THE SELLER TERMS
Huutokaupat.com shall have the right to change these Seller Terms by notifying the Seller of the change by email or through the Online Service. The Changes shall come into effect seven (7) days after the provision of the change notification. The Seller accepts the changes by continuing to use the Service.
13. VALIDITY AND EXPIRY
The agreement concluded between the Seller and Huutokaupat.com shall enter into force when the Seller accepts the Seller Terms and Huutokaupat.com grants the Seller access to the Online Service. The agreement remains valid until further notice. The Seller shall not be relieved of their obligations incurred during their use of the Services by ceasing to use the Services.
14. TRANSFER
Huutokaupat.com shall have the right to transfer the activities pertaining to the Services (also incl. the contents, user information, and agreements) in full or in part within its group or to a third party in the context of a corporate transaction or outsourcing of its activities. The Seller or a person acting on behalf of a Seller shall not have the right to transfer any rights or obligations pertaining to the Services, or to provide or disclose their user ID to any other person (user IDs are personal).
15. GOVERNING LAW
These Seller terms and conditions are governed by Finnish law. Any disputes arising from these Seller Terms shall be resolved by the District Court of Helsinki as the court of first instance.