Terms of Use

Who we are

Crossroad Sellers ("the platform", "we") is an online marketplace on which independent auction houses ("houses") run timed online auctions. Each auction is conducted by the house named on it. The house, not the platform, is the seller's agent, owns the relationship with the buyer, and is responsible for the goods, their description, delivery and any dispute about them. These terms govern your use of the platform; each house also has its own terms of sale, which you accept when you register to bid with that house.

Your account

You must be 18 or older and give accurate information. One account per person; you are responsible for everything done with it. Keep your password private. Anyone who runs an auction house's console must also use a second way to sign in (a passkey, an authenticator app or a security key). Tell us at once if you think your account has been used without your permission.

Bidding

A bid is a binding offer to buy the lot at up to the amount you enter, under the house's terms of sale. You cannot withdraw a bid once placed. You enter a maximum; the platform bids on your behalf only as far as needed, in the increments the house sets, and never above your maximum. Lots close at the scheduled time; a bid inside a lot's final window extends that lot only. The platform's clock is the only clock that closes a lot. Bidding on your own consignments, bidding to raise the price without intent to buy, and any arrangement between bidders to depress prices are prohibited and may result in removal from the platform and referral to the house or to the authorities.

Payment

If you win, you owe the hammer price plus the house's buyer's premium and any applicable tax, as shown on your invoice. Where a house requires a card on file, you authorise the platform's payment processor to place a temporary hold on it while you are winning lots and to charge it for your invoice when an auction closes. You may also pay from your invoice page. Card details are held by the processor, never by us. Refunds are at the house's discretion under its terms of sale.

Consignors

If you consign goods to a house, your agreement is with that house. The platform provides the house with cataloguing, bidding, invoicing and statements; it does not hold your goods or your money.

What we do with your information

See the Data Policy. In short: we keep what is needed to run auctions — your name, contact details, address, your bids and invoices, and a reference to your card at the processor — and we share it with the house you deal with and the services that run the platform. We do not sell it.

Our responsibility

The platform is provided as it is. We work to keep it available and correct, but we do not guarantee that a bid will be accepted, that an auction will run without interruption, or that a listing is accurate — listings are the house's. To the extent the law allows, our liability to you for any claim arising from the platform is limited to the fees you have paid the platform, if any, in the twelve months before the claim. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

Ending things

You may close your account from your account page once nothing is owed on it, and, if you are the only administrator of an auction house, once someone else has taken the house over. We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms or the law, or that a house reports for non-payment. We may change these terms. When we do in a way that matters, we will tell you by email or on the site before the change takes effect; using the platform after that means you accept the new version.

Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California. Disputes about a specific auction are between you and the house under its terms of sale.