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Versión en Español de las Condiciones Generales de Corretaje Mediante Pujas disponible aquí !
The website https://cowllection.simongenetic.com (hereinafter the “Site”) is an online auction brokerage service for professionals (hereinafter the “Users”), exempt from the provisions of Articles L320-1 et seq. of the French Commercial Code. It belongs to SIMON GENETIC, a limited liability company registered with the Chalon-sur-Saône Trade and Companies Register under number 800 364 044, which has its registered office at 2686 Rue des Rabuts, 71310 LA CHAUX (hereinafter the “Broker”).
Article 1 – Definitions
“Buyer“: means the User who made the final bid on the Animal for sale and who thus wins the Animal.
“Animal“: means the animals put up for sale on the Site by breeder sellers.
“Auction Brokerage General Terms and Conditions”: means these terms and conditions applicable to Users of the Site and accepted by them.
“Breeder Seller”: means the user of the service who is also the owner of any animal put up for sale on the Site.
“Bidder”: means the user of the auction brokerage service offered by the Broker and who places a direct, remote, electronic bid.
“Active Member“: means a user of the Site who wants to place a bid on an animal put up for sale and is registered as an active member on the Site.
“Site”: means the website located at www.cowllection.simongenetic.com, accessible directly or via www.simongenetic.com
“User”: means all internet users browsing the Site.
Article 2 – Acceptance of the General Terms and Conditions
Users declare that they have read these general terms and conditions before any use of the Service offered by the Broker.
In this respect, the User must confirm their acceptance of the General Terms and Conditions for every offer or bid and have accepted them by ticking the box “I have read and accept the General Terms and Conditions” provided for this purpose. This confirmation before validating any use of the Service therefore constitutes acceptance of these Auction Brokerage General Terms and Conditions without restriction or reservation.
The User acknowledges having received all the information stipulated in Article L441-2 of the French Commercial Code.
Article 3 – Service offered by the Broker
The Broker offers an online service, accessible on its Site, enabling its Users to sell or buy Animals in an “Auction” format (hereinafter referred to as “the Service”). It is expressly stated that the service offered is not a public auction service.
The Broker does not own any Animal put up for sale on the Site. The Animals remain the property of the breeder seller until the sale is fully concluded.
The Broker does not intervene in transactions between breeder sellers and buyers. The sales agreement is concluded exclusively and directly between the breeder seller and the buyer.
Under no circumstances can the Broker ensure that the Breeder Seller or the Buyer enters into or executes the transaction; the brokerage transaction is characterised by the absence of a sale by auction to the highest bidder. However, by way of information, it is noted that as soon as the Breeder Seller notifies the Bidder that they accept the offer, the provisions of French law apply to the sale and it is up to the Users to respect it.
In the event of any difficulty when navigating the Site, the User may contact the Broker by telephone.
Article 4 – Use of the Site
Users shall use the Service offered on the Site without infringing any laws, third-party rights or these terms and conditions.
Every User acknowledges that they are legally able to enter into contracts and, where applicable, have the authority and legal power to bind the entity when the User registers a legal business entity as an active member.
4.1 Registering as a “visitor”
Every User must register as a visitor in order to navigate the Site freely. The User can easily register by choosing a username and password, the confidentiality of which the User is responsible for maintaining.
4.2 Creating an “Active Member” account
If a User wishes to make a price offer or bid, they must register as an Active Member of the Site.
To this end, the User must fill in a form including some mandatory fields and others that are optional, such as their first name, surname, breeding number, company name, address, post code, town, country, email address, telephone number or even SIREN number, so that their professional status can be checked by the Broker. Failure to complete the form means that the User will not be considered as an active Member and will not be able to access the Service offered by the Broker.
Information provided by the User when opening their account must be complete, accurate and up-to-date.
Once the User has sent an application to register as an active Member, the Broker sends them confirmation of their registration after validating their profile. The Broker reserves the right to reject a profile. Only validated Active Members can participate in an auction.
4.3 Selecting Animals
Users may filter animals by category and/or criteria such as male calves, young bulls, adult bulls, young heifers, 18-month heifers, pregnant heifers, cows, mixed type, breeding type, mixed breeding type, beef type, mixed beef type, genetically hornless, maternal qualities.
Users also have the option of selecting any Animals they are interested in by clicking on the “Add to my selection” icon. This selection allows Users to sort the Animals for which they want to place a bid.
Article 5 – Obligations of the Breeder Seller
5.1 Animal Characteristics
Breeder Sellers shall present Animals for sale which comply with the health specifications of the event for which they were originally selected.
All Animals must be registered in Book A of the Charolais Herd Book or in the main book of Charolais + and be certified for entry in the herd book. All Animals must have a pedigree that confirms compatibility with the parents. In the event of incompatibility, Buyers may reject the purchase.
In the case of a pregnant Animal, the Broker displays on the Site information provided by the Breeder Seller about the date of covering and the bull used.
The Broker shall provide any information sent by the Breeder Seller and make it freely accessible to Buyers. The Broker shall check this information but under no circumstances is it responsible for any consequences arising from the Breeder Seller sending falsified documents or a false declaration.
5.2 Initial outlay
The Breeder Seller is free to set the initial reserve price of any Animal they want to offer for sale on the Site.
After checking the information sent by the Breeder Seller in accordance with Article above, the Broker validates online publication of the Animal announcement. The User can view photos and videos, as well as the pedigree and comments.
At the request of the Breeder Seller, the Broker can offer additional services such as making a video or taking photos showcasing the Animal; these services are subject to additional invoicing.
Article 6 – Bidding process
6.1 Starting the bidding
Bids are individual and are made Animal by Animal.
Reserve prices are stated on each individual page of the online catalogue (all prices are exclusive of tax).
Online bidding for an Animal starts once a Bidder has made an initial offer, validated by the Broker. To make an initial offer, the Bidder chooses the amount of the offer and clicks on the “validate my offer” icon.
The Bidder who made the first offer and any Users who have chosen to be alerted to the auction by clicking on the “auction alert” icon are informed that bidding is underway.
Bidding starts:
- If the first offer is made before 6:00 pm, bidding starts at 7:00 pm the same day,
- If the first offer is made after 6:00 pm, bidding starts at 7:00 pm the following day.
The Broker reserves the right to postpone the start of operations if there is too much activity or the Site malfunctions. In this case, Users are informed by a message posted on the Site that there is a change to the date and time when bidding starts.
6.2 Duration of bidding
Bidding lasts for 48 hours.
After the first 24 hours, each new bid placed extends the duration of the process by another three minutes.
In the event of a simultaneous bid for the same amount, the Bidder acknowledges and accepts that priority may be assigned at the Broker’s discretion.
6.3 Size of bids
The process is carried out according to the progressive bid system in tranches of at least €100. The price reached at the end of the brokerage process takes place without a withdrawal price.
During the brokerage process, Bidders are systematically informed by email when their bid is accepted and when their bid is no longer the highest for the Animal; if need be, they can freely decide whether to place a new bid or not.
It is strictly forbidden for Bidders to use the Service for placing bids with the sole purpose of raising prices and to interfere in the smooth running of the process without any real intention of buying an Animal. The Broker informs Users that any artificial bids lead to the User having their registration permanently withdrawn.
6.4 Closing the bidding
Once time has run out, the Animal is allocated to the Bidder who placed the final bid. The Broker informs the Buyer that they were the final Bidder in the process.
The Broker sends the Buyer’s contact details to the Breeder Seller so that the latter can approach the Buyer to conclude the sale and set the final terms and conditions, such as payment for the Animal and delivery:
> Collection: The Breeder Seller and the Buyer undertake to get together to organise delivery of the Animal(s) and determine any costs.
> Export: If the Breeder Seller and the Buyer so wish, Simon Genetic can arrange for the Animal to be exported to another country. In this case, any export costs (TRACES health certificate, pedigree export, health tests, quarantine, journey book, approved transport, insurance) are subject to a validated quote.
Article 7 – Broker’s Remuneration
The price for using the Service offered by the Broker is set for each brokerage transaction as follows:
- The Buyer pays 5% of the amount, excl. tax, of the sale price.
- The Seller pays 5% of the amount, excl. tax, of the sale price.
Invoices are issued at the close of each brokerage transaction and are payable in cash.
The Broker’s task ends with sending the final Bidder’s contact details to the Buyer. In any event, if the Breeder Seller and the Buyer fail to conclude the final sale, this has no effect on the enforceability of any remuneration payable by the Breeder Seller and the Buyer to the Broker.
Article 8 – Late payment penalties
Any sum not paid by the due date automatically bears interest at a rate equal to three times the interest rate applied by the ECB plus 10 percentage points, without prejudice to the right to halt the infringement.
In addition, under Articles L441-6 and D441-5 of the French Commercial Code, the debtor is charged a fixed indemnity of forty euros (€40) for recovery costs. Should the recovery costs incurred be more than this, the Broker reserves the right to request an additional indemnity on submission of evidence. These late payment penalties are automatically payable by the debtor without any prior formality or formal notice.
Payments are made for late payment interest first and then for the oldest debt.
Article 9 – Liability
The Broker shall display on its Site all the Animal offers available during the whole period of the auction brokerage operation.
The Broker provides Users with an online auction service and consequently cannot be held liable for any damage suffered as a result of a sale concluded between a Breeder Seller and a Buyer.
In particular, the Broker can never be held liable for any defect affecting the Animal sold as part of the online Auction Brokerage Service; in particular for any hidden morphological or haplotypic defect in the Animal, any development in the health or morphology of the Animal, or the impotence of any Animals sold.
The Broker is liable in the event of proven misconduct, i.e. for displaying online an Animal affected by a defect, provided that the User can demonstrate that the Broker was aware of the defect affecting the Animal.
In any event, the Broker’s liability is limited to compensation for direct damages suffered by Users of the Brokerage Services as a result of an unlawful breach or act attributable to it.
In the event that the Broker’s liability is engaged for any reason whatsoever, the amount of this liability may never exceed the amount of the remuneration received by the Broker in respect of the Brokerage Service offered.
In all cases, indirect, consequential and/or intangible damage is excluded.
The Broker assumes no liability or guarantee in the event of a malfunction of the Internet, in particular in the event of delays in transmission or any other malfunction. The Broker cannot guarantee that messages transmitted electronically are not intercepted.
The Broker shall not be held liable for any temporary or permanent damage caused to the IT system of a User of the Site or for any loss or damage suffered in particular as a result of access to or navigation through the Site.
Transmission of data via the Internet may involve the appearance of errors and/or the Site not always being available. Consequently, the Broker cannot be held liable for the availability and interruption of the online service.
The Broker assumes no liability of any kind whatsoever if a User of the Site has used the Site fraudulently.
The Broker has no obligation to intervene in the event of a dispute between Breeder Sellers and Buyers. In the event of a dispute, the Broker is exempt from any claim and any present or future damage, whether alleged or not or verified or not, resulting directly or indirectly from such claims.
Article 10 – Guarantee relating to hidden defects
By way of information, the Broker notes that Breeder Sellers are required to guarantee the Buyer against hidden defects that the Breeder Seller fails to declare prior to sale in accordance with Articles R 213-1 et seq. of the French Rural Code.
Except in special cases, any action on these grounds must be taken within ten days of the sale, calculated from the day of sale. The period expires on the last day at midnight. It is extended to the next working day if the period expires on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
The Broker therefore invites the Buyer to be particularly vigilant if they implement the guarantee.
Article 11 – Disputes
Any dispute arising from the application of these conditions, their validity, interpretation, performance, termination, consequences or results must be settled amicably with the Broker as far as possible. In the event of a challenge, only the court where the Broker’s registered office is located has jurisdiction.