Last updated September 15, 2024

1. The property described in the sale catalogue (print and online versions) will be offered at public auction by Sparks Auctions Inc. (hereinafter “Sparks Auctions”) on behalf of various consignors. By bidding on any lot, whether in person, or through an agent, via Stamp Auction Network, via Philasearch, by mail, email, fax, telephone, website, or any other means, the bidder acknowledges and agrees to all of these Terms and Conditions of Sale.

2. The highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer shall be the buyer. The term “hammer price” means the last bid acknowledged by the auctioneer. The purchase price payable by the buyer will be the sum of the hammer price plus a commission equal to 17% of the hammer price (“buyer’s premium”), together with any tax which may be applicable. See About Bidding for more information about how bidding is conducted in Sparks Auctions’ sales.

3. All bids are per lot as numbered in the catalogue. The auctioneer shall regulate the bidding and reserves the right to reject any bid believed by him not to be made in good faith; to withdraw any lot prior to sale; to divide a lot; or to group two or more lots and to act on behalf of the vendor. In the event of any dispute, the auctioneer’s decision shall be final. Sparks Auctions reserves the right to prohibit any bidder from participation in its sales for any reason, at its sole discretion. Sparks Auctions will execute bidding instructions on behalf of clients, but will not be responsible for any errors in the execution of such bids. Opening bids will be available on Stamp Auction Network only.

4. Unless a bidder has established payment terms with Sparks Auctions prior to each sale, Sparks Auctions must receive payment in full before the lots will be delivered. Buyers not known to Sparks Auctions must make payment in full within five days from the date of invoicing, after which time Sparks Auctions reserves the right to cancel any sale for which payment has not been received. All expenses incurred in securing payment from delinquent accounts will be charged to the defaulter. A fee of $100.00 will be charged for any cheque returned for insufficient funds.

5. All sales are conducted in Canadian Funds. Payment may be made by e-transfer, bank draft, bank wire transfer, cheque drawn on a Canadian or U.S. bank, Canadian or International postal money order, cash or credit card. There is a 3.5% fee to process credit card payments. Buyers wishing to pay in US dollars may do so, and the amount owing in U.S. funds will be noted on invoices. Credit cards will be processed in Canadian Funds. Buyers from Canada will be charged the taxes applicable in their home province. Bidders resident outside Canada are not liable for Canadian taxes if purchases are delivered outside of Canada. Buyers outside Canada are responsible for all customs duties, import fees, sales taxes or any other charges assessed by their home country or intermediaries.

6. Until paid for in full, all lots remain the property of Sparks Auctions on behalf of the seller.

7. The buyer assumes all risk for delivery of purchased lots and agrees to pay for prescribed shipping costs. See Shipping Information below for Sparks Auctions’ shipping policies.

8. Because the auction catalogue is available in multiple formats (print, online at sparks-auctions.com, at StampAuctionNetwork.com and Philasearch.com ) there is a possibility of technical or other error. In that event the auctioneer’s decision will be final. If discovered before the sale, corrections will be posted on www.sparks-auctions.com  These are only provided as a service to bidders and Sparks Auctions does not guarantee their completeness or accuracy. See Valuation of Lots for an overview of Sparks Auctions’ use of catalogue values and estimates.

9. Any lot, the description of which is obviously incorrect, is returnable, but only if the lot is returned to us within 14 days of receipt. All disputed lots must be returned intact with the original packing material. The following lots may not be returned for any reason:

a) Lots containing five or more items;
b) Any lot described with “faults”, “flaws”, or “defects” may not be returned because of any fault, flaw or defect;
c) Lots illustrated in our printed catalogue or online may be returned because of centering, margins or other factors shown in the illustrations, including easily visible flaws. It is the bidder’s responsibility to view lot images online before bidding;
d) Any lot that was viewed in advance of the auction by the buyer or his agent;
e) Any lot sent for expertization by Sparks that receives numerical grading unless the graded certificate describes faults not already described by us;
f) It is normal for postal history items to have small faults including but not limited to minor nicks, pencil notations on back, edge and back flap tears, and slight reductions consistent with commercial usage. Folded letters should be expected to have at least one file fold. While we strive to mention more significant flaws, condition issues such as the aforementioned are not grounds for return. Items being offered primarily on the basis of the postmark are not returnable on the basis of flaws to the underlying item.

10. All lots are sold as genuine, unless otherwise noted. If a purchaser wishes to obtain an expert opinion on a lot, an extension for expertization may be granted provided that the following conditions are met:

a) Notice of this intent is given prior to finalizing the purchase;
b) All lots to be sent out on extension must be paid in advance, including the expertizing fee(s), and shall be submitted by Sparks, directly. Sparks will use one of the following expertizing services:

i) Vincent Graves Greene Foundation (Canada and BNA); or
ii) BPA or RPSL (British Commonwealth); or
iii) Philatelic Foundation or PSE (USA and territories); or
iv) Another authority mutually agreeable to both parties.

c) Extensions are granted for the reasonable period of time required by the expertizing authority;
d) If in the opinion of the authority the lot is not genuine or was grossly misdescribed, the purchaser shall receive a full reimbursement of the purchase price including the expertization fee;
e) If a purchased item has a recognized certificate dated within the last seven years, extensions will not usually be granted.

11. All lots are subject to a minimum bid (reserve), below which the lot will not be sold. Any lots which do not meet this minimum bid will be declared to have been “passed.” The reserve will in no cases exceed the price at which the lot is opened for bidding.

12. Sparks Auctions, its shareholders, directors, employees, and contractors reserve the right to bid on and purchase lots as principal.

13. Should any dispute arise over these Terms and Conditions, such dispute will be settled according to the laws and regulations of the Province of Ontario, Canada, with options for resolution being negotiation between the parties, followed by mediation, followed by action in the most appropriate legal venue in Ontario.

About Bidding

Bidding in a Sparks Auction takes place in accordance with our Terms and Conditions and can happen in several ways:

1. Advance Bidding
We accept bids in time-honoured traditions before the auction starts:

• via Philasearch or Stamp Auction Network online.
• by printed bidsheet (included with the print catalogue and also available for download from our site). If you use mail to send us a bid sheet, please call at least the day before the sale begins to confirm that we have received it.
• you can fax us a printed bidsheet (included with the print catalogue and also available for download from our site) to 613-567-2972.
• you can call our office at 613-567-3336 or use our North American toll-free number: 844-252-2032.
• you can email your bids to info@sparks-auctions.com. Simply provide the lot number and your maximum bid in Canadian dollars.

Bids not conforming to these increments will be rounded down to the previous increment. If two identical bids are received for a particular lot, the bid received earliest will prevail, regardless of how the bid was received.

2. Telephone Bidding
We can arrange for participation via telephone. Phone bidding must be arranged at least one day in advance so we can assign someone to call you at the appropriate time. Often, phone bidding is best for more expensive items. If phone bidding is not convenient for you, we encourage bidders to engage an agent, or to bid in advance via Philasearch or in advance or live via Stamp Auction Network to be sure bids are executed in the way they would like. See below for more information about live bidding or contact us for more information at 613-567-3336.

Sparks Auctions reserves the right to refuse telephone bidding at any time. Sparks Auctions will not be held responsible in the event that a telephone bidder cannot be contacted or does not have reliable service.

3. Auction Agents
Having an agent act for you is another way to ensure your bidding intentions are well-represented if you cannot participate in person or by bidding in advance via Philasearch or in advance or live via Stamp Auction Network. Auction agents can view material, when public viewing is an option. The following agents are knowledgeable, experienced auction buyers known to Sparks Auctions and familiar with our sales. Please contact one of them, or your own existing agent directly to make arrangements suitable to both parties. Sparks Auctions is not responsible for a bidder’s relationship with any agent. Agents: please contact our office at least two days before the start of a sale to make arrangements for your clients to be billed and to have their winnings shipped.

Shipping Information

Please note that items will be shipped by the most economical method below unless other arrangements are made between the buyer and Sparks Auctions in advance of shipping. Insurance on shipped items is the responsibility of the buyer entirely.

All shipping methods are subject to the current regulations and protocols of the shipping provider, which can change from time-to-time in response to various conditions outside the control of Sparks Auctions. To maximize shipping efficiency and minimize cost to the buyer, some lots may be shipped without multi-ring binders or other bulky housing mentioned in a lot description, or by combining the contents of multiple housings into fewer of them.

1. Within the National Capital Region:
a) Normally, it is expected that local residents will arrange for pick-up from our office, by appointment only.
b) Shipping can be arranged using the “Within Canada” methods described below, or by other means if specific arrangements are made between the buyer and Sparks Auctions.

2. Within Canada:
a) Single or multiple lots that fit into one or more regular Canada Post Xpresspost labeled envelopes will be shipped by that method with signature required. These lots will be charged postage only but not a handling, packaging, or insurance fee.
b) Cartons and larger lots will normally be shipped by parcel post or FedEx with signature required. If bulky lots have a value in excess of $1,000 they will be shipped by Xpresspost with signature required. This category of lots will usually be charged an additional handling or packaging fee.

3. To the USA:
a) Single or multiple lots will be sent by Canada Post with signature required and no extra handling, packaging, or insurance fees.
b) Cartons and larger lots will be shipped by Canada Post parcel post or FedEx Ground with signature required. This category of lots will usually be charged an additional handling or packaging fee.

4. Overseas:
a) Single or multiple lots will be sent by Registered or Xpress Mail with signature required and no extra handling, packaging or insurance fees.
b) Carton and larger lots will be shipped by pre-arrangement only. We reserve the right to not ship to areas of the world not served by FedEx.

Valuation of Lots

Catalogue values are listed for many lots in the sale. These are the best available guides to the retail price of a single stamp or set provided that the item(s) are the same quality as the standard described in the introduction to each catalogue. Exceptional quality will often sell above the catalogue value; inferior quality will sell for less; faulty stamps in a lot can result in a sale price of a small percentage of the catalogue price.

When cataloguing collections we use the value for the grade specified. For Scott this grade is very fine. For Unitrade we use the grade specified in the lot’s description. Thus a “fine” collection will have all stamps added at the fine price. We do not count obvious forgeries, reprints etc. and usually do not count faulty or ugly stamps. A lightly penciled X under a stamp in a lot means it was not counted in the catalogue value. We put a light pencil note beside more expensive stamps and often put a total catalogue value at the bottom of each page to assist viewers.

The following catalogues have been used. If there is a variance from this list, it will be mentioned in the text of the description.

2024/25 Scott Catalogue Volumes 1A through 6B in US$
2024 Scott Classic and US Specialized in US$
2024 Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps in CAD$
2024 Stanley Gibbons 1840-1970 (SG), values in £
2007 or later Michel Catalogues of the World (Mi), values in €
2022 The Canadian Revenue Stamp Catalogue by E.S.J. van Dam in CAD$
2022 American Air Mail Catalogue: The Air Mails of Canada and Newfoundland, 2nd Edition (AMCN2) in US$
Other specialized catalogues as noted in descriptions.

The U.S. Specialized and the Scott Classic are referred to as “Scott” interchangeably with the standard 6 volumes.

The term “owner’s catalogue value” indicates a variety of approaches and may include older versions of catalogues. We will have inspected and reviewed the result but not re-catalogued; hence we do not vouch for the exact total of an “owner’s catalogue value”. Likewise, we will note “owner-identified” or “owner’s count” or “owner’s face value” when there are varieties or other notations included in the consignment, even if we have not verified them.

“Estimates” (“Est.”) are used when there are multiple factors to consider, to identify what we believe the lot might sell for when there is reasonable competition for it.

“Face Value” is used for entire lots when it best describes the value of the contents. From time to time, “face value” is used to identify the face value of a portion of a lot that also considers additional factors.