Code of Conduct of the Federal Association of German Stamp Auctioneers
The auctioneers united in the Federal Association of German Stamp Auctioneers (BDB) undertake:
- to observe the basic principles of honourable and fair behaviour in competition and to avoid misleading and sensationalist advertising
- as mediators between sellers and purchasers, to observe the interests of both parties in a balanced way while complying with the legislation on auctioneers
- in particular to do everything in their power to prevent agreements of any kind which could result in disadvantages for sellers or purchasers
- to observe the precept of transparency with regard to the course of auctions (e.g. by publishing results)
- to include features which detract from the value of material in their description of lots
- to resolve uncertainties regarding the findings of examiners
- not to pass on to third parties any information regarding the existence and amounts of bids placed
- only to use up written bids to the extent that is necessary to outbid other bids
- to settle accounts with the sellers for each auction within a reasonable period of time
- to deal quickly with justified complaints between purchasers and sellers.
The members of the BDB accept this code of conduct as binding. Sustained and serious breaches of individual conditions are considered as infringements of the Association Resolution in the sense of Article 7, subparagraph 2 of the Association Rules and can result in expulsion from the Association.