October Online Only Government Surplus & Seized Property Auction

Terms & Conditions of Sale



Terms: By registering to bid on the internet and placing bids on auction items, you acknowledge that you have read and understand the terms and conditions for each auction and/or auction item, and you agree to abide by all terms and conditions for each auction and/or auction item. You also acknowledge that you understand by registering to bid and placing bids on items in this auction, you are entering into a contract to purchase those items and are bound by that contract. Any attempt to negate those bids or that purchase after the close of the auction can and will be subject to any and all criminal and civil penalties that L.W. Benton Company sees fit to pursue.



Legal courses of action: Bids are a binding offer to enter into a contract to purchase items from L.W. Benton Company, Inc. (LWBC) and/or Sellers; and you are responsible for honoring them. Every legal remedy available will be used to ensure buyer's performance of this contract. Buyer accepts responsibility for and agrees for buyer and all of buyer's agents, representatives, successors and assigns to indemnify, defend and hold harmless sellers & L.W. Benton Company, Inc., their employees, governing body, officers, owners, affiliates, subsidiaries, directors, agents, and representatives from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, liabilities, judgments, fees, costs, and expenses including reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses related to, arising from, or associated with (I) the sale of the property, including, but not limited to, personal injuries or property damage incurred on the sale premises or during removal and transport of any auction item, (II) buyer's use of L.W. Benton Company, Inc.'s website and (III) a dispute with another bidder.



WARNING - Explanation of Credit Card Fraud: In order to bid online, buyers must register and create an account at our website, www.BidderOne.com, and agree to the terms and conditions of the auction prior to being permitted to placing any bids. The registration process requires a valid credit card account in which the registered bidder is an authorized user. The credit card is not charged and successful bidders are not required to pay by credit card; however, in the event that a buyer does not make payment arrangements within the specified time or attempts to back-out of the sale by not paying for their items, L.W. Benton Company reserves the right to charge the amount due, plus any sales tax, buyers fees and/or late fees and/or non-payment penalties to the account’s registered card. If, at that time, it is determined that the card is not valid or does not have a sufficient balance to cover the charges, and the bidder or representatives of the bidder knowingly registered with this card, such action constitutes “Credit Card Fraud” under Federal and Georgia state law. L.W. Benton Company reserves the right to press criminal charges for such fraud, including the swearing out of an arrest warrant in the county of the bidder’s residence. In addition to any criminal charges, L.W. Benton Company reserves the right to seek civil restitution as well.



Bid retraction: By placing a bid, buyer and all other bidders acknowledge all terms of the auction and agree not to retract the bid. If a bidder cannot satisfy the terms of the auction, the bidder should not bid. Once a bid is placed, LWBC cannot remove the bid from the online bidding system. Please verify the accuracy of your bids before placing them in our system. Bidder’s should also guard their account log-in and password information as any bid placed on a bidder’s account is an agreement to purchase by the account’s registered individual, whether someone else improperly used the account with or without the registered account holder’s knowledge.



Payment: Cash, Approved Check, MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. 13% Buyers Premium with a 3% discount for Cash or Check. For wire transfer instructions, please call 478-744-0027. All wire transfer fees will be the responsibility of the buyer. Local Georgia Sales Tax will apply to each item. Dealers buying for resale may be exempt from paying sales tax if the dealer has a sales tax number and a signed tax exemption form at the time of payment. All payments must be made to L.W. Benton Company, Inc. Purchased items must be paid for in full within 48 hours of the close of the auction, unless other specific payment arrangements have been agreed to and approved by L.W. Benton Company. Once this 48-hour deadline has passed, L.W. Benton Company, Inc. reserves the right to charge the full purchase price, as well as any fees or penalties, to the credit card on file from the Bidder’s registered account.



Documentation Fee: There will be a $50 document transfer fee added to all vehicle and equipment purchases that require a title or document transfer with the State of Georgia for Georgia-based buyers. In the event that a vehicle or equipment is sold by “court order” in lieu of title, LWBC will apply for a new title in the purchaser’s name; however, Bidders should note it can typically take the State of Georgia 120-days or more to process that transfer and the new title to be mailed to the purchaser. Buyers who wish to expedite the title transfer process, may opt to pay a $95 fee to have the transfer completed in-person by a third-party hired by L.W. Benton Company, Inc., and the title returned in-person to LWBC’s Macon office. In this instance, the $95 transfer fee takes the place of the $50 document fee. Out of State buyers will be subject to a $10 fee per vehicle for computer-generated “drive-out” tags. Since LWBC is not a licensed Used Car Dealer outside the state of Georgia, we do not process titles for out-of-state buyers. Instead, those documents are given directly to the buyer to transfer themselves in the State of their residence.

When signatures are required to transfer the title, it is the sole responsibility of the buyer to submit the necessary signatures and information for that transfer. L.W. Benton Co, nor the Seller, will be responsible for any late fees accrued for a title transfer as the result of negligence or untimely submission of paperwork by a Buyer. If drive-out tags are not picked up in person at our Macon office, they will be mailed to buyers via first-class mail. Additional delivery or over-night delivery charges are the sole responsibility of the buyer.



Title Cancelation: Buyers who purchase titled vehicles with the intent to scrap, salvage and/or dismantle said vehicles are subject to a $20 title cancelation fee in lieu of the $50 document fee by signing a letter stating their intent to do so, thus granting L.W. Benton Co. permission to request that the State cancel the current title. Upon doing so, Buyers understand that there is no remedy to this request and a title cannot be reapplied for once submitted to the state for cancelation.



End Times: All L.W. Benton Company, Inc. Online Only Auctions are timed events. Please note, L.W. Benton Company Inc. Online Only Auctions also have an auto extend feature. Any bid placed within 15 minutes of the auction ending will automatically extend the auction for 5 minutes from the time the bid is placed. Example: If an auction item scheduled to end at 10:00 a.m. receives a bid at 9:59 a.m., the close time of that particular auction item automatically extends to 10:04 a.m. The auto-extend feature remains active until no further bids are received within the extended 5-minute time frame.



Inspection: Property is being sold from various locations throughout Georgia and inspections may be arranged through the Seller themselves. Please pay close attention to property’s location and any strict times for preview and pickup. Each piece of property has its own separate Seller Contact information. Buyers understand they view property at their own risk and L.W. Benton Co, its representatives, nor the Seller or their representatives are responsible for accidents or damage to persons or personal property during any inspection.



Condition of Property: Any and all information regarding the condition of property is derived from sources believed to be true and accurate but is not guaranteed by the Seller or L.W. Benton Company. It is the sole responsibility of the Bidder to verify any and all information. Definition of “Runs and Drives”: This description means a vehicle or piece of equipment should crank – either on its own power or with the assistance of a new battery, jump box or jumper cables – and move under its own power. It is not inferred to mean anything further. Buyers should not assume that a vehicle described in this way is safe or capable of being driven on the open road without prior mechanical inspection first. L.W. Benton Company urges Bidders to thoroughly inspect all fluids before attempting to operate any vehicle or equipment. Definition of “good engine” and/or “good transmission”: This description means that while a vehicle may not “run and drive” for various mechanical reasons, the engine and/or transmission in the vehicle is believed to operate properly and be in good working order. Odometers and Hour Meters: Any odometer or hour meter information listed is simply the current reading of the meter. L.W. Benton Company has made no effort to verify these meters and lists them solely for informational purposes. Municipality Logos: Government logos or designations that appear on vehicles in photos may be removed or painted over – partially or in full – at the Sellers’ discretion prior to the close of the auction and/or pickup.



Reserve Amounts: Items selling “with reserve” or minimum prices by the Seller are denoted in their description by a white letter “R” in a red or green square. A red square means the reserve amount has not been met, while a green square means the reserve price has been met and the item will sell to the highest bidder. In most cases, items without the reserve designation will sell to the highest bidder; however, the Seller and L.W. Benton Co. do reserve the right to accept or reject any and all bids.



“Maximum Bids” on Items with Reserve: If an item has a reserve denoted by the letter “R” in a red square and a bidder places a “Maximum Bid” that is less than the reserve, the bidding system will automatically push that bid to that Maximum Amount. For example, say the current bid on an item is $500. The next bid increment is $600, but the bidder enters a maximum bid amount that he is willing to pay as $1,200. If the item’s Reserve is more than the Maximum Bid, the computerized bidding system will automatically place the bid at $1,200.



Catalog/Photograph Discrepancies: Bidders are bidding on lot and auction item descriptions, not item photographs. In the event that the wrong photo may be displayed, bidders should read the entire item description and bid accordingly. For demonstration purposes or photographs, various auction items or separate lots may be joined or photographed together. Bidders should not assume a lot consists of more than one item simply because they are connected or pictured together. Please inspect all lot numbers and descriptions in full.



Auction Bid Default: If the winning bidder's credit card information is on file with L.W. Benton Company, Inc., that card can be charged for the total purchase price plus one $30 late payment fee if payment is not otherwise made or arranged within 48 hours of the close of the auction. If no credit card information is on file or if the information is insufficient or outdated, a $30 late payment fee will be assessed for each partial or full day beyond the payment deadline for which payment is not made. If items are not timely removed as required above, a $10.00 handling and storage fee will be assessed per auction lot, per day. If an item is not removed within twelve (12) days after the close of the auction, the item can be considered abandoned property, with all of the buyer's rights and interests in the property extinguished with no refunds owed or offered to the buyer. The seller reserves the right to sell these items to backup bidders and hold the original bidder liable for resulting losses to the seller. L.W. Benton Company, Inc. and/or the seller reserve the right to pursue all legal remedies.



Pick-up of Items: At the completion of the auction, successful bidders will be emailed an invoice with payment instructions. Winning bidders must make payment in full or approved payment arrangements within 48 hours after the close of the auction. Payment must be made to L.W. Benton Company, Inc. , either in person at our office located at 107 Oak Valley Drive, Macon, Georgia 31217 or by wire transfer, credit card or approved check sent via overnight delivery. Sellers cannot accept payment. Payment will be accepted in the form of cash, credit card, cashier’s check, or good personal or company check. All personal or company checks are subject to approval of L.W. Benton Co., Inc. Upon receipt of payment in full the purchaser will receive an invoice marked “Paid in Full”, which must be presented at time of pick up. L.W. Benton Company Inc. and/or Sellers are in no way responsible for pick-up, delivery or assisting in loading out of property as this is the sole responsibility of the successful bidder – this includes, but is not limited to, any necessary equipment or additional persons needed to load and/or move the item. It is the successful bidders’ responsibility to remove property within twelve business days from the close of the auction, neither L.W. Benton Company nor the Seller are responsible for condition of items after this time. No items may be picked up without an original invoice from L.W. Benton Company, Inc. marked “PAID in Full.” Pick-up times are subject to normal operating hours of seller. In most government cases, this is limited to Monday thru Friday, with varying times, excluding holidays; however Sellers can provide specific days and times. It is recommended that winning bidders ALWAYS call to arrange pick-up to avoid arriving after hours or when Seller is not available. In the event that a Seller or representative of L.W. Benton Company agrees to assist in the load out of purchased lots, Buyers, and their representatives, understand that neither the Seller, L.W. Benton Company nor its representatives are responsible for any damage to the Buyers’ property of any kind.



Shipping: L.W. Benton Company, nor its Sellers, offer shipping on auction items; however, L.W. Benton Company will make every effort to assist buyers in locating and securing shipping means when necessary, although this may incur additional costs depending on the circumstances. Any and all shipping costs are the sole responsibility of the buyer.



Bidder Verification: The identity of all bidders will be verified, bidding rights are provisional, and if complete verification is not possible, L.W. Benton Company, Inc. may reject the registration, and bidding activity will be terminated.



Withdrawal of Items From the Auction: L.W. Benton Company, Inc. and/or the Seller reserves the right to add or delete property, reject any bid and/or cancel the sale.



Agency Disclosure: In all transactions, the auctioneers are acting as agents for the seller, not as buyer’s agents.



Disclaimer: All items are sold “subject to owner confirmation” or “with reserve” unless advertised “absolute.” The Seller and their agents reserve the right to place bids on the property up to the seller’s reserve, if desired, at their sole discretion, unless selling absolute. All information published, announced or contained herein was derived from sources believed to be true and accurate but is not guaranteed by the Seller or L.W. Benton Company. Any and all announcements made at or during the auction take precedence over all other verbal, printed, announced and/or distributed information. All property is being sold “as is, where is” with no guarantee or warranties. It is the Purchaser’s responsibility to conduct their own due diligence and make their own decision as to the accuracy of all information.



Questions: Item-specific questions should be directed to the Inspection Contact listed for each item. For general auction questions or more information, please contact the Auction Coordinator, Ben Roberts, at 706-871-5045 or 478-744-0027 or email [email protected]. Problems with or questions about Internet bidding should be directed to [email protected].