consignment agreement

I have always just used a handshake. but then again, I live in los angeles, maybe we are different here

bill

Hi G. I thought there would be more discussion here about consignment agreements. If you were emailed some suggested agreements, written or otherwise, please share your conclusions. Other lands are less law abiding and angelic than La-la. :)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

Ditto at stores in WA and AK for me.

yeah... cuz LA and Fresno have one thing in common, Bill.. most folks have a gun in the other hand..

*sigh* 2 years till retirement in Baja, where guns are illegal.. I'm gonna miss that part of life..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

except the criminals

What mutual agreements confirmed by shaking hands or in writing, have you sellers found best to avoid shaking fists later? I have no experience, only questions:

who sets the prices? wiggle room?

consigned for how long?

responsibility for breakage, thieves?

how many pieces consigned?

disbursement arrangements?

private sales of removed works to ex gallery clients?

provision for turner's CV, phone # etc.?

due diligence re selling work?

gallery goes belly up?

Consigning work in a nearby gallery or charity auction?

selling production type (many-off) work in a gallery and also craft shows, etc.?

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

I used to sell books on consignment, here's the form I used:

in mind I'm not a lawyer and never had it checked by one and ofcourse, you'll need to edit it to reflect your own product(s).

I suggest you do as you most likely have a better handle on fair pricing than the store owner.

probably 30~90 days, any longer might scare them off

breakage - better address that, something along the lines of "original condition," take pictures to proove condition thieves - if no longer part of the inventory it means you made a sale (as per signed form)

as many as they'll let you give them, selection sells, insist they'll all be displayed though (instead of piled up in the back room)

reasonable as per form

cover that in the form else it would be reasonable for the store to expect you to pay them their agreed upon consignment fee

hmmm, if they offer take them up on it. I wouldn't ask for it though - they're letting you use space on their premises (costs them rent, utilities, biz taxes etc.) and it's reasonable for them to expect sales come their way instead of yours

insist on visibility

as per form, title does not transfer until paid in full but bailiffs and/or lawyers might well have a different take on that idea and you'd probably be SOL

shouldn't be a prob unless your consignment agreement is exclusive to that store

Like I said, I'm not a lawyer and these are just some of my personal thoughts. If someone's out to rip you off then paperwork isn't going to matter a whole lot regardless of how many lawyers have looked at it. The vast majority of biz people fortunately are pretty straight up. If they sell a lot of your stuff they'll wanna make sure you keep supplying them instead of their competition so expect them to treat you right.

Hope this helps and good luck,

Bart.

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I am a jeweler with a long time interest in woodturning. I thought I could give everyone a resource for more information on consignment agreements. There is a email discussion group called Orchid which discusses all facets of jewelry making. Many jewelers consign to gallery and there has been much discussion of the pro's and con's. I have included a link to copy of a consignment agreement that someone uses. It is a far cry from a handshake but it covers all the bases. The agreement would work for woodturning as well as jewelry.

can also go into the Orchid archives and check out all the postsregarding consignment. this is of some helpMichael

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Thanks to Bart and Michael. They certainly answered the original question and showed the many pitfalls and protections that the inexperienced ought to consider before consigning their work. IMO, that's rcw at its best.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

Glad to finally be able to answer a question on this group, I've sure had my share of great answers to my questions. One thing about the proper contract Michael gave the link for, if you're talking only a half a dozen bowls or something, this one may get the store owner to scratch his head and scare them off into taking on your stuff. It is a dandy though but I gotta admit, I much prefer and be tempted to go it the handshake way...

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I prefer the handshake as well. If I don't trust the people I don't want my stuff in their gallery or shop. That simple. IMO the agreement is very useful if they go broke or close doors and you want to recover your material. In that case the "the object is and remains the property of the artist until paid for in full..." line is the most important one in the agreement. And of course the pieces have to be marked for recognition -- especially if you make many similar pieces as you might even embarrass yourself one day.

But... Maybe it's simplest to have a meeting with the person and cover the points that most concern you and take notes -- then just do a handwritten set of points that cover ownership, copyright, moral rights and then both initial the note -- then photocopy and initial the photocopy -- immediately. It can be done quickly and seems more relaxed and informal -- but it is no less binding.

And since you mostly know what points to cover it can seem very natural and relaxed. :-)

If there is any concern that the business may go broke of close their doors, I suggest getting legal advice before hand. I'll recount a story I followed in the newspaper about 2 years ago. It involved a consignment shop (antiques I think) that went bankrupt. Under the law, everything inside was to be auctioned off, consignment material and items that were just there for an appraisal. People who had pieces on consignment ended up bidding on there own stuff at the auction. Now I believe a few people were able to get their stuff before the auction, maybe they had a written agreement of some sorts, that did not come out in the story as far as I remember. Will the quoted line above protect in such a case? I don't know. Martin

As long as you have the property rights covered you should be fine -- as long as you are aware, and produce the documentation to the receiver/bailiff as appropriate.

Only in the case where ownership can't be proved does this happen (normally). That's not to say that many people don't take advantage of "moving quickly" and then pleading ignorance. But a licensed bailiff/// don;t think so. Too much to lose.

Well -- it should. It works in other cases. It is simply known as a "Sales Contract" in general terms. That particular line (and similar) is used in most agreement of sale contract on the back of invoices and such like.

So -- correctly worded (pay attention to local legal systems) -- *yes it does work if the piece can be positively identified*.

Yup, true enough. Keep in mind too that bailiffs and/or bankrupty trustees operate under specific legal thingies and the legalities of this kind of stuff will most likely vary from province to province (or state to state, or county to county in the U.S.). If all of these considerations scare you off check with a lawyer. If you're talking about half a dozen items, well, what the hay, don't even worry about it. If on the other hand, you're talking about setting up somebody with 50 or 100 far out exotic (read expensive woods etc.) than you might wanna think about the lagal beaver stuff. All in all, give it a shot if you find somebody willing to display your master pieces, if nothing else some folks will delight in feasting their eyes on your creations - you wouldn't wanna rob yerself of that humongous pat on the back now would you... So what if you get beat for a couple of bowls, you probably woulda given them away anyways... The long and short of it - go for it and enjoy the comments you'll get on your work; and if somebody's fool enough to buy a trinket or two, yup, that would sure make my day :) Cheers, Bart.

- Check my most up to date email address at:

awesome banjo bridges, tabs, stained glass:

**may your moments of need be met by moments of compassion**

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