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Many interactive websites use Cookies to let us retrieve the user’s details for each visit. Cookies are used by our website to enable the functionality of certain areas to make it easier for people visiting our website. Some of our affiliate/advertising partners may also use Cookies.

In the Site, Housing Works provides users with access to auctions and purchase opportunities for thrift shop items, artwork, and other goods ("the Service"). You are responsible for obtaining access to the Site, and that access may involve third-party fees (such as Internet service provider or airtime charges). In addition, you must provide and are responsible for all equipment necessary to access the Site.

In order to accept the terms of service and to use the Site, you must be at least 18 years of age ("Minimum Age"). The Site is not intended for users under the Minimum Age. You hereby affirmatively represent that (a) you are at least the Minimum Age in the applicable country; (b) you have the consent of your parent(s) to use the Site if you are under 18 years of age; (c) you have all the applicable rights and authority to grant Housing Works the rights granted in these terms of service; and (d) you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these terms of service. If you are not at least the Minimum Age, do not have parental consent, or you do not agree to all the terms of service, you may not use the Site.

You understand and accept that all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, audio, video, message or other material appearing on this Site (collectively, “Content”) are owned by Housing Works or it’s licensors. You are expressly prohibited from using any Content without the express written consent of Housing Works or its licensors. Except as otherwise stated in these terms of service, none of the material may be reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted, transmitted, or copied in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of Housing Works, and/or the appropriate licensor. Permission is granted to display, copy, distribute, and download the materials on this Site solely for personal, non-commercial use provided that you make no modifications to the materials and that all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the materials are retained. You may not, without Housing Work’s express written permission, 'mirror' any material contained on this Site or any other server. Any permission granted under these terms of service terminates automatically without further notice if you breach any of the above terms. Upon such termination, you agree to immediately destroy any downloaded and/or printed materials. Any unauthorized use of any material contained on this Site may violate domestic and/or international copyright laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations and statutes.

Housing Works imposes certain restrictions on your permissible use of our Website. You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate any security features of our Website, including, without limitation, (a) accessing content or data not intended for you, or logging onto a server or account that you are not authorized to access; (b) attempting to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of our Website, or any associated system, service or network, or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization; (c) interfering or attempting to interfere with service to any user, host, or network, including, without limitation, by means of submitting a virus to our Website, overloading, “flooding,” “spamming,” “mail bombing” or “crashing”; (d) using our Website to send unsolicited email, including, without limitation, promotions, or advertisements for products or services; (e) forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or post using our Website; (f) using a fake profile with respect to the website, engage in hostile behavior with Housing Works staff, or pursue harassing purchasing tactics such as bidding on items without the bona fide intent to eventually purchase an item and/or consummate a sale; or (g) attempting to modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise reduce or attempt to reduce to a human-perceivable form any of the source code used by Housing Works in providing our Website. Any violation of system or network security may subject you to civil and/or criminal liability. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not use “bots,” spiders or intelligent agent software (or similar technologies) for any purposes other than accessing publicly posted portions of our Website and only for purposes consistent with this Agreement. You may not circumvent any access or use restrictions, data encryption or content protection related to our Website. You may not data mine our Website or in any way cause harm to our Website.

We may from time to time change the terms that govern your use of our Site. We may change, move or delete portions of, or may add to, our Site from time to time. If we make material changes to the terms of service, we will notify you by email or through a message posted on the Site. Your continued use of our Site following any such change constitutes your agreement and affirmative acceptance to follow and be bound by the modified terms of service. If you do not agree to, or cannot comply with, the terms of service as modified, you must stop using the Site.

For any content you provide to Housing Works, on or by the Site, or otherwise disclose, submit or offer in connection with your use of this Site or other websites such as Facebook or Instagram that may interact with this Site, including comments, ideas, images, photographs, video clips, audio clips, graphics, tags, data, materials, information, and other submissions, including submissions with any hashtags such #Housing Works or #HW (collectively, 'User Content'), you specifically grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, fully paid up, worldwide license (but not the obligation) to use any User Content that you post on or in connection with Housing Works (“IP License”). The IP License includes, for example and without limitations, the right and license to use, reproduce, modify, edit, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such material (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, in both digital and physical owned channels, and will not be limited in any way in its use or modifications to the submission, whether for commercial purposes or not, of the User Content. In certain circumstances Housing Works may also share your contribution with trusted third parties. You are also granting us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, fully paid up, worldwide license (but not the obligation) to use your name, likeness, personality, voice, or any other materials or information you provide to Housing Works in connection with your content.

Housing Works is not and shall not be under any obligation (1) to maintain any User Content in confidence; (2) to pay you any compensation for any User Content; (3) to credit or acknowledge you for User Content; or (4) to respond to any User Content.

You understand and agree that it is your obligation to make sure the User Content you submit to the Site must not violate the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy or other personal or proprietary right(s). You also understand and agree that User Content you submit to the Site must not be and will not contain libelous or otherwise unlawful, abusive, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material in Housing Work’s sole discretion. For example, and without limitation, you may not post violent, nude, partially nude, discriminatory, unlawful, infringing, hateful, pornographic or sexually suggestive photos or other content via the Site or other websites such as Facebook or Instagram that may interact with this Site.

You are and shall remain solely responsible for any User Content you submit on the Site. You agree that Housing Works may use and/or disclose information about your demographics and use of the Site in any manner that does not reveal your identity.

By participating in Site sweepstakes, contests, promotions, and/or requesting promotional information or product updates, you agree that Housing Works may use your information for marketing and promotional purposes.

If you do not want to grant Housing Works the permission set out above on these terms, please do not submit User Content.

You agree that Housing Works may send electronic mail to you for the purpose of advising you of changes or additions to this Site, about any of Housing Work’s products or services, or for such other purpose(s) as Housing Works deems appropriate.

All features, content, specifications, products and prices of products and Services described or depicted on this Site are subject to change at any time without notice. All product descriptions provided by the seller are approximate and are provided for convenience only. We make all reasonable efforts to accurately display the attributes of our products, including the applicable colors; however, the actual color you see will depend on your computer system and we cannot guarantee that your computer will accurately display such colors. Likewise, the product images on this Site may appear larger or smaller than their actual size. While Housing Works attempts to be as accurate as possible in the product descriptions on this Site, Housing Works does not warrant that product descriptions or other content of any Housing Works Service is accurate, complete, reliable, current or error-free. If a product offered by Housing Works is not as described, your sole remedy is to return it in unused condition.

It is your responsibility to ascertain and obey all applicable local, state, federal and international laws (including minimum age requirements) with respect to the possession, use and sale of any item purchased form this Site. By placing an order, you represent and warrant that the products ordered will be used only in a lawful manner.

To the extent that this Site contains links to outside services and resources, the availability and content of which Housing Work does not control, any concerns regarding any such service or resource, or any link included on the Site, should be directed to the particular outside service or resource. Housing Works has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party web sites or services.

ALL CONTENT, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES ON THE SITE, OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE, OR OBTAINED FROM A WEBSITE TO WHICH THE SITE IS LINKED (A "LINKED SITE") ARE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, SECURITY OR ACCURACY. HOUSING WORKS DOES NOT ENDORSE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR (A) THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY OPINION, ADVICE OR STATEMENT MADE THROUGH THE SITE OR SERVICE BY ANY PARTY, (B) ANY CONTENT PROVIDED ON LINKED SITES OR (C) THE CAPABILITIES OR RELIABILITY OF ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE OBTAINED FROM A LINKED SITE. OTHER THAN AS REQUIRED UNDER APPLICABLE CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE WILL HOUSING WORKS BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A USER'S RELIANCE ON INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE OR A LINKED SITE, OR USER'S RELIANCE ON ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE OBTAINED FROM A LINKED SITE. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE USER TO EVALUATE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR USEFULNESS OF ANY OPINION, ADVICE OR OTHER CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE, OR OBTAINED FROM A LINKED SITE. PLEASE SEEK THE ADVICE OF PROFESSIONALS, AS APPROPRIATE, REGARDING THE EVALUATION OF ANY SPECIFIC OPINION, ADVICE, PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR OTHER CONTENT.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE LIVE OR TIMED AUCTION SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE, OR THAT BIDS WILL BE RECEIVED, OR INFORMATION REGARDING CURRENT PRICE WILL BE TRANSMITTED, IN A TIMELY FASHION. IN NO EVENT SHALL WE OR OUR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE FAILURE OF ANY BID OR PRICING INFORMATION TO BE TRANSMITTED OR RECEIVED BY YOU IN A TIMELY MANNER, THE INTERRUPTION OF ANY DATA TRANSMISSION, AUDIO OR VIDEO BROADCAST, OR THIS AGREEMENT (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE).

SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAW, INCLUDING WITH RESPECT TO LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL INJURY OR NON-WAIVABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS, IN NO EVENT SHALL HOUSING WORKS OR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS OR AGENTS (A) BE LIABLE TO THE USER WITH RESPECT TO USE OF THE SITES, THE CONTENT OR THE MATERIALS CONTAINED IN OR ACCESSED THROUGH THE SITES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY DAMAGES CAUSED BY OR RESULTING FROM RELIANCE BY A USER ON ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM HOUSING WORKS), OR ANY DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM MISTAKES, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DELETION OF FILES OR EMAIL, ERRORS, DEFECTS, VIRUSES, DELAYS IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION OR ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, WHETHER OR NOT RESULTING FROM ACTS OF GOD, COMMUNICATIONS FAILURES, THEFT, DESTRUCTION, FRAUD, OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO HOUSING WORK’S RECORDS, PROGRAMS OR SERVICES; AND (B) BE LIABLE TO THE USER FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOST PROFITS, LOSS, THEFT OR CORRUPTION OF USER INFORMATION, OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SITES OR ANY OF THEIR FEATURES. THE USER’S SOLE REMEDY IS TO CEASE USE OF THE SITES.

You will indemnify and hold harmless Housing Works from and against any and all fines, penalties, liabilities, losses and other damages of any kind whatsoever (including attorneys’ and experts’ fees), incurred by Housing Works and such parties, and shall defend Housing Works and such parties against any and all claims arising out of (1) your breach of these terms of service; (2) fraud you commit, or your intentional misconduct or gross negligence; or (3) your violation of any applicable U.S. of foreign law or the rights of a third party. Housing Works will control the defense of any claim to which this indemnity may apply, and in any event, you shall not settle any claim without the prior written approval of Housing Works.

Housing Works shall be excused from performance under these terms of service, to the extent it is prevented from or delayed from performing, in whole or in part, as a result of an event or series of events caused by or resulting from (1) weather conditions or other elements of nature or acts of God, (2) acts of war, acts of terrorism, insurrection, riots, civil disorders or rebellion, (3) quarantines or embargoes, (4) labor strikes, or (5) other causes beyond the reasonable control of Housing Works. In the event that Housing Works is temporarily unable to ship to you a purchased item because of such an event, Housing Works will give you the option of deferring shipment or receiving a refund of your charges.

PLEASE READ THIS ARBITRATION PROVISION CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS. BY ELECTING ARBITRATION, YOU AGREE THAT ANY CLAIM THAT YOU MAY HAVE IN THE FUTURE MUST BE RESOLVED THROUGH BINDING ARBITRATION. YOU WAIVE THE RIGHT TO HAVE YOUR DISPUTE HEARD IN COURT AND WAIVE THE RIGHT TO BRING CLASS CLAIMS. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT DISCOVERY AND APPEAL RIGHTS ARE MORE LIMITED IN ARBITRATION.

Any dispute or claim relating in any way to Housing Works, your use of Housing Work’s Service, the Site, or to any products or services sold or distributed by Housing Works or through www.auction .housingworks.org will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court. The Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law apply to this agreement.

There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is limited. However, an arbitrator can award on an individual basis the same damages and relief as a court (including injunctive and declaratory relief or statutory damages), and must follow the terms of these terms of service as a court would.

To begin an arbitration proceeding, you must send a letter requesting arbitration and describing your claim to our registered agent. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its rules, including the AAA's Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes. The AAA's rules are available at adr.org/consumer or by calling 1-800-778-7879. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA's rules.

We each agree that any arbitration will be conducted only on an individual basis between You and Housing Works and not in a class, consolidated or representative action or arbitration. If for any reason a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration we each waive any right to a jury trial. We also both agree that you or we may bring suit in court to enjoin infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights. If part of this provision is unenforceable, the remainder remains in effect.

The Site, Service or third parties may provide links to other websites or resources. Because Housing Works has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that Housing Works is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products or other materials on or available from such websites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that Housing Works shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such website or resource.

If you have the highest bid at the end of the auction period, at or above the minimum bid price (or in the case of reserve auctions, at or above the reserve price), and your bid is accepted by the seller, YOU ARE OBLIGATED TO COMPLETE THE TRANSACTION. Bids are not retractable except in exceptional circumstances (e.g., the seller materially changes the description of the item after your bid, clear typographical errors, or when the bidder cannot authenticate the identity of the seller). Bid manipulation is strictly prohibited. In other words, you may not bid in a way that pushes other bidders to their maximum bid, retract your original high bid, and re-bid at a small increment above the legitimate high bidder.

A Non-Paying Bidder is a person who wins the auction through the bidding process but does not follow through with the transaction and instead fails to fulfill his or her obligation to purchase the item(s) he or she won through the bidding process. The seller community of our Site is committed to notifying our staff regarding any Non-Paying Bidder. We take these situations very seriously and will record, monitor, suspend or ban any Non-Paying Bidder, or take other appropriate disciplinary, investigative or legal action, in our sole and absolute discretion.

The inclusion of any products on this Site at a particular time does not imply or warrant that these products or Services will be available at any time. Products may be out-of-stock, discontinued, or subject to other action by the seller. Prices are quoted in U.S. dollars, are effective for U.S. purchases only, and are subject to change at any time. Discounts are limited time offers and may not be combined with any other offers. Housing Works reserves the right to limit the quantities of any products or Services that we offer through this Website at its sole discretion.

The trademarks, logos and service marks (“Marks”) displayed on the Site are the property of Housing Works and other parties. You are prohibited from using any Marks for any purpose including, but not limited to use as metatags on other pages or sites on the Internet without the written permission of Housing Works or such third party which may own the Marks. Information and content including any software programs available on or through the Service or Site (“Content”) may protected by copyright. Users are prohibited from modifying, copying, distributing, transmitting, displaying, publishing, selling, licensing, creating derivative works or using any Content available on or through the Site for any purpose.

Notwithstanding any other of this terms of services, or any general legal principles to the contrary, any provision of this terms of service that imposes or contemplates continuing obligations on a party will survive the expiration or termination of this terms of service. Housing Works reserves the right to limit your access to the Site for any breach of the terms of service.

If any of these conditions are deemed invalid, void, or unenforceable, during arbitration or by a court of competent jurisdiction, the parties agree that the tribunal should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the unenforceable condition shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining condition. Headings are for reference purposes only and do not limit the scope or extent of such section. The failure of Housing Works to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive its right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. Housing Works does not guarantee it will take action against all breaches of these terms of service. Housing Work’s failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of these terms will not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. No waiver of any of these terms will be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or any other term or condition.

Except as otherwise expressly provided in these terms of service, there shall be no third-party beneficiaries to these terms of service. These terms of service constitute the entire agreement between you and Housing Works and governs your use of the Site and Service (other than applicable Additional Terms), superseding any prior agreements between you and Housing Works with respect to the Site or Service.

Purchases may be subject to sales, use, excise and other tax in some jurisdictions. It is the buyer's responsibility to ascertain and pay all taxes due. Buyers claiming exemption from sales tax must have the appropriate documentation on file with Housing Works prior to the release of the property.

These terms of use are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law AND WILL SPECIFICALLY NOT BE GOVERNED BY THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTIONS ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS, IF OTHERWISE APPLICABLE. If notwithstanding the mandatory arbitration provision, a claim proceeds to court, for any action at law or in equity relating to Housing Works or these terms of use, you agree to resolve any dispute you have with Housing Works exclusively in a state or federal court located in New York City, New York, and to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located in New York City, New York for the purpose of litigating all such disputes.

If you have any questions or comments about these terms of service or this Site, please contact us by email at: auction@housingworks.org.