Collector assurance

Buyer protection

What we hold, what we check and what happens if a work is not as described. These terms apply to every acquisition made through Rare Form.

Payment handling

Card payments are processed by Stripe. Rare Form never stores card details, and all payment pages are served over HTTPS.

Funds for a work sold by a third-party seller are held by Rare Form until the work has been despatched and the tracking record confirms it is in transit to you. Sellers are paid after that point, not at the moment of checkout.

Bank transfer is available for private sales and private treaty works. Payment instructions are issued by your advisor on Rare Form letterhead; we will never send revised bank details by email without also confirming them by telephone.

Condition on arrival

Every work is described using the condition record supplied and reviewed before listing. Where a condition report exists, it is published on the work's page.

You have five business days from delivery to raise a condition discrepancy. Retain all packaging and send photographs of the work and the packaging as received.

If a work is materially different from its published description or condition record, the sale is unwound and the purchase price and shipping are refunded in full.

Delivery and title

Works ship fully insured, crated where appropriate, with a named carrier. Title passes on receipt of cleared funds and confirmed delivery.

Import duties and taxes are the responsibility of the buyer unless quoted otherwise in writing. The delivered-cost estimator on each work indicates likely totals; it is an estimate, not a quotation.

Cancellation

A publicly priced work may be cancelled before despatch for a full refund. After despatch, cancellation is at the seller's discretion except where a condition or authenticity discrepancy applies.

Private sales and private treaty transactions are governed by the written terms issued with each offer.

Authenticity

Rare Form reviews documentation; document review is not authentication. Where a work carries third-party authentication, the authenticating body is named on the work's page.

If a work is subsequently shown by the recognised authenticating body for that artist to be other than as represented, the sale is unwound and the purchase price refunded in full.

Raising an issue

Write to wesley@rare-form.online with your order reference and photographs. Every claim is acknowledged within one business day and handled by a named advisor.

If a claim cannot be resolved directly, the transaction records — listing copy, condition record, provenance file and correspondence — are made available to you in full.

Read the verification methodology for what each designation on a work does and does not mean.