Discretion of the Company Before the Auction. Before the auction, the Company shall have sole discretion in the following matters:
(1) To give any description and/or account and/or assessment of any Auction Property in the Catalogue or any other notice, report or document and/or by way of the news media and/or other media;
(2) Whether or not to seek the opinion of any external experts or custodian, agent or other third parties, and perform or carry out the duty of care, requirements, research or inspection relating to the Auction Property or the origin of the Auction Property before and after the sale, and the Company shall not bear any liability in respect of any acts or negligence by the aforementioned third parties;
(3) Such arrangements as the sequence, position, display size, etc. of the illustrations of the Auction Property in the Catalogue as well as the fee schedule therefor; the method of exhibiting/displaying the Auction Property; the various arrangements for the Auction Property in the course of the exhibition/display thereof and the rates of the charges payable therefor;
(4) Unless otherwise agreed by the Company and the Seller, the Company shall have sole discretion to decide whether or not a particular Auction Property is suitable for auction by the Company (i.e. whether it is ultimately put up for auction), to withdraw an Auction Property from auction, combine it with other Auction Property for auction or split it up into different categories for auction, as well as the auction venue, number of auction sessions, Auction Date, auction conditions and auction method, etc.;
(5) The Company may, depending on any such circumstances as the auction conditions and auction method, announce before the Auction Date the conditions and procedure for Bidders to obtain paddles, including but not limited to formulating the qualification conditions for Bidders to obtain a paddle. When a Bidder wishes to participate in the auction by the Company, he or she shall pay an auction deposit before collecting his or her paddle. The amount of the auction deposit shall be announced by the Company before the Auction Date, and the Company has the right to reduce or waive the auction deposit. The Company has the right, at its discretion, to refuse anyone from participating in the auction organized by the Company or from entering the auction venue, and the right to refuse or accept any bid.