Vlavem

Vlavem.com is run by Auctions Online N.V., a broker in movable goods at Mastboomstraat 14/3 in Aartselaar, south of Antwerp. It sells nothing of its own: insolvency trustees, judicial officers, notaries, banks, dealers and private owners consign the goods, and it invoices in their name. Most lots come from bankruptcies and seizures, the rest from liquidations, surplus batches of new products and Flemish public-body disposals. Pickup towns across Flanders include Antwerp, Hasselt, Turnhout, Stekene, Erpe-Mere and Hamont-Achel.

What you can buy

• Cars, scooters and bikes: Audi A4 Allroad Quattro and Q2 S-Line, VW Golf Sportsvan, BMW X1 and Opel Grandland X in one Erpe-Mere sale, a Yamaha scooter and a Minerva mountain bike in another.
• Ex-fleet public sector vehicles: batches for agencies such as Roads and Traffic Limburg: a Ford Tourneo, a Ford Focus and five Opel Combo Tours in one Hasselt sale.
• Machinery and workshop kit: a Stromab double cross-cut saw line and radial saw with waste containers, plus timber, garage and garden material, a professional coffee machine and a workshop stove from a Hamont-Achel liquidation.
• Catering equipment: warming cabinets, serving trolleys and Liebherr chest freezers, including Flemish government consignments.
• Retail and consumer stock: hand tools, fasteners, kitchenware, toys, bedding, camping and hobby goods, workwear and footwear, pet supplies and mixed consumer electronics from closed businesses.
• Building and garden products: glazed sliding-door systems for extensions and verandas, PVC arched windows, garden sheds, design lighting.
• Collectables and wine: coins, religious items, fountain pens, vinyl singles, books and comics, and cellar finds including Chateau Lafite, Saint-Estephe and Margaux, some opening at one euro.

How the bidding works

Registration is free and open to private buyers and companies, EU-wide and beyond. Private accounts need name, address and phone; business accounts also need a VAT and chamber of commerce number. Activation runs through an email link, and Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo accounts need an SMS check before their first bid, so do that early. Bidding is online only, nothing is taken by email, and a placed bid is binding. A lot that draws a bid in its last five minutes stays open another five. The auctioneer or judicial officer may ask you mid-sale to prove solvency or wire an advance of up to half the purchase price, and can exclude you if you refuse. The full amount falls due immediately after allocation and in any case before collection, by transfer to the ING account with the structured reference; the invoice downloads from Mijn Vlavem once payment lands. Each auction names its own collection day and address; dismantling and loading are yours.

What to check before you bid

The buyer's premium is 17 percent, and VAT applies to hammer price plus premium unless the lot says otherwise, so read the auction information, which names the seller and says whether it is a business or a private person. Goods go as they stand at allocation, with no guarantee on working order or condition. A consumer buying from a professional seller keeps the two-year legal warranty, cut to one year on used goods where stated, plus 14 days to withdraw; neither applies if the seller is a private individual. EU businesses with a valid VAT number can avoid Belgian VAT by declaring export at collection; non-EU buyers pay it and are refunded within 14 days against an export document. The site is Dutch and only the Dutch conditions are legally valid; the Google Translate bar is informative only. Disputes go to the Antwerp courts under Belgian law. Some new-goods sales include free delivery; otherwise budget transport from the Flemish pickup point, and note occasional collections in the Netherlands.