Live Auctioneers
Reviews and Complaints

I have used this platform for two years with frequency. I have transacted dozens of purchases without incident. Unfortunately, I have finally encountered an auctioneer who has not acted professionally (Donny Malone) and have been unable to resolve a dispute regarding two items that were not furnished to me when I went to collect them, despite having paid for them and made advance arrangements for pick-up (Malone's facility is 700 miles from my home). I have been given excuse after excuse by Donny Malone and no refund has been forthcoming.

Hence, I attempted to reach out to LiveAuctioneers today in order to report the issue and gain some guidance on obtaining a refund. When I called (212) 947-4428 I was transferred to the "bidder supporter team" but only reached a recorded message which encouraged me to visit the website rather than direct my call to a human being. When the message concluded I was permitted to leave a voicemail, but I have little confidence anyone will return the call, as the voicemail box was only identified as "Box 4428"--no name.

Given that this platform handles tens of thousands items on a daily basis there is no excuse for a lack of immediate phone support during normal business hours.

This company has a culture of pro-seller and anti-consumer bias. The culture there encourages abuse of the consumer and some serious violations of consumer rights and privacy.

There is a dispute process for the sellers if an invoice goes unpaid, but if one of the auction houses engages in bad behavior, the consumer is left with no recourse and is simply ignored.

The terms of service the way they are written do not necessarily support this, and you don't find this out until you have a bad experience on their site. In my case, I was told they would not remove an unpaid invoice dispute against me even though the auctioneer was harassing and untrustworthy, but when it came to the auction house violating website policy there was no reporting mechanism and no dispute process. Yet they also tell you in the terms of service to report policy violations. It is only when you encounter those policy violations you figure out that it only for the benefit of the auctioneer sellers, not for the consumer who is buying thing on their website.

The auction house in my case had violated my privacy and was misusing my private information outside of the liveauctioneers website. When I tried to report it, I got little help, and eventually LiveAuctioneers terminated my account and deleted everything to cover it up.

The dispute process on the site is used to force consumers to give up their consumer rights or to accept abusive behavior by the sellers, because if they don't the website will stop them from participating in other auctions or else terminate their account completely. Even if you have a great track record buying regularly from another auction house, if you don't accept the abuse of one bad auction, that bad auction can report you to liveauctioneers who will suspend you.

The support staff says that they will work with the buyer to find a resolution, but they don't- what they do instead is to refuse any resolution that doesn't fit with what the auction house already wants you to do. In one chat session the rep said she would help mediate, but as soon as I recommended a compromise her immediate response was "No they don't do that". there was never even an offer to go take my suggestion back to the auctioneer. there was no back and forth or reciprocal effort on the part of the LiveAuctioneers to actually work for a resolution. Instead they misconstrued my request and deleted the bad review I had left for the auction house, which was not what I asked them to do. The auction house who is still there on LiveAuctioneers had taken my information and started to engage in cyber-bullying by posting my information in unflattering light in fake reviews on the google listings for my workplace. I reported this to LiveAuctioneers who said they asked the business to take it down, but instead what they did was delete my account to cover it up.

The support staff is difficult to reach and almost never calls back. If they write you back 2-3 days later, you are lucky.

A chat window can be a faster way to reach someone, but it is often useless, because the support is so poor and so one sided.

The dispute process against bidders is so one-sided against the consumer that it makes people give up their right of rejection under normal circumstances at any other kind of retailer and forces them to accept inferior or non-conforming goods. I felt that I had to accept an item that did not match the description, because the auctioneer filed a non-payment dispute, and I had no recourse with LiveAuctioneers. I reported the non-conformity to LiveAuctioneers and sent photos but never got a response from them. I felt that I had to complete the payment and take the damaged item against my will just to get LiveAucioneers off my back and let go of my account. And then I went to my bank later and filed a chargeback.

Without the pro-seller, anti-consumer policies of LiveAuctioneers I normally at any other business would have had a right to reject and not pay for that item. LiveAuctioneers won't let consumers do that.

I have filed complaints with numerous consumer groups this week over how poorly I was treated on this website. I would point out prior to this I had made dozens of purchases from numerous other auctions on the site and never had a problem until now. LiveAuctioneers would rather throw me under the bus than have to confront one of its auction houses for abuse. it's just sad.

I have bid on many auctions live and never had a problem before. On a September Asian Sale(Aug. 31, 2019) I bid on Princeton Auctioneers Lot #0081. I successfully won the pair of Chinese Porcelain Blue and White Flower Zun Vases. Therefore, Princeton sent me an email invoice #2805175 for the following:
Item : $1400.00
Buyer's Premium : 350.00
Sub Total: 1750.00
Shipping : 30.00
TOTAL $1780.00
I sent them a check immediately, which they cashed on Sept. 11, 2019. I have not received the items. I have called repeatedly and as of now have not heard from them. If they cannot send me the items paid for, then I am requesting a full refund.
This is not the way to do business. This gives LIVE AUCTIONEERS a bad reputation,
one that I am sure you do not want.
I would appreciate any assistance you could give me in this matter.
Thank you,
Linda Halpert
Cell: [protected]
Email: [protected]@aol.com

Purchased "Rare limited edition numbered bronze Dali -Dalinian", for $1, 339.45 with shipping. I am a collector of bronze figurines. It appraised for between$80-120. It is not rare, not numbered, not limited and not a Dali. The value presented on line was between $3, 150-$6300. This was a complete fraud. The misrepresentation had to be known by the auction house. This bronze is a knockoff probably from China. I am now skeptical of ever doing any future on line auction purchases in the future. (Lot#241, Dalinian Dancer-Salvador Dali,
9/16/19)

Dr. Bernard Nash

Cannot access the Live Auctioneers Web Site -- it comes on and flashes right off. It happens if I access directly from Google; from my emails, etc.
Other websites work just fine; in fact INVALUABLE comes up instead.
Have you gone out of business? You don't answer your phone, you don't return voicemail, you don't return email...Have you gone out of business?
Nina Coltrane

last eve i was fooling the auction on live auctioneers and had few items i was planning on bidding on.It seemed there were technical problems thru out the sale...

when lot 1543, silver box with dog in stone 9n lid came it opened at $ 100

i sent my bid and waited and waited and nothing was happening..the next thing i know they went to following item so id did not get it?did some one else got it or it was taken off the floor?

what ever it was i am not a happy camper as i wanted the box as i collect SERIOUSLY all things Whippet, tyhis dog looked like my now gone dog Zoey

please help

thx

alain filiz

Hello,

I let a £2000 absentee bid for the lot 1382 of the 27 Spetember sale of John Nicholson auctioneers (a bronze sculpture).
Apparently, my bid has not been taken into account. I have contacted John Nicholson Auctioneers and for them, the item has been sold for £1220.
That is of course not acceptable. To bid is legally binding an d my bid must be considered.
What can we do now?

Best regards,

Antoine de Labretoigne
[protected]@yahoo.fr

Hi I won a silver basket in online sale with Live Art TV
Send a check they lost it sent a second check before it arrived the CEO emailed me to say the consignor took the item back, so it was no longer available for sale.
I complained to Live Auctioneers about this, as well as that gallery running a "rigged" sale - generating phony bids to elevate prices - - nothing happened
In fact, they just submitted a non payment complain against me !
This is my third email /call to you
with no reply...

please reply Dr R Barresi

Stopped receiving emails from LA a few weeks ago. Tried to email/ phone to get it rectified, only to find that customer service is virtually non existent. They claim to have Live Chat available from 9-5 on weekdays, but there's no way to access it. No response to emails, phone call ended at an extension that "wasn't available".

When an auction is won, communication with the seller is essential- recently, all of them have filed disputes because I hadn't paid, which is a direct result of LA not sending out automated emails. From what the auctioneers told me, there have been other complaints about the same issue. They're not getting paid because customers aren't being invoiced.

They don't even go as far as reaching the Junk/ Spam folder. I have added them as a safe sender/ contact as they told me to the last time this happened.

Very unhappy.

The lot price is 20 euros but the seller ask extra 60 euros hidden fees! All of them are not mentioned in the description or terms of sales.

When I file a complaint to Liveauctioneers with this overcharging, they told me it's normal and lie through their teeth they could found all the information in the terms of sales! (impossible at all)

They told me the purchase is located in UK and should followed UK's law. I ma located in France and the seller located in Swiss. Why the purchase is done in UK? U can choose which country's law as u want after the sell?

Finnaly I paid 50 euros but never receive the lot. When I contact the auction house and site. No respond at all!

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/48004312_genuine-tanzanite-necklace-50-cts
"Vancouver Island" auction house posted a nice strand of Tanzanite beads at a starting bid of US$150 (estimate 2'500-3'500) so I went in with the starting bid, much to my surprise I was the winner and the only bidder. When I received the merchandise I was shocked it was Tanzanite OK but very bad quality something you would find at the flea market not at all like the picture and in no way worth the starting bid (real value maybe $30 max). Later on I did some research on "Vancouver Island" and found complaints about their FAKE merchandise. I'm surprised Liveauctioneers still allows them to use the site.

I bought $20, 000 worth of items from SMRJ AUCTIONS and to my surprise the package arrived in a very timely manner after 3 days of making payment. All items were as described and advertised. I would like to commend an excellent customer service who patiently answered all my queries. So far this is the best auction house I ever dealt with. Very good value of money and excellent service, this company is highly recommended specially now a days that it is very hard to establish trust in dealing with online purchases. I will be making more future purchases with SMRJ since they are proven and tested.

I beg of people to stay far away from LiveAuctioneers.com. I used my email address for a LiveAuctioneers.com profile and I had over $6000 forced from me without any services or products provided. I made the mistake of dealing with this website before doing research and now I am paying huge penalties. Here is the BBB report. A solid F rating.
http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/business-reviews/auctioneers/live-auctioneers-in-new-york-ny-123530/
Bad company! Stick with Ebay where you are protected! LiveAuctioneers.com is a Horrible website.

My email address was used to sign up for a LiveAuctioneers.com account. Suddenly there were thousands of dollars in charges associated with my profile. I did not place the bids, I did not sign off on the bids, I did not agree to this websites terms. Yet 3 months later I was harrassed by a collection agency called Lazarus Fianancial Group. This collection agency said they were collecting for Western Asset reserve and Live Auctioneers. They threatened me into giving them $6038.14 to settle my www.LiveAuctioneers.com profile. I was never provided any goods or services from Live Auctioneers LLC, yet after I signed up for a profile, I was scammed for over $6k. This website claims on a BBB response that they take no responsibilty in what happens on their site. I would stay far away from this website. I was personally scammed out of $6k+. I will make it my life mission to warn others of these unethical internet companies