I am filling this out to possibly help others who may use this on-line auction site. The large auction houses have real auctioneers and strict guidelines are followed. Ebay has individual sellers, but the buyer is covered by eBay and Pay Pal if something goes wrong.
On LiveAuctioneers.com, the name first of all is deceptive. Not all auctions are held by auctioneers. On all of the auctions that I bid on, there were NO AUCTIONEERS, just sellers acting as auctioneers.
BEWARE! There is absolutely no protection for the buyer if something goes wrong!!! I reported to LiveAuctioneers shill bidding in the form of a "competing bid" that bids above the lowest auction estimate only to have the lot
dropped, "competing bids" dropped allowing the item to be sold to the under bidder, single bidders on a lot with a proxy bid winning the item at the higher bid price, and bids on a lot with no reserve being marked as "passed" not selling to the sometimes only bidder. I also saw many "competing bids" placed, the auction being marked as sold, then seeing the same seller, auctioneer listing the exact same item in their next auction! Anybody can watch a Live Auction on their computer and see how this progresses, then see the bidding history after the auction.
When I asked LiveAuctioneers.com about their policies I was told that each "auction house" or seller can have their own terms. When I complained to the one auction house, seller by phone I was bluntly informed that when I agreed to the
conditions I agreed to allow the "auctioneer" to have the final say and make any and all decisions. When I contacted LiveAuctioneers via phone and email I was told that they DO NOT HELP BUYERS WITH ANY PROBLEMS WITH
ANY OF THEIR SELLERS OR AUCTIONEERS!
While I am sure that there are some very reputable sellers and possibly even some true auctioneers on LiveAuctioneers.com, there are also some dishonest and unprofessional sellers.
Sellers have the opportunity to post disputes with buyers that any other auction house or seller can see, however the buyer cannot post anything about the seller.
If you would like to try this site, be aware that when you click your mouse, if another bid is being placed my another bidder or the auction house as a competing bid, your bid may be logged higher than you expected.
There are other online complaints about this site.
Buyers beware!!!
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