Alexander's Antiques & Auctions

Revdex.com talked to the owner and she stated that the rug was on consignment and they cannot adjust it as they do not own it.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[They purposely misplaced multiple offers we made on the same rug, multiple weeks, and then when I brought it up to their attention, the owner was rude and hung up on me. They offered no reason, just excuses, never offered an apology, never offered a resolution, and told us never to do business with them again when they were clearly in the wrong. Myself and all my family members have vowed to honor their wishes, and never do business with them again, after spending thousands upon thousands of dollars in the past. They are a scam, and we're done with them. I can't even fathom why the Revdex.com is saying they offered a resolution when they clearly did not. They just came up with the same excuses they always do. I want this out there for the public to read so they know what kind of shady practice and rude disrespectful people run this operation. PERIOD!]Regards,[redacted]

Seriously this is the best auction house. Courteous and HONEST with quality merchandise. Very nice people.

Review: upon receiving an e-mail from [redacted] from Alexander's Antique that my furniture would bring somewhere between $200 to $500 at auction. That included a [redacted] dining room set, 1 hutch, table with 2 benches and two captain chairs along with a solid oak desk. On May 7th they Pick up the furniture, fee for the said furniture would be $75 and 35% commission upon sale. Several weeks later I called and they could not find my info said they would call back I did have to get back in touch with them again they did try to get back to me. We got back in touch with one another and they said they auction off the furniture with no profit to me and I owed them a balance and they would not make me pay the balance. They auctioned the items for $30 if I wanted to donate the furniture I would have, and been able to claim on my taxes I wasn't planning on donating to Alexander's Antiques. I feel they took advantage of a older person. I trusted that the e-mail [redacted] sent was fact.Desired Settlement: I would like them to settle for $500 and take their 35% and the $75 pick up fee and I receive the balance I would hope they would not do this again

Business

Response:

I spoke with [redacted] from the company. She mentioned the customer provided them information that the furniture she owned was [redacted]. Based on the information the customer provided, they were able to give a quote (not a guarantee) of how much the furniture may sell for. Once company received the furniture they were unable to verify if the furniture was in fact [redacted] so they contacted the customer to advise her of this. The customer stated she needed the furniture to go. The company sold everything for [redacted]. The contract states 35% off and a pick up fee of [redacted]. After the company subtracted the 35% commission there was a balance of [redacted]. They negated this balance for the customer so the balance showing on the account is zero.

Review: At the April 9th auction, I purchased what was described in Alexander’s Antiques website catalog as being a “Russian bronze country girls in a horse drawn cart by Evgeni Lanceray from [redacted] estate” As the lot was coming up the man at the microphone said the item was an “early, early, early recast” and purported that it was worth “over twenty thousand of dollars”. Accompanying the lot was a printed auction sales record for a similar looking Russian bronze that sold for over $20,000.

This item is not as it was described. It is not Russian, is not old, and is not by Lanceray. After the auction, I consulted with one of the country’s leading authorities on Russian fine and decorative arts. He concluded that the item was not as described. In fact the item was a “fairly late casting” that was made in the 1970’s or 1980’s, is not old, and not Russian made.

In the auction and art markets the words used to describe items have specific, industry-standard definitions. The word “by” literally means done by the artist’s hand. It is the strongest possible attribution. The word “after” means that a piece was done by someone else, in the style of the original, and usually after the artist’s death. In cases where there is uncertainty as to origin and authenticity of artwork qualifying descriptors should be used. Examples include: possibly by, attributed to, in the school of, ETC. It is ok to say that you don't know what something is, it's quite another to sell something with a definitive attribution that is not, as it turns out, a genuine piece as was described.

The auction company verbally and orally misrepresented the item for sale.Desired Settlement: Act in good faith and accept a return of the item in exchange for the $1,350 paid.

Business

Response:

Alexander's Antiques is an auction house. We take items on consignment. We auction them off for a commission. We received a Russian Bronze on consignment from a Collection out of North Carolina. The consignor stated that it was acquired from the Estate of [redacted] and the initial purchase price was over $20,000. The consignor also provided us with a picture of a similar bronze to go along with this bronze. We photo'd the bronze and pictured it on our website along with the information provided us by the consignor. As the week progressed we had a lot of calls from buyers asking measurements, additional photos, etc. of the bronze. Several clients came into the view the bronze giving me their opinion that the first indication that it was not an original was the size. It's smaller than the original bronze as they are recast over the years the size gets smaller. Everyone was of the opinion that it was a recast and not a new bronze made in the last 10 years in China or Taiwan but a earlier recast. When the bronze was presented for auction on Thursday, April 9th, I clearly stated that this was not an original but an earlier recast. I also stated that the information with the bronze was not the bronze but a picture of a similar bronze. On April 17th Mr. [redacted] came in and asked for a refund since it was not the original but a recast from the 1970's. We digitally record all our auctions. We showed Mr. [redacted] the recording (which a copy is available if needed) which clearly showed we did not represent the bronze as an original but an earlier recast. He nicely asked for a refund stating that he thought it was an original. I informed him that because he didn't do his due diligence we can't be held liable. As stated on the bid card (copy attached) which he signed -9. The auctioneers and owners are not responsible for the correct description of any lot or for the genuineness or authenticity of the property comprising the same or for any defects therein and whey also make no warranty or representation connection therewith. no sale will be set aside nor will any liability be assumed on account of any incorrectness in description, error in cataloging or imperfection not noted in the catalogue or made orally at the sale. all goods will e exposed for public exhibition and will be sold "as is" and without recourse and no deduction will be made for damaged articles.At the start of each auction I state everything is as is and ask everyone to please read the Rules & Regulation on the back of the bid card - the bronze was one of the first items sold. There is a 6' x 3' sign (copy attached) above the registration desk stating ALL SALES ARE FINAL, NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES" We offered to re-auction the bronze for him and not charge a commission fee. He said no that he just wanted his money back. Mr. [redacted] stated that the bronze was from the 1970's. By his own admission he realized the bronze is at least 40 years old which is exactly what I said it was. Not an original but also not a new import made recently. We still will gladly re-auction the bronze and not charge a commission. If you have any further question or if I can be of any other assistance please do not hesitate to call.

Review: I am writing to file a complaint against Alexander's Antiques on [redacted]. I have been doing business there for about 6 months.

They encourage you to leave silent bids, since they hold the auction in the early morning hours every Thursday. You leave your max bid with them, and they will only bid up to your max bid. If it doesn't go that high, then you will get it for what the selling price is, kind of like ebay....or so that is what they claim.

I have never once won an item for less than my max bid. I have a very sneaky suspicion that they purposely have people in the audience or on their staff that will jack the price up to your max bid.

Furthermore, twice in the past few months I have bid on a rug. If you don't get a phone call from them the next day, that means you didn't win. Both times, I went back the following week to see the exact same item still there. I complained and told them I should have won the item. They said it was an oversight, they clearly forgot to bring it up to the auction stand. I told them that's not my fault and they should honor my bid since I would have won it. They refused the first time.

The second time was today. I reminded them this is the second time this has happened, there is no current bid not he rug, they should remove it from the floor and sell it to me for the bid I placed two weeks earlier. They refused.

I the left another bid on it for the same price and told them that if I lose out on it, when I should have won it two weeks prior, I will contact the Revdex.com, the[redacted], and [redacted] on your side.

The owner, [redacted], then calls me to explain that this happens all the time. I told him that doesn't give me much faith in his business, and as a business owner, he should own up to his mistakes and fix them. He said it has to be sold at auction. I told him that was a horrible business practice. He then proceeded to chew me out over the phone, told me to never come into his store again, and that he was removing the bid I had left for a second time.

This is a very shady place, and there is something going on over there. There website clearly says:

"We are the LARGEST gallery-type auction on the [redacted], and have been serving the Richmond area and beyond for over 20 years. Our staff is dedicated to making every auction a successful one, and treating each customer to a friendly, family-based atmosphere with great service. "

There actions go against everything they have said on their website. They have conned me out of two rugs I should have won, and have banned me from coming into their store when I was simply pointing out their mistakes.Desired Settlement: I wish them to honor my request and provide me with the rug I should have won, due to their mistakes for a second time. If the rug is no longer available, then they should allow me to choose a rug for equal price/value or give me a credit towards a rug for $150.

Business

Response:

[redacted] This is in regards to complaint # [redacted] received on 11-13-14 from [redacted]. We offer a competitive [redacted] Program at our weekly auction. You can leave a Bid with us and we bid competitively for you up to the maximum amount that you leave. We assist anywhere from 100 to 200 people and each week. Over 50% of our clients receive their items for less than the maximum bid. We use a system of color coded stick on dots to attach to our lot # stickers. On occasion a young child or unscrupulous person will come in and remove the dots and we may miss the bid. We had an elderly lady earlier this year with dementia that we caught collecting the multi colored dots. Each week we have available to sell on request over 300 handmade oriental rugs some are displayed on the floor others are rolled up. We don’t sell every single rug each week unless they are requested up or someone has left a bid. Sometimes the left bid dots may fall off of the rugs when they are being moved or rolled up in addition to people removing them. Our associates encourage our clients to staple the dot to the rug tag so we don’t miss the bid. The 1st time [redacted] left the bid he came back the following week and asked about the rug. We accepted his left bid but he was not successful on the rug. This past time he came in acting very belligerent to my associates demanding us to give him the rug at his bid. We don’t own the rugs they are consigned for us to auction not to sell outright. My associates assure him that is he were to leave a bid we would make sure the rug was auctioned off tonight. He left slamming the door demanding the owner to call him. He later sent an email demanding us to sell the rug to him if not he was going to file a complaint on us. I called him back trying to explain the same thing my associates informed him of. He refused to let me talk demanding that I owe him this rug. I told him if he was not going to listen to reason that he did not have to come back and have a good day. Certainly we want everyone to bid with us and have a good experience. He getting loud and screaming at my associates and demanding me to give him the rug is very unprofessional and threatening me doesn’t work. I do not appreciate his unfounded accusations about us running the bids up. That is not how we run our business. As you can see we are in an excellent standing with the Revdex.com and have thousands of satisfied customers. If I may be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to email us. Thank you. [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I just came to find that there is more to this story than I originally told. My wife just came back and pulled one of her bid slips that she made with Alexander’s Antiques as well. She bid on the same exact rug, unbeknownst to me, on a different week than I did. Therefore, that’s twice our household bid on a rug, and they “conveniently” didn’t bring it to the auction stand. That is not a coincidence. That is them deciding they didn’t like our bid, even though it met the minimum, and holding out for a better offer. That is unacceptable for an auction house to do.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Again I apologize if his wife left a bid on a rug and it did not get sold. We don't set a minimum on anything we auction so the statement about their bid meeting the minimum is false. We do not hold out for a better offer. Each week we auction off over 1,000 individual items with some weeks being as many as 2,000 items. Our sale starts promptly at 6:30PM and sometimes the sale doesn't end until 6:30 AM the next morning. Things might get missed but we definitely want everyone's bids. My staff puts in over 1,000 man hours each week for the auction on Thursday. The only day we generate any revenue to cover our overhead is Thursday. With that being said why would we turn down a bid? His accusations don't make sense. If we maybe of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I am writing to let you guys know I received the response from the business. It does not solve my issue at all. I was told to contact you within 7 business days to let you know that I am not satisfied with the outcome.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Revdex.com talked to the owner and she stated that the rug was on consignment and they cannot adjust it as they do not own it.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[They purposely misplaced multiple offers we made on the same rug, multiple weeks, and then when I brought it up to their attention, the owner was rude and hung up on me. They offered no reason, just excuses, never offered an apology, never offered a resolution, and told us never to do business with them again when they were clearly in the wrong. Myself and all my family members have vowed to honor their wishes, and never do business with them again, after spending thousands upon thousands of dollars in the past. They are a scam, and we're done with them. I can't even fathom why the Revdex.com is saying they offered a resolution when they clearly did not. They just came up with the same excuses they always do. I want this out there for the public to read so they know what kind of shady practice and rude disrespectful people run this operation. PERIOD!]Regards,

I have bought 3 pieces of furniture from Alexander Antiques over the past 10 years. Twice I used the phone bid option, because I am not local to Richmond. The people at Alexander's Antiques are honest, accurate with the condition, measurements, quality, and prices of what furniture will be auctioned for. [redacted] was VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE. She knew a lot about the brands of furniture. I also had them deliver the piece I bought. Unfortunately the key to the piece wasn't delivered. When I called about the key the next day, [redacted] OVERNIGHTED a few keys to see what would fit. This has been one of the best buying experiences I have ever had from start to finish. AMAZING. Absolutely amazing. I have told my friends and family to shop at Alexander's before buying new. Beautiful pieces for very reasonable prices.

Seriously this is the best auction house. Courteous and HONEST with quality merchandise. Very nice people.