Cunningham & Associates, Inc. / AuctionAZ.com

This is a long review but worth the time. AVOID THIS COMPANY!

I’ve had an absolutely horrifying experience with Cunningham & Associates and AuctionAZ.com.

They breached their contract, mishandled our merchandise, improperly marked, false-advertised and lost several of our items.

I had been talking extensively with Bob, the Chairman, for several weeks regarding my parent's gift shop at Lake Powell. We closed down their business and they relinquished all of the inventory to us so we could use the auction funds to assist with bills, etc. Bob told us that we could bring the items for their next online auction scheduled for Saturday, August 28 - Wednesday, September 2.

On Friday, August 21, we rented a 26' box truck and drove 273 miles each way. We had made prior arrangements with them to deliver the items on Monday, August 24 but that changed when they decided to give the employees that day off, and told us while we were en-route.

We were forced to hold over the truck an extra day and went to the warehouse on Tuesday, August 25 instead. We spent 7-hours unloading, unpacking and itemizing as much as we could before they closed. We went back again the next day and spent an additional 4-hours.

Being that we have never consigned with them in the past, we expected a few hiccups but we did not anticipate running into so many issues including false advertising, breach of contract, negligence, insufficient customer service, etc.

We spent hours and hours unloading, unpacking, categorizing, etc. to be ready for the auction to be posted online starting Friday, August 28 as indicated on their website. On Monday, August 31, we checked the site and noticed that the majority of our items (and other consignees’) had not been posted, or had no images and/or no descriptions, or the descriptions didn't match the images. Some of the new items of ours that were in boxes had not been taken out of the boxes for a clear image (their employees had told us they were going to do that).

I called Bob right away and he indicated that he wasn't aware what was going on but he'd find out. In the meantime, I spoke to Valerie, an office employee and she said that the auction had been extended to Thursday, September 3. We checked the site again Tuesday, September 1 and the morning of Wednesday, September 2 but very little changes had been made.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 2 we went to the warehouse and spent another 3-hours photographing our items and reorganizing, as many of our items had no sticker or were mismatched with other items that were not in the correct lot. We were told by Valerie that the auction would be postponed again to Friday, September 4.

On Thursday, September 3 I emailed George, President and Founder, and Valerie, pleading to move the items to the next auction, Wednesday, September 16, as 1) no one would be bidding on Labor Day weekend; and 2) customers didn’t even knew there was an auction since it was out of the 2-week cycle they normally follow. I received no response.

So we called and got passed around between George and Valerie with no one taking any responsibility until finally, Valerie told us they could move our items to the next auction, Wednesday, September 16. We asked for it in writing, and per Valerie’s written instruction, I sent all images and descriptions to her so she could update the website with the correct information.

Between Friday, September 4 and Tuesday, September 8, I spent countless hours writing descriptions, sending new images, organizing, categorizing, etc. (a job their employees are paid to do). I also sent a list of 24 items that were missing from their website, asking where the items were. No response.

On Wednesday, September 9, Valerie emailed me to tell me she was working on the descriptions and images that day. I checked the site again on Thursday, September 10 and no changes had been made. Still, several descriptions didn't match the images, some of the images of the brand new items were still of plain white or brown boxes, etc.

I emailed both George and Valerie to follow up on Friday, September 11, again on Sunday, September 13 and finally on Monday, September 14, not once receiving a response.

On Tuesday, September 15, I took yet another day off work to drive to their warehouse since no one would return an email or phone call. I walked to the cashier’s desk and when Valerie saw me and my witness, she quickly walked away to go hide in her cubicle. We patiently waited for 30-minutes before ringing the bell and her finally coming to the window.

I asked her about the descriptions and images, why they weren’t fixed, why no one would return a call or email. Another barrage of excuses followed and she told me that her boss told her not to fix them. I asked why I didn’t get notice about that. She said, “I’ve got 80 emails in my inbox that I haven’t gotten to yet.” She also told us that they “were not prepared to take that many items,” and that she told George that they didn’t have enough staff to take on the large truck we were bringing. Clearly, the number of items we had was too much for their company to handle and they were incapable of fulfilling their contractual obligations.

To get out of any responsibility, she finally passed the blame to Levi, a name I had never heard in the 3+-weeks we had been dealing with them. Their firm and its employees are notorious for passing the buck.

At one point, one of the male employees walked up and stood next to my witness. I asked Valerie for a catalog of the auction that they are supposed to provide to customers. She told me she didn’t have any. I told her that I saw a woman with one. The male employee got very aggressive with me and screamed something like, “GO LOOK!!” My witness put his hand up defensively between me and the employee and said, “don’t talk to her that way.” The employee then puffed out his chest, moved towards my witness and told him “talk to me like a man.” At that time, my witness took a step back to avoid any conflict.

We left and drove down to their other warehouse to see Levi. He told us that he would track down the missing items and add them to their site. I told him I was nervous about the current bids being so low and that’s when he informed me that 1) they got a new software system and the entire auction was “messed up”; 2) they don’t even accept items like ours and haven’t for more than a year; and 3) he was called in for the first time to this warehouse to assist with the auction because it was severely compromised.

At close of business that same day (the night before the auction closed), Levi sent me an email that they would not be relotting the missing items due to time restraints and that the new software system malfunctioned.

I emailed George and asked that ALL items be removed, as the 327 lots (including the missing lots that they never posted) were items that they should never have accepted in the first place! They were not forthcoming about that and completely misled us.

George finally responded. I was beginning to think he was a myth. He basically told us to pound sand and that he was not going to pull our items. The auction was a go.

I anxiously watched as my parent’s items sold for pennies on the dollar. It was devastating. I emailed George and told him that I was coming to get the items that were passed and the ones that never made it to their site. He told me that I could not come on the property. I reminded him that we had a contract and that I had until Tuesday, September 22 to get the items. George sent several insulting emails hurling offensive comments that attacked my character.

I stuck to the contract and reminded him that he had a legal obligation to allow me to retrieve the items. Over the course of two-days, George told me I could not come on the property, then said he’d ship the items, then changed his mind and said he’d deliver the items, changed his mind again and said I could come on-site Monday at 7AM, then added Tuesday at 7AM….you can see where this went. He was all over the place, never sending a consistent message.

Discouraged by the constant changes, I finally told him I’d be at his warehouse today, Tuesday, September 22. My witnesses and I went to the warehouse and called Phoenix Police Dept for a civil matter standby. We waited off-property and George came outside to tell us we couldn’t be there and that he wasn’t going to let us on the property. I told him we’d wait for the police officer and that can be decided. When the officer arrived, George tried to explain that he knew the chief at the Sherriff’s Dept, was acting very pompous and treating the officer like the police dept should be at his beck and call. He put up a fight to not allow us inside but when we produced the contract, he finally agreed. It was either that or a police report.

George directed Levi to video tape me so he wore a camera on his head the entire time, while checking off the items, and then George left. Way to take responsibility, George! It took 2-hours to collect my items from their warehouse. They were scattered all over the place. There are still items missing but Levi refused to sign off on anything, and told me I’d have to settle up with George, like that’s been successful.

To say this experience has been a nightmare is an understatement! The lost time from work, mental anguish and stress that has occurred due to their breach of contract, negligence and misrepresentation has been incomprehensible. I HIGHLY ADVISE AGAINST SUPPORTING THIS BUSINESS.