Hostetter Auctioneers

Well if you're looking to get [censored] Stolen FROM, this is the place to go! They did not do what they stated in their contract and was a total s[censored] show. My husband and I had to assist people who raped us and stole from us, they company did not have enough staff, they clearly took advantage of my mother. Bids started at $1.00 for every "lot of items". A total joke - wish I would have read the reviews. This company preys on people that are in need and takes advantage of them - here's the breakdown.

Total Auction Proceeds: $6853.00
Buyers premium: -$623.00
Marketing: -$1025.00 (marketed less than 1 week)
Labor: -$2200.00 (for pics on 1 day)
commission: 20% - $1246.00
Other expenses: - 5% credit card fee -$342.65
refunds: -239.00 (from their customers who stole from my mom)
Travel: -120.00

Grand total to my mom: $1057.00

They made $5172.65 plus what ever cash they stole from us with the extra items that they sold in the basement.

They are thieves, criminals and have no ethical values.

If you go with them - JUST BEND OVER - AND THEY WILL GIVE IT TO YOU!

Although this firm came well recommended by numerous sources, I thought they did not put forth their best efforts to achieve the best possible results for the seller by overstaffing and poor description of personal property. My expectations regarding professionalism, engagement, and ethics, were not met.

Review: The Hostetter Auctioneers have questionable auction practices.First; while bidding on a number of items and awaiting the end of the auctions Hostetters decided to remove two items I was watching with no explanation four days before the end of the auction. These items had bids on them and I assume the bidders are saddened to have been cheated.Second; there were still items I was interested in and had bids on. At the end of this mass auction and upon checking my bids I noticed that the times were extended by 2 hours. I was outbid in this time extension so was robbed of one item immediately. Hostetters gave no explanation again.Thirdly; while awaiting the newly instigated end time I checked and was infuriated by Hostetters to find that the auction had once again been extended but this time by a whole three days.I called the Hostetters auction contact, [redacted], to find out a reason for this new extension. [redacted] told me that they had a glitch at the last minute that kept people from bidding so they extended the auction. He gave no notice of the two hour extension in the first place or why they had to extend these auctions three days for a last minute glitch. A number of items were going for a fair amount of money while some undesirable things were going for not much. I got the impression that they decided to extend the auctions to make more money. He told me they thought it was fair to those who couldn't bid. What about us who did? I told [redacted] I had no problems bidding and he skirted around that. I asked what I do if I get outbid now and he had nothing to say. I asked what is to stop them from extending the auction further and he again had no answer.Auctions are meant to end at a certain time and that's why people bid. What is the point if they can just extend the auctions until they make enough money?I have now been outbid on my next to last item I want and that is why I have written this. Hostetters is a failure as an auction house and a disappointment to auctioneers everywhere.Desired Settlement: I would like the three auctions that were won by me to be restored to their original end date and any other bids retracted. This would be fair but I assume this is impossible so expect nothing from a shady auction house. I figure my last item will be outbid and I will just never have to deal with them again. I plan to release this everywhere to warn other auction seekers to not use Hostetters.

Business

Response:

To whom it may concern,I am writing in response to a complaint submitted about our business on 5/21/2013 andassigned an ID of [redacted]The customer’s complaint details his frustration regarding an online auction that was extendedpast the posted closing time. The customer’s statements about the auction time extension arecorrect. The auction was extended past the original posted time, but for good reason, and in thebest interest of our customers. Therefore, any accusations of our unfair or “shady” businesspractice are unfounded.Our policy and normal practice is to end all of our auctions on time, at the scheduled dates andtimes. However, given the circumstances detailed below, we had to make an exception in thiscase.On the day that the auction was to end, we began to experience server problems, which wasout of our control. We received phone calls and emails from several customers telling us thatthey could not log on and place bids. When this came to our attention, we immediately delayedthe closing of the auction to allow time for the server issue to be resolved. The closing wasultimately rescheduled for the following day. It would have been unfair to our buyers and sellersto allow items to close until all bidders had an opportunity to place their final bids. All registeredbidders were notified about the issue and new closing time. Once the server issue wasresolved, and all potential bidders had access to the website, the customer who submitted thiscomplaint was outbid. He had the same opportunity to submit a higher bid prior to the item beingsold.Our decision to extend the closing time was not only. ethical, but it was within the bounds of ourterms and conditions and user agreement with each bidder. The terms and conditions areposted on the website (SHAuctions.com) and all bidders must agree to them prior toparticipation. Section number six of the terms reads as follows:6) POSTED CLOSING TIMES - Posted closing times and displays of the Auction Companiescurrent time are approximate. Auction Company reserves the right to close early or extend anauction at any time at its sole discretion. It is strongly recommended that bids be placed early toavoid losing out due to an ill-timed, last minute bid or technical difficulty. All times are based onthe Eastern Standard Time Zone unless stated otherwiseOur staff had several conversations with the customer during and after the auction. We werehonest and fair with him while trying to alleviate his frustrations. However, his request to havethe items for his previous bid amount cannot be satisfied without doing a disservice to manyother interested bidders.Thank you for your consideration and attention to this matter.Sincerely.Hostetter Auctioneers