Pristine Auction

I have dealt with Pristine Auctions on several occasions and have never had any problems. They have always been efficient in returning e-mail questions and the products I have won at auction have always been exactly as described. I have had no problems at all.

Review: Hello,

I recently completed an online auction through the company in question (Pristine Auction) in which I won the rights to an authenticated piece of sports memorabilia ([redacted]) for $386.40 (including premium for service). Following the completion of the auction, I experienced multiple issues on the company's online interface regarding payment, including multiple error messages and non-completion prompts. After appealing to the auction merchant regarding these issues, I received no response and was not contacted directly by the company regarding the delayed payment. The auction listing was then removed from the merchant's site and I was unable to complete payment for this item. Following this series of events, the basis of my complaint arises:

1) I received an invoice in the mail directing remittance of an exorbitant 30% restocking fee corresponding to the total of the auctioned item in question, totaling $115.92. The invoice states that the amount must be paid within 30 days or the account will be forwarded to a collections agency. This is the only correspondence that I have received from the company regarding this matter.

2) The company (Pristine Auction) has re-auctioned the item in question prior to resolving my issue for a total of $422.63 (including premium for service), which represents a nearly 10% increase over my previous final value at closing. I have included the URLs for the completed auction listings, the first for the auction that I won and the second for the same item which was later re-sold at auction.

[redacted]://[redacted].[redacted]

[redacted]://[redacted].[redacted]

Based on the actions of the company to this point, it is my opinion that the company did not find my winning auction value to be sufficient for their purposes and made a deliberate attempt to void my winning value and resell the item in question for a greater profit for the consigning owner as well as themselves. There have been anecdotal mentions of these practices by Pristine Auction on multiple memorabilia and trade forums; however, I believe that these practices should not be allowed to continue.

I have no intention of doing business with this company following a resolution of this issue, and I desire the following resolution with the assistance of the Revdex.com (Revdex.com).Desired Settlement: The desired outcome for this complaint is for Pristine Auction to rescind and eliminate their exorbitant 30% restocking fee for this case in the amount of $115.92. Additionally, I desire written, [redacted] and notarized proof that the company is rescinding the restocking fee in this case to be provided to me for my records. I desire that this request will be completed by no later than September 1, 2015 at 11:59pm ET.

Thank you to the Revdex.com for your consideration in this matter.

Business

Response:

We are a consignment based auction house. Winning an auction enters the winner into legal obligation to complete payment for the purchase. Winning bidders who do not pay for their lots cost us lost of revenue and potentially loss of business from consignors. For that reason, we have a clear policy in our user agreement that unpaid lots will be assessed a 30% restocking fee. This fee is not assessed until MULTIPLE attempts have been made to collect payment. We also give bidders time well beyond the requested 7 day payment period.In this case, the restocking fee is valid due to a non-paid lot; however, we would be willing to make an exception and waive this fee as a one time courtesy with an agreement to consider this matter resolved. Please e-mail [redacted].[redacted] to receive the requested written confirmation of the waiver of this fee. Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

I have received the following correspondence from [redacted] at Pristine Auction regarding my above filed complaint. He has agreed to rescind the restocking fee as a courtesy, and his emails have been included in this note if the need to readdress this issue should arise in the future._________________________________________________________________________...⇄ e-mail will serve as a written notice that the restocking fee on your account (user ID [redacted]) in the amount of $115.92 will be waived as a one time courtesy. Your account has been notated and the billing department has been notified. Please let me know if there is anything else that I can help with. Sincerely, [redacted]President & FounderPristine Auctionwww.[redacted].com_______________________________________________________...⇄ also note that the balance forgiveness is contingent on the Revdex.com dispute being closed as resolved. Thank you.Sincerely, [redacted]President & FounderPristine Auctionwww.[redacted].com_______________________________________________________...⇄ I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

I have been doing business with Pristine Auction for approx. 18 months and have found them to be an excellent source for baseball memorabilia. I recommend doing business with Pristine Auction, I have had 100% satisfaction with my purchases.

I have bid and won well over 20 items so far on this site. All of the items have arrived promptly and in wonderful condition. I would HIGHLY recommend this company to friends and family and will continue to use them in the future. Thank you Pristine and please keep up the wonderful auctions.

Review: I consigned a significant portion of my sports collection and memorabilia in November 2014 with the assurance that all of my items would be available for sale for the vital Christmas selling season. That never happened, not even close. My first item wasn't sold or on their auction site until mid-January. I made it crystal clear that that was paramount and I was given assurance that would happen. I attempted to call and e-mail them 7 times without ever receiving any returned calls or e-mails, received no updates, status or even a reason why my items were not listed for sale on their auction site. This complete lack of customer service and inability to deliver what they promised cost me the most valuable selling opportunity for my items, the opportunity to sell those items elsewhere, as well as a significant amount of money as the Christmas selling season historically produces 30%-40% higher prices for sports related items.

Just last week, they made a claim that one of my items was allegedly sold, yet returned to me instead. Here is their e-mail quote "When you came and picked up some items (which is against our policies, but we allowed it) you took a piece that had already sold. That item was never returned and we had to sort that out with the customer." They have blamed me for their error and this lost sale. What legitimate business blames their customers for their mistakes?

They are currently holding 25 of my items in which they tell me that they will essentially sell them for whatever they fell like it after I had done extension research in order to price my items at the mid-point or below so they would sell. Another element in this process they told me that they would do "in order to maximize the selling price."

They have unprofessionally, rudely and ineptly handled every situation, when it simply did not have to be that way.

They have ZERO customer service skills or intent. They are highly unorganized and immensely disrespectful to their customers, of which I will never be one again.

I have asked them no less than 3 times for a detailed list of the authentication charges they charged me, upfront, yet still have no idea why I was charge $278 on 1 invoice and $14 on another. Those 2 invoices list the charges simply as 1@ $100, 21 @$8 each and 1 @$10 and the other $14 as 7 @ $2. I am owed that level of detail at the very least, yet no attempt has every been made to provide me that information despite repeated requests for it. I'm aware of what the invoices say but for which items did I pay authenticity for?

I selected this business in large part, to handle the auctioning of my sports items, because they claimed to be a Christian organization. Being a Christian and knowing the high standard that TRUE Christians adhere to and uphold, their behavior, attitude and arrogance, has been nothing short of appalling.Desired Settlement: An apology, a letter of explanation detailing the charges for authenticity I paid for, a written business plan outlining how they intent to improve their customer service so this deplorable customer service does not happen to others and return of my 25 items, including all authenticity certificates for which I paid for.

Business

Response:

Our consignment team visited [redacted] in person and accepted his collection on consignment. During that visit it was made clear that the items would be sold with no reserve prices. It was also made clear that some of the items may be returned to him, at our discretion, if the value was too low. Many items were rejected and some were placed into the auction. A contract was signed which stated that the items would be sold with no reserve price and would be retained by Pristine Auction until sold. [redacted] then demanded reserve prices on the items listed which far exceeded a reasonable market value. We accomodated the request against the terms of the contract. After items cycled multiple auctions with no sale due to the unreasonable reserve prices, [redacted] then demanded some items back. Again against the terms of our signed agreement, we agreed to give [redacted] back the items that he was demanding. One item that he demanded had already sold and was mistakenly still given to him by our staff. We informed him of the situation and he refused to return the sold lot. [redacted] then demanded that all items be pulled from the auction. We again reminded [redacted] of the terms of the contract and informed [redacted] that we would not be able to make a third exception to the written and signed agreement. [redacted] continued with demands and threats at which time we felt it was in our best interest to simply part ways. All of the items still in our possession that belong to [redacted] are set aside and waiting for him to pick up. At this stage, we are eager for the items to be picked up and are awaiting his action.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response 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.When I consigned a portion of my sports memorabilia to them, I made it clear that it was imperative that all of my items be for sale on their web site for the Christmas holiday selling season. I was given assurance that was not a problem and would happen. Not only did that not occur, but not one of my items was on their site for sale until mid-January, after receiving them in late November, completely missing the Christmas selling season.I attempted to call and e-mail Israel, my point of contact, at least 7 times during the first 7 weeks after they had received my items and never once got any response of any kind. No returned phone calls and no e-mails relative to my lot of items.This is from their own web site regarding their customer service standards: “We are committed to providing premier customer service!” No response to this many contact attempts seeking any form of update or status, Is certainly not a reflection of “premier customer service.” Their lack of response cost me significant monetary gain and the greatest sales opportunity that comes along only once a year.Pristine auction is also gravely misleading in their response as to pricing of items. First and foremost, all these items are my chattel property and were consigned to them, not owned by them and hence, their attempt to represent that they can price items as they see fit would create a conversion event. Further, I went to great lengths to research all of my items on competing sports web sites and E-Bay to determine an appropriate current market value for my items. A role their web site says they would do, “Our staff is prepared to spend the time and effort necessary to sell your item(s) for top dollar.” They did no such activity.I have also asked them no less than 10 times for a list of the items that I paid to have authenticated, an event that was unnecessary as I can attest to the authenticity of each item as I watch each one being signed. To date all I have ever received is 2 invoices reflecting that I paid $278 for: 1 item @$100, 21 items @$8 each and 1 item @$10. The other invoice reflects the sale of 3 authenticated items yet I was charge for 7 for a total of $14. This invoice is particularly disturbing as it reflects a total sale of $31.50, yet I received just $2.50. One would think that if their true intent is to run a business that is “honoring to God”, they might want to see if the owner of those items might want to donate them to his/her church or take some other action.They have the fiduciary responsibility to me, their customer, to provide a full accounting of all of the items they have charged me for, yet they never have.I never made any threats or demands as they claim. Like any consumer who has been treated unprofessionally, been mislead and has received deplorable customer service, I have every right to expect of its ownership complete honesty and integrity, in particular for an organization that is hiding behind the curtain of a God based business. It is also my right as a consumer to take any and all actions necessary and available to me, to make an unscrupulous business such as this, return the goods that belong to me. They also claim that 1 item had been sold and that “ we informed him of this situation and he refused to return the sold lot.” This is an entirely fraudulent statement as no one from pristine ever contacted me or “informed” me about this sold item nor did they EVER ask me to return it after they claim they mistakenly returned it to me, an error that they blamed me, their customer for. Hence, since I was never made aware of this sale and the need to return the item to them, how could I “refuse” to do it? This is an outright lie, and is hardly the words and actions of a Godly company. This is a quote from their web site : “we strive to operate our business in a way that is honoring of God, honoring to our families and honoring to our customers.” That fact that they would stoop to such an absurd and untrue statement is absolutely appalling. They seem to believe that somehow they are the rightful owners of consigned items, yet It is clearly stated on their web site under the Consign tab that “any unsold items will be entered into the following auction or returned to the consignor.”At very least, they owe a fiduciary duty to their customers to protect and promote the customers best interest not their own. This would reflect true Godly actions emblematic of any one or any entity that wishes to deem themselves as “honoring to God.”

Regards,

Business

Response:

When our staff picked up the sports memorabilia collection from [redacted], there was never a guarantee made that the items would be posted for sale before Christmas. We verbally made it clear that we would do what we could to get the items up as quickly as possible, but that listing them before Christmas would be unlikely. Unfortunately, we were not able to do that because of the amount of consigned items submitted before [redacted]'s collection. In addition, many of the items in [redacted]'s collection required third party authentication which slows down the process.In addition to being clear about our policies verbally, [redacted] also signed a written contract with us which partially states: #1: "Lots will be offered... with no reserve price" and #8: "Consignment items may not be withdrawn...". The entire contract presented to and signed by [redacted] can be viewed here: [redacted]The actual contract hand-signed by [redacted] is available for viewing if desired.[redacted] has shown no integrity toward the contract that he signed. After communicating that items would have no reserve prices verbally and in writing, [redacted] then demanded reserve prices on nearly every lot consigned. It was communicated that most of the reserve prices were significantly above a fair market value and that the addition of the reserves were in violation of the agreement, but [redacted] continued to demand the addition of reserve prices. In an effort to please [redacted], as our customer, we fulfilled his request and added the reserves. [redacted] later demanded, clearly in violation of our agreement, that all of his items be pulled from the auction and returned to him. The demands turned into threats and, in our best interest, we chose, again against the terms of our signed agreement, to cut our losses in this business relationship and part ways. We have returned all lots to [redacted] and consider this matter closed.[redacted] continues to claim that we have not provided accounting for the authentication fees that he incurred. The accounting is available through his account pages on our website. Furthermore, I personally offered to print out all of the account (which can also be accessed online) and [redacted] did not accept that offer. The discounted rates offered on the authentication fees are only offered for items that are consigned to the auction. Being that [redacted] violated the contract and pulled the items from auction, there should be an additional charge for the authentication service provided. However, once again went above and beyond by not charging [redacted] these authentication fees.The terms of our contact are clear and [redacted] showed a complete lack of integrity towards the agreement. We are happy to part ways and consider this matter closed. We certainly wish [redacted] well and hope that he can find a way to obtain the unreasonable prices that he is looking to get for his collection.

I've ordered from Pristine Auction three times now and each experience has been top of the line. They've expedited shipping for no cost as a favor, the packages come when they say they will, and the quality is just as nice as it looks in the pictures they provide. All of this should be reasonable expectations for any company, but with online shopping sometimes you have no idea what you're getting into. I've never left a review for any company or business because generally I understand that people make mistakes or some companies don't deserve to be swept under the rug. Pristine Auction deserves great reviews because, if you're like me, when I first used them I had never heard of them and didn't know what to expect. Keep up the good work, you guys are awesome.

Pristine Auction is a very professional, customer service oriented and responsible company. They deserve the highest Revdex.com rating in my opinion.

Review: worse experience .. they charged a credit card without permission..

I never authorized them to debit this card for this transaction..

how many times have the6y done this to customers?? so if you give a card for a transaction watch out they will hit it without telling you because they think they canDesired Settlement: I want them to stop doing this to people that trust their site..

all I see is a company that tries to steal from honest working people

I want a refund (which I have contacted the back to reverse charge)

they will pay me for any charges if it affects the card holders account,

and most of all I will be contacting my attorney and find out what can be done to protect anyone else that this has happen too

I would love a call [redacted]

Business

Response:

When registering for our auction, a bidder agrees to the terms in our user agreement. As part of that agreement, the bidder gives Pristine Auction permission to charge the card on file for an auction invoice if the invoice has not been paid within 7 days. This is a necessary policy because of our commitment to getting our consignors paid within an agreed period of time. The auction policies are agreed to upon sign up of the auction as well as with every bid placed. Policies can be found here: [redacted]

Review: Had communication with [redacted], President of Pristine auction, Asking him to return items that are about to be delivered to his company, This decision was made, due to several problems with his company.

He refused to return items, and said he will list and put into his auction. I informed him, I no longer wanted to deal with his company, and chose to ignore this fact. If indeed, Pristine

Auction is a REPUTABLE company I see no reason not to honor my request! I believe everyone has the right to stop dealing with a non reputable company if they choose.Desired Settlement: I would like my two packages they are about to receive, returned to me unopened! One they will receive tomorrow, the second one on the 30th.

Business

Response:

We have communicated regularly by e-mail with [redacted]. We have a signed consignment agreement in place. The request to return items that have been submitted for consignment is a direct violation of our written agreement. As we have discussed with [redacted], when the items arrive we will review the items and return any items that are not eligible to be sold at auction. Any items that are eligible will be sold at auction per the consignment agreement. We have dealt with [redacted] for quite some time without issue. Ultimately, he is unhappy because some of the items that he sent with his last consignment submission were of too low value for us to sell and were returned to him. Per the consignment agreement, we charged him our cost to return the goods that were not eligible to be sold. All we are asking is for [redacted] to honor the consignment agreement as we are honoring our side of the agreement.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

I now see the desperation of this company to obtain business, and wish to add, in my opinion, this is not a reputable company, and will never deal with again!

Regards,

What an unbelievable selection of autographs! Pristine Auction is best in the business and I can't wait to do more business with them! Quick, easy, reliable and authentic! Thank you!

I have been doing business for 23 years and I can truly say this been the worst business experience ever.I was sent a fake piece of gold which I won.When I informed them it was fake they said to return it and they would refund my money.I said that would be great.I have been told they never received it so basically they are doing nothing.I never agreed to pay for a piece of fake gold.I plan on pursuing this legally.What a nightmare.

Excellent company, fantastic customer service! Able to help you with any assistance you may be looking for, in a timely fashion! Top of the line items & memorabilia always available. Can't wait to do business again!

So far I have had no issues

Absolutely an awesome auction! AAAA+++++ with excellent items and customer service to boot!

good pricing and selection, quick to ship

purchased items on site(over 10 times)......changed their shipping policy and then the problems began.....they stated(new policy) they would only SHIP to "billing" address attached to CC....making a big deal over this...even though I've spent a lot of money with them over the past year with no problems...now I'm getting the run a round about changing or adding a new address to my bank information...which I choose not to do!!...i'll never do business with this company again!!!!...if you do... BE careful!!....your warned!

I have purchased in +8k worth of merchandise, an have had nothing, but great experience since dealing with this auction site.I have recieved my items in a timely manner very well packed an secured in packing, If I have had any questions or problems, I recieved prompt returns or answers to my questions

Great customer service. Nice range of items and prices can be good, depending on demand.

great customer service and products,i'm happy with all my purchase