@detuned

Hello Carsten:

Yes, it's a bad situation for all. I received a message from Catawiki this morning in response to a couple of questions I had addressed to the seller of an item up for auction last Sunday. It was a Kangxi Klapmuts bowl. My questions were not frivolous and I decided not to bid on the item. Today's response was full of apologies about the delay in replying, but did not contain any information about the item in question which anyway would have been too late. I think this type of situation is bad for both buyers and sellers. If potential buyers cannot communicate with sellers, buyers might decide not to participate in an auction, as I did, and a smaller pool of potential buyers will inevitably lower the closing price received by the seller at the auction.

When one is involved in either the purchase or sale of a costly item and problems occur, one needs to be able to contact the seller and Catawiki about the matter. However, their modus operandi is to send an automated response saying how busy they are and that they will reply when they can. When they do reply after a prolonged interval the response usually does not specifically address the matter in question. It's more like a boilerplate apology full of meaningless cliches and wishing one well. That is well and good, but it does not help when there is a possibility that one might suffer a significant financial loss.

At least with eBay one can speak to someone by telephone and get some sense that the matter is being addressed. With Catawiki it seems like one is talking into a void.

Regards,

Errol

Hi all:

Just so you know what to expect if you bid on and win an item at a Catawiki auction, it is now day 24 since I won the Qianlong blue and white charger at a Catawiki auction. The tracking information still shows no activity. I have not heard from either Catawiki or from the seller regarding this $2,000 plus item except for boilerplate messages from Catawiki. When I try to respond to the latter I get an automated message that they are very busy and will reply when they can. Fortunately, I took the step of filing a dispute over the matter with my credit card company and my account has been temporarily credited for the purchase. I will not be unduly concerned if I hear nothing more and the credit becomes permanent. There are always other items one can purchase.

Regarding Catawiki, I saw a couple of items posted on bidamount.com last Friday that I would have liked to bid on and acquire. I realize though that the likelihood of a trouble-free purchase is very low and I will refrain from bidding. I would advise you to avoid Catawiki unless you are truly desperate to acquire an item. It is unfortunate that they have such nice items, but that their inability to communicate with buyers, to facilitate exchanges between potential buyers and sellers prior to auctions and their apparent lack of concern regarding whether an item arrives makes them virtually nonviable as an auction platform.

Regards,

Errol

Hi all:

Just so you know what to expect if you bid on and win an item at a Catawiki auction, it is now day 28 or 29 since I won the Qianlong blue and white charger at a Catawiki auction. The tracking information still shows no activity other than that the local postal service is preparing to send the item.  I have not heard from the seller regarding this $2,000 plus item.   I finally got a response from Catawiki to the effect that they "...... have contacted the seller and they have opened a postal investigation with the courier company" which in this case is Austria Post.  One has to wonder what took them so long to ask the seller to launch an investigation. This entire matter has left a very bad taste in my mouth and I really would prefer not to hear about the Qianlong charger again at all. The credit card company has withheld payment for the item and issued me a temporary credit. They have also assured me that should I not receive it, I will receive a permanent credit.

I would caution you all to be very careful about buying anything on Catawiki or bidding at their auctions. 

Regards,

Errol

@erroll  For what it's worth, it took a package I ordered from 100 miles away two and a half weeks to get to me and the postal service had basically no updates for me. But at least the seller was also concerned, which sounds like it is not the case with you. Sorry for your woes. Hopefully it will work out in your favor in the end.   John 

@johnshoe

Hello John:

The United States Postal Service has always been bad but now it's a total disaster. If a package for me reaches the town where I live (and that often does not happen), then a problem often arises with the local mail delivery due to staffing problems. The item is either left at the wrong address or left exposed in a place where it could easily be stolen. So wherever possible I try to get items sent by UPS or FedEx.

I have had a couple of experiences where an item disappeared from tracking and then 2-3 weeks later appeared out of the blue on my front doorstep. I had already filed a claim for a lost package with the Post Office by that time. I then later got an email from the Post Office telling me that the item could not be found.

The same sequence of events could play out with this package. I'm not too concerned though. I have not paid out any money. If the package is lost then the seller and Catawiki will have to eat the loss.

Regards,

Errol

Dear Errol,

I must say that I feel sorry for the seller in this case.

He has posted the item and provided tracking details and you are aware that it is in transit.

There is a worldwide Pandemic and much of Europe is in lockdown. The Postal services are being overwhelmed by volumes of mail and parcels and are doing their utmost but there are inevitable delays.

To wilfully undertake a chargeback on your credit card at this early stage is totally unfair.

Vic

@shine

Hello Vic:

I understand what you are saying. However, I did not know that the item was in transit. The tracking showed that the item was "being prepared for shipping" and that had not changed for one month. Also, the seller has been non-communicative. He could easily have put a trace on the item from his side, but he did not do so and did not respond to my inquiries. 

From my perspective, I had invested over $2,000. I certainly understand the problems with the postal system being overwhelmed and the additional problem of Covid-19 that has slowed everything. 

I suspect that the seller had this charger in his inventory for some time. So, he is not out of pocket. When I receive the item I will reverse the chargeback with the credit card company and the amount owed will be paid in full. The seller will then have his money and I will have my charger. That should be the end result of every sale.

For me initiating the chargeback was an essential element. I no longer had to worry that I would lose money on the purchase. Also, it has put the seller and Catawiki under pressure to seek a resolution of the matter. There was nothing I could have done on my side whereas they could have and apparently now have initiated inquiries.

This brings us back to the fact that if sellers and auction companies show some concerns for the worries of their buyers and show that their attitude is not that  they no longer care because a sale has been made and they have their money, buyers are less likely to take such actions as disputing transactions or undertaking chargebacks on their credit card as I did. I have no regrets about this and I'd be interested to hear what others think.

I am fairly confident that without the actions I have taken, this matter would have taken a very long time to resolve. There is evidence now that I will see some action and that the matter will soon be settled with no loss to any of the parties in this transaction.

This type of episode also raises the larger issue of what happens if a high-value item is irretrievably lost in the mail and is  underinsured. Who is supposed to take the loss then? Also, who is responsible for filing a claim with the Postal Service? I don't think it is fair for sellers to take the attitude that their responsibilities cease immediately after sending the  item out in the mail. 

Regards,

Errol

"So, if one is in the market for buying something in the $500 to $2,000 range one has little choice but to use Catawiki."

There probably 100-200+ auctions everyday happening all over the world with prices ranging from $100-1000 for good things.  It just takes many, many hours of looking and you may have to put deposits down to bid, but they are out there.  Even $100,000 things that start at $100 because the auction houses don't know what they have.

Peter has done a very good job of trying to bring attention to the more mainstream ones. 

@collectingasia

Yes, I know that. However, as I mentioned in another post about the downside of buying items at major auction houses, the auction fees, packing and shipping fees and other costs often add 80 - 150% of the hammer price of an item. My own experience of trying to bid on an item at Sotheby's was that a lovely Kangxi charger that went for a reasonable hammer price of about $1,600 in the end would have cost me $2,916 after auction house fees and packing and shipping charges were added. At least on Catawiki there are no charges for packing, the shipping costs are reasonable and the auction commission is nine percent. Of course, none of that matters if one does not receive the item as has happened to me so far. 

There is a cost with Catawiki - the cost of not having a major expert vet the piece and the cost of no provenance.  Just the name "Sotheby's" will help you resell something years down the line.  Names are very important these days, even more so if you are building a collection and not just buying random pieces.  I would also advise that a provenanced Kangxi charger for $2916 is still a very good deal these days (I presume export given price).

Rarely would I advise to use the shipping service provided through a major auction house for your average purchase.  Just example, a recent purchase - private shipper quoted $800 - auction house shipper quoted $6500 - same piece.  

@collectingasia

Yes, you make some very good points. I do have regrets about not bidding on the charger more energetically. When the auctioneer called "fair warning" I think I might have got the item for about $1,800. I think the price was a bit depressed because there were only a few Chinese items in a large auction of very valuable and very old French furniture items and paintings dating from the Louis XIV to Louis XVI periods. See link  for Ezra and Cecile Zilkha auction at Sotheby's. The charger was Chinese export, about 15-1/2 inch in diameter and Kangxi (see photograph below). It was in excellent condition according to the condition report.

I think that the high packaging and shipping charge quoted was because if Sotheby's ships they use what they call "Museum Shipping." This apparently involves the use a crate sent by FedEx. I'm sure you are correct that one could get packing and shipping done at a much lower cost. I have had a similar-sized charger sent from the Netherlands at a cost of $75. It was double boxed and arrived safely.

Regards,

Errol

@erroll

Bidamount could certainly improve the photographs: you can't zoom in the way you can on Ebay. To me that's not a minor flaw. 

Did your item ever arrive, Erroll?

The way photos display has changed a bit recently but I find I can zoom by tapping on the photo in the post, then when it enlarges, tapping outside the photograph area and the photo will appear in a smaller box that can be enlarged. It is easier on the tablet than on my computer.

Thank you Julia, that works perfectly on the smartphone. Until now I saved the pictures in a local folder to get them enlarged, that was a bit awkward.