What happens if you don't pay an auction house item? (Miscommunication Issues)

[kaplan]

Hi everyone,

Recently I've subscribed for a phone bid on a watch, a good example, the auction house fee is 32% - I've calculated that 4000 usd was a fair final occasion price for this watch, well above melt value, but since the condition is good and I wanted a good example, I thought I could exceed $3000 a bit, which calculates as $4000+ with the fees

Come auction day, the person who did the phone bidding was very kind and calm, I asked for USD for the bidding currency, when the auction started, here's the sequence I've observed:

<- 3400 USD to bid
-> I said yes
<- The item is now at 3700 USD
-> I said no (too high)
<- No - I mean you've won the item at 3700 USD, congratulations

Over like that with a shock, I never understood how the jump happened from 3400 USD to 3700 USD, the actual currency is DKK and my supposed bid is 26.000 DKK - even if I somehow made the jump from 25.000 DKK to 26.000 DKK - it doesn't explain the 300 USD difference - which becomes almost 500 USD with fees

I emailed for clarification, but I never got an explanation, the first reply I got from the auction house was 2 weeks after my initial email, they didn't provide any explanation, when I inquired further, while I still wasn't given any details, all I learned was 3400 USD was below reserve and not possible

To be honest I was originally just going to pay and move on with a loss, in the grand scheme of things it's not worth the hassle, however a secondary issue was that when you sign up on their website, they ask for a country of residence address, and I've learned that they don't send items won to another address and I needed to create another profile, which confused me as on their website there was no such option.

All the auction house does is request the original amount to be paid. At no point they try to find any middle ground or provide an explanation with numbers. I was originally going to pay after an explanation and consider it a learning experience, but right now I'm leaning towards not paying as from my side of things, 3400 USD + fees was what I committed to

I know it's been a long story, but I would appreciate any insight - I'm not afraid of any legal issues. It just feels bad as I've never left an item unpaid. And I'm worried if there is a network of auctioneers, they could make it harder for me to participate in future auctions

 

[jumpingsecond]

Nothing will happen if you dont pay except perhaps a ban from auctioning at this AH.

 

[Dan S]

I know someone who did this and was banned from participating in future auctions.

FWIW, I have had many problems bidding remotely in auctions. Sometimes the website doesn't take my bid, sometimes there is a miscommunication with someone online. On one occasion, my bid was actually applied to the next lot, and I won it!

 

[Redwes25]

Sounds like the 3700 was the reserve. Just refuse to pay it and say you bid 3400 and that is all you are willing to pay.

 

[Evitzee]

The phone rep may have made a mistake in converting from DKK to USD. Anyway, you have been declared the winner. You can pay up and move on, or refuse to pay and be blacklisted with that House and maybe others if they share information like that. I haven't bought at auction in quite awhile, it's not always a seamless process and it's a dynamic process. Selling is pretty straightforward.

 

[calalum]

I would start by sending them a detailed e-mail memorializing the sequence of events and your version of the phone call. I would then set forth exactly what you are looking for in terms of an outcome. That may lead to a discussion or a resolution. Presumably the amount at issue is far too small for legal action to make sense, and the facts as reported don't support a claim by them in any event. If you did not act inappropriately it seems unlikely that they would try to blacklist you. Good luck in any event.

 

[crl848]

There should be recordings of the phone bidding, which would clarify who's at fault.

 

[Jonathan40]

What the others have said. If you’re still interested and happy with $3400 plus fees fight your corner. If it’s left a bad taste then refuse the item and walk away.

 

[kaplan]

calalum

I would start by sending them a detailed e-mail memorializing the sequence of events and your version of the phone call. I would then set forth exactly what you are looking for in terms of an outcome. That may lead to a discussion or a resolution. Presumably the amount at issue is far too small for legal action to make sense, and the facts as reported don't support a claim by them in any event. If you did not act inappropriately it seems unlikely that they would try to blacklist you. Good luck in any event.

Thanks, I did exactly this, and here's the resolution / ending:

In the replying email I still didn't get any details that explained what happened, got instructed to pay the day after, the day after I got called and finally learned what happened. Before my bid, the item was at 24.000 DKK below reserve and my bid made the price 26.000 DKK and exceed the reserve.

This seems to be a small misunderstanding, and it's pretty likely that I'm at fault here, the prompt I remember was "The amount is $3400 would you like to bid?" and I said yes, during online bidding the amount you're bidding towards is transparent, during this phone bidding it wasn't to my perception. So if this was Poker, I bid, but what I did was raise. At first it was explained to me that the auctioneer did a discretionary small jump above reserve, but then I was told the bid increments was 2.000 DKK - so if there is a lesson to be taken away, is asking "How much is the price going to be after my bid?"

The same auction house just auctioned another example, this time their bid increments are 500 DKK. A more logical amount for Omega's

I asked kindly not to be blacklisted, hope I won't be

Ultimately I bought the same model from Tradera a week before this resolution, condition isn't as good as this one but the net. price for the head is almost half, so I couldn't go forward with this one. Met such an awesome dealer too, he shipped the watch 1 hour after payment and it's arriving tomorrow