I tend to buy a lot of large things that I don't really need, and Tuesday was no exception. I participated in a local, but online auction of business assets, and made a purchase. The pick up window was Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and because of what the item was, I needed equipment and manpower.

I set all of that up for today, and although it didn't cost me any money, I did not schedule any work today, giving up a day's worth of business income.

Item at auction ends Tuesday at 8:00 PM, I'm the high bidder, and that item closes with me as the winner. Remaining items continue on for the next few hours. I buy a fair amount of things I don't need from this auctioneer, and have done so for years. In the morning they send out a receipt using a credit card on file unless you have previously arranged to pay cash.

Instead of a receipt, I get an email saying that the item I purchased had grown legs, was no longer there, and as a result they were not charging my card. Claimed an unauthorized party cut a door off and took my item. Seeing I was out a fair amount of money and not too happy, I asked if they were planning on getting a police report. I obtained photos showing that no door was damaged, that was a lie.

Then their story changed to the seller having the right to withdraw the item, which their policy states is within their rights before the auction ends. That didn't happen before the auction ended.

I spend some time today tracking down what happened to this item, as there aren't many people who could deal with it due to size and weight. Find it on my first call, and they informed me that they had purchased it themselves and picked it up a month ago.

I think I'm entitled to more than a "oops, sorry". What say you?

I agree. Probably would not of seen it as a problem had they not lied. That is an issue. I agree with you. It is not like they don't know you.

You're entitled to a more sincere apology than shrugging their shoulders and saying "oops, our bad", for certain. Anything besides that is problematic.

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I think I'm entitled to more than a "oops, sorry". What say you?

The money you say you're out is whatever you would have made had you put in a day's work, correct? Unless there was some kind of upfront fee or deposit or it was a "buyer-pay" auction, you aren't out the money for the item because your card wasn't charged, correct? They aren't going to pay your lost day's work.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

Inquiring minds would like to know what the alleged item was…

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Originally posted by smlsig:
Inquiring minds would like to know what the alleged item was…

Curious as well, guessing it's something rather specialized & he doesn't want to share, yet.

I’m not sure what else OP expects them to do, except “opps, sorry”. They are clearly shady doing what they did, so I wouldn’t expect them to reimburse OP for his loss of today’s “business income”, if that’s what he’s expecting. If it were me, I would never do business with them again. Move on.

Depending on the amount of money involved, maybe buy a billboard saying that they are liars.

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maybe buy a billboard saying that they are liars.

They may be up to more than just lying to me.

They completely scrubbed any trace of my item from the auction listings (still visible), but not two other similar items which were also sold to the same guy that bought mine a month ago.

They're still listed and showing a winning bid. That leads me to believe that somebody like myself wasn't the winning bidder, as they would have received the same story I did.

I suspect the reason they are still there is that the auction company itself was running the bids up and ended up the high bidder.

I have a vindictive asshole streak that I try to control but,

You have a receipt that shows you won the auction and an email saying that it was wrongfully removed.

I'd kick the shit out of that hornets nest and file a police report for theft and maybe fraud. See what comes out of that investigation. Not so much to get the item as much as I'm a dick.

It probably won’t go anywhere, but it might make some people’s live miserable for a while.

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Originally posted by a1abdj:
I spend some time today tracking down what happened to this item, as there aren't many people who could deal with it due to size and weight. Find it on my first call, and they informed me that they had purchased it themselves and picked it up a month ago.

I'm a bit confused about what actually happened here... did the auction house mistakenly list something for sale that they shouldn't have because it was sold in an earlier auction to someone else, thus some office person dropped the ball? Mistakes happen I suppose but they shouldn't have lied about it after the mistake was discovered (if it actually was a mistake). If they did it on purpose, not sure how they benefit from that as long as they don't take your money. Not sure you'll get more than an apology but I certainly wouldn't be too happy about the whole thing if it happened to me either.

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Originally posted by a1abdj:

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maybe buy a billboard saying that they are liars.

They may be up to more than just lying to me.

They completely scrubbed any trace of my item from the auction listings (still visible), but not two other similar items which were also sold to the same guy that bought mine a month ago.

They're still listed and showing a winning bid. That leads me to believe that somebody like myself wasn't the winning bidder, as they would have received the same story I did.

I suspect the reason they are still there is that the auction company itself was running the bids up and ended up the high bidder.

This.

Go to their Facebook page and ladle on copious amounts of negative reviews.

Decades ago attended an equipment auction. Everything sold and the prices seemed quite high to me for impulse purchases. Considering the buyers had little knowledge of the items history or condition that set my mind right then that auctions are fraudulent. Of course my means was minimal and I expected bargains.
I would just let it go and be completely unsurprised.

The part they tried to tell you a BS story before fessing Ionia what grinds me. I’d be pissed and let everyone know they are liars

Just call me and say “hey the seller backed out and we are going to allow that” I’d be kissed but at least don’t lie to me.

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I'm a bit confused about what actually happened here... did the auction house mistakenly list something for sale that they shouldn't have because it was sold in an earlier auction to someone else,

It wasn't sold at a previous auction, and it's sill a bit unclear exactly how it worked out this way.

It was present when the auction company took an inventory of assets, took photos, and signed an agreement with somebody to sell off all of the assets. This had to have taken place more than 30 days ago.

It was listed in the auction, and the auction completed this Tuesday.

It was discovered "missing" on Wednesday.

It was purchased by the other party 30 days ago from somebody who may or may not have been the same person dealing with the auction company. The party who purchased it had a description but not a name, and the auction company won't say who they're dealing with.

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You have a receipt that shows you won the auction and an email saying that it was wrongfully removed.

I don't have a receipt because they never accepted payment. I do have screenshots, which is good because they've completely scrubbed it's existence on their end.

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file a police report for theft and maybe fraud

In Missouri an auction purchaser gets title to the property "when the hammer falls" as that's when a contract exists between buyer and seller. Then a lien exists until the item is paid for. Had the item been there and taken, I probably could have reported the theft.

Since the item wasn't there to begin with, the seller sold something that didn't exist. I don't see how title could transfer in this case, making it to where I couldn't report it as mine, and missing. They also refused to accept payment, so I don't believe they committed fraud.

Despite the auction company's behavior, I don't even believe the entire issue lies with them. If the same seller they're dealing with sold it to the other guy, I think he had the responsibility of making sure it wasn't sold in the auction.

And seeing the auctioneer has a contract with that party, has policies that were violated by him, AND has all of the money, that put them in a good position to "work something out" other than to lie, cover for him, and tell me to pound sand.

If I reversed the scenario, I doubt that I'd be treated the same. "Sorry, I was on my way to pay you but got mugged" would likely result in me being banned from their auctions, them keeping any deposit they may have had, etc.

Police report for fraud?

Civil lawsuit?

The good ol' Number Six fits the bill.

If it qualifies, a theft report seems like a good idea if you want to move forward. Even if it goes nowhere, like SpinZone said, make their lives miserable while you’re busy letting everyone know how they conduct business.

A phone call to the FTC might be a good idea too. There is a reason we have laws against deceptive business practices.

The only thing I can say that I would not do is let it go. Anyone who does business that way has most likely done something similar in the past. Even if they haven’t, they probably will in the future if nobody says anything.

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

Many states require auction companies to be licensed. I believe Missouri does. If so, contact the licensing authority and report this.

The auctioneer may also have been required to have a surety bond. Doubtful you could make a claim since there was no actual cash lost, but reporting it will at least put a black mark on their record.

Licensing authority should certainly investigate this.

There is no crime here. Its just shitty business practices. I do have a problem with the lies. If they just would have said, we messed up and should not have listed that item for action, what can you really do about that. They never took your money.

We have a local auction site which sells Amazon returns. They deal with probably 10,000+ items a week and each one gets its own auction. I went to pick up a small thingamabobber and could not find it. They double checked and said they have no idea where it was. I was refunded my money. I get it things happen when your dealing in this quantity, just don't lie about it.