Bidder Reviews for Bonhams (393)

These weird but wonderful prints are perfect additions to my collection.

I will not purchase from Bonhams in London ever again. It was photographed to hide restoration and none was noted. I spent thousands of dollars to acquire this wreck AND it took forever. BEWARE!

I was quite disappointed with the items I won at the recent auction. One of the knobkerries arrived with a significant deep split that was never mentioned in the description. Even more concerning, the photos provided were taken in such a way that the damage was completely hidden, which feels quite deceptive. As a buyer, I rely heavily on accurate descriptions and clear, honest imagery — especially when bidding remotely. This kind of omission undermines trust in the auction process. I expected a higher standard of transparency and disclosure. Unfortunately, I won’t feel confident participating in future auctions unless there’s a noticeable improvement in item descriptions and photographic integrity.

The purchase was two vintage bottles, sealed. I'm patient and typically forgiving, but the process with their recommended shipper was awful, taking a full month from invoice payment to UPS drop-off. Bonham's client services team was apologetic but didn't help me resolve my issue. Finally received the shipment today, and it appears that one of the two bottles has a bad cork. Calculated risk with 35 year old bottles, but just the icing on the cake with this transaction. If you're going to bid on spirits, either pick up in person or consider someone other than their house shipper.

Very good

Always professional

These were monumental brass sconces almost 4 feet tall and I was delighted to win with a bid of only $130. They were VERY heavy, a rather important fact that was missing from the description. The tiresome process of getting quotes from the recommended shipper list Bonhams provided started. (This is a part of the auction process I dislike) After getting quotes and selecting a shipper I was informed that even though this was a New York auction the actual item was located in California. I had to then request a list of CA shippers they recommend. If only they had provided the correct list of the California shippers in the first place. Once again I had to go through the unpleasant process of getting quotes and selecting a shipper. Bonhams was unapologetic and of no help here. Being really heavy (35 pounds EACH) these had to be crated for shipping and the whole shipping process cost more than 5 times my winning bid. There was some damage in shipping that had to be repaired and the wiring needed some work, but once they were finally hung they looked fantastic. They were installed in the historic Kresge Mansion in Detroit. The whole process however was a bit of an ordeal.

The initial shipping email i got had one shipper. Their price was 50 percent of what the hammer price was. So basically mu purchase including shipping and premium was almost double the hammer price. A very disappointing experience from such an esteemed auctioneer.

Great house to deal with

Excellent service from the staff at Bonhams Paris. Very happy with my purchase.

I’ve bought fountain pens multiple times from Bonhams ’ Hong Kong and Australia branches. They were always kind, honest, and reliable. Highly recommended.

Very happy with painting and support prior to auction with additional photos and condition information.

Excellent experience.

There is supposed to be an exemption for antiques but BEWARE-Right or wrong-DHL forced ME to pay $528 Trump tax. They said it is for ANYTHING EVER Made in China no matter how old or where it ships from.-I can't imagine this is true, but.... what can I do. I wish Bonhams or the packer would have warned me, but they didn't know! They should have known.

Highly professional, very good experience.

I’m very pleased with the whole process of this auction house.

Many emails sent to Bonhan's with a simple request to send documents via overnight. Always got a canned answer on how to send electronically which I could not do. This went on for weeks. Finally got instructions on where to send overnight mail which were lost by Bonhams (evidence of receipt obtained). I sent again and they were received and processed. Never offered to reimburse for the cost of sending twice.

... though really miss Skinners.

Good auction house

What Bonham's call "client service" is almost not existing. You get no answer or you geht answer too late. What is annoying for an overseas client in europe asking for help with payment and shipping. A disaster in communication or let's say a really bad experience of non-communication and ignorance. As a collector I've experience with auction houses all over the world. But with Bonhams I'm through. Never again! Can't recommend Bonhams at all. Sorry to say.

Bonhams notified me that I had won an item and that I would receive an invoice. A couple of days later I called to enquire about the invoice so I could arrange shipment. This went on for multiple weeks with excuses why they did not have an invoice. Finally after me wasting time with a shipper and making multiple calls, Bonhams finally admitted they had shipped my item to someone with a lower bid and who had not won the item at Auction. They knew this early on and instead of being honest, they wasted my time. Never trust a company that will lie to cover their mistakes.

Caution! Their payments process is a shambles.

I buy from Bonhams at least ond item per year. What they offer is always at the top in terms of quality and at times also in terms if balue for money. Highly recommended!

I bid consistently with Bonham’s and they are always very helpful.

Bonhams places many hoops in the way of your purchase. They insist you upload your Driver's License, then make payment difficult, then require additional paperwork to avoid their very costly shipping. Not worth the bid unless your a professional. And their answering machine, which doesn't always connect you to a human is lengthy and annoying.

Great doing business with you