Bidder Reviews for Latair (17)

Dealing with Latair has been a nightmare, starting with my "winning" bid. Although someone else outbid me before the item closed, I won. When I contacted the auction house to find out how that happened and to ask if they could provide proof of authenticity for the artwork, I received a curt, unprofessional reply-some of the words in all caps-that I should've asked these questions before bidding (how can I ask beforehand how I won? And there are other ways to prove that a piece of art is legitimate besides a COA). I also had to contact Latair to find out when my item was being shipped. They immediately processed my payment but failed to provide an update on shipping. When I received my item, the frame was damaged, so I contacted Latair, explaining that the artwork was poorly packaged and I provided proof of the damage. Ben Wang made the excuse that the frame is old, despite me sending him pictures that show how carelessly an expensive piece of artwork was shipped. It was simply surrounded by foam boards and pieces with nothing to hold the material in place, protect the corners, or keep the item from shifting. I got excuses and ignored emails when I asked him to file a claim with the post office and when he finally responded, he claimed he couldn't figure out how to do it, although I sent him the link that included clear instructions. Finally, I got fed up and contacted Live Auctioneers before filing the claim myself, and I found out that Latair insured a $1000 painting for $25.10. Today, I retrieved the painting and the packaging from the post office after everything was inspected, and the post office confirmed that the packaging was inadequate. It's been five weeks since I first reported the damage to Latair with no further attempt from the auction house to rectify the situation. If my claim is denied, I will look into further action because they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this. For those of you thinking about buying from Latair, think twice.

I love the painting I finally received, "Italian Shepherd Boy" by Karl Brjullov, thank you, Benjamin. The process of paying took a long time (ca. 6 weeks), because I wanted to have a protection of my payment, and cash/wire provided no protection whatsoever. For bidders 'protection, there MUST be an option other than cash or wire transfer-such as VISA, Master Card, and PayPal. Repeat: MUST BE. When the painting was finally shipped, it was professionally packed, a top professional packing done in Los Angeles region.

I won this Victor Manuel painting on 9/9/23 item 0014 at Latair. Attempted multiple contacts. They charged my CC immediately and i have yet to hear ANYTHING regarding shipping

Good communication, experienced knowledgeable staff. Could not be happier with my purchase with Latair Auction. Expert and Friendly Service My bidding and purchase experience with Latair Aution was excellent. The personable and professional service was impressive. I look forward to attending online more of their auctions.

The item was not delivered more than 45 days after payment was received. In addition to charging handling fees, LiveAuctioneer also has to weed out bad auction companies.

Received item professionaly packed. Very happy over all.

Bought a painting/paid right away/i reached out via email re shipping and no response for quite awhile-called them and then very responsive and very nice. If you buy something-just call them. Would buy again.

this was the most unpleasant i have ever experienced on this website. getting my painting took over two months after purchase.

I won and purchased a pair of earrings from this house several weeks ago and have yet to receive them. And I have not received a refund. I called them twice and they said they will handle the delivery but obviously they haven’t. I strongly recommend that they not be used by anyone!

This individual took my money and never contacted me. I have tried to reach out to him numerous times. LiveAuctioneer tried to reach out to him regarding this matter. He has yet to send me any emails or messages. My credit card company needs to get involved now. This is ridiculous!

Latair is a bad Auction house. I bought an item from Latair. I paid, but I did not receive the item.

I bid and won an item represented as Jade. After nearly a month I finally received the item. I am a Gemologist of 40 years. It did not take me long to determine the item was NOT Jade but rather, it is Quartz. I immediately notified Benat Latair by two emails. Nothing after nearly a week. Because the item was less than $300, I will not pursue it and count it as a lesson to never again, go to a Latair Auction. I believe they are nothing more than a very incompetent racket to distribute Chinese Fakes into the marketplace. In other words, junk. Ben made it seem that to locate my item, after several inquiries as to when the item would be shipped, was a challenge for them. The shipper finally contacted me to inform me of the $38 fee for shipping the small item. Yes, people need to make money but flat rate is $7 bucks, folks. I believe they have broken FTC guidelines and if I were in Boston, I would file a small claims against them for misrepresentation/fraud, just to teach them a lesson but I do not and they are not worth my time. But if you are tempted to spend any money with Latair Auction, I repeat my warning: BUYER BEWARE!!!