Bidder Reviews for California Auctioneers (166)

This is how smooth all transactions should go...:)

Happy with this purchase, large and fragile ceramic piece carefully shipped and arrived completely intact.

I enjoyed buying my first item from this auction house. It all worked seamlessly and I would buy again. Had a nice chat with the owner who was very informative.

Reliable description. Good list of shippers who ship at reasonable prices and in timely fashion.

After I won the pitcher, I was informed they were using two platforms and had two different winners. They wanted me to relinquish my win. Did not respond to three messages, charged my account and then asked Live Auctioneers to refund me since it was "broken" by the shipper when picked up. I had not arranged shipping, so obviously a ploy to send to the other bidder and save face. Beware!!!

I am very pleased with my experience with California auctions. The vintage jewelry was in excellent condition

I purchased an "oil on canvas with signature" that turned out to be a cheap textured print with a facsimile signature. I asked them to explain how this a happened and got no response at all. Also, their preferred shipper charged me $450 to professional pack the art and they threw two frames in the same box stacked directly on top of each other. Needless to say they arrived damaged even though the box showed no signs of damage. This is not a trust-worthy dealer.

Advertised as a vintage, Navajo, Pictorial Rug. It turned out to be a contemporary, foreign-made fake! Attempted contact with auctioneer, and was ignored! Buyer beware! False advertising, and zero customer service!!!

Great communication. Fast shipping. Professional packaging.

BEWARE: Once a 10 + but now Down to 0 due to lies/unwarranted dispute. I have backup documents for the below info. I’m a retired govt employee [ (1) Navy; (2) law enforcement ] living on a limited budget w/mouths to feed and medical bills to pay. Over YEARS incl. pre-retirement I built a flawless record on this and other sites, spending $150, 000 + w/out incident, developing 1st-name basis relationships at some houses. Now houses block me even w/my full account on record. In past: I won multiple Lots from CA Auctioneers. I drove 2 hrs. to retrieve my Lots and met John & Jewel (owners). There was good rapport, visiting for at least an hr. I bought additional passed-on Lots right then and there. I have followed them since. This time, 19 May 2024: Away from home & up early at 5 am, I looked at the auction but found no items of interest for it. I began to load the car with bags and other items to continue onward. My phone was in my breast pocket and, after packing the car, I noticed the phone screen had somehow been triggered akin to a ‘ butt dial ’ (nipple?) and a bid for the starting amount was cast at 5:20 am. I IMMEDIATELY phoned John and informed him of the erroneous bid. John said that it would not be a problem and to contact LiveAuctioneers and inform them so they knew to alleviate any extraneous cost, which I did, and cc: ed CA Auctioneers so they were in the loop. Regardless, instead of handling it as he said, CA Auctioneers issued a dispute for non-payment of $2, 800 !!) for a drawing of 2 hawks ripping a duck’s guts !!). Numerous polite not-angry-whatsoever attempts to contact CA Auctioneers were dismissed with no reply. [ None! ]. I later learned that one can retract a bid w/in 24 hrs. I therefore could’ve alleviated any problem quickly, but I didn’t know and John didn’t tell me I could. Did he purposely think he could goad me into paying an amount that I did not have? An offer to reimburse whatever fees he expended would have been fine by me, but here we are.

had a wonderful experience with the auction house. They had plenty of high resolution photos, and the earrings were even better looking in person. They took care of the shipping and insurance in-house, which is a major plus! Great folks to deal with

Have made many purchases over the years. Always a quality experience.

The pottery I purchased was represented as Casa Grande AZ ********** AD. I found out after purchase that it is “Casas Grandes from Mexico” The piece was totally misrepresented.

Beautiful item, helpful staff, great auction house-thank you!

They took close up pictures of every part of the rifle, except where there was somewhat deep pitting in the barrel. Nothing dangerous but definitely something to note when you sell firearms.

great deal

The auction house was professional and responsive to any questions that I had. But, the contact person at the recommended UPS Store did not honor the quote that he gave, he did not return calls in a reasonable amount of time, if at all, and the store did a poor job of packing the item. I was just lucky that the item got here without damage.

I bid on and won two auction items in an early 2022 auction. One item was sent, the other item had 3 of 7 pieces missing. After contacting California Auction and waiting many days, 1 other piece showed up along with a tiny portion of the other two items. The auction house apparently misplaced some of the material. California Auctioneers supposedly sent the second shipment free. They spent $32 on it and didn't send $198 dollars worth of material. I actually paid for the second shipment. They also told Live Auctioneers they pulled some of the material because they didn't think it was Native American (I later proved them wrong). If pulled prior to the auction, they didn't correct the auction listing. If pulled after, they didn't inform me material had been pulled, ask me if I wanted the material or offer a partial refund. I bought the material based on their advertisement and paid full price for it. I expected to receive all of the material. I didn't. They defrauded me. I've written California Auctioneers several times asking for a refund on the material they didn't send. No response. Live Auctioneers appears to not be able to help, nor willing to censure the auction house. ps. This auction house uses a UPS store to ship. They put an extremely heavy horse bridle loose in a box containing antique Native American bows and arrows. Had just a little waded paper and LOTS of space for everything to rattle around in.

They went out of their way to make sure I could pick up the book collection on the weekend when it fit into my time schedule. They packaged them and had them ready to load up with no issues or delays. Super happy with how everything worked out, would buy from them again.

California Auctioneers is a great family business. Everyone representing their company was courteous and professional. Their lightening fast service sets a new bar for Auction Houses. I’ve used over a dozen auction houses and without equal, their service is the fastest I’ve ever used. AAA + + +

Great auction house with amazing antiques. They answered questions I had and were honest and reliable. Would bid again.

general confusion

Very fast reply, good and fast shipping! Thanks!

Glad I found these people, will do more business with them for sure.

I saw from reading reviews that the UPS shipping service primarily recommended was terrible, so I made some phone calls and found a different UPS store that would pick up from California Auctioneers. I had a very enjoyable conversation with someone at the auction house and got all the ducks in a row, and after that it was smooth sailing. The UPS store I found actually shipped for less than they had originally quoted, and the packing was excellent. I am very happy with the items and with the personal attention I got when I called the auctioneer. I would definitely buy from them again.

Very easy transaction-items are just as described. Easy payment, smooth communications. Very timely, very organized and fiscally appropriate shipping. Very smooth transaction all around. Thank you!

I use this seller for all of our locations unique decor. Always as described and great customer service and communications.

exceeding happy with them

Never again