I-15 Auctions
reviews and complaints

I purchased several lots of vintage goods from Grahams I-15 Auctions from the online venue Proxibid. It took over three weeks for them to ship which I guess is normal for them but they didn't send invoices for items won, which other auction companies do. They also did not send an invoice for shipping costs as others do either. The lots were not described, only showed photos which were not of the best quality. I purchased a lot that was a table full of items, none shown real close up and no description. The first problem arose when I was charged a huge amount for shipping and handling - over $140 which to me was extorbitant. I called to get further info and was told that I had 4 or 5 huge boxes and that is why the charge was so high. I voiced my concern because my items didn't seem to be that great to warrant that many boxes or that huge of a charge. I was told that there was more that didn't show in the photos and that I would be thrilled with my items because I was probably getting twice as much shown. I was concerned that they were sending a 20x20x20 box which I knew UPS charges a fortune for due to being oversized. I asked if they could possibly use USPS instead of UPS because I had a really bad experience with my local driver as well as the oversize and was told that they would have to charge me $30 to $40 to rebox and ship but that they still hadn't packed the coat I purchased or the beaded lot. I was going to visit my daughter so asked if they could ship the items that hadn't been packed yet and was told it would be no problem. Upon getting an email explaining the breakdown of the charges, I noticed that they had included a box of items (after they charged me for them) and shipping for said box that I had not won in the auction and showed as "passed" in the auction information. They said I would be refunded that day for the incorrect charges but it never showed up. Since they had made a mistake I asked that they please go back through my boxes and make sure that all of the items were present and that they were indeed mine. I was lead to believe that the contents of the boxes were all mine. About 4 days later I got my box. Not only was it missing two lots, but the most expensive lot that I was anxious and excited to get was a bunch of smelly moldy junk, most of which was damaged. They had taken the time to wrap all of it in heavy craft paper like it was something special or precious when it was horrid and should have gone into a trash bin instead of being foisted off on unsuspecting internet buyers who, unlike their live attendees, cannot hold or see the true condition of items. I was so upset after spending over $560 total between shipping and the lots. I immediately wrote to Christel who had assured me how "thrilled" I would be over the deplorable condition of the items and the fact that anyone would not only waste their time wrapping such junk and charging a ridiculous $35 for handling due to the wrapping, but would dare sell trash. As a dealer, the entire lot is unusable and should not been sold as viable merchandise and any reputable auctioneer with an ounce of integrity would have trashed the junk rather than try to screw someone over. When I explained all of this to Christel in the email I did not hear back from her until I had called Proxibid to complain about the items. A dozen conversations and emails later she called to say she was refunding the majority of my money including shipping for the bad lot, the lot itself, the two lots that were missing and the lot I hadn't bid on and subsequent shipping. She said she was doing it immediately. Two days later nothing had come through so I phoned her. She got emotional and was crying because she was frustrated that the owners had given her the authority or as she put it "I thought I had the authority to act on this but obviously I do not" and apologized for their behavior. After that she told me the owners wanted to deal with me directly and would be calling. Five days later, still no call and no refund. I finally reach the daughter who said she was in California on a trip and to call her mother Rhoda who would take care of me and to leave a message if I got the voicemail. I was assured that Rhoda would get back to me. Several more days passed and I called Christel only to find she had taken the weekend off probably due to stress of having to deal with annoyed customers. I waited several more days and wrote to her and got nothing in response so told her in another email that I was sick of being patient and just wanted a full refund and would send the trash back to them along with all the other items. Her response was to send a receipt for refund in the amount of $271.26 . When I asked for an accounting in a follow up email immediately after, I got another receipt for refund in the amount of $431.47, which i assumed was a full refund with some extra for shipping back the items. Four days later only the refund for $271.26 showed up in my account. I imagine that they cancelled the other refund which is what I should have actually been refunded for the missing items, auction premiums, taxes, shipping and bad lot. I believe that they dragged this out because they knew that there was a time limit for opening up a complaint with Proxibid and my credit card company. I have repeatedly asked for a breakdown of how they came up with the $271.26 and what happened with the other $431.47 refund and all of my emails and calls have been ignored and gone unanswered. It wasn't until today that I got Proxibid involved again that I found out what they have done. Now Christel has lied and said that the high charges for shipping is because I asked them to use USPS, which they did not. They are trying to make me pay about $270 for $100 of merchandise and about $40 worth of shipping and fees. These people are totally without scruples and should not be allowed to sell merchandise to anyone. They should have their license yanked and I will be contacting the auction association with full photos of the items and how they misrepresented them in the photos and sold a bunch of molded crap that almost sent me into anaphylactic shock so much that I had to use a prescription inhaler.