Pioneer Auction Gallery
reviews and complaints

My 16 yr old daughter was on my proxidid site watching an auto auction and an equipment auction for me while I stepped out. After the auctions I had her watch for me were over she logged into an auction run by Pioneer Auction Gallery with out my concent. When I arrived home she was excited to show me the auction she was on. She showed me some of the items that sold and I told her it looks like a scam. I instructed her to get off the site. She failed to tell me she had bid on several items. I found out the next morning when I got a $3600 dollar bill. My daughter thought she was buying things 20 times more than they were worth because of bogus appraisals Pioneer posted and statements made by the auctioneer. She also thought she was bidding on things that were in Milwaukee Wi not Milwaukie, OR. I had told her during the summer to invest her money in something tangible like gold. She thought this jewelry was the same thing. Anyway I tried to contact the company that day and there was no answer and went to voice mail that was full. I emailed them with the above info and a request for some one to call me about this issue. I told the in the email I would fly out to oregon the next day and take an item to a jeweler /appraiser and if the appraisals they used to trick my daughter into buying the item was even close I would pay them in cash. However, if the appraisals are more than 80% to 90% lower than advertised I would not buy the jewelry. They never called that day . The next day they emailed and said my credit card was already charged. I called again and finally talked to an employee and told them my concerns. He tried to defend their shady practices to no dismay. He seemed to agree with me and said he would have the owner call me. Cindy Smith the owner did not call me back. They sent a disclaimer statement with their email stating they charged my card already. I told the employee I talked to that I did not agree to the disclaimer or did I bid on the items. They threatened to charge $1800 for breach of contract. A contract they entered into with a 16 year old who said she never read or signed any such statement. I also did some more research on line and found that this is their normal mode of operation. They present bogus appraisals to inflate the true value of their items and they have ridiculous terms and conditions. I asked my daughter if she saw and read any of this and she said no. All I wanted to do was confirm this company was using honest practices to get people to buy their items. I was willing to fly out there to settle this. They don't want this because they are using highly deceptive practices and then hiding behind strong arm tactics to threaten fees and ruining your credit. I would gladly pay for the items if they are even close to what they say they are. IE 20 to 10 % of the appraisal they used to sell the items. They don't want me to get an appraisal because they know that the items are junk. I also noticed they work hard to delete or cover up any complaints made about them on line.