Primetime Auctions LLC and other online Auction Sites: Too Good to be True?

How many times have you received emails from auction sites? How many of those emails have you opened, looked at an auction and thought, hmm, this looks interesting? And how many times have you bid on something on those sites and thought you were going to get a great deal? Well, be careful of some of those sites because they are not all reputable and you could very well be buying something that was in the trash.

One site in particular is called Primetime Auctions LLC. It lists auctions on a weekly basis and sells through a larger site named Auction Ninja which hosts many different auction companies. Primetime is one of a few sites that does not stand behind any of their products they sell. You are bidding on something that might look nice and when you pick it up after you prepaid for it, notice it barely resembles the pictures you saw for it when bidding.

Primetime Auctions LLC is based in Parlin, NJ. Alison Brown is listed as the owner. They are not registered either as accredited or non-accredited business with the Better Business Bureau. There is currently a complaint filed with NJ Division of Consumer Affairs pending against them.

I spoke with three different bidders who all shared similar stories about their experience with Primetime Auctions. The first bidder bid on various baseball card sets. He thought he got a good deal on them. They were listed as a yearly sets, not sealed. The bidder won a few different auctions and was excited to receive his merchandise. When it was time to pick up the merchandise, he went to the suite in Parlin, NJ. He described it as a small dirty room with someone there who claimed he didn’t work for the company but was helping out because no one from the company could make it that day. There is a 2 hour window to pick up your merchandise. When you get the items, you have to sign a receipt stating you’ve accepted your merchandise that you already prepaid with a credit card on file. The bidder quickly looked at the sets but there were thousands of cards. Too many to go through in the time he had left and just assumed the sets were intact. When he got home and checked them the next day, he realized that the most valuable cards were taken out of those sets making them practically worthless. He called to complain but was told because it said they weren’t sealed, that’s the risk you take. Of course, the auction item didn’t state, open set, most valuable cards might be missing. Primetime claimed they don’t check on important matters like that. That is not what a legitimate auction house usually does. They would have someone inspect items and describe a more accurate condition. Maybe the condition of the cards, take a look and know which ones are the more valuable pieces in the collection and check if they are included. Another auction site named Pristine Auctions, does just that. They have a reputation that you can feel safe when you buy through them. So the first bidder was out over $200 because he was basically scammed. Oh, and it wasn’t just $200, it was that amount plus 20% commission on his bids plus tax.

The second bidder I spoke with bid on an Xbox 360 with guitar controllers. He thought he was receiving a great deal when he won the auction for $125 and was excited to pick up the merchandise and go home and play “Guitar Hero” with his young daughter. When he got to the suite, again, no one from the company was there. There was a man who said he worked in one of the other suites and was covering for Primetime. When he saw the merchandise he won in the auction, it looked dirty, unlike the pictures of the items displayed. There were no cables or wires or even a television to hook it up to test it out and see if it worked. He was told if it didn’t work, just call the company and tell them and they would most certainly refund his purchase. Well, none of the controllers or system worked. They were all broken. This would be something you would’ve thrown in the trash. When the second bidder called to return the item, someone from the company said that the auction said untested. So there was no refunds. He was out the $125 plus 20% commission and taxes.

The third bidder had his eye on an auction that had comic books. They looked in good shape in the pictures he thought. In fact, if he could get them at the right price, valuing them for even fair condition, it would still be a bargain. He won a few auctions, he picked up the merchandise (and there was someone who did work for the company there this time) and when he got home and looked through his new purchases, he noticed there were pages ripped out of the middle of a few comic books and writing inside others. He called to complain but that fell on deaf ears also. Another bidder who thought he got a bargain at Primetime Auctions only to realize that, he too, was scammed.

So when you’re bidding on merchandise on some of these auction sites, be very careful. Read the language, look for reviews on the company. Maybe call them up first and ask what responsibility they take. If you are dealing with Primetime Auctions, the safe bet would be to assume everything not sealed or listed as new, is damaged or broken. Card sets will be missing the best cards, comic books might not have all pages and any electronics you should assume are not in working condition. Maybe they can be in working order but would you be willing to take that chance?

Primetime Auctions was given the chance to respond to the accusations as well as other questions about their business history. They declined to answer any of the questions.