Auction Ninja is an online platform that offers collectors, buyers, sellers etc, and exchange money for "lightly" used, used or could be brand new in the box and never used merchandise. From furniture to home appliances, decor, stamps, coins, etc items are posted for auction and buyers can bid on an items at their own risk. Yes I say risk....Some tips I wish I would have known before bidding on the Auction Ninja Platform...1. Please keep in mind, sellers, not all, however a good many, will have AT LEAST 1 login, sometimes more, although this is against AN's "Rules". In either event Sellers are permitted to place bids on products that they are auctioning, thus driving the price up. Yes it is a gamble, but The average buyer believes they are participating in a bidding war on an item with another legitimate buyer. Sometimes this is the case, however a majority of the time, it is not. It is the seller, driving price of the item up. Keep in mind these items are used. Some of the items are designer and would still go for a large some based on good condition. HOWEVER, many of the items again I say are USED, their value has completely diminished and a lot of times the seller is feeling you out to see how high you will go. You may be thinking, why would a seller not want to actually sell the item..., it's true, sellers want to sell the items that are on the auction table, however they also want the highest return. Most sellers, always have another auction, so if they drove the price up beyond what the legit bidder was willing to pay, and got stuck with the item they can just turn around and sell it in their next auction! Don't forget sometimes the sellers already purchased the items, sometimes they havent, either way be cautious.2. First hand experience, I placed a bid, and continued to bid on a piece of furniture, whose picture was provided, and there were no mention of defects in descrip. On the way to pick up the piece, I logged back onto the site to grab the address, and well and behold, the description of the item had been updated and now included that there was a crack in 2 drawers of the mirror furniture. Additionally, many other items that were sold at that auction had their descriptions updated, after the auction was closed. To make matters worse, the seller had the audacity to update some of the pictures, post auction closing. Many items had updated descriptions which now included the existing defects and also had brand new pictures posted, clearly identifying the defects. WOW, this was pretty bad....Word of advice, once you bid on an item, screen shot the description and the pictures of the item and save it for your records..3. If you thought you were the high bidder on an item, but there is a "glitch", and you never receive an email identifying you were the high bidder, reach out to the seller and just ask, it cant hurt. Even if you dont get an email identifying you were the high bidder, they will still charge your card. It doesn't matter if you had no idea that you were the high bid, or you weren't provided the pick-up location. Again first hand experience. My take, the seller didn't get what she wanted for the piece, and I was ever notified that I was high bidder, Never got an email or was told where to show up to get the item. I received a text message an hour before the seller was ending the pick-up window and asked if I was coming to get the table. The location was far from where I was that day and I never would have made it in time. She said my item would be "DONATED" aka sold in another auction, thus receiving double the profit.6. Be mindful of the shipping costs. You think to yourself, how much could shipping be from point A to point B, if the drive is only 30 minutes. They will rake you thru the coals for shipping. You actually will most likely pay more for the shipping then you did the item. Never allow them to ship items to you, you will regret it.7. Credits Card numbers, after you have won a bid it is not uncommon for your card number to be stolen. Maybe not right away, however suggestion, don't use a debit card, and only us one credit card dedicated to the site. This way if its compromised, you will know right away and you cancel the card. This is not an infrequent scenario. Almost all reviews include this information, so it is a very well known platform "GLITCH" At the end of the day, Auction Ninja receives a portion of the seller's profit. What this means is that they dont have the best interest of the buyers in mind. The more the house makes, the more money AN receives. Would love them to eliminate the ability of sellers to also be buyers of their own items that are on auction. This would make it a fair auction and would give AN some self-respect. The idea behind AN is great, HOWEVER, their ethics in my opinion are debatable. Now you know, proceed at your own risk.
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The leading marketplace for online auctions, estate sales and tag sales. Discover and buy used furniture, vintage furniture, coins, collectibles and more.
