As auction sites go, this one is not as bad as others can be, but there is a learning curve... There are always risks associated with buying at auction, and I think people kind of always forget that until there is a problem... I have sold and bought over 100 items on catawiki over the last few years, at first I was a bit puzzled coming from the world of Ebay.com. Catawiki does not work the same, and I think this might explain the comments below. Catawiki doesn't operate a "no questions asked policy" like eBay. Buyers and sellers are expected to communicate and agree. Catawiki will only intervene in last resort. Over the years, I have also experienced a few issues with a couple of lots mostly due to shipping issues which as such have nothing to do with Catawiki. Catawiki doesn't store items, it doesn't ship them, it evaluates the items using the same pictures buyers see during the auction. All the handling is done by sellers. It is true that their customer service is slow, but all my issues were resolved nevertheless and I never had a problem recovering paid money. For this to go smoothly, I always follow the catawiki process: - contact the seller, describing the issue, and ask for a resolution. - tell catawiki immediately that there is something wrong, you can log a ticket via the website's help section or telephone them. I found phoning works better, the telephone number is displayed when you click the "I still need help" button at the bottom of the help articles. If you have done both steps, you can assume all parties are aware, from this point, if you and the seller cannot agree, catawiki will step in and decide what to do. Customer service was always courteous and helpful. They usually look at the case, and provided you have followed the process, will provide a fair resolution. I know that in the cancel culture we live in people tend to use excessive language quickly if something doesn't go their way, but the words "scam" or "con" are in complete contradiction with my experience of the site.