Catawiki Reviews

1.3 Rating 548 Reviews
5 %
of reviewers recommend Catawiki
1.3
Based on 548 reviews
Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods
Postal Service, Courier
Average Delivery Time
Over 7 Days
On-time Delivery
Greater than 44%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders
Greater than 50%
Customer Service
Communication Channels
Email, Telephone, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In
Over A Week
Customer Service
1.1 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process
Difficult
Returns Process
Could Be Better
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Catawiki 1 star review on 17th May 2024
Deniz
Catawiki 1 star review on 23rd April 2024
Anonymous
Catawiki 1 star review on 23rd April 2024
Anonymous
Catawiki 1 star review on 23rd April 2024
Anonymous
Catawiki 1 star review on 5th April 2024
Apophis
Catawiki 1 star review on 5th April 2024
Apophis
Catawiki 1 star review on 15th March 2024
Claude
79
Anonymous
Anonymous  // 01/01/2019
Support is a joke. I bought a watch which seller advertised as to be serviced and with a new strap. After receiveing it, strap broke after 2 days and watch is running late 2min a day which is a lot. After complaining to the support I asked for 50e to cover my expenses and repair it in my local shop. They also said that the watch hasn't been serviced for 15+ years at least. Ok, no biggie. I'll just repair it and move on. But this is where the pain/comedy begins. They asked for photos which I provided. Then they asked for a video of the watch mechanism (so I had to go to the repair shop to open it and record it). Then after that they asked me for additional video of this mechanic watch to be recorded next to the quartz watch so the "expert" can evaluate it (lol?). At this point I realised they're making a fun of me and waiting to drop the claim out of frustration, but there I went once again to the repair shop, asked the guy to open it and record. At this point he was already mad and said this is a complete nonsense as it can't provide anything valuable to them. Greasy mechanism and being late 2min a day won't be seen from a 2min video right? Now it's been more than 10 days they stopped communicating with me (after I provided all the videos requested) and after my attempts to contact them. Also, claim is still opened so the seller hadn't received the money from Catawiki and now he's contacting me via platform and outside platform (whatsapp) and demanding to close the claim. - Oh, and not to forget the seller forgot to send the watch. He just opened the UPS pickup request and said to me that it's their fault. After calling the UPS myself, they told me "Yes, the seller ordered a pickup but never gave us the package". So I missed the date of GFs birthday because of this as well.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
I was interested in a vintage watch and did some research. It appeared that the watch shown was not fitting the description. Nevertheless it was sold. About a month later I happened to see another watch (same brand and model) from this seller. Same faulty description. Now I choose the write an email to the customer service. The changed the description an hour before closing of the auction. People were not notified. Again the watch was sold. Today I spotted another one, same watch, brand and seller. Again with a wrong description (latterly the same as twice before). This extra layer of trust by bringing in experts in the auction proces has no value, it is even worse it misguides potential buyers.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
For a start the seller of my lot is very slow in preparing and sending the order. It is me who has to contact him/her to find out the next step.I have reasonable doudts as to the condition the goods will arrive in. I will give my feedback when (...) they do. Catawiki seems to work by automatic systems but if you want to be called reliable you have to have real people working behind the scenes.. Their support system is literally non existent.. they are supposed to answer within 48 hours but they don't.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
My Experience with Catawiki My Experience with Catawiki PROS: Industry's low 9% bidder's fee. CONS: 1. After a recent upgrade in the autumn of 2022 it has become harder to get around the Catawiki interface. 2. Auction bidder can no longer see the sellers name and address nor contact them to ask questions to clarify condition of the items before bidding on their lot. 3. The descriptions of many of the lots are lacking proper descriptions for numismatic items. 4. Catawiki experts say that they don't want IBNS grading in the item description if the item is not graded by an independent party (slabbed, encapsulated) such as for instance - PMG or PCGS. Thus Catawiki gives preference to independent graders (which often make mistakes in identifying and grading paper money and banknotes) rather than IBNS grading standards. Remark: Catawiki and their numismatic experts are members of the IBNS themselves. 5. The imposed 51 word limit in the item description for Sellers does not always allow to explain the condition of the item and to include detailed description in some cases when the item is not new. No wonder sellers write "it is nice" instead of describing the condition in very detail since the 51 word limit often prevents to fully describe the item. 6. If a buyer (winning bidder) does not receive their shipment within 25 days after payment and does not submit a "CLAIM" to Catawiki, Catawiki pays the seller even if the goods are NOT delivered to the buyer yet. Then the buyer has to contact and deal with the seller instead of being protected by Catawiki all the way until the goods are delivered. Although Catawiki assures the seller that they will pay the seller only after the goods are delivered, but on the contrary a buyer seems to only be protected against non-delivery for the first 25 days! And how about those buyers who live in more remote destinations and if there is slow delivery of mail that takes 1 to 2 months or more? 7. You can not cancel your auction bid even if you made an innocent mistake or even if you found out that the item you bid on had a hidden issue not disclosed in the auction by the seller. 8. Catawiki website and software is sketchy and buggy, with occasional dead links. 9. A frequent event is when you submit a "claim" to Catawiki in order to keep on receiving their delivery support beyond the 25 days you get blocked from Catawiki for about 5 minutes: "Access Denied You don't have permission to access (link was here) on this server." 10. Catawiki support now takes weeks to reply and many questions and inquiries as well as complaints are left unaddressed and unanswered. 11. Catawiki experts allow sellers to write any kind of inaccuracies in the descriptions of their items and there is no way to contact the sellers before bidding on their items. Catawiki support ignores remarks abut multiple blunders in their listings and does not correct them before bidding begins. 12. Selling process on Catawiki may be long, slow and even dysfunctional in places. Catawiki requires the seller to provide their ID that shows both sides of the id such as drivers license or a passport, but then when they are provided a large image of the id both sides they reply they are unable to read it. Then they ask for a second document proving your residential status and street address and you will also be asked to register for German LUCID number even if you're not living in Germany and even if you are a private seller just wanting to sell off some of your collection or a single car. Registering for German LUCID is extremely complicated process with confusing instructions. 13. Some sellers take weeks to ship out the sold items and some buyers are slow to pay for their won items. 14. Some sellers make items photographed spread like playing cards thus obfuscating most of items within the spread = impossible to see paper items condition. Buyer (bidder) has to GUESS the condition of the items they are bidding on! Therefore bidding (buying) on Catawiki is very much like a lottery! 15. Messages sent to Catawiki support about the excess shipping charges by some sellers fell n deaf ears = no answer by Catawiki support. That is unacceptable since it means financial loss for the buyer!
Catawiki 1 star review on 28th January 2023
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
Item purchased, not delivered, payment retained, not reimbursed.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
My experience with Catawiki In addition to many pros and benefits not mentioned here that Catawiki provides to a buyer and a bidder, the following are my observations, experiences, suggestions and comments where there is space for improvement. While some of these issues may be how Catawiki chooses to run their auctions, so not everything below are to be improved and are not necessarily cons. While Catawiki considers my review a negative review, I consider it a review and a constructive criticism, while in many cases such consumer reviews help companies improve their UI/UX and are otherwise costly if the company had to hire a consultant. After a recent "upgrade" in the autumn of 2022 it has become harder to get around the Catawiki interface. Now there is more secrecy and inconvenience for buyers (bidders) since the auction bidder and winner can no longer see the sellers name and address nor contact each other even after the buyer pays for their order. Why was this change made to HIDE sellers name and address? The descriptions of many of the lots are lacking grading (condition) for numismatic items and even when asked some sellers fail to provide grading (condition) information in an appropriate manner, not just write "it is in nice" condition. Catawiki experts say that they don't want IBNS grading in the item description if the item is not graded by an independent party (slabbed, encapsulated) such as for instance - PMG or PCGS. Thus Catawiki gives preference to independent graders (which often make mistakes in identifying and grading paper money and banknotes) rather than IBNS grading standards. The imposed 51 word limit in the item description for Sellers does not always allow to explain the condition of the item and to include detailed description in some cases when the item is not new. No wonder sellers write "it is nice" instead of describing the condition in very detail since the 51 word limit often prevents to fully describe the item. And if you are trying to begin selling on Catawiki, keep in mind, the seller sign up process may be long, slow and even dysfunctional in places. Catawiki requires the seller to provide their ID that shows both sides of the id such as drivers license or a passport, but then when they are provided a large image of the id both sides they reply they are unable to read it! Then they ask for a second document proving your residential status and street address and you are also asked to register for German LUCID number even if you're not living in Germany and even if you are a private seller just wanting to sell off some of your collection or a single car. Registering for German LUCID is extremely complicated process with confusing instructions. Catawiki finds something to deny you like the size of your ID photo which is 1000 pixels large and yet they are unable to read it!? Finally after providing like a 5th or 6th document, which was an el. Power bill, they finally approved the sale. One seller's money are not being released and I wrote to the support asking why they are holding to his money since I received the goods already a week ago. Catawiki just released his money after a week after the shipment was marked as DELIVERED. Another seller's money were on hold for about 2 weeks after they completed delivery of their under-delivered products. That's a long time for the seller to wait to have their money released. There seems to be too little discipline among some sellers and buyers at Catawiki. Some sellers take many days or weeks to ship out the sold items and some buyers are slow to pay for their won items and take weeks to do that. One buyer took entire 3 weeks to pay and they paid on the very last legally allowed day, thus causing some relisting problems to the seller. Yet most buyers and sellers seems to be just fine with dispatch. If a buyer (winning bidder) does not receive their shipment within 25 days after payment and does not submit a "CLAIM" to Catawiki, Catawiki pays the seller even if the goods are NOT delivered to the buyer yet. Then the buyer has to contact and deal with the seller instead of being protected by Catawiki all the way until the goods are delivered. Although Catawiki assures the seller that they will pay the seller only after the gods are delivered, but on the contrary a buyer seems to only be protected against non-delivery for the first 25 days! And how about those buyers who live in more remote destinations and if there is slow delivery of mail that takes months? There are also the following issues at Catawiki: 1. Catawiki software is adding 1:35 min of extra bidding time once the Auction clock reaches around 00:50 or even 00:30 till the end of each auction. Sometimes they add 1:35 min once and sometimes twice and even three or many more times. It's frustrating to see the bid you have placed and then you have to wait several more minutes again and again and you are late to participate in other auctions or elsewhere. I am no auction software expert, but this feature clearly serves Catawiki and the sellers to extract as much profit as possible, while they forget that without bidders there will be NO auctions at all. I personally do not like the Extended Bidding feature, especially when it is extended multiple times, because it looks a bit shady and I am often late to participate in other auctions. Bidders should be encouraged and not discouraged by repeat Extended Bidding functionality. 2. Many photos on Catawiki are way too small in order for the bidders to see the items in fine detail before they bid. One of the sellers I bid on is reusing the same photos for his next auctions and as a result I received some really bad quality material that was not reflected in the photos or in the description. Catawiki were notified and agreed that sellers should not reuse photos as that borders on fraud, but Catawiki did nothing about it and the seller keeps reusing the photos for his other auctions. 3. There are numerous broken links leading to dead pages or dead ends on Catawiki. After being notified Catawiki did nothing to repair those links and pages. One of the broken page examples: On the Buyers Terms page the highlighted MY WON LOTS link at the bottom of that page leads to the URL: /buyer/orders but that page says PAGE NOT FOUND. Catawiki support blames my browser for their broken link. 4. Some of the tracking links on Catawiki are malformed and create unnecessary tensions between sellers and buyers and time is wasted because wrong information is provided by Catawiki. 5. While the Buyer (bidder) is expected and is required to pay within 3 days, the Seller is allowed much longer time (3 business days or longer) in order to ship the goods (some sellers take a week or 2 weeks or longer to dispatch the goods) and some sellers even manipulate tracking numbers in order to gain more time to ship the goods to the winning bidder (Buyer). 6. Some Catawiki sellers do not combine shipping charges on multiple won lots, as they are allowed to do that, adding up to some fantastically large amounts for shipping! Some charge way too much and make profit on shipping and some sellers do not want to refund the excessive part of their shipping charges. 7. Catawiki requires the buyer (winning bidder) to pay for the won lots within 3 days. Not 3 business days, but 3 consecutive days! The PROBLEM is that if there is a problem on a Friday evening, a buyer has until Monday to pay for the won items, while Catawiki Support replies to messages after 48 hours or after several days. By then the Buyer becomes delinquent with his payment, while still waiting for Catawiki support's reply since the seller can not be contacted before payment is submitted. It becomes a closed circle. Seller can only be contacted after payment is submitted by the buyer and buyer is unable to pay if a problem arises, while the support can not be contacted by chat within 24 hours or within minutes. 8. Seller can not be contacted (to request to combine shipping costs, to clarify condition or description of the items etc.) until the auction is over and the winning bidder submit their full payment. That's extremely inconvenient and unfair to the bidder. 9. Catawiki begins to send PAYMENT OVERDUE notices to winning buyers 24 hours after the auction ends! While the winning buyer must pay within 3 days of the auction ending, they have 3 whole days to pay, but Catawiki considers they can begin sending DAILY emails to the buyer starting with day one! Even on weekends! Catawiki sent me an OVERDUE email only about 15 hours after the auction ended! The email said that my payment is now 1 day overdue! That's ridiculous and borders on extortion. 10. BEWARE VAT (Sales Tax)! You will have to pay extra (often 25% more or less) VAT (or sales tax) in addition to shipping charge and 9% seller's fee. 11. You can not cancel your auction bid even if you made an innocent mistake. 12. Some winning bids (sales) have "PROVIDE FEEDBACK" button activated, while others don't, while they are all not received yet. What's going on here? 13. There's a possibility to receive an empty box (or envelope) or only part of your goods, so my advice is to always make a video of unboxing your package. Happened to me a couple times already. Catawiki support did not help me at all. They took 7 days to reply to my urgent case where an empty envelope with contents missing has arrived cut open with postal person as a witness! They instead IGNORED my submitted evidence and demanded unreasonable number of photos, ignoring that it was not a box but an envelope with just one small paper collectable inside of it that was missing. They demanded me to weight that envelope as if you can weigh a 1 gram item? Post office does NOT accept claims form recipients! And Catawiki ignored the document provided by our Postal Service with signatures and statements and a live witness from post office delivery staff! 14. A frequent event is when you submit a "claim" to Catawiki in order to keep on receiving their delivery support beyond the 25 days you get blocked form Catawiki for at least 5 minutes and Catawiki has not fixed this problem after s many times they were notified about this: "Access Denied You don't have permission to access "http://www.catawiki.com/en/fulfilment/buyer/orders" on this server." 15. Catawiki support now takes weeks to reply and many questions and inquiries as well as complaints are left unaddressed. For example, my inquiry regarding overcharged and overpaid EXCESSIVE shipping charges by Catawiki sellers remains unanswered by Catawiki even that in their rules they state that sellers can not overcharge for shipping and that all significant overcharges should be reported to Catawiki and they say they will make sure the sellers refund the excess amount, but lately - No reply from Catawiki, just plain ignorance and silence. For example the seller has charged €15 but spent just around €6 which incliudes also envelope and even some money for driving to the post office. Why would I be paying extra €10 for nothing? What I like about Catawiki is a low 9% bidder's fee and the support is quite responsive. UPDATE (JANUARY 2023): Now the support has become non-responsive at all! I also like that the money is paid to the seller only after the goods are delivered although now Catawiki take a week to pay the Seller after their shipment is marked as Delivered and some sellers complain to have never received their money. Yet I hope that in case of non-delivery the goods are fully insured and the seller is fully compensated for the loss. My research is still in the making since I am quite new at Catawiki and I will frequently update my review. Tip for consumers: Do not bid on the seller's listings who do not combine shipping charges for several winnings or you will end up paying a huge and very unreasonable shipping charge which can not always be refunded! Also do not bid on sellers who are outside of your country or you will be paying a huge VAT! There is no way to ask the seller for a larger photo, to tell more details, for the mail service or speed courier name or anything else, before you bid!
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
After describing to customer service that my package was delivered to the wrong address, I received a response many days later. But in response I only received that the package has been delivered and the matter is closed. I have also written to the seller but he does not respond to my messages. The carrier has a picture that they left the package at a white house, but I live in a red house. So badly handled by both seller and customer service.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
It probably has a reason why certificates of authenticity are not issued. I ordered a number of photographs - they are just printed on some sheets of paper (not appearing to have any value). The estimate price was indicated as € 300 - 400. When you order more than one item you need to pay for each the very high transport cost of around € 25. Customer service doesn't reply - waiting since weeks. And to get in contact with seller is only possible after payment. Some sellers are really unfriendly - because I couldn't pick up the item straight away what I communicated to the company beforehand - no reply at all. There are probably also ok sellers on the platform. In general, I don't recommend to buy anything at catawiki. And I regret not having found this website before placing a bit. The amount of 1 star responses speak volumes.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
Highly Strange that every item rejected by sotherbys auction house “ they recommended to sell your items through Catawiki “ ??????????????????????????????? BEWARE!! Below is sotherbys standard rejection email As such, we are unable to appraise your item or offer it for sale. If you are interested in selling your item, you may wish to consider Catawiki an online auction marketplace. Please note that this is a third-party platform and we are not responsible for the platform, the outcome of your sale or any associated costs. If the item is sold through Catawiki, Sotheby’s may receive a referral fee from Catawiki. HA HA HA !
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
I have bought a ring advertised as an natural emarald 1,4 carat, sold by Allegra's Legend and evaluated by Catawiki experts to 6500 to 7500euro went to 2 evalators in my Country and is a hydrotermic syntetic emerald worth 10 euro
Catawiki 1 star review on 4th January 2023 Catawiki 1 star review on 4th January 2023 Catawiki 1 star review on 4th January 2023 Catawiki 1 star review on 4th January 2023
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
BUYER GETS ALL THE SUPPORT- keeps item and a REFUND!!! seller left with no Chanel Bag or the money ID NUMBER 28740297 TRACKING NUMBER: LG988075178 GB You promised it was being investigated. AND I HAVE JUST CHECKED - YOU HAVE REFUNDED THE BUYER AS YOU HAVE BEEN AWARE, THE Order shows it was DELIVERED on seller postal site ROYAL MAIL and BUYER one NL - the Netherlands post.. As DELIVERED TOO ON THE 18TH DEC 2022 I phoned at least 8 times for you to then release the payment and despite all the aggressive behaviour from the buyer you promised you would explore and resolve the issue- after all both postal sites in the UK and the Netherlands showed as 'delivered on the 18th December. ' Finally you were about to close the case in my favour and release the money, as indeed you admitted the above was correct- and in the next week you overturned it, as the buyer was again nasty on the phone to you. How can I ever sell in confidence on your site again, when, as a seller- I HAVE NO SUPPORT AND LOSE NOT ONLY MY EXPENSIVE CHANEL MEDALLION BAG BUT ALSO- the MONEY THAT YOU GAVE BACK TO THE BUYER AFTER PROMISING ME THE SELLER- YOU WERE GOING TO CLOSE CASE DUE TO STATUS SHOWING AS DELIVERED?.... THIS WHOLE MATTER HAS BEEN LONG. ARDUOUS, DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM DIFFERENT AGENTS AND A RUDE, AGGRESSIVE BUYER I HAVE HAD THE unfortunate experience of having to deal with for 6 whole weeks I am lost dismayed and disappointed you cancelled this order. NOW I HAVE NO MONEY - 510 EUROS AND I PAID TO POST IT = ANOTHER 35 = SO I HAVE LOST 545 EUROS AND AN EXPENSIVE CHANEL BAG WORTH ANOTHER 500 EUROS=1000 and NO BAG. the buyer has been protected, catered to and refunded. The seller - Myself- HAS Nothing. No BAG and NO MONEY. my 3 CHILDREN HAVE MISSED OUT THIS CHRISTMAS
Catawiki 1 star review on 29th December 2022 Catawiki 1 star review on 29th December 2022
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
You are not listening to buyers and when a seller don’t want a bad review you only listen to the excuses of them and you withdraw the negative review without Listening to the buyer. We had two bad experiences with art pro where we had to wait several weeks on our paintings they apologized to us that they didn’t send it and when we complaint suddenly it is the problem of fedex unfortunately i have contacts with fedex and they delivered even faster than normal the problem is the spanish art conmpany is not handing over this is really bad and won’t buy aanything anymore and won’t recommend you anymore
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
Pieces of S**t. They give you way lower value on your items so you can sell them on their platform and Rob you for the commision on top of that.
Catawiki 1 star review on 7th December 2022 Catawiki 1 star review on 7th December 2022 Catawiki 1 star review on 7th December 2022
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
The site claims to have experts who evaluate the lots but I've seen certain sellers selling fake antiques at exorbitant prices there for literally years. They allow no communication with the seller at all so you can't inquire about lots prior to purchase or ask for additional pictures. Basically they are just another ebay, minus some features. And for this you pay a 9% buyers auction fee. You can find some real stuff there, but buyer beware!
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Posted 1 year ago
Very authentic site to buy special items(Products)
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
Bought what I thought was a genuine branded item in good faith. Turned out not to be genuine. Catwiki said that it was genuine based on photos. I offered to send them the item but they did not want to know. The seller offered to refund me saying that they did not realise that it was fake. Catawiki treated me like I was in the wrong when I was the victim. Terrible customer service. Be very careful of Catawiki.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
Catawiki is a FRAUD WEBSITE FROM NETHERLANDS violating consumer rights everywhere - AVOID!!! They sold me a broken watch with a broken crown (UK, London-based buyer, order 28454571). Sent them a video of the broken watch and asked for a full refund. Also left a negative review for the seller. Customer support ignores UK consumers rights like it doesn't exist, they refused to help and provide the refund, they even modified my review from negative to neutral "based on careful follow up with the buyer" !!!! What a fraud, all reviews are being modified by staff and not real! Have checked the seller also, appears to have sold more than 1000 watches on their platform with no company behind. I believe it could be stolen product and money laundering via Catawiki platform, with Catawiki and their executives knowingly (and illegally) supporting this. Have informed their CEO, CFO, Founder and plan to speak with their investors, because Catawiki is violating consumer rights in all markets they are live, and becoming a fraud/money laundering platform for stolen products. I also plan to take all legal action available in UK, Netherlands or anywhere else for that matter. How is this allowed in Europe?? Insane!
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
A bad joke. They want that seller sell the items under the market value sa the charge commission and take your money. Keep away.
Catawiki 1 star review on 9th November 2022
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
Unreliable and full of fake sellers, you pay your money for bids you win and find out the goods never existed. Catawiki hold your funds in a non Escrow account for over a month before you have a chance to recover it and only after much correspondence and the need to notify the Police of their actions. They offer to resolve queries in 2 working days and yet never do. They have a live chat that never works. Avoid these thieves at all cost. They are under investigation here in the Netherlands.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
Catawiki is a complete scam. I bought an item, it never arrived. I contacted the seller who ignored me, I contacted Catawiki who did nothing. After months and months of trying to get my money back, Catawiki refused. They will not answer emails, they will not listen to complaints. The site is an utter scam. I wish I had read the reviews, and believe me there are thousands of them reporting the same. DO NOT BUY from this site.
Catawiki 1 star review on 6th November 2022 Catawiki 1 star review on 6th November 2022 Catawiki 1 star review on 6th November 2022 Catawiki 1 star review on 6th November 2022 Catawiki 1 star review on 6th November 2022
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
Catawiki is rated 1.3 based on 548 reviews