Bidder Reviews for Bonhams (226)

Good experience. Happy with the item and purchase.

This lot, which is the last thing that I bought from this auction house, absolutely reeks of mildew, which is proving impossible to remove, more than a month later, and should’ve been disclosed as part of the condition report. In fact, Bonhams continues to provide very poor or cursory condition reports, and only one photo of each lot! And requests for additional photos go unanswered. I don’t know what’s happened to Bonhams, but it’s not good.

Bonhams has been developing an amazing costumer centric culture over the last several years. I absolutely look forward to the quality of their auctions!

No hesitation to buy from again. Thank you for a seamless purchase and shipping.

The staff at Bonhams is always extremely helpful. Great to work with them.

Everything went well, and I would purchase again

Wow a 1905 Prestwich 35mm Camera. SO hard to find at a reasonable cost. Mission accomplished,

Excellent Transaction an definitely will do business again in the future

Great auction house, will buy there again.

Excellent items, great communication-thank you so much!

Exactly as described, thank you.

Having asked for a detailed condition report I was sent the same report already online. The lot had had a significant dent that wasn't reported. The most cursory condition report would have noted the problem. I would not have bid on the pc. had I known of the damage. I wrote to Bonham's to report the damage expecting them not to take any action but merely knowledge my complaint. They never responded. As other reviewers have mentioned the payment method is clumsy at best and the shipping quote they provided ridiculous, about four times that of the third party shipper I used. I would be very wary of this auction house.

I received a great customer service. Very professional staff. Easy payment process and helpful guys when I picked up the item. I can highly recommend Bonhams.

Originally I was worried to buy from abroad but they were ferry responsible, responsive and helpful in every way!!!

They charged me $1, 276.21 to ship one chair which was only wrapped up in a shipping blanket. Also, they do not disclose any damage or the condition of the items in their auctions.

Bonham's answered any questions very quickly and provided good photos. Good place to buy.

Bonhams L. A. was great to work with in all aspects of the process. I greatly appreciated all of their help and professionalism.

My review... being a first time bidder i had some questions.. like   being send to a = no, no signature. okay.. so then they offered.. i can waver my right on being send   "signed for".. i asked.. so yes.. can we send to a then?? here the answer...     We have repeatedly answered the question of your property being sent to P. O. . As this is now border lining on harassment, please to reach out to a 3rd party shipper to arrange collection.   Kind regards,     Mindy Client Services Administrator oh.. and how much was shipping 4 posters to germany? to the usa?? well   with BONHAMS 0ver 600 !! to germany and over 250 $to the usa!! yes.. no typo!! same kinda item same kinda Package with heritage... 25 .. yes.. that is 225 $less!!!!!   you tell me if i been had or not.

I was very unhappy with this new rule at Bonhams where you have one week to get your items picked up from their premises or else they start charging you storage fees. When you have to contact shippers for shipping quotes and then schedule them to pickup your pieces, it takes longer than 7 days to make this happen. I do not like doing business with companies that treat their customers like this and it will deter me from bidding with them in the future.

worst service

I have bought hundred of items through every auction house and this is by far my worst experience. I paid via wire after the close and the auction house refused to send my item and filed a complaint with LA for nonpayment. I no long want this item since it was won almost 2 months ago as of the posting of this review.

Be very careful costs are exhoborant. I was not told about shipping options until it was too late. I was led to believe that I only had one choice for shipping and it was only when I complained that I was given about 8 other names.

Excellent identification of items but not complete description of condition. One item I bought had a chip on the base that was not mentioned-not a big deal as I paid within the anticipated auction estimate. However, the one item that drew me to the auction sold for more than double the top estimated price. I was not the winning bidder, but if there had been undisclosed condition issues, I would not have been too pleased. I know it is up to the bidder to examine items before bidding but travel these days is so restricted that overseas bidders have to rely on the description provided. Strange as it may seem, the better dealers on Ebay provide multiple photos, including close ups of imperfections, so one has a better understanding of condition. Having said that, I was happy with what I purchased but I doubt I would bid online again-however I would attend in person if convenient. I also noted that winning bids, even after multiple bids, may not be accepted.

I am completely happy with my purchase.

Even though Terms and Conditions in LiveAuctioneers specify that credit card is acceptable form of payment, Bonhams does not accept credit card payment unless you have been a winning bidder with them before using their current bidding platform. Imagine my displeasure when they informed me that they could see that I had purchased from them previously in both the US and the UK, but could not accept my payment via credit card, because it was previous to their converting to this new bidders platform. Because I am not based in the UK, the only valid form of payment defaulted to wire transfer. My US-based bank did not recognize their wire transfer instructions and I had to override SWIFT number and address combination to accomplish payment. Additionally, they required an image of drivers license with shipping address on it for release of the item to shipper. Once the shipper picked it up, transfer to the US was rapid and painless. The hassle will make me think twice about ever bidding with them again.

Never had to work so hard for an auction house to take my money. Won’t take a credit card, have to mail a check, then need a copy of photo ID. it’s now been 21 days and they haven’t shipped.

Do not do business with this company. The after the sale service is terrible and their add on fees are so high that they are laughable esp. shipping. Not at all worth their add on. Unless the items are very rare and one of a kind, shop elsewhere, you'll find it all the dame and with far more reasonable add on expenses. Be patient. I have been in this business 40 years, trust my advice.

Won a vintage cardboard poster for $650. Shipping quote from auctioneer was $880! Yes it was oversized, but that quote was outrageous. Bonhams then suggested a UPS Store near the LA office as a recommended alternative. Took weeks of back and forth to get the payment sorted out, and the independent shipper set. Several days to get emails answered, both from Bonhams and the shipper. Phoning was an even more useless exercise. Bonhams responses never from the same person which makes a very disjointed/disconnected customer service system. Took over a month to receive the item. Impression left was that Bonhams doesn't feel responsive and dedicated customer service is a vital part of their business model. I deal with auction houses all over and this was by far the worst experience yet. Would only buy from them again if it's an item I absolutely have to have. Overall very disappointed. Would not recommend to others. If you do bid with them, be prepared.

I just want to say special THANK YOU TO "Eric and Toby" FOR YOUR HELP!!!