Simon Charles — Local services in Stockport

Nice thing about this auction is you get things cheaper but when go to pick things up from auction centre nightmare lack of staff. Reception people don't even print invoices sometime that you go straight to your collection room 1,2,basement and wait for your turn then when somebody will come to get your things if you lucky then maybe in 20 minute minimum so he will take your invoice number and then he goes to computer either on his room or sometime he runs back to reception to print your invoice then he strat picking your things up from shelves . So always print your invoice from home . Sometimes even if you have printed invoice they still ask you to go to reception to get collection invoice. Look out for collection timing because you should have 2 to 3 hours in hand to collect something. Not much staff on each collection room .I have seen some regular people picking their stuff on their own but you need to know where the right stuff is that you have won. Some time if you win some aution on friday you can pick on monday but sometime that option doesn't show up that's mean when you come to collect on Monday 60 pounds fine doesn't matter whatever you bought big or small. Its jackpot for them already paid 60 pounds for small 5 boxes of computer motherboards how much storage space they will take but they have to charge doesn't matter. All computer related components are from mostly these big retailers dump that are luckly working most of the time these are faulty don't go crazy if you see NVidia gtx 1080 for 100 bid their is 10% chance it work but 90% it was faulty most of motherboard,ram,power supply,processor are faulty .please do not buy any wireless product like wireless mouse,wireless headphone,wireless keyboard because they always missing usb adapter and they never ever take a picture that shows usb adapter is included or not total 100% waste of money. If you luckly bought a working product when you go to collect it they will never find that product and they will give you refund. Once I won a bid for acer 27inc 144htz gaming monitor for 36 pounds and in description it was saying working guess what they didn't have it when I go there collect it and on next day bidding same like that or might be that one again on bidding and sold for 70 pounds it happens .even if you get good deal still you need luck as well ,because staff have no idea what going on where things are how to do stuff its chaos in there when you go their to collect .I only now bid if item is for dilevery only .I am not going their to collect total waste of time . And on thursday or Wednesday they close early for collection do not buy anything on that day because .you go that day you will see queue to just go into their parking its is about 30 min waiting in car minimum. it's fairly small car park it's around 30 cars can fit I guess so people queue up outside their door if you get lucky you will be free in 3 hours . On saturday they do not pick their phone so don't bother calling them at .any of 0161 they don't pick at all. In shorts it's real pain to get your stuff after winning auctions in your home on your sofa while watching tv. But to get it you need almost 3 hours plus your travel wherever you coming from to get your stuff. Best thing is if you are free then buy things from auction .why I said free . Because before any auction you have 1 hour or 2 hours window in morning time to see what's up for tonight bidding so go in morning check all stuff note down all lots number that you thinks are worth buying and then bid at night 8 or 9pm then next day collect it from auction centre. So if you working you have shift in morning or afternoon and you live far from auction centre and without going through all auction item yourself you think you will bid and make money. Well good luck not gonna happen .not in electronic items. Most of computer related item or electrical items are I experienced are faulty warranties return or customer return or damaged,missing item,broken, very rarely you find something working with all parts included if you...

I have bought at 4 auctions now, and this is my experience so far. It is clearly a very busy and high turnover business so I can understand that they want smooth and quick collection but the website seems to want to put people off with threats of fines etc given the very tight opportunity to collect. My first auction went well, collection was relatively easy. Be aware that there are a variety of collection sites - I was diverted a couple of times. As others have stated, some staff are really quite rude but the person who dealt with my first collection was pleasant and helpful. The goods were fine given that they were customer returns, so quite happy overall. My second auction was for vouchers, and was postal delivery only. I got my vouchers promptly by recorded delivery post, and again was very happy. Next I did 2 auctions which ended an hour apart so I was waiting for the 2nd "ok to collect" message so that it could all be done in one trip - this is when I discovered that they have sites 20 minutes drive apart which caused me some hassle. If it helps other buyers, download your invoice and check for venue as they do not highlight it being different from the address at the top. On my second collection the staff were again pleasant but obviously pressured. I received an incorrect item (a different lot number) and another contained only one set of the item rather than the 4 sets described. Whilst they do say to check at collection, it is very difficult as there is a queue and the boxes are sealed so taking a knife or scissors would be needed and more people would be waiting longer. I have emailed them regarding the wrong and incomplete items, and will update the review when I have their response. In future I will take time to open the boxes....UPDATE - I received an email within 24 hours (probably a standard one) saying that if I return the items within 5 days they will look into it to see if I am proven correct. One item is not worth posting back but I will return the other as it is lightweight, and see. UPDATE - 3 weeks later they have not acknowledged receipt of the parcel despite me sending photos of it and proof of posting which has been good money after bad.After I updated my review they gave me missing parcel At my second pick up 20 minutes drive away staff were quite dismissive and I had to interrupt several times to get attention - to be fair, they were busy and not just standing gabbing. My item was not there and seemed to have been given to someone else. I was offered and decided to take an unboxed and open version of the item given the distance traveled and time invested (had stood around 20-30 mins). It is an electrical item, so still to see if it works. UPDATE - it appears to charge but when disconnected to use seems dead so will list it on freecycle for parts but that money is lost. I am sure that there are good buys to be had but perhaps think about it as a bit of a gamble given that these are mainly returns. I think that if taking a punt on a larger item eg white goods that you should have a means of disposing of the item should you wish to as they charge you to leave it there. Just my experience, but I hope it...

I really ought to feel as outraged as some of the other people who’ve made comments on here – I bought my last washer from Simon Charles in October 1999 and it died in February 2015 and so I only got a mere 15 years use from it (and it was a hot fill) – should I insist on a refund ? - because some of these reviews suggest I’d be justified in asking for one…

Life must have been so much simpler for Simon Charles before the internet – people went to the auction, looked at the stuff and then decided whether or not to bid. There was no possibility then of anyone saying “it doesn’t look like the photo”. I’ve been to the live auctions and bidders in the room who’ve looked at the item drop out while the bidding continues from those on the internet who’ve chosen to push the price so high based on a small online photo. Think about it - these are people from different ends of the country who haven’t looked at what they’re bidding on, thinking “it must be worth that much as someone else is bidding even more than me”. It’s called auction fever. The winner turns up to collect the item and then realises that they've been silly in bidding so much. If I were them I'd feel silly and angry. I’d kick the dog if I had one. So they write a bad review complaining that they overbid and putting all the blame on Simon Charles. Why tell the whole planet that you have such poor judgment?

I used to be on Stockport Council’s committee that dealt with trading standards and I’ve found nothing to make me think there's a problem and I can state that I’ve not seen any deliberately misleading description of any item. For example; I watched a truck unloading with “new” goods a couple of weeks ago. One of the pallets had “faulty TVs” on a large label attached to the shrink wrapped pallet. Sure enough, the exact same shrink wrapped pallet was shown on an auction a few days later described as “pallet of faulty TVs”. Remember that there is only room for one photograph and a brief description on the web and that’s to show what the item looks like. Someone has complained that the photos don’t show damage. In that one photo that’s shown online I want to see what the fireplace looks like and not just a close up photo of a dent in some bit of wood leaving me no idea if it's worth making the trip to look at the fireplace. If you’re interested in the item then go and look at it and check the real condition of the item - not how you imagine and hope it to be. There are plenty of plug sockets around the place and the staff will do their best to help.

The auction goods are located over three floors of what used to be a mill, so it’s not possible to let people take goods out using the narrow mill stairs as those stairs would produce permanent work for twenty accident claims lawyers. So, there can be a wait and you should allow for it. All the staff, including the floor manager, work their bottoms off and I’ve found them all to be helpful and friendly. Management are also helpful if there's a problem.

If you choose to bid without viewing just remember that it’s a gamble, but don’t blame the bookie...