Heritage Auctions — Local services in New York

UPDATE 01/24/2025: I've updated my star rating because the company finally went above and beyond to make things right. It all came down to one employee who’s clearly committed to the company’s reputation and its customers. A huge shoutout to Kesha Holmes-Smith, Client Services Manager! She truly understands customer service and deserves special recognition—a raise, promotion, or both! I dealt with almost every department, and she was the only one who stood up for excellence. The company is incredibly lucky to have such a dedicated and talented team member. ORIGINAL REVIEW I regret having to write this review, but my experience with Heritage Auctions has been deeply disappointing on multiple levels.

First, they listed an item in their auction on their website and emails for over a month. I was the winning bidder, but after the auction, I was informed it was a mistake, and the item wasn’t meant to be sold. While they refunded my money, this incident was a significant distraction both financially and mentally. How does an auction house go through the entire process of photographing, describing, promoting, and auctioning an item, only to say, "Oops, just kidding"? It was shockingly unprofessional.

Second, they misrepresented an item due to a failure to verify its authenticity. To me, this is the cornerstone of any auction house’s credibility. Buyers trust an auction house to do the due diligence that ensures the items they are bidding on are authentic. Otherwise, what separates an auction house from eBay? In this case, I overpaid for an item because of their incorrect description. Initially, they refused to issue a refund, claiming the description was accurate. It wasn’t until I provided proof of their error that they reluctantly refunded my money. This lack of diligence and accountability undermines trust and goes against the very reason people choose to buy from an auction house.

Lastly, the final straw came when I submitted a pre-auction bid and later requested to withdraw it weeks before the auction. Unfortunately, their team member, Stephanie Bowen, was entirely nonresponsive to my initial email asking to withdraw the bid. Her delayed response came only after the auction had already taken place, which made the situation unnecessarily complicated. Had she replied promptly, this issue could have been resolved with minimal effort. Adding to the frustration is the double standard—they had no problem retracting an auction piece I had already won, but they refused to extend me the same courtesy when I asked to withdraw my bid.

If you value accurate item descriptions, verified authenticity, and competent customer service, this is not the auction house for you. My experience has been riddled with frustration, unresponsiveness, and a lack of professionalism, and I cannot recommend...

I thought it was a fraud until my painting arrived unannounced two weeks late and over a month after it was won. Start to finish, this was the worst auction experience ever. Look elsewhere.

I won an auction. I received the typical invoice the following day. The invoice was itemized, but the total did not add up. For example, the painting was $100. Buyers premium was $25. Shipping was $10. The total was $140 (should have been $135). I emailed them that it didn’t add up. Two days later I received an identical invoice. Again, I emailed them saying it didn't add up. Over a week later, they finally disclosed that there was an additional and undisclosed fee because I used a 3rd party bidding program. After stating that this was unethical, disingenuous, and borderline fraud, they took the undisclosed premium off the invoice. Almost two weeks after winning the auction, I finally received the correct invoice. I sent a wire the following day. I emailed a day later to confirm the wire was received. After 2 days of no response, I called the number listed on the invoice. It just rang and rang. I found another number on the email chain. It just rang and rang. I then went to the website and called a number, which just rang and rang. My stomach started to churn as I was sure to have been scammed. A fourth number finally got through to an answering machine that routed me to another answering machine. I left a message. Two days later I finally received a call back saying the wire was received. An email followed that up as well and added that it would be shipped out “within days” and that tracking info would be provided upon shipment. After 10 days, I emailed again asking about the status. The following is what I was told, “Per our terms and conditions, we have 7-10 days for shipping, and we are still within that time frame.” I reminded her that she said it would be shipped out within days, but regardless, it has already been 10 days. After not receiving anything for 2 more weeks, I emailed again, “where is my stuff?” They checked the tracking info that was never sent to me and noted it had been delivered the week prior. Come to find out, they sent it to the wrong person at a very large office building. It had been sitting in the shipping dept for over a week. Total incompetence, but at least it...

Let's be specific...Jason Simonds took a set of my cards including a 1929 lou gehrig, a couple of rare 60s stars (McCovey white 1968 etc) and a collection of 1956 topps in decent condition, certainly not gradable but quality and with stars.

He told me he was going to send me a copy of my contract, and I still don't have it, this was going back to late October of 2024 and i am writing this review in March...his supervisor "chris" also said he would send it but it is still not sent.

One of the problems is that Jason put my email address in the system wrong.  I have followed up with them a number of times to get it corrected because I was locked out of my own auctions with no way to monitor their progress.

He promised me that he would market them and group them in a specific way in the auction, but he just dumped them all into a single lot with sloppy photos.

Honestly, the results were unspectacular, but also not much less than generally disappointing.  I do about the same on ebay.

Here is the kicker.  I was PROMISED a number of times that the grading was covered as a buyer expense.  honestly, it was only $60, but it was CLEAR in conversation after conversation confirmed over again.  I am NOW being told that he SAID (not that he misspoke, or intentionally omitted!!!) to mention that they cover the cost UNTIL the auction is completed.  That would be perfectly acceptable to me, but to suggest that i misHEARD is just a lie.

I asked to speak with his supervisor, CHRIS, who said "...I think we are done here" and I said, "I think we are.

I do NOT see a "Chris" employed by the company in any capacity in the list of employees, and I have the feeling that Jason just called me and offered a different name.  NOW I am locked out of my account, and have no access to my contract,...