$105US postage warning

Rick · December 2016

For any prospective buyers, hereâ€™s a word of warning about buying from Vintage Vin Auctions through Invaluable.

I purchased two daybills at auction for a combined cost of $50 and was then confronted with a $105US postage bill. When I saw the invoice I clicked on the link at the bottom to explain that this was a ridiculous cost and Iâ€™d be happy with USPS postage which normally costs $25-$30.

I received no response.

After four days on the Invaluable system your credit card is automatically debited, which I didnâ€™t realise. As soon as I saw this I was furious and again notified Invaluable/Vintage Vin. At least they responded this time but only to say the posters had been shipped and there was nothing they could do about the postage cost.

I have never heard of postage costing so much, and to enforce such a fee on a buyer is simply a rip-off and terrible customer service.

They say they are posting `at costâ€™. I sent other examples of good sellers like emovieposter.com offering various postage options, and various ebay sellers who post from the US to Australia for $25-$30. Iâ€™ve received no more responses, which is lousy customer service for an obviously upset customer.

My advice â€“ avoid!

David · December 2016

woah!

Highway robbery. Was it sent courier and included insurance?

John · December 2016

That's cheap compared to the quote I received to ship some daybills from Melbourne to the Gold Coast. The auction house don't send anything themselves but they recommend Pack and Send. I was given a quote of AUD$331.03 to send the posters. It was cheaper to fly to Melbourne and pick them up.

theartofmovieposters · December 2016

Oh man that is crazy!

Had a similar experience and now I am really wary bidding on these smaller auction houses.

Hope the posters were worth it!

John, next time let me know...maybe I can pick up and send on for you...I suspect I know who you are talking about

John · December 2016

Thanks Vesna. I'm sure you can guess

At the other end of the scale, I purchased a big lot from Scammels in Adelaide. They packed everything really well and sent the package out quickly for a very reasonable price.

Paul · December 2016

This is why I don't use Invaluable. They want your Card info up front, so even if you change your mind and don't bid, they would still have your details. This in my book is all wrong, so I've never used them.

Sven · December 2016

Most of the auctions have buyers premium of 20% abd VAT of 20%.

Rick · December 2016

i don't think i'll use Invaluable again. The only other time I'm pretty sure the poster was a repro, though it was cheap so not a huge worry.
I don't know how they have been posted in this case, the company won't respond now. Hopefully they turn up safe but i would not have bid if i had any inkling they would be such a postage ripoff. I didn't realise the credit card system - but i do now!

Bruce · December 2016

There are LOTS of auctions that survive on "one-time" buyers (and consignors). After they get ripped off they never buy again, but meanwhile the auction is on to ripping others off. That is why such auctions often take out large ads, because of their endless need for fresh meat.

Paul · December 2016

Sven said:

Most of the auctions have buyers premium of 20% abd VAT of 20%.

We've just had an Auction over here that was charging 33% + VAT..??? Getting really silly now.. there was also postage from a third party that would also have been added to that. The Lazy Bastards couldn't be arsed to pack and send stuff themselves...

David · December 2016

theartofmovieposters said:

John, next time let me know...maybe I can pick up and send on for you...I suspect I know who you are talking about

This system is one I can vouch for, Matt once kindly picked up a poster from an auction house and sent it to me.

$105US postage warning

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