Altair Auctions Reviews

I bid on and won an item through the Invaluable website on Essex Auctions a sister company of Altair Auctions owned by Mr. Benjamin Wang. They tried to con me into using their own shipper, Swift Norwood that charges ripoff prices. "!!!Shipping is completed by a third party shipper who will contact you by email after you pay for your invoice.
Please forward your credit card information to us by email or telephone each time you process a payment if would like to pay your bill by credit card." This is a misleading lie because Swift Norwood is NOT third party, they own it.
Essex was impossible to contact but weeks later I was finally informed by Altair Auctions that my auction win was lost by them and my money was refunded.
I did a little research on Benjamin Wang and was shocked by what I found. He has been investigated by the Department of Justice for misrepresentation and fraud, he has been charged with grand larceny and theft. "BEVERLY, Mass. An imperial jade-hilted Chinese sword - which sold for $1.4 million at a 2012 auction - was stolen by an Asian antiques and arts specialist" (Benjamin Wang) "from a prominent East Coast auction house and put up for sale in his newly-created auction gallery, according to a lawsuit filed in a Massachusetts court."
In addition to charges of grand larceny, the lawsuit further alleges Kaminski Auction Asian Specialist Benjamin (Yong) Wang not only stole the sword from his company, but also stole his clientele, fraudulently participated in a bid-rigging scheme and defrauded Kaminski clients."
This person appears to be completely disreputable and I would caution everyone to do their homework before doing business with Wang and his companies. There is more where this came from

I won a lot and paid for it, but the shipper told me that when he went to pick it up, the auction house claimed they couldn t find it. I then made several attempts to contact Altair, which did not respond. Fortunately, I had paid for my purchase with a credit card, so I put the matter into dispute . Altair apparently never responded to my credit card company, either, because the money was credited back to my account. What a way to do business! Also, the lot that I supposedly won purported to have a sterling provenance, from a major London dealer and subsequently a known private collection; I now wonder whether it ever existed at all - or were the description and pictures of that and certain other phantom lots just included in the catalog to generate interest in the sale. Whether Altair Auctions are crooks or merely incredibly incompetent, they should probably be avoided.

This auction sold me fake Chinese coins. I sent the coins for grading to NGC, returned to me as not genuine. I spent several hundred dollars. They got no punishment for that. Negative 5 stars from me.

This is cheating action house, never believe them. I won a bit and paid the money, but I never got my goods.

I recently bought a small wood chinese statue. The item was as described. The communication after the auction was good. The shipping quote they provide me was fair, the packing was very good, and the item arrived when I was told I would get it. I will buy from them again.

Interesting their website and catalog does not mention any owner, auctioneer or staff. Who are these people? Isn't there laws which prevent phantom companies from taking advantage of the public?