Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/22/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I won 13 different lots from auction on 9/23/25. Lots were described as 1oz gold coins and bars as well as 1 oz silver coins and rounds. Had to wire $8852.95 for payment. Received items about a week later, all 13 were obviously fake and counterfeit. I contacted **** at auction company, he told me they weren't responsible for authenticating items and basically said tough luck! After some more back and forth, they agreed to refund my bid amount only which amounts to seventy-five percent of total cost. They would not return (15 percent buyers premium or (10%handling fee. I received check for $6948.00 . They owe me $1904.95, but refuse to make it right! Please help!

  Business Response

  Date: 10/27/2025

  Response to BBB Complaint ID # ********
  From: Iowa Surplus Auctions (ISA)
  Date: October 27, 2025
  Dear **** ******** and BBB Review Team,
  We appreciate the opportunity to formally respond to Mr.***** ********* complaint. Iowa Surplus Auctions has reviewed all records,emails, invoices, and terms in connection with this transaction and would like to provide the following factual explanation.
  
  1. Background of the Transaction
  Mr. ******** participated in our September 23, 2025 online-only auction hosted on *************.
  He placed bids on ***************************************** photos. Each listing included multiple disclaimers stating:
  Items may be graded or ungraded, authentic or reproduction.
  Gold, silver, platinum, and other metal content was not tested or verified.
  All sales are final and sold AS IS / WHERE IS with no warranty of authenticity or merchantability.
  Mr. ******** wired $8,852.95 (winning bids + 15% buyers premium + 10% handling + tax + shipping).
  
  2. Complaint and Company Response
  After delivery, Mr. ******** alleged that some items appeared counterfeit. He contacted our office on October 4, 2025,claiming he had performed his own magnet test. As we clearly explain in every listing, we do not authenticate or test metals and buyers must rely solely on the auction photographs when determining value or authenticity before bidding.
  Even though our written Terms and Conditions expressly state no refunds, returns, or chargebacks under any circumstances, management offered a good-faith resolution beyond our contractual obligation.
  On October 6, 2025, **** from our office offered to refund Mr. ********* entire bid amount of $6,948.00, provided that all items were returned within 3 business days.
  Mr. ******** accepted this offer in writing at 4:40 PM on the same day and confirmed he would ship the items back.
  Upon receipt of the returned lots, we promptly issued the refund check for $6,948.00 as agreed.
  This payment fully satisfied our written settlement with the buyer.
  
  3. Terms and Conditions Acknowledged by the Bidder
  When registering to bid, every participant must click I Agree to our legally binding Auction Terms & Conditions, which state in relevant part:
  1) All items sold AS IS WHERE IS with no guarantees or warranties.
  2) No refunds or returns for any reason including authenticity or buyers remorse.
  3) Bidder is fully responsible for determining the condition and authenticity of any item before bidding.
  4) Iowa Surplus Auctions does not test or authenticate coins, cards,jewelry, or precious metals.
  5) Gold, silver, platinum, copper, gold-gilded, gold-layered,silver-plated, or electroplated terms are descriptive only and not guarantees of metal content or purity.
  6) Any refund allowed at the auction companys sole discretion must occur within 72 hours of receipt and does not include buyers premium,handling, tax, or shipping fees paid to third parties.
  These same conditions are posted permanently on our website and on every ***** auction page under Terms & Conditions.
  
  4. Legal Basis and Good-Faith ******************* was disclosed as non tested, not authenticated, and as-is.The buyers bid forms a binding contract. Nevertheless, we voluntarily went beyond policy by refunding 100 percent of his bid value instead of enforcing the 25 percent cancellation/administrative fee we are entitled to under paragraph 2 of our terms.
  The $1,904.95 Mr. ******** demands represents buyers premium, handling, and third-party shipping charges, all of which are specifically designated as non-refundable fees used to pay independent vendors.These funds were already remitted and cannot be recovered.
  
  5. Documentation Supporting Our Position
  Email from Abby ************************ dated October 6 at 2:59 PM offering a refund of the bid amount.
  Email reply from ***** ******** dated October 6 at 4:40 PM accepting the offer.
   Refund check for $6,948.00 CONFIRMED RECEIVED BY Complainant mailed to customer after receipt of merchandise.
  ******************** clearly document that a mutual agreement was reached and fulfilled in full.
  
  6. Conclusion
  Iowa Surplus Auctions acted in good faith, communicated promptly, and provided a refund well beyond our legal and contractual requirements. Mr. ******** acknowledged and accepted that resolution in writing. No further refund is due.
  We respectfully request that this complaint be marked ***************** acted in good faith and fulfilled agreement.
  Please contact us if additional documents or screenshots are required.
  Sincerely,
  Matt
  Iowa Surplus Auctions
  *******************************************
  **********************
  ?? ************
  ?? ***************************************
  Website: *********************
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/23/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 8/22/24 I went online for a sportscard auction, with the company Iowa surplus auctions. I have done numerous online auctions in the past 18 months, with other businesses, using ***** for online software. For this auction I read the bidding notice which lays out the financial obligation(s), which is a 15% premium fee,3% credit card fee and shipping cost. I won 135 lots/cards for an amount of $147. My invoice on 8/23 said I owed $542.56. I sent an email to the business asking about the invoice. I received an email back stating that the company gave me a $3/card discount because of my large winning lots. I called and talked to **** who said that a $5/card fee is standard business and that if I read the bidder registration it clearly shows that. I disagreed that it is specified anything about that and asked about the $75.95 shipping fee, which he said covers his cost. He kept emphasizing about not reading the registration requirements. After spending about 20 minutes, my wife and I found one line in section 10 saying this cost. Also his math doesn't add up $147-cards, $270-handling fee, $75.95 shipping, $22.05 -surcharge and $11.76 tax for my total of $526.76,not the $542.56 the invoice says. I contacted hi-bid (software company that administers auction) . Spoke with ******* who said that there seems to be several inflated costs/charges. My feeling is the cost should be $147 for cards, $26.46 premium, $10-$15 shipping and $10.29 tax for roughly $196.75. You read the bidder agreement and see how hidden /difficult it is to notice this one line about this $5/card fee, which, in my opinion, doesn't need a top-loader that **** said was the reason for the charges.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2024

  Mr. ***** registered for our auction, he agreed to the terms and conditions of the auction, he choose to bid and win items. All the terms was clearly listed and we have responded to him via email and highlighted all this in auction but he has filed this complaint and we are responding to it. He should have been charged per terms and conditions a handling free of $5 per card for all the cards he bought plus postage + packaging.  So he should have been charged 115 cards @ $5 per card for total of $575.00 handling fees per listed terms but since he bought so many we gave him a discount of $3 per card and charged him $2 per card for total of $270 so he received a discount of $405 this was a huge discount and we gave to him in good faith for buying so many items. When we use 3rd party shipping this money is paid out anyways and not money we make and fees we pay are $2 per card plus $1 top loader fee and a % of sale so we actually lost money on this and the complaint isn't even valid against us its about 3rd party shipping. So We have lost money on this already, that plus shipping but this gets worse Mr. ***** has threatened us to give him a discount or else and a refund but we have already given him a $405 discount, but wait it gets even worse he has filed a fraudulent charge back to get his money back and he had the cards. This is theft and Fraud and we will be pursuing this Matter further and because we have already provided a massive discount he is trying to abuse the system and make complaint's.  He has committed fraud and theft. He has been reported and this matter will be referred for legal action as well as collections for his actions. We are very transparent and all out auction terms are clearly listed, He didn't have to register, he didn't have to bid, HE choose too. This INVAILD and False complaint should be removed. We have well documented I put together a file with one lot showing where everything is but all 115 same place in auction

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/16/2024

   
  Complaint: 22183904
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The auction details never mentioned this $5.00 per card fee. The whole auction agreement would take ***** minutes to read. There is one line that is buried in the bottom of the agreement and if packaged properly, the cards wouldn't need top loaders. The shipment has been sent twice and sent back twice. First, through **** and the second time *** which was returned on September 6th. Four photos have been provided. Two of them are the unopened/returned items. One picture is from ****** website showing the fractional cost of top loaders. The last picture is from Elite Auction out of ************** and the $13.96 shipping compared to the $75.95 shipping that was charged from Iowa Surplus Auctions. I have spoken to the credit card company and currently they have credited my account. I have spoken with ***** (software company) that manages auctions. Their representative says they do not control what individual auctions charge but they are concerned with the extra/excessive fees. I have done 3-4 auctions with various other auction sites and have never had this fraudulent situation. Even on the final page of the invoice, the amounts charged do not add up.  Iowa Surplus Auctions is running a fraudulent auction(s) to scam customers into paying exorbitant charges. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

  Business Response

  Date: 09/26/2024

  We have provide all the detail this was listed clearly in the auction and this matter will end up in litigation if ***** files a fraud credit card charge and will be sent to collections. This was clear posted and clearly listed We responded and he has made baseless claims and we have provided the auction proof. Because this will end in litigation we will not able to respond further.