Lightning Auctions

I bought a work truck from here and I couldn’t be more happy with the customer services received by Kyle, Kyle handled everything very professional, upfront and very honest, he stood behind his word! The online auction was very user friendly and easy to set up an account, this business is very honest and up front, they went above and beyond with the service I received, thank you so much for the good business, looking forward to a repeat customer with lightning auction!

I have bought and sold items at lightning auctions when selling items they never seem to want to pay you. They tell you it takes four weeks after the auction to get your check but then you have to hound them for an addition week or two. They seem to always have an excuse for not paying you. I had one employee steel an item when I picked up my items. They never list items and decried them as broken and there answer to that is everything is sold as is. Compete lack of morals.

Beware if you’re selling items here, I’ve sold in several estate auctions and my experiences were almost identical in each one. It seems to me that their poor ethics are their typical M.O.
There is a ten dollar minimum that you pay to the auction house for every item or lot (multiple, similar items that sell as a group, making up one listing) that sells. So if your item/​lot sells for $ 10 you receive nothing. Anything above that $ 10 minimum sells at a percentage to the house and the rest to you. All of this is stated in their contract and typical of most auction houses. The issue arises when you bring in a lot (grouping) of items to be sold together. Lightning Auctions will break down the lot into several smaller groupings, even when you’ve specified how you want your items/​lots sold. Of course, they won’t tell you that they’ve broken down your lots, they just do it and when you look at the invoice of fees you’re paying you see your lots selling at low prices (duh, less items in a lot) and a $ 10 min X the number of lots sold. So instead of paying the auction house the percentage of one large lot, you’re paying $ 30 or $ 40 for 3 or 4 small lots. Sorry, but this is not an ethical practice. If you tell your customers you’re going to break up lots to increase your commission when they bring in their items to sell and still have a choice to not do business with you OK, but changing up lots after the customer has left with an understanding of how their items will be sold is unethical and dishonest.
If your items don’t sell you have something like 48hrs to pick them up, this is stated on the contract in a tiny, one line sentence. They certainly won’t point it out to you and if you ask about unsold items they’ll tell you verbally you can just pick them up… but nothing about a 48hr window. It takes the auction house 30 days to pay you for the items that did sell so it’s not like you can make a trip down there and pick up your money and unsold items at once. The problem here is that your unsold items will disappear into the depths of their warehouse, never to be seen again. No call to let you know they didn’t sell and ask if you’d like to relist them in the next auction, no communication at all. Ask them in person for your unsold items and you’re told no one can find them and it’s been longer than 48hrs. Must be nice to pilfer your customers items for your own personal benefit.
After buying here and selling here I was really confused. When I was bidding on items or lots some were selling through the roof, like double what they would sell for on Ebay. So I thought it would be great to sell through here, even after paying commission. But, my lots didn’t sell so high, not even remotely close for same type items. At first I thought maybe it’s just a slow weekend and not many people are online bidding but week after week no improvement. I watched closely what items or lots were selling for and there was such a discrepancy… wth? When I was dropping off lots I finally asked if I could bid on my own items and got the response you can do anything you want. The light bulb over my head finally went off… mystery solved. Again, completely unethical.
If you’re selling here do not ask the guy who takes in your items for advice on selling antiques in this auction house. He knows nothing about antiques and clearly doesn’t know what sells well at the auction he works at. Talk to the guys in the warehouse, they actually know what sells well and what doesn’t do so well… that is if you’re not bidding up your own items, then it will all sell well.
My last advice, follow up on your check! It’s been over 3 months since I’ve sold anything at Lightning Auctions and no check from my last listings. If you don’t stay on top of what they owe you and call them asking for your money you won’t ever get it… this policy is complete crap, no one should have to hunt down their money.

Not very nice people. Sold my car for less then reserve. Hung up on me on the phone. Finally Mr. Williams wrote me an iou but was nasty about it

I have had good and bad experience with Lightening Auctions.
I got my very first car here when I was 17. It was a green Suzuki with about 60,000 miles on it I got it for about $ 1,200. I had this car for about 3 years and it never gave me any issues. Since I had such a good experience with them I decided that it was time for some change and I wanted a newer car.
I went back three years later and got a 2006 Jaguar for about $ 5,000. It was clean and I fell in love with the exterior. A few days after driving it the turning signal lights went out. I replaced them. they went out again. It appeared that there was some trouble with the fuses. At the same time the car would not start when I turned the key and it made a terrible noise. It was very frustrating! I ended up spending a lot of money trying to fix this car. In the end, it was a piece of junk. I felt ripped off that they would sell junk like that. I guess I got lucky with my first car. I won’t recommend this pace or be purchasing anything else from them. It definitely is a gamble when purchasing from them, a gable I am not willing to take again.

I love this place! It is fun and fair. I have received some fabulous deals on rugs, beautiful furniture, and accessories. I have also purchased some stinkers. I have no one to blame but myself on the bad purchases, I didn’t go to see the merchandise before hand. It wasn’t what I thought it would be but what I wanted it to be. Bad decision. Like with any auction you must be informed and stay on top of your bids to do well.

BEWARE of Lightning Auction House! This place has tried to rip me off twice. They state that they will notify you if you have won the item. They didn’t notify me of an item that I was the highest bidder on, but charged my credit card for the full amount. I didn’t find out about this until I saw the item resold in this last weekends auction. I called them, and they refuse to return my money. I am aware of their guidelines on purchases and the times to the items up, but again, you can’t pick something up when you are not notified that you are the highest bidder.
I recommend NOT doing business with Lightning Auctions!!!

Beware bidders — I bid on a necklace. The photograph showed a necklace that was draped on a neck maniquen. The necklace dipped considerably below the neckline — and looked like it was about 26 inches long. When I picked it up the next day, I was given a cheap strand that was more like a choker. I protested that the necklace was not at all what was pictured on their web site. The clerk found the neck maniquen they used — it was not life size but a miniature. I pointed that out and then he said they listed the length on the web site. I must have missed that but when I got home I realized thye length that they listed was misleading also. The clerk claimed they listed the necklace as 18 inches long. I measured it and the stone part of the necklace was only 17 inches. This episode was a lesson to me that you can’t believe what you see on Lightning Auction’s web site. But at the same time, I think it is appalling that Lightining Auction would stoop so low as to use a minature maniquen and misrepresent the length of the necklace.

I bought an ’89 ford crown Vic a couple of years ago with 50,000 miles on it. It was one of the finest cars I have ever owned. I’ve regretted selling it ever since. The transaction was seamless, very friendly staff. What a great deal for me; bought it for $ 600 and sold it for 1,000!

i bought a car from them about a year and a half ago. it is the best car i have ever owned. it’s an older model, but i haven’t had to put hardly any money into it since i bought it (not counted normal wear and tear, also normal maintenance per my mechanic) and got a pretty good deal on it. i would recommend them in a heartbeat!!!

Lightning Auctions is a auction clearing House that sells estate and vehicle auctions. I have attended both auctions and have found that the vehicle auctions are a little bit on the expensive side of things. The vehicles are sold for retail or blue book. If you are looking for a really good deal, it might be a better idea to go somewhere else.
This place is a good location for antique auctions. I purchase a few items and have found that the best deals are on the online auctions.