Cooper Barrington LLP

Terrible. Sold two items with them, which came to £30 total. Far below their estimates. They charged me over half of that amount in fees. I was expecting their 20%~ commission as this is the same for most auction houses, however I have never had an auction house charge me around £2.50 per item fees on top of that (which I was not informed about beforehand) that they then charge VAT on, and another £2.40 to 'send me a cheque' which I had to go and pick up.My fees on £30 ended up being over £15.I also never had any information from them about when my items would be auctioned, I never had an invoice through after they did sell, never had ANY contact from them at all other than their email advertising and had to go to their auction house twice to chase it up after a month. Items sold for far less than their estimates, could have made more money taking them to cash converters after they'd hammered me with fees.For the amount of hassle and the VERY high fees I would definitely not use them again, I have used four other auction houses in North Wales and not one of them charged all these extra fees on top of the normal commission.

First time I have successfully bid in an auction ! Had read the description of the books I wanted and expected them to be somewhat less than described.Received them marked fragile" but subjected to Parcel Force special packing test (how easy is it damaged ? ) Thanks to Cooper Barrington anti-destruction experts the books were undamaged and better than described in the auction prospectus.- so pleased-in fact overwhelmed - I look forward to reviewing their future auctions with great confidence.Thank you

I’ve won a few bids at Cooper Barrington and never had any issues...always received my purchases safely and in good time... polite and helpful staff.. that done a great job at helping me auctioning my items too.Many thanks,Michael.

i have read a few posts on here and a similar thing as happened to me that as happened to other people, which enforces what a crooked place this auction house is, i to bought from overseas, i was stuck there because of covid , i told my situation, they said they understood, when i got back in UK i chased my items up, i sent four emails got no reply, when i finally got through to speak to the boss, i was casully told they had resold everything!oh bit of a shock as i had asked many times where are my items? then i was told theres no money either, the sale was last november, i want to make it clear i never recieved any correspondence about reselling or charging me for storage or a settlemount account, still today i have recieved nothing,i also want to thank all the other auction houses who i bought off whilst also overseas and kept my goods until i could collect, rydale, darwins, calder valley, railtons, golding young mawar,these guys need investigating

I purchased an item (valued £150-200) online which the auction house wrongly sent to my old address even though they had my new address on file. I was distraught enough to drive to my old address where upon the new occupants said they had not received the item & happily signed a paper to that effect, a copy of which I sent to Royal Mail & after which they eventually agreed to pay compensation. They sent the cheque to Cooper Barrington as they were the 'clients' (i.e. they had posted the item), Cooper Barrington duly cashed the cheque & after 6 weeks (the partners were on holiday according to Mike their 'despatcher') & 4 phone calls from me, I received a cheque which was £27 less than the compensation agreed by Royal Mail. After 3 further phone calls I was told by Imogen (one of the two partners) that 'they' ('they' being her father Colin, the senior partner), were 'holding' the £27 on my account with them as they had sent me a cheque for the original amount I had paid them for the item plus postage. Despite me pointing out that I wished to have the £27 forwarded to me as this was the outstanding amount of the compensation It was determined I should receive by their chosen courier Royal Mail, Imogen remained adamant it would remain in 'my account' with them where it would be deducted from the next item I successfully bid for at a future auction at Cooper Barrington's. I regard this action as tantamount to blackmail in that they clearly are 'withholding monies for future gain' through premium payments. It is not the amount that grieves me but the principle although, who knows what amounts Cooper Barrington may deem fit to withhold in future as there is no mention of this type of action in their terms & conditions. Hence my rating, it being the only action I can take 'against' this auction house given I know of no 'governing body' I could turn to in order to 'investigate' this draconian exploitation of clients. I leave others to decide whether or not they would feel trusting enough to bid online at Cooper Barrington given my experience.I write now some time after Cooper Barrington's reply to my original email above, the delay being due to ill health, it now being eight months since the auction in question.Cooper Barrington say in their reply that We know there are inaccuracies in your account.." I would be obliged if they could be more specific as that sentence in their response is tantamount to calling me a liar

Always good to deal with. Nothing is to much trouble for Mike, who organises payment and collection. Even though it is a different experience due to Covid, with online auctions only, it is still well worth giving them a go.

Absolutely appalling. I bought a pewter tankard. Not only do I feel it was run up to my maximum as the floor bidder" had to withdaw their last bid as it went over my maximum. The piece was extensively damaged with the base filled up with " bog".Don't bid unless you can view the item personally."

High commission rates whether buying or selling. Some good items but beware that friend was totally ripped off when buying some jewellery items which were not as described in catalogue. Poor hygiene levels in refreshment area with drinks served in dirty/ chipped mugs. Nightmare for residents regarding parking all over pavements in village when auction on.

I buy online from many English Auction rooms and Coopers is the most honest and easy to do business with. Shipping is always very reasonable,unlike many others who charge like wounded bulls.

Had to send them SEVERAL emails for them to ever get back to me about whether or not they shipped my paid for items. Turns out they did not (this was over a month after I sent payment). Do not think I will be using them again as there are many better auction services who communicate and provide better service.