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:04/24/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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 placed a manual bid of $2,350 on an auction for a Clippers Courtside Package on Charitybuzz. Despite a prior $2,500 bid already being on record, my lower bid was inexplicably accepted. Then, just 13 seconds later, the system escalated my bid to $2,750 via "Auto Bid" and assigned a $2,800 maximumnone of which I knowingly entered or confirmed.Their response claimed that multiple steps are required to place a bid and that bids are binding contractsbut the system's behavior contradicts both points. There was no prompt, warning, or confirmation for this auto-bid escalation. The platform accepted a lower bid, contradicted its own logic in other auctions (I have recorded proof), and marked the bid as Auto Bid with a robot iconproving it was system-triggered.Their response lacked professionalism (no name or title) and closed with a veiled threat about account restrictions. This has caused emotional stress, financial anxiety, and has undermined my trust in their platform, which is supposedly built around charitable values.Desired Resolution:Attachments:Screenshot showing the Auto Bid with robot icon Screenshot of normal manual bid history from another auction Screen recording of system rejecting lower bids in other contexts (unable to)Timeline analysis Consumers Statement:This issue is not just about one bid, its about system integrity. If I hadn't caught the inconsistency, I would have unknowingly paid more. How many others have faced the same? A charitable platform should never create confusion or fear to extract funds.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/24/2025

  Thank you very much for reaching out with these concerns. We're glad our team and Director of ******************* was able to connect in more detail, after you submitted this complaint and after we had the chance to complete our full review of your case. We understand your frustration with the bidding process and confusion around the Max *** system but can assure you again integrity is incredibly important to us and vital to the success of our platform. 
  
  Our team works hard to service thousands of bidders and raise as much awareness as possible for our charity partners and their respective missions. Without the trust of our customers and accuracy in their bidding, this simply wouldn't be possible. If there is ever a genuine issue we want to make sure it is investigated and addressed immediately to ensure that trust is well placed. 
  
  Very happy to confirm again as discussed the entered Max *** of $2,800 was indeed outbid and there is no financial responsibility on your end, of course. We genuinely hope to continue amicably from this point forward and will work to make sure you feel comfortable and in good standing.
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/05/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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 a charity auction on the website CharityBuzz promising a two night hotel stay in ********* plus a shopping experience at ************************** on **********, during which I would be able to choose any two watches from their Villeret and/or Fifty Fathoms product lines. I was the winning bidder and my card was charged $55,000. My win and the terms of the items I had won were confirmed by CharityBuzz. I was elated. Upon being put in contact with the donors, I was then informed that I would not in fact be able to choose any two watches and that the value was capped at $30,000. What??? It says that NOWHERE in the item listing. While CharityBuzz did refund my money, this was a clear breach of contract between the donor/seller and the buyer (me). We had agreed on the goods and the price, and my credit card had been charged. ********* denied any participation in the auction despite this clearly not being the case -- see some of my attachments for photos of the Blancpain President at the event and the presence of ********* logos everywhere on the step and repeat signage. They are guilty of false advertising at best and outright fraud at worst. And the fact that they then treated me as a nuisance and sic'ed their lawyers on me for their own errors is disgusting. I had been a loyal customer of both ********************** and ********* prior to this. Here are some relevant links to the auction listing and to some of the press about the auction:******************************************************************************************************************************************************************

  Business Response

  Date: 02/07/2025

  Good morning. We are sorry to see that this issue has continued to cause you stress despite our many attempts to get on the same page. As the host of the auction we take our responsibility seriously. As soon as we learned of the error our team apologized profusely over the misunderstanding from the charity donor and processed your full refund including any/all fees associated with the purchase. At that point you were insistent on still receiving a watch extremely outside of the scope that the donor had intended to offer, to the point where it would have been detrimental to the charity. We continued to apologize and genuinely remain sorry that we did not have that information up front from the charity. As we then explained multiple times, the charity and Charitybuzz has the right to withdraw an auction at any time; though we take that incredibly seriously in order to maintain the integrity of our auctions and only resort to such a measure if absolutely necessary as is this case. I am sorry that we are not able to compel the donor/charity into fulfilling this auction. You recieved a full refund, and a direct call from our CEO to apologize as well. I apologize profusely for the inconvenience that this caused you, sincerely.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/11/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  I appreciate the apology and I do agree that of the three organizations involved in this fraudulent listing (Blancpain Watches, ********** and CharityBuzz) CharityBuzz was BY FAR the kindest and most proactive. However I think the full and natural resolution of this issue would be for CharityBuzz to hold fraudulent sellers accountable for knowingly listng false and unavailable items. It leads to a lack of trust and transparency in the auction process. If I spend $55,000 on something for charity I expect to receive what I pad for. "Oopsies" is not really an acceptable outcome of a business transaction. Extremely unprofessional. I would suggest that CharityBuzz ban Oceana from ever listing again. And also improve their internal due diligence on items from all sellers before listing them. I do not wish any negative outcome for CharityBuzz but they do have a responsibility to protect buyers, not just sellers. 

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ***********
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/12/2025

  Hi ****,

  I'm sorry that you did not find our response adequate yet again. As you requested in your initial complaint we have apologized, profusely, for the inconvenience. At this time we have apologizes multiple times over for this honest mistake and miscommunication from the Oceana team regarding their terms for the auction.

  As discussed many times, legally we cannot force them to provide you the watch of your choosing. This incident indeed led to an internal review including the involvement of our CEO to ensure this type of miscommunication does not happen again with any of our charity partners. At the end of the day since they could not fulfill their obligation the transaction was void as is only right. I do appreciate your time once again.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/13/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  Again thank you for your communication but I believe you are missing the point. You keep referring to the fact that you unilaterally returned my money as some sort of badge of honor. As an auction house I would think that would be considered shameful. You are in the business of vetting auction lots and presenting them to the bidding public in a trustworthy and transparent manner. Once a match is made between high bidder and seller, then a contract is formed. I had a contract with ****** for them to deliver exactly what was promised in the lot. You claim they accidentally left out the mention of of price limitations on the two watches to be chosen. But even the image they (and you) ran in the advertisement of the auction item shows a pair of watches that dae exceeds the value they later tried to limit my choice to. It was false advertising bot visually and in the text of their listing. They specified what bottle of wine I would be entitled to at dinner in the listing, but "forgot" to mention that the "2 watches of my choosing" had any limitation? It defies credibility. That missing piece of information was the single most important point they needed to make in the listing. Yes in the lead up to their auction they sent out press releases touting the incredibly fabulous item (again with no mention of any limitation on the cost of the watches that could be selected) and got lots of writeups.which benefitted their brand and image. I believe this was done intentionally and fraudulently with no intent of ever delivering on their promise as turns out to have been exactly the case. They essentially stole free ** (the ad equivalent value of their press writeups places the value of their ** at $20k from what I saw) while using CharityBuzz (you were completely deceived by their listing as well, as evidenced by the confirmation email I received after the auction agreeing with my understanding that I could choose ANY two watches as stated in the listing. Although I had asked your team for the answer to that question prior to the auction ending no one ever got back to. Your customer service is poor to non existent.) and me as dupes in their scheme to generate positive ** for both Oceana and Blancpain. They swindled us both. I didn't get my items. You didn't get your profit on the sale. And the charity didn't get my donation. The only ones who came out ahead were Oceana and Blancpain by the ** they generated from the bogus auction item.

  As such, the only fair and effective outcome is for you to ban Oceana and Blancpain from ever listing with you again as they have shown themselves to be dishonest or, being more charitable about it, careless and incompetent donors. 

  I would also expect you to pledge to improve the timeliness of your responses to bidders with questions about active lots, and also to more carefully vet any and all lots and donors. 

  WIthout those two actions you will show that you are an untrustworthy marketplace that any sensible.person should not waste their time and money on. 

  Please confirm you will take the two much-needed steps I mention so no future bidders will be dragged through this again. 

  Thank you. 

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ***********
  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/20/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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 December 8th, I bid and won a ****** ***** autographed music sheet. I contacted this company about tracking my order; they explained the charity had not sent the item to them. They then created a shipping label for the item on December 12th. Charity Buzz never sent this item. I emailed numerous more times with no luck. Finally, I gave them an ultimatum: either have my item shipped overnight or refund my money. On January 15th, they refunded my money. They then refunded my money and shipped the item the same day but had *** recall the order and ship it back to them. I asked them why they auction off items they don't have in their possession. She explained they would have a huge warehouse to store all these items. I said I don't care. This was a special Christmas gift that NEVER arrived. This is a bait-and-switch company. They take your money and then never ship the product. Beware when bidding on any items from this site. Those are evil business practices.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/03/2025

  We appreciate you taking the time to outline your concerns with us. As our post-sales team member discussed with you, the items and experiences auctioned on our platform are not donated to Charitybuzz directly, but rather to the charitable organizations that we partner with. The item that you won was donated to a charity, and our post-sales team was informed by the donor that your item would ship by a certain date.

  When this did not happen, and the donor did not respond to our repeated outreach, you informed our post-sales team that you would dispute the charge with your credit card company within 48 hours unless your item shipped, or we refunded you in full. Given the donor was not responding to us, we refunded you in full, and informed you as such.

  It is regrettable that the donor mistakenly shipped your item after all parties were informed that it had been refunded, and we apologize for this oversight. As the item was no longer paid for, and you expressed that you did not wish to participate with our platform going forward, the package needed to be returned to sender before it could be delivered. It was then determined that, as we could not guarantee when the donor would be able to reship the item, it would be best for all parties to consider the matter closed.

  We always want our customers to have a great experience with our platform, and we're sorry that we weren't able to achieve that this time. As a third party marketplace, we're continuously looking into how we can improve the redemption process, and this feedback is very helpful. Thank you again for reaching out.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/04/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

   You did not resolve the problem. moving forward you need to disclose all that information  in your Charity Auction posts. You lead consumers to believe that you have this item and that when you win such item you will  ship it. If you are auctioning off items that you do not have in your possession you need to put that in the post and also advised people that are bidding on  items that you do not have any control of whatsoever over the items condition or authenticity. Quite frankly you are auctioning off things that are signed by celebrities that you in fact don't even know that are true and authenticate you need to disclose all this information. Without it the attorney general will need to be advised and this may need to be  investigated. 

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/05/2025

  Charitybuzz is a third party marketplace, where our charitable partners auction the items and experiences that are donated to them on our platform. We are open about how our platform operates, and is included in the terms all users agree to when joining Charitybuzz. In addition to this, each lot page includes a Conditions of Sale tab, as well as a Shipping & Redemption tab that notes that "Items will either be shipped directly from Charitybuzz or from the item seller (Third Party) as indicated."

  Regarding certificates of authenticity, all lots featuring physical items note whether a certificate of authenticity will be included in the purchase. While we don't provide authentication services ourselves, we have a list of approved, reputable authenticators from whom the certificate needs to come from in order for us to list the item. 

  We hope that this information is helpful, and want to thank you again for this feedback on how we can improve the overall customer experience.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/04/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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 a bid for a ******************* autographed baseball. It cost $473. It was supposedly shipped on May 21st. Charitybuzz has no idea where the product is. *** has said the same thing.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/04/2024

  Thank you for reaching out so that we can address your concerns. We're so sorry to hear that your item was lost in transit, and a team member is in touch with you to issue a full refund. They'll keep you updated on the status of your refund, and remain available should you have any additional questions. Thank you again for reaching out, and we look forward to getting this resolved for you in a timely manner.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/06/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  Ive gladly supported the charity function here but tbh I dont plan on bidding for anything going forward. Not that I dont support the charity but the Charitybuzz has poor customer service and tbh somewhat disingenuous business practices. Sad but true

  Business Response

  Date: 03/07/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I'm sorry that we are unable to remove your most recent winning bid but still appreciate your committment to supporting good causes through our platform. As stated in our website FAQ and terms, no bids cannot be retracted and all bids placed on the Charitybuzz website are legally binding. When you are the winning bidder, you enter into a legal contract to purchase the item and become the buyer of the item/experience. We are strict about adhering to this rule to maintain the integrity of our auctions, and always suggest considering each bid carefully. In this instance as a sign of good will, we had waived our Buyer's Premium fees for you, but hope you can understand that your original bid stands as is. Our service team remains ready to assist and do our best to make sure you have a good experience with our platform moving forward. Thank you again for your time so far.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/04/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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 signed onto Charitybuzz site but Im not sure where I heard of it. I was interested in bidding on a baseball item for my kid. I saw an offer for a private jet company offering a membership. Im a retired firefighter from FDNY and could never afford a private jet club membership. I am 58 & not really great w computers but I must have inadvertently hit a wrong *************** a bid evidently. No hearing anything about the auction again until I was informed (I think in a text but *** was definitely an email) that I was the winning bidder. Now I would never attempt to win this prize because I cant afford $10-$25k for a flight somewhere. I can just about handle coach for my teacher wife & 16 year old twins. I sent an email the day after my credit card was billed that I didnt purposefully bid on a ***************** I was ignored by a manager named ******* after trying get the money back on my card. I then reached out to the ******************* who informed me I had to deal with Charitybuzz. I cant afford/use the membership and it was through a charity, I figured they would be understanding but it was all about them keeping the $700 the made in commission. One person I spoke with on the phone suggested letting Charitybuzz keep the $700. At first I said no because it was a lot of money & after realizing that I could lose it all I called back for that offer but by then it was off the table. Im not a super wealthy man. A civil servant like my wife. $3900 could have been a nice vacation for my family last summer. I contacted Charity as soon I noticed an email and checked my credit card. I think that because no service or item was exchanged for the $3900 i deserve a full refund. I would be ok w a 10% fee for whatever paperwork must be done but still believe a full refund would be fair.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/18/2023

  **********************,

  Thank you so much for reaching out and providing all of this detail. The intergrity of our platform and customer bidding is of the highest importance to us. We take all bids very seriously in order to protect our relationships with our charity partners, and of course other bidders as well. In fact, all bids on our platform are considered a legally binding contract to ensure everyone is on the same page from the get go. Just like an in person auction, all bids are final for exactly that reason. We are of course sorry to hear of any financial burden your winning bid would have caused on your end. Our customer service team is very ready to assist in helping you redeem the auction to make sure you recieve the benefits expected.

  Charitybuzz

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/21/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  
  
  
  Integrity should be of importance and I understand bidding also but GOOD PEOPLE would understand mistakes. I am still not sure what you mean by charity partners? Is that the charity itself or the people offering the things to be bid on. As soon as I saw the email stating that I had won the bidding, I was confused and knew there was a mistake so I emailed directly back to you so. Im sure any charity that is worth their weight, would not want to take money out of the pocket of someone who could not afford it. My reply was so fast that they might not have even known that there was a bid. As I recall  there was nobody else that had bid on a membership to a private jet plane club. As far as the company that offered the private membership, Im sure that they would have no problem putting the membership back up for someone that might really be able to use it. Unless, of course it is a scam. All they wanted was part of the money. In the end of your reply, you offered to have your staff help me to use the membership I had won but that would be impossible since I could never afford to book a jet flight being that they start at about ****** Dollars way out of my ballpark. Im sure the people at whatever charity you represent as well as the ****** jet company are   GOOD PEOPLE and would, if contacted have no problem returning the ill-gotten gains to a person who actually needs the money and is no financial position to use the membership. If a child had accidentally hit a button and the membership, GOOD PEOPLE would make sure the money is returned, so there must be a policy for returning money, I understand that actual bids should be binding and Im sure that people that win their beds that actually bid on purpose are happy but my situation is quite the opposite the $3900 has been a strain. Im hoping that the people at Charitybuzz are  GOOD PEOPLE and will understand what Im saying and not cause financial strain on someone that cannot use the prize, nor afford, paying for even the basic membership for a jet leasing club. So I hope that you will return the money during this holiday period, a when we are all supposed to try to be especially GOOD PEOPLE. Happy holidays. 
  
  
  *****************************
  

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/14/2024

  **********************,

  Thank you so much for your continued patience and understanding as we worked to get to the bottom of this with the charity in question. We are very glad to confirm that after our investigation we were able to issue your full refund and can proceed on the right foot moving forward.

  
  We of course sympathize with how stressful this situation was for you and are happy that we have been able to agree on the outcome here. We would like to thank you once more for all of your time and consistent followup as we performed our due diligence to make sure this situation was handled with integrity. Our goal has always been to ensure all affected parties were properly served and treated fairly by the end result. We wish you the best moving forward and our customer service team remains available should you have any additional questions in the future.

  Charitybuzz