DO NOT SHOP HERE. You will not be bidding for what you think you are. Almost everything is trash, used, broken or missing parts. I have used this auction house a few times in efforts to give them a 'second chance' and each time it's a major let down. On top of it, the employees are extremely condescending. Especially the so called 'manager' Edgar. He was rude, disrespectful and even personally insulted us during a last pick up simply for asking him a few questions. Lastly, CAREFUL if they are loading things using a forklift. Their operators are not properly trained or licensed. They will damage your car/truck. read more

I've been a long-time customer of Bakersfield Hometown Auctions and fully understand that many auction items are customer returns. Over the years I've purchased both great items and complete junk, and I accepted that risk. What's frustrating is the complete lack of accountability when they knowingly sell defective merchandise. In the May 3 auction, I purchased 5 lots. One item, a battery rotary tool, was completely dead and did not work at all. After auction fees and taxes, I paid about $30 for something that was basically worthless. Their return day was Friday, May 8, so I brought the item back on the correct day and was immediately told no. This was only the second time in years that I have ever attempted to return something there, despite being a repeat customer for a long time. The issue is not that auction items can sometimes fail -- the issue is that this company clearly knows a large percentage of the merchandise they auction off consists of returned items, many of which are defective, yet they still refuse to make things right even in obvious cases where an item is completely nonfunctional. After looking through past Yelp reviews, it's clear this has been a repeated complaint for years. Many customers have reported buying broken items and getting nowhere when trying to resolve the issue. At some point it stops feeling like bad luck and starts feeling like the business simply does not care once they have your money. I wasn't even demanding cash back. At minimum, they could have offered store credit as a good-faith gesture to a loyal repeat customer. Instead, they chose to lose customer trust over a broken $30 tool. If that had been the only thing I purchased, I would have seriously considered disputing the charge with my credit card company. The only reason I didn't is because the other items I bought were acceptable, and I'm not going to be dishonest about the parts of the transaction that were fine. Buyers should understand that shopping here can be a gamble. You may find deals, but if you end up with a broken item, don't expect much help -- even if you follow their stated return process exactly. read more

Bought on auction an insinkerator garbage disposal Badger 5, only to get it home to find out it was a used unit rusted out inside. Took it back only to find out they would not stand behind the false advertising. Description indicated the unit was worth $150, sure if it was new in box. This is the second time I have been ripped of by PBA it will not happen again. read more

FIRE HAZARD !! BUYERS BEWARE !! Apart from them putting in the description that the heater was only missing the base, it turns out it was also missing the remote. I called and let them know that was not stated in the description and I was told there's nothing they could do. Apart from that, I noticed that the plug is is fried, I can't believe they're selling this to people. Putting people & their homes at risk. This should've been discarded immediately and not put up for sale. read more

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It's a game here, sometimes the item is new, most of the time it's junk. Pictures are not true images of what you are bidding on. Bidders BEWARE!! You can come down Fridays to view the items which I strongly suggest. Be warned you are charges 17% fee AND $2.00 per item. Scam!! read more

Public Auction Bakersfield - In addition to the 17% buyers fee, they automatically charge you an additional 2.00 per item!! - Auction Houses Near Me - Bakersfield, California

They show items for sale, make it look like you are bidding on new, when actually they no it's used items!!!! They even show you in the description how much it sells for new, as a way to mislead you! NEVER EVER BY HEXCLAD FROM THEM AS THEY ARE RETURNED AS DAMAGED BECAUSE THEY DID NOT WORK AS DESCRIBED IN THEIR ADDS!!!! So they returned them so an auction can sell them even though that it is damaged goods!!!!! read more

This place is a SCAM! Don't fall for it! They sell broken and used items with missing parts and then they refuse to give you your money back! read more

Save your money. What you see in the photos IS NOT what you will receive. The stuff is junk broken shattered missing parts and they WILL NOT refund or give you a credit. They used to state on description if something was missing or cracked or they'd let you return broken items, cracked desks tops, etc but now they're Rude n say you should've read the fine print! Especially from Joe the JERK! I spent over $600 n they wouldn't let me return 4 of 31 items. Except 1 $5 lamp cuz it was electrical And was under $25 :/ Don't get ripped off. Spread the word, they are misleading; they know what they are listing is broken and returned like 2-3X read more

Public Auction Bakersfield - Auction Houses Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Be VERY careful, because it's really easy to get scammed here. Auction items are often broken or used and these "imperfections" aren't always disclosed. Check your items immediately: I once bought black desk that was actually colored white. And thre are no real bargains. Anything under $20 can't be returned and I've been excited to get a deal only to gets fans that don't turn, pumps that don't pump, etc. When questioned, the attitude was "tough luck, pal." You can find some nice things but I question their supplier because there's a lot of absolute garbage. read more

Buyer beware. Used to be that if you received an item that was not what was described at the auction, they would refund your money. Not anymore. I recently bid on a 4 tier garage utility shelf. I recieved a box containing only 3 shelves and one of them was mangled. When I tried to return it, I was informed that there are no guarantees and I should have came down on Friday to open the box to see what is inside. They even tried to keep it so that they could resell it, since I told them it was garbage. The manager went so far as to tell me anything could be in the boxes no matter what the description, and it's up to the buyer to check each box before bidding. I won't be bidding on any more items from this auction house. read more

Buyer beware. They will sell you crap in box and tell you it's new on the auction site. Inspect everything as soon as you get it and even then. Don't get anything that that has to be assembled because I guarantee you, it will be missing pieces and/or hardware That's one of the reasons they are selling that item and they won't tell you that. read more

public auction Bakersfield is a scam. what happened to them detailing the issues/missing parts with everything we are bidding on??? they try to say that they really do not have the time to open each item to verify that all the parts are in it and that everything is operational, but they expect us to take time out of our day to go on Friday prior to the auction to check on said items. when confronted to see about a refund or credit on such items, they wash their hands by saying that it is on their website that we should come in to review the items before bidding on them. by them listing items as complete and that nothing is wrong with them seems to me that they are false advertising. they should be a shame of the way that they are running this business!!! read more

would give 0 stars if i could. awful rude employees. sell broken items and items that have missing parts but aren't shown in description. complete scam waste of time and money. i needed a bed frame. everything was included as said in description. Was missing legs and all of the screws. plug in did not work. Refused to refund. I read the terms clearly and thoroughly and made sure to check the item description daily. 0/5 read more

Pay premium prices for broken Amazon return junk. They charge 17% buyers fee on top of the selling price. These are returns to Amazon because it was broken or missing parts. You're stuck with it if you buy it despite the fact they didn't disclosedamage or missing parts. Even if when you pick it up it wasn't the item in their listing You're stuck with it. You could be bidding on a pool and show up to pick it up and it's a couch...You're stuck with the couch. Stay away unless you wanna pay premium prices for trash. read more

I'll admit I have gotten some good items here but the amount of broken or missing piece items doesn't make up for it. I've wasted $200 on items because they don't do returns, but they also don't list the condition of the items. It's seriously not worth the risk, I'd advise staying away. read more

That is a BIG NO I do not recommend this place at all. They are crooks. Out of the mouth of the owner/ manager he says "we don't look inside these boxes." It is what it is. They are so misleading. Don't waste your $$. It is not worth it. If I could I wouldn't even rate them one star. They say you can bring them back, well in my case this was not true. read more

Service is great good working people and great prices great Friday preview love seeing all the great stuff they have

Most of it is junk! I have attempted four different auctions and they have all either been broken, scratched up, missing hardware or stained. Most of the bids are "as is", but they do not show you a picture of the actual item, tell you what is wrong with it or let you see it in person (you can only go and see the condition of the box is in). The latest was a bed frame I bought and it was bent and would not fit together, but I could not get my money back. I had to accept their only offer of credit. Don't waste your time or money. read more

This place is so slimy!!! I purchase a few items at one of their recent auctions. It states you have to pick up your items on Monday or Tuesday, or to call and let them know if other arrangements can be made. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it there Monday or Tuesday to pick up my items. I called this morning to ask when I could come by and pick them up. I was told sorry, it's our policy to resell your items if you don't get them by Tuesday. There is no exception to this policy, even though they say to call if you need a different pick up time. And they kept all my money. So they're going to get paid twice for the items I purchased. I understand the need for policies but there has to be some flexibility. I will absolutely never purchase from them again and will let everyone else I know to do the same. read more

It's a gamble when you buy anything from these folks- false advertising- charges up the wazoo- plus- plan on waiting a good 30 minutes outside when picking up merchandise. This is a poorly ran business and in my opinion should not be a business period. read more

I got a wrong item and blinds covered in cockroach feces. Those sticky black specks are all over as well as some dead roaches!!!! The dead roaches spilled all over my dining room and kitchen floor where I opened the box! I'm definitely not recommending this place. read more

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Terrible service, EVERYTHING is damaged. They list everything with stock photos and once you purchase the junk they have they only offer store credit so you can turn around and purchase another broken item. Needs to be shut down. read more

Besides the long wait, most of the time it's worth it. Staff is pretty nice and management is understanding if you can't pick up your items on Monday, so they'll hold them until Friday. read more

Public Auction Bakersfield - Typically long lines, but go by pretty quick. - Auction Houses Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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I bought a table saw from them for $190. Upon bringing it home, it didn't work. Unfortunately, I had to be down in LA for work for the return day on Friday, so my wife had to return it for me instead. They refused to accept the return. We're no longer going to do business with this place. They have began putting into practice a horrible business model and I strongly urge people to avoid doing business with them. This auction warehouse needs to close down or find new ownership from someone who can practice a better business model. read more

Been here a few times already. Great customer service and very polite when picking up your lot numbers. The auctions are all online and when you win your products you come by on Monday for pick up! These are very organized and very polite persons working here and will go above and beyond to help you out! Only problem is when I opened all the products up. Wow.... Fail!!!!. The clock looks great.... But doesn't work. The minute hand just drops down immediately. Even tried taking it apart. And tightened it. It just doesnt work. New batter put and doesnt even tick. Second Fail is shoe rack. It's made out of wood. So guess what. Exactly it's cracked all over the place. Cheap wood. Another Fail. Next, table lamp. I really didn't want to open this because box was horrifically smashed up. Off course, major fail! The lamp top is supposed to be round but it is flat and crumpled, next is a bathroom rack that is goes around toilet and is decently tall, and offcourse missing 2 polls and screws with no directiins but it shouldn't be hard to figure. Next was a nice looking trash can on the pic and looked stainless steel. Off course it's not, its plastic and offcourse cracked. 10 rolls of tissue paper.... Obvious fail, looks water damaged. Got a buffer by chemical guys and offcourse this $100 plus item doesn't even turn on and missing pads for buffing. I'll be able to fix this since I know how these work but Damn!!!!. A few more miscellaneous stuff but in all spending more than $400 on broken stuff is a major fail. 1 item was missing from pickup but we called and they refunded us. Only reason for the 3 stars is because the staff is nice and friendly. I was hoping for a win on an auction in bakersfield but not this time. Total Fail provided are a few pics. Lesson learned. If it's too good to be true it's a fail! But it is an auction! Maybe next time if so I can get a steal and hope things work out! Til then. See what you have online! But fair warning people dont bid near the retail price.... It's returned or damaged item, and some of you be paying retail price on something damaged or missing parts.... Check prices online before you make a ridiculous bid. Have a good day! read more

Absolutely trash nowadays (It should be zero stars)... Back in the day ( pre online auction ) they were great but not anymore,. Now they sell completely broken junk and don't allow returns. I bought a hand truck and when I received it the entire lift portion was completely snapped in half. Should have never been sold in the first place. When I went to return it the person told me that sucks, no returns, everything is sold as is, but I can throw it in the trash for you as he's smiling. Buyer beware!!!!!! Sorry Shawn I'll never be back!!!! read more

Be aware that a lot of the items are damaged goods so make sure you check them thoroughly when you take them home. They're pretty nice about returning the items. But 30% of things that I order are either broken or damaged or not working so just pay attention to your product. I also had a canister vacuum and it had damage on the box when I got it to my house and open the box the top of the canister vacuum was cracked and smashed. I returned it for a refund but the other items I just held onto them because I didn't pay very much for them. read more

Public Auction Bakersfield - Tripod stand broken at the bottom - Auction Houses Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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Used to be ok as 50% of the listed items were damaged but the buyer had a week to inspect and return if needed. New policy says purchases under $25 can't be returned and you can't inspect items, so buyer beware. It's likely to be severely damaged and if it's an item you bought for under $25, it's now your garbage. read more

About 3 of the 50 items I bought have actually been in decent condition. The other 47 items were broken beyond use. When you try to return the items they are rude and annoyed and act suspicious of you. One of the 3 times that the item isn't broken, it doesn't work with the set up I have. When I tried to return it they took it in to test it and said that it works with their equipment and I can't return it. I explained that it doesn't work with my equipment and I can't use it so I want to return it and they said no. I said I wouldn't be coming back if I can't return this item and the manager said "see ya". Rude, disgusting people. The drive through line to pick up items is in a dirt field and my wife got a flat tire from a nail in their lot. ALSO when I replied to someone's comment regarding a refund question, I simply explained that they will fight you on any refunds. Public auction replied to me being extremely rude in their comment and then proceeded to delete my comment and block me from any further comments! These people are professional thieves!! read more

I would rate this auction less that one star if I could because they don't even deserve that. Numerous chances that I've given this auction and every time I end up regretting it. You supposably get to "check out" this item but it's really wrapped up nice and tight in a box until you purchase it and realized you just spent money on trash they post picture of online new items to lure you in and then you end up screwed. A pair of boots that look like they were pulled straight out of the trash. A smoker that's only use is for scrap metal. Also bought a table that was just a freaking table no legs no screws just a long slab of wood. Auctions can be fun and at most you can score some amazing deals but don't even waste your money or your time here. -5 Stars read more

Public Auction Bakersfield - "New boots" $150 retail - Auction Houses Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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I've been a loyal customer for a couple of years and have spent a very large amount of money with them . So when I tried to return a faulty item after five months because it had been boxed and unopened or used but exploded in the cupboard .They refused to accept it even for auction credit. So I won't be using this auction again . Hope the 15 dollars was worth all I would have spent later. read more

This is also a U-haul rental and we were dropping off the trailer we rented in Montana. We were given a courtesy call by them to tell us where we were to return it. The office was clean and the gal behind the desk was really friendly and also gave us a quote for a truck rental for next spring. When we drove in the back to drop off the trailer we noticed that there were palettes of "stuff" so we asked the guy about it. He said every Sunday they hold auctions. Hmm it looked very interesting and we think we're going to have to go check it out!! read more

I buy a bunch of stuff at the online auction (since Covid hit) and have only had good experiences. Auctions are Saturday/Sunday item pick-up is Monday Mid-morning thru afternoon and returns are accepted the following Friday. I bid keeping in mind an understanding that items are usually Amazon returns and can be in new condition or literally trash. Every time I've won an item that was broken, missing parts ect the staff has quickly issued a refund and it's always been an easy process. read more

Initially after getting home with all of our stuff we were less than happy because of some issues with some items and 1 item being completely wrong but we called down and were told to bring the wrong item and they would give us the correct one or reimburse us which they did. A couple of other items were not in excellent shape but they say the items may be used and with getting the items at such a discount you got to take the good with the bad but still Lauren was extremely helpful and told us he would replace anything we brought back with another item. With some slight tweeks everything is working so I did not take him up on it. I have already gone back for another auction and plan on returning often. Its a neat experience live. read more

So my lovely wife tells me there's a Pink Kayak at this place and she has placed an online bid that she would really like to have this, since I have one. Actually we have been wanting to get her one and yes it had to be pink. So I've always wanted to know what this place is about so I went down to check out the Pink Kayak to see if it really was worth the $995 retail price. FYI her bid was at $170 at the time. As you walk into this very large warehouse you should first check in at the counter get a bidder card if you are planning bidding. I should mention I did set up an online account prior to showing up which made the process a little quicker. Inside this warehouse are all of these items. From what I can tell they are from different retail stores that look to be returns, and appliance stores where the items have been damaged in some way. Now I read several of the 1 star post and I can see where people would be disappointed in finding out that the item is either missing something or doesn't work properly. From what I remember from the check-in and even before the bidding starts they explain this and also the process of checking the item out before you leave. They also tell you the dead line of when you need to pick up your items or they will be returned to the shelf. So pick up your stuff!!! The item I was going to bid on appeared brand new was missing the paddles which is not a deal breaker. Once you are in the warehouse you can go look at the multiple what they call lots (aka items) that will have a number on them which the so called lot number. Take notes as you walk around on items you want to bid on. The auctioneer was entertaining and really went through the items pretty fast. The kayak was lot number 224 and it took about 45 mins to an hour to get to that item. So I had placed an online bid of $210 which come to find out my wife had placed a $200 bid in earlier that morning. FYI TALK TO YOU SPOUSE before you out bid her....lol The $210 live action bid went up between me and another customer until I finally won at $250. To me the experience was pretty awesome. The staff are super friendly and very helpful. Just so you know after you win your item and say you're done for the day. Go pay for the item at the same place you checked in. The line to pick up you items will be right behind where you are paying. Just look for the sign and the people in line to pick up their items. You see next to the windows tables with power stripes. Check it out make sure it works before you leave. Hope you experience is as fin as mine was!!! read more

I have tried the online auction several times now. First time I didn't read the print about pickups only being on Monday and Tuesday and if you don't pick up your items are resold and no refund given. We were out of town so that wasn't possible. I should have read the notice. So money lost. Next bid- bought a multi use steamer. The box was completely taped up when i got home and opened it, the lid was completely broke off. I asked about this and the response was I should have checked out the item before I left with it. Ok, that is a rule I should have done that. Next bid- sensor trashcan. My son checked out the item this time but it didn't come with the plug. He was told it doesn't come with the plug but can take batteries. So he took it home and put batteries in and it doesn't work. So he should have told them there that he wasn't going to take it unless he seen it work, but wasn't the case. The other item I got was not what was pictured in the online auction, but since my son picked up my stuff he didn't know that. So buyer BEWARE!!!! If you purchase from here read all the rules and DO NOT take items unless you know they work! They sell a lot of broken items knowingly. We will not return. It has been a waste of money. read more

BUYER BEWARE! We thought we had done our homework. Read lots of reviews, read the product description really well (what description there was) and avoided the stock photos they post and found the item we were bidding on in exactly 1 live photo. Carefully read their bidding rules that basically say you're bound to buy, your pick-up window is Monday and Tuesday ONLY (in our case Monday was a holiday, so just Tuesday) you MAY be notified by email, but just keep checking your bank account to see if we took money... if so, you won! Then make sure you don't miss your pick-up window because if you do we re-sell your item AND keep your money. Now on to our actual experience. Day of pick-up, you walk up to a tent. You just guess where to go, no signs, no employees. Here's the best part; they verify almost zero information to pick these "items" up. You don't have to show proof that you've won the auction. Hummm.... anyway the item we won is broken. It is missing parts and has clearly been dropped/smashed and then wrapped in some plastic to make you think it's new. So, try to ask a question, I dare you! No help here. Get your item and go. In the time we were there we saw 2 people leave angry and one leave really angry with no item. So, for us, a one and done experience. They scammed us out of nearly $150 by the time we paid our auction fees. Too bad. We love auctions. Just not this one. Best part? Because they run the card you put on file multiple times for small dollar amounts our bank froze our account thinking it was fraud. Merry Christmas to us! read more

Don't waste your time or money! 99.9% of the stuff sold here is returned. Either from Amazon, Costco, Walmart, etc etc. Over the last several months I have spent THOUSANDS of dollars here. But apparently that doesn't mean squat to these guys. The items are repacked to look perfect. Ive been stuck with several items that were broken and/or defective. They've worked with me on a few items. Others I figured "I get what I pay for". This particular transaction I purchased three packages of solar powered garden lights. (Online). Monday when I went to pick up the items it took them 30min to bring out my items. This made me late to work. I get home that night and install two of the six lights. When I got home the following night I noticed neither were working. So I took the units apart to find half the internals are missing. So I open the next box to find the same issue. Now let me add this. When I inspected the items before leaving they were wrapped to perfection like they were from the factory. Zip tied and everything. Once opening all three packages one was covered in bird crap, the other in mud. These were clearly used and abused. And how the hell do you test solar items there upon pick up? YOU DONT! Sean is typically pretty cool about items that are Untestable. But this time he walked away the moment he saw me walking in with a open box and had one of his cronies help me. Needless to say they didn't want to help me out at all. I even asked for store credit since I have purchased so much here in the past. But this is the last time. You guys can keep the $45. I even left the broken sh1t there on the counter. What am I gonna do with a bunch of worthless crap? Way to lose a customer guys. Good job. read more

waited 30 mins in front of the line of cars to finally be asked if i've been helped. told them the person asking for our info skipped me and they got offensive saying why didn't I tell anyone. I told them, "I didn't know I had to tell your employees how to do their jobs. they got mad and walked away. not surprised. read more

Everytime I've bought something online I've been screwed. the pictures are never like the the actual product and the condition of some things is way worse. I bought a file cabinet online the photo looked fine, went to pic it up and it looks like it fell off a truck on the freeway not to mention parts were missing. stop selling trash and pay attention. I've waited enough money with these jokers. read more