"Great auction house"

Great auction house, very professional in their dealings and also very pleasant. 5* Vicki Holloway

"Selling items at Dawson? not a great idea to do……!"

I was in two minds to write a review because Dawsons clearly have good days then they have very, very bad days, weeks and months dealing with customers items for sale.

I have bought some beautiful items from them and also sold a lot through them and received fairly okay dealings with Dawsons until my Franz Zavier Bergman Bronze we have owned for over forty years.

My Bergman Bronze should of easily sold for a couple of thousands but never received one bid and I was asked to collect the my Bronze which was very odd as they normally place an item for sale twice before giving the item back. I sen5 to collect the item and 8 asked them to bring m6 Bergman to the car and they delivered my Bergman broken……… handed back without a word the woman from Dawsons just walked away until I shouted out for her to return and I asked her what is this………….long story short my Bergman Bronze was broken by one of their degenerate of a colleague that has zero ethics and could not be bothered to own up to breaking my Bergman but expected just for the client to take it back broken!

This is were everything goes quite from Dawson, after six months of going back and forth they repaired the item and put it on sale, and I wa# given a meagre compensation only after they recovered more than what they gave me.

Then try get your money out of them, that’s when nobody answers your emails, not one was answered for weeks till finally I got upset and after more going back and forth they finally with teeth gritting gave me my meagre compensation.

Today I realised that the so called special “compensation” was £250 short, as the item was damaged and the reserve was £1000,00 and according to Dawsons own rules that you sign, My Bergman was broken by them at the first auction which meant I should be compensated no less that the reserve amount which was £1,000.00, but Dawson could not be honest enough to follow their own rules and compensate a good client of theirs the right and just amount but stole from me and paid me £250 less.

Dishonesty of the staff not owning up to breaking my Bronze that survived a world war of bombing. Dishonesty by choosing to pay me £250.00 less than I should have been compensated which I far less than we paid for the item. The the communication stop by all including directors was the last straw!

Will I be selling anything with them in the future…..answer is NEVER, this has left a very very biter taste in my mouth and I refuse this to happen a third time by Dawson, no thank you Dawsons I will not be selling anything with you in the future. Looking at reviews by other customers I am not on my own, nor will I be the last that I am sure of.

"I was very nervous to sell my…"

I was very nervous to sell my jewellery, I shouldn’t have been. The staff at Dawson’s talked me through all the stages, were so knowledgable and helpful. I shall definitely be returning with more items,

"As somebody rapidly being overtaken by…"

As somebody rapidly being overtaken by middle age, I was extremely impressed with how helpful the staff I dealt with were.
A great experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.

"Excellent service from start to finish"

Excellent service from start to finish

I have had the pleasure of both selling and inadvertently purchasing from Dawsons over the last few months.

I sold a number of vintage handbags and jewellery items recently, the service I got from introductory call, meeting and then appraisal was first class and extremely professional. I was made to feel welcome despite only selling a handful of items with them and the service I received across all staff members was excellent.
The valuation I received was good, probably a little higher than I thought but I went ahead having never sold in an auction before. I was really pleasantly surprised as I achieved a better sale price than I thought I would do and after the sales deductions I was left with a nice pot of money.
Bizarrely I then “invested” some of this in buying a couple of items from the same auction! Again this was a breeze to do and the items were as described and in great condition as per the photos.
If I have anything to sell again then I would definitely recommend Dawsons as I have done to family and friends… I also regularly check their upcoming sales 😄

"Unethical Practices & Poor Treatment – A Deeply Disappointing Experience"

My experience with Dawson’s Auctioneers has been deeply disappointing, marked by unethical financial practices, inconsistent treatment, and a lack of transparency. As a serious collector, I initially had a smooth transaction when purchasing a gold Boucheron watch. However, a later experience exposed a pattern of unfair treatment and misleading financial demands that ultimately led me to end all dealings with Dawson’s.

One particularly troubling issue involved Jeannie from the accounts team. In a subsequent auction, I won another gold watch but faced an unexpected short-term cash flow issue. To demonstrate my genuine intent, I personally visited Dawson’s main site, bringing an extensive collection of collectible gold coins and limited-edition gold ounces worth over £130,000 as proof of my credibility as a serious buyer. Despite this, I was pressured into making a £500 down payment, with Jeannie stressing that it was necessary to demonstrate my commitment to both Dawson’s finances and the seller. She also assured me that the seller had been “kind enough” to wait for the full payment.

Trusting this information, I made financial sacrifices, including selling stocks at an unfavourable rate, just to meet this request. However, only days later, Jeannie contacted me again, shifting her stance and insisting that I either complete the full payment immediately or forfeit what she now referred to as a “deposit.” This was never agreed upon as a non-refundable deposit, and I made it clear that, at worst, I should only lose my opportunity to purchase the item—not the £500 itself. She continued to insist that she was struggling to convince the seller to wait, yet I later discovered that Dawson’s standard policy is to pay sellers only a month after an item is sold. This meant her claim was misleading, and the pressure she applied to secure my money was, at best, a dishonest manoeuvre.

This was not the only instance of unfair treatment I experienced at Dawson’s. When I consigned jewellery for auction, it was poorly represented online despite my repeated requests for better images and a video to showcase the pieces properly. The inadequate listing likely contributed to a lower final sale price, yet my concerns were completely ignored.

Additionally, when I visited to collect the fully paid-for watch, I witnessed stark differences in customer treatment. A gentleman sitting next to me was warmly welcomed, offered refreshments, and received attentive service, while I was left feeling unwelcome and had to actively seek assistance. The contrast was both uncomfortable and frustrating.

Seeing this unfair treatment I requested to collect my consigned jewellery which I put in their next auction only to secure that they will be in a safe position if I didn’t manage to complete the full payment of the previous auction, they demanded a £1,000 as a penalty to allow me taking my items off their next auction. This left me in a loss- loss situation; getting tired of getting down to any argument with Dawsons’s team I left my consigned items at their auction.

The final insult came when Dawson’s demanded a £1,000 deposit just to participate in future bidding, citing a previous delayed payment—even though I had since addressed the situation transparently. This demonstrated a clear lack of trust and good faith on their part.

Overall, my experience with Dawson’s Auctioneers has been one of unequal treatment, misleading financial tactics, and policies that seem to prioritise their own interests over fairness and customer relationships. The way I was treated left a lasting negative impression, and I have since chosen to end all dealings with them. I would strongly advise potential buyers and sellers to be cautious when engaging with Dawson’s.

"Very disappointed with their experts…"

Very disappointed with their experts lack of knowledge. Items previously appraised and authenticated by several other auction houses and experts were assessed to be imitations! One item was damaged during inspection but all arrived back safely and promptly despite the lack of adequate insurance due to their valuer's oversight. If I had not already had appraisals elsewhere and had decided not to have my items returned to me believing the items to be low value imitations, I would have lost a considerable amount of money.

"I bought a pair of Tanzanite cufflinks…"

I bought a pair of Tanzanite cufflinks , I couldn't get a condition report ,but due to the guide price being consistent with the lot being in good condition ,I bid and won ,I later discovered that one of the cufflinks was serious flawed and damaged, which they were aware of but deliberately omitted to declare this in the description entry of the catalogue.

"Dawsons carry a fantastic calibre of…"

Dawsons carry a fantastic calibre of jewellery, that is well described... and the customer service is second to none. With free online bidding platform and speedy in house p&p, this is an auction house that I cannot recommend highly enough, thank you.

"Sellers must read the small print."

Sellers beware: Be far more careful reading the small print than I was:
I was dealing with a difficult probate and consigned 5 items. Only one sold - for £200 - and out of that I got £38, because there are charges on all items, which rack up hugely. The costs risk therefore is entirely on the seller.
To be fair to Dawsons, when I complained, they did refund the costs on the unsold items, and were very pleasant about it. To be fair also, it was my own fault for not properly reading the small print.