John Pye Auctions Reviews 

Persephone was very helpful, and chased up all my enquiries in a timely manor. Shame the item I ordered was incomplete

I bought 3 items from this auction site, and all 3 of them are broken/without parts.
You couldn’t see that parts are missing or cracked in pictures.
Incomplete orders/damaged, NO REFUND!
I would not use it anymore.

Thank you for your response, however it does not address the core issue.

The problem is not simply that the item was “sold as seen” or that it could have been viewed in person. The main issue is that the product is completely non-functional. A product that does not work at all should not be treated the same as a used item with minor defects. Even in auction conditions, there should be a reasonable expectation that the item is at least operational unless clearly stated otherwise.

Furthermore, this lot was listed as an **online sale**, and not all buyers have the opportunity to attend in person. Therefore, placing full responsibility on the buyer for not viewing the item is not reasonable.

In addition, presenting the item as a **featured lot** and indicating a significantly higher “original value” is misleading. That value clearly applies to a fully working, complete, and undamaged product — not to an item that is broken, incomplete, and unusable.

Also, repeating the same generic response across multiple reviews does not address individual cases and raises concerns about how seriously customer complaints are being considered. Simply saying “you should have viewed the item” does not resolve the issue and reflects poorly on customer service standards.

This is not just about expectations — it is about fairness and transparency.

Over the past 6 years I have bought hundreds of items through Johnpye. Most have proved decent purchases, although quite a few have been broken or parts missing.
I have always treated electrical items with caution having once bought 3 mini drones that had their lithium batteries removed & were therefore useless but I did purchase a microwave & a coffee machine that were both good.
Recently I relaxed my guard & purchased a Flymo & an angle grinder, both of which looked new & boxed in the limited photos. The Angle grinder came with a missing part & a burnt out motor. The Flymo had clearly been used extensively as all the parts not shown in the pictures were filthy/worn & the basket with ancient grass clippings in it, the switch was broken & useless. Both these items should have bypassed any auction on their way to the skip. £80 & a trip to the recycling centre to dump their waste, what a bargain!!!
John Pye’s response “We are not able to guarantee the lot is new, complete or fit for purpose.” They do not check if electrical items work or are even safe.
Shame on the retailers who dump unfit & potentially dangerous electrical items on auction sites like this rather than sending them to be recycled.
I certainly won’t be buying anything electrical from this site again & I would strongly advise anybody against making a such a purchase.

BUYER BEWARE!! I bought some skincare and make up. They were high end, so went for a lot of money. Out of 8 items, 4 were damaged and used! I contacted them, assuming it was an error and asking for a refund, as my understanding is that it's illegal to sell used skincare, due to hygiene and health reasons, but they told me I should have come to look at the lots before bidding. The photos showed the items as boxed, so the fair assumption is that they are unused. No idea how they're getting away with this. I assume anyone can rock up there, with a box of used and damaged skincare products, and sell them via John Pye, to the internet bidders who live too far away to come and inspect, and just trust that a company wouldn't be selling disgusting, used items to put on their skin. A madness!!

May was very helpful and got my issue resolved quickly and efficiently.

Be very careful buying from these guys. They advertise products that have been returned due to problems and then hide behind their lengthy t's & c's. I purchased an air fryer which looked fine in the images and there was no mention of it being broken but when it arrived it wont even switch on. Unlike e-bay you have virtually no rights and they will happily take your money for the item and pricey delivery service, and then wont offer any assistance or refund when the item is not fit for purpose. I expect they sail very close to what is legal and I wont be using them again. Hopefully you will read this and do the same.

Do not buy any sort of appliances from this company. They usually don’t work and there’s no comeback from them. Absolute scum

i Bought the car in their car auction. They are scammers so please avoid them. What normally they do just intentionally make the key disappear and sold you car with massive engine problem.

Bought 2 electrical items neither worked John Pye refuse to give a refund even though their description failed to disclose this . They base their stance on bought as seem even though the majority of sales are online . Clearly the sell junk which people believe are in working order . Don’t waste your money

So deceitful it's actually unreal. And don't get me started on the having to show ID for delivery bull. Simply not worth it. There's a reason they are known as John Sly Auctions. Stay away and save your cash and sanity.

A further update on the abysmal condition of the HISENSE fridge freezer we brought from John Pye. They refuse to give us a refund,stating that we bought it from the website auction and had it delivered (at a cost of £80 on top of the £120 for the item) without going to view it. To see if it was fit for purpose we would have had to see it plugged in and waited hours for it to get to the correct temperature at the auction site. This I am sure John Pye would not have been willing to do. They stated "sold as seen".... These people are nothing short of con men. THEY should have checked it out, made sure it worked before putting it up for auction. Yes we can accept a few dents, etc but a fridge freezer that stays at 15oC and warms up NOT gets cold is not fit for purpose. PLEASE DO NOT EVER BUY ANYTHING from this company....unless you are willing to accept something that doesn't work . You will NEVER get a refund....they will just reply to your messages with a load of twaddle. So John Pye Auctions have taken £200 from us and given us a fridge freezer that doesn't work. GOOD BUSINESS JOHN PYE....I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PATRONISING REPLY TO THIS REVIEW , ABSOLVING YOU OF ANY BLAME/RESPONSIBILITY.😡😡

Pictures showed a boxed product in good condition with what appeared to be retail packaging still on the product. On arrival the outside of the box clearly had 'faulty' written on it, there were missing and damaged parts, which should definitely have been stated on the listing, but these cowboys take pictures to hide the true condition of the items and purposely, give as vague a description as possible. The product was also very poorly packaged inside its original box with no polystyrene packaging, so product had rattled around inside the box causing further damage. Lesson learnt, to delete my account and not use them again, fortunately I only purchased one item from the dozen or so I intended to buy, as reviews I'd read made me cautious, listen to the bad reviews, this is basically broken junk you would ignore at a boot sale, but with pretty pictures on a website instead, steer clear.

I would not recommend this company to anyone. All the items they sell seem to be damaged or faulty. I purchased several things for my home, and none of the electronic devices worked at all. The furniture also arrived with damage and scratches.
I raised a complaint with customer support, but they refused to resolve the issue. As a result, I had to report the matter to my bank and request a chargeback on my card.

Partner purchased a coffee machine for new house so we didn’t try straight away until we moved in. In the mean time bought an air fryer also. Tried the air fryer, no power. So thought we better try coffee machine as well. Fault with that too. Complete waste of hundreds of pounds. Yes it’s our fault, but if this stop one person from wasting their money it’s worth it. I appreciate that they have T&C’s and it’s sold as seen but it seems to be immoral to sell items that don’t even switch on. Don’t risk it is my advice!!

I had a very poor experience with John Pye Auctions.

I received items that are simply not usable. The toilet seat was cracked and cannot be used at all. The bin arrived dirty, with rubbish still inside and signs of rust.

There was no mention in the listing that these items were broken or unusable. That is the main issue. I understand items can be second-hand, but they still need to be usable for their basic purpose. A toilet seat that cannot be used is not acceptable.

I contacted them and sent photos, but they just replied with a standard template saying everything is "sold as seen" and refused to help.

This is not my first issue with them. I had a similar situation before and had to resolve it through a chargeback.

If you are buying from them, be very careful. If something goes wrong, don't expect help. You may need to go through your bank to get your money back.

They really need to be more honest in their listings and clearly state if items are broken or not usable.

To whom it may concern, (Adam Pye)
I feel compelled to leave a review regarding my recent experiences with your Chesterfield branch, as it perfectly encapsulates the wonderfully unpredictable nature of auction buying—equal parts gamble, disappointment, and unintended comedy.
I fully appreciate that purchasing from auction sites is a “buyer beware” scenario. I understand the risks, the “sold as seen” disclaimers, and the general expectation that items may require some remedial work. In fact, I’ve made peace with the well-practised “computer says no” approach and the almost reflexive refusal to consider refunds. That part, at least, is consistent.
That said, it is only fair to point out that my experiences have not been universally negative. I have had genuinely positive interactions with your Marchington and Edinburgh teams, where the process has felt far more organised, transparent, and—dare I say—customer-focused. I must compliment Marchington in particular; they wrapped my items so well that they could have returned to Earth with the Artemis 11 mission and still been unscathed. This only makes the contrast with Chesterfield all the more noticeable.
What is less easy to accept, however, is the apparent lack of consistency in areas where there are clear expectations—both legally and procedurally.
For example, I recently received delivery of an electrical chainsaw via DPD. In other auctions within your wider operation, it is clearly stated that such items require 18+ identification upon delivery or collection —a reasonable safeguard. Yet in this instance, the item was handed over to my child without any verification whatsoever, something I can confirm via Ring camera footage. It raises the question: are safety checks optional depending on the day of the week?
Then there is the small matter of the chainsaw arriving in a box that had been quietly marinating in its own oil. What I initially assumed was a shadow in the photograph on the JP website turned out to be leakage from the reservoir. (I am aware that the standard response might be that, had I driven 281 miles to your site, I would have seen the item in person; however, the item appeared to be masquerading as something else—specifically, a shed ornament.) One might expect that, at the very least, fluids would be drained prior to transport—especially when dealing with substances that are, at best, messy and, at worst, potentially hazardous. It does make one wonder whether this was an oversight or simply a case of “it’s broken anyway, so why bother.”
While I accept that auction items are not guaranteed to be in perfect working order, this experience feels less like a calculated risk and more like a disregard for basic standards—both in terms of safety and accurate representation.
To add to the overall experience, this is not an isolated case. I have previously purchased two other electrical items through your auctions, both of which were unusable due to faults. At this point, it is beginning to feel less like bad luck and more like a pattern. But I’m becoming even more wary of certain items mainly electrical, and I intend to stay away from opened/used appliances in the future.
In summary, I have no issue with the inherent unpredictability of auctions. Within reason, I quite enjoy the suspense. What I do take issue with is inconsistency—particularly when it comes to safety procedures, the handling of potentially hazardous materials, and basic customer care. A little more attention in these areas would go a long way, even if refunds remain firmly in the realm of fiction.
Yours faithfully,
Victor M (pseudonym)

Fantastic customer service by everybody involved in this unfortunate listing error. Particular thanks to Oxanna for your diligence, close attention and professionalism.

They sell items that they know are damaged and they purposefully hide the damage in the pictures they take.
No one in their right mind is going to travel a 100 mile round trip to inspect a product for £20 or £30, instead they just bid. The result is you receive damaged goods that are useless and then never use the auction platform again. To me it is a very short sighted way of doing business.

Don't bother buying electricals I've used them twice and neither item worked and has missing parts, down £125. Fees are high expect the final cost to be double the bid.
Stick to eBay at least you can return items there and it more than likely ends up being the same price anyway. Never using again.