1st Dibs helped me aquire a very rare vintage lamp. This transaction went smoothly. Another transaction did not go so well but was resolved by 1st Dibs.

Ease of transaction and true to description of beauty.

I think 1st Dibbs is a great site! They describe each item well and then you have an option to offer a price that you believe is fair. I really enjoy this site.

I absolutely Love this site I give a 5 stars rating because the items have always authentic and affordable.

This is my first experience of using1st dibs and it has been so awful and stressful financially that I won’t ever use the site again. If you’d like to read my experience, particularly if you live in the UK, I hope it will give you some information so you can navigate the process in a way that feels fair and honest to you. I have two grievances: Firstly that 1st Dibs does not make it clear enough to the customer during the purchasing process that there will be significant customs and duties charge on imports into the UK. As these charges are brand new to most people in the UK since BREXIT, and depending on the cost of the item, they can significantly add to the cost of the item you are buying. This additional cost was never made explicit to me until I received a FEdEX email demanding payment. So, as the shipping process is managed by the buyer, make sure you are aware of and include the cost of these charges into your negotiation. If the total for shipping and duties is too high when added to the item price then end the negotiation. In my case I was not adequately made aware by either the seller or 1st Dibs of the total cost to me for the item and feel that I was misled. According to 1st Dibs’ website, ‘checkout will advise that any customs and shipping duties and taxes that do apply will be your responsibility’. I saw no such checkout page. When the seller accepted my offer, my PayPal account was charged the costs of the item plus shipping automatically. This really surprised me as i was expecting another interim opportunity to ok their acceptance of my offer, and the shipping charges, and actively confirm payment. That last opportunity to decide to go ahead is fair to the buyer. In my case I did not get this opportunity. However, i was not aggrieved as I knew the shipping cost and the cost of the item. However, I was at this point unaware of the customs duties. Some European businesses pay the customs charge it seems as I purchased an item from Sweden a few months ago that was delivered directly to me without charge. Had I seen the advice on customs and duties from 1st Dibs that they alledge they provide at checkout, I would have decided the overall price was too high. In fact the duties cost a lot more than the discount I had negotiated with the seller so I would have cancelled the order. However I did not ever see such a page with all the costs set out and so it was not until I received a demand for payment from fedEx that I realised what else I needed to pay. To add insult to injury the 1st dibs seller also decided without checking with me first to split the light into two boxes which resulted in 2 handling charges. It could easily have been packed into one box to avoid this. Having looked on the shipping/deliveries page of the 1st Dibs website which refers to customs /duties charges, there is a link to the UK Government website but the landing page it links to merely sets out rules for people with businesses importing into the UK and contains no information about the end customer being responsible for charges and what those amount to. I feel then that it’s factually incorrect to state that 1st Dibs advises customers about these charges. No where on the website is this set out clearly, nor do those additional costs appear during the transaction giving customers like me the opportunity to change their mind before committing to the seller’s costs and the shipping and customs/duties costs that inevitably follow. I feel misled, very upset about the financial burden of these extra costs, and I recommend that 1st Dibs improves this part of their site, particularly for Uk first time customers who are habituated to trading with European businesses without additional costs. We haven’t been on a BREXIT course 1st Dibs; it’d be appreciated if YOU made us aware of these costs; and if there is a checkout page which mentions it, how come I never saw it? My second grievance is that I have not been able to speak to a customer service advisor about this. I have searched the website trying to find some way to speak on the phone or live chat to a real person but the site is completely shut down to individual situations. I don’t think it’s reasonable and right that, having negotiated £180 off a £1560 pendant light, I am unexpectedly having to pay £250 to release it from the courier. This should have been part of the negotiation, on a page where I could evaluate whether it was worth paying an extra 20% before committing. Payment was taken automatically and that is what I would like to discuss. How did that happen 1st Dibs and why is it impossible to locate a person from your company who can discuss this with me? It is so frustrating to feel misled on the cost of an item and then not be able to find a way to speak to a company about how your money has been taken. It feels dishonest and I’d really appreciate a response.

The entire process is very smooth and no complication.

Been very nice to work with them and very quick to help with any questions you have.

A platinum business. I purchased a Georgian tripod table, but noticed when it arrived that it was missing the support spider under the base. Kevin immediately set out to find an appropriate period replacement, which he did. He spent a great deal of time and effort to find one. He mailed it to me gratis, and I installed it myself. Customer service at its best. First class operation.

The site was easy to navigate, the seller was accommodating.

Excellent selection of artworks. Accurate descriptions and reliable service.