COVID-19 FAQ

Catawiki is open for business

Just as we are here for you during the good times, we are also here during the challenging times. As we navigate through this crisis together, we want to reassure you that we are committed to keeping our platform functioning. All our employees are now working remotely so you can continue using Catawiki in the least disruptive way.

Rest assured that we will support you throughout this process by:

  • Keeping you informed with regular updates.
  • Ensuring our Customer Experience Specialists are here for you.
  • Continuing to make payments to our sellers on a daily basis.
  • Keeping buyers’ payments safe until their item arrives.
  • Enabling buyers and sellers to easily keep in contact.
  • Helping sellers transition to a largely online business.
  • Making sure all feedback our sellers get is fair.

Click here to read the company update from our CEO, Ravi Vora.

We hope to answer any questions you may have in the FAQs below:

Seller FAQs

As a seller you are not only dealing with this unnerving situation on a personal level, you may also be worried about your income. Offline revenue streams may have ground to a halt and perhaps you’ve had to start selling in a way you’ve never needed to before. At Catawiki, we are committed to helping you through these strange times.

Yes, you can. We are currently seeing record-breaking numbers of bidders on Catawiki. This indicates that people are keen to support our sellers, especially those in areas affected by the virus.

This situation can even provide you with an opportunity to shift more of your sales online, and we are here to help you make the transition as smoothly as possible. We will send you a weekly email to let you know which categories are in high demand, so you know where you may be able to sell more than you currently do.

The following shipping companies have service alert bulletins that can help with staying updated: PostNL, Deutsche Post, LaPoste, Poste Italiane, UPS, DHL, Fedex, Colissimo, DPD, BPost, Correos de Espana, GLS, Royal Mail, and Portugal CTT, Catawiki will do our best to give you updated information from every shipment company, but we would urge you to check the latest information before going to the post office.

In these hectic times, it is even more important than usual for sellers and buyers to be in touch. We are enabling you to speak directly to each other through our buyer-seller chat feature. This will help you keep your buyers updated as to any issues with and delays in shipping you may experience when sending out your sold items. Great communication will go a long way in encouraging buyers to come back to the platform and feel confident about buying from you.

We are aware that this could mean that shipping for sold items might take longer than usual. Therefore, we advise you to clearly indicate in your lot descriptions that shipping will be delayed, and keep your buyer updated through our buyer-seller chat feature.

We see that people continue to search for and find special objects on Catawiki. They continue to place bids and pay for their items. Therefore, we encourage you to keep submitting and selling your items. If you wait until shipping disruptions have resolved before selling again, you’ll likely lose out on three to four weeks of selling. This is because it takes some time for our experts to curate and plan auctions.

We continue to make payments to our sellers on a daily basis. In the last 30 days, we paid out a record amount of money to sellers across our markets. As you make sales on Catawiki, you can count on us to make regular payments to you. This will continue to be a top priority for us.

These emails are part of an automated process and, unfortunately, it’s not possible to switch them off at this time. Therefore, during this time, you can safely ignore these automated reminders.

We know that in some regions packages may take longer to ship than usual. Rest assured that any negative feedback related to this will not be added to your account. If you receive such feedback, please reach out to us.

Yes, you can continue to submit your classic cars and motorcycles for auction. These auctions have a longer duration and we’ll let buyers know that shipping and pickup might be delayed or disrupted. Until delivery is possible, your payment will be held in a secure account.

Buyer FAQs

Please continue to support our sellers now more than ever before, as your orders will help keep them afloat at a time when their offline revenue streams may have ground to a halt.

The various health organisations assure us that there is currently no evidence that you can catch coronavirus from parcels and letters. Viruses like coronavirus cannot live outside of a host body for very long.

For the most up-to-date information about this and other questions about coronavirus, please refer to your local health organisation or to this page of the World Health Organisation website.

You can bid and buy with confidence, knowing that your money is safe until the item arrives in your hands. Once the auction ends, you’ll be able to use our buyer-seller chat feature to connect with the seller, in case there are issues or delays in shipping. Our Customer Experience teams are here for you, should you have any questions.

Rest assured that your money will be kept safe until you’re able to collect your parcel from the post office.

Please note that, under usual circumstances, shipping companies typically return parcels to the sender if they are not collected within a certain time frame. Because of this, we strongly recommend reaching out to the shipping company to either find an alternative solution or ask for them to hold onto the parcel for a bit longer. The following shipping companies have service alert bulletins that can help with staying updated: PostNL, Deutsche Post, La Poste, Poste Italiane, UPS, DHL, FedEx, Colissimo, DPD, BPost, Correos de España, GLS, Royal Mail and Portugal CTT.

Also be sure to use our buyer-seller chat feature to connect with the seller.

In these situations, it is extremely important for the buyer and seller to keep in contact. This way, you’ll be able to find the best solution together. Be sure to use our buyer-seller chat feature to connect with the seller. Additionally, our Customer Experience teams are here for you, should you have any further questions or concerns.

All shipping companies have implemented measures to keep their personnel safe, while ensuring that parcels are delivered to the correct addresses. Exactly how they do this depends on the company. In most cases, delivery personnel will ask for identification and will then sign for you themselves using a unique identifier (such as your passport number or last name).

While transport is indeed experiencing some delays, many professional transportation companies are still servicing national and international destinations. One of our experts will gladly help you to choose the right transportation company for you.

Rest assured that we have taken measures to keep your money safe until it is possible to arrange transportation or collection from the seller. Throughout this process, it’s important to keep in contact with the seller through our buyer-seller chat feature. By staying in contact, we’re sure you’ll find a fitting solution for your situation.

More questions?

If you have more questions, please visit our Help Center.

Help Center