Downies Reviews 26

I'm actually quite surprised with all the 1 star ratings. I was a little apprehensive after placing my order & then reading all the negative comments. However, my experience & purchase through Downies Collectables couldn't have gone any smoother. I was very impressed with the prompt reply to an email I sent with the answer I was wanting to hear & then the timely frame in which my order was sent. I was emailed when my order was ready for shipment with the tracking information. It was received in perfect condition & packaged well. I have no hesitation in purchasing from this dealer again :-)

Thought ehh will give them a go as there were coins that I ordered in stock. Most definitely would have not placed an order if I read the reviews.

9 days later and they say they are waiting for the coin from their supplier. Log back on and look up the same coin and there are 7 ‘available.’

This is how a reputable business works like Swan Bullion. You place an order, pay for it and walla 3 days at the most it’s arrived. Simple with no BS!

9 days later ‘oh, sorry thank you for your patience, we are waiting for our supplier.’ Hahaha amateurs.

However, I did receive notification they were refunding my payment.

I appreciate the polite phone staff, but that’s about where the positives end. Orders seem to take forever, with months of delay that feel unwarranted, especially when other dealers manage to get the same products out on time or even ahead of schedule. It’s frustrating to see competitors consistently deliver while Downies struggles to keep up. Wouldn’t recommend if you’re looking for a reliable timeline.

Good experience, sometimes takes a while to deliver

Downies has been so great with me I have been the customer for a short time period my experience I'm having with them welcoming friendly and also they replied straight away back if I have any questions and I will continue being a regular customer because they are wonderful. there's no trouble receive all my products every time I order from downies the
product has been great fantastic brilliant so I don't understand with those bad reviews or putting them down because it's not true they are wonderful and trustworthy and they are honest company PS I RECOMMEND TO ANYONE TO BUY FROM THERE COMPANY'S ONLINE STORE downies.com thank you sharon ivano 👍👍👍

A Loyal Customer's review says Downies are the "apex of customer service". Opinions are opinions, everyone has a different perspective in reviews but let me tell you fellow collectors that is just a straight up lie.
It's the worst customer service out of all the dealers by far.My experience is l ordered a coin, paid, the coin sold out and was approximately 3 times the price on the secondary market.A few weeks go by( a usual timeframe for Downies) and l receive an email that they took too many orders, they are out of stock and you will receive a refund.I rang Downies, spoke to the supervisor and told her l don't want a refund l want the coin,you can get one if you really try,you are a big company.She said," Ok,l will see what I can do and get back to you in a couple of days.Never heard a thing and the refund appears anonymously in my account.My advice to the other collectors out there is to try and get your coins elsewhere because Downies is too risky with their sloppy practices.It is hit or miss with Downies.

To begin let me disclose that I have read a broad constellation of Downies reviews (from categorical issues, time between ordering and product delivery, and everything in between). Based upon a plethora of negative reviews, one might immediately ask, "why did you not listen to the negative, angry, incendiary, and dissatisfied customer reviews? To begin, I was searching for a few very specific numismatic items that, predicated upon my search, revealed only Downies as the enterprise whereby I could identify, purchase, and received such items. I'm a Clinician-Scientist, educator, mentor, and dedicated life-long student. I understand the search process, and many of its traps, trials and frustrations. After a protracted period of about of two weeks of innovating my searches, it remained that the only entity claiming to be capable to fulfilling my order, was in fact Downies. Nevertheless, before going any further, I sent a very candid communique about the Company's reviews, and whether they were legit and committed to me as a customer, especially one from the US purchasing numismatic products from Australia. While I was brutally honest about my concerns I also acknowledged that customers are fast to complain, and very slow to compliment (if at all). This sets up what we call ascertainment bias; the prediction of future behavior, activity etc contingent upon past performance characteristics; which in the case of Downies, the actuarial experiences are all one-sided without virtually any dual perspective. Truth usually lies somewhere in between, but with an enormous landscape of final dispositions, the collection of such data is seriously if not fatally flawed. The response I received back was in no way dismissive, but was professional, serious, and clearly one of 'we want to do business with you...'; give us that opportunity. Yes I'm an n=1 (a single sample), but I'll say this. 1. I've now purchased innumerable coin specimens from Downies, that have involved some five (5) distinctive orders, with a 6th underway. Why? 2. Let me say that any organization's most precious assets are NOT their products and/ or fiscal assets, it's their people; the team that executes, and believe it or not, the customer is also a member of that asset team. How? We are the end user, who orders, pays, and then receives delivery at which point we are, in a very real sense, field workers for such entities, providing vital, if not existential feedback upon the principle of. translating promises into acts, actions, and deeds. It's NOT what you think, what you say, or what you advertise in writing that counts; all key, but only if translated into what is actually done. 3. Almost instantaneously with my first order I was contact by the Downies rep handling my account, Shikha, who provided me with the details of my order, the process, and that he would be my contact person. 4. Let me say that Shikha became Downies to me, and ultimately the reason for this review. This is, without equivocation, the most consummately quintessential customer service rep, and in truth, alliance collaborator that I have ever worked with in the numismatic domain. Who have I worked with? The Royal Mint, Hattons of London, The Commonwealth, the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint), The Czech Mint, Real de la Moneda, PERTH, Scottsdale, and others. From the ordering process, communications about delays (these happen folks, get over it), responses to inquiries about discounts, among other issues. Given the number of items I've purchased, it's not surprising that a glitch or product defect may be identified. There was in fact a single instance, and following my report and furnishing of images to Shikha, the problem was resolved in an expeditious fashion, the life of which I've never seen. A replacement was nearly as quickly shipped, something I've never experienced before. At this juncture some may be asking; "Come on, you got this attention because you're a 'big fish' submitting large magnitude orders; right?" WRONG. My first and actually first few orders were quite modest actually; putting one toe in the water to gauge whether what Downies promises can be actualized. The rest is history. Of all the numismatic purchases experiences from Ordering, Payment, Shipment (and the all important safe packing to protect the customer's new numismatic treasures), delivery, and satisfaction, I must, in my case, vote in total opposition to what I have read online. In fact, my wife and I sat down and asked this question, (we are both customers and sellers of numismatics), who would we rate our interactions with the group? We did exactly that. DOWNIES? #1; by 8,000miles in our case. Final point? Experience for yourself. Reviews are key, here is mine. Think for yourself, E

The website is a thorough nightmare. Once a selection is made from the eight (8) options, the options page remains and almost totally obliterates the selection made.
Otherwise, a reputable and reliable company.

This is a great company from my personal experience.
Don't know why reviews stars are low.
They are very professional and were easy to resolve a un delivered item.
Just because stars are low doesn't always mean it's true...Find out for yourself...Long time customer.Michelle

After waiting for 3 weeks for a tracking number, I tried to get in touch - no reply to emails, I rang their number, stupid answering machine only. Luckily I had apid by Paypal and asked them to refund my funds. Funnily enough, 2 days later Anita got in touch. Still waiting for my refund though. These people are either very unprofessional or they just dont give a toss AVOID

Ordered a coin via their silver coin lucky dip. Advertised as saving up to $90. I paid $59 + delivery and receive a 12gm weighed Stirling silver coin, value about $15. Wrote to them explaining that this was not fair or right, no answer.
There are far more reputable coin dealers doing much better service than this company, I know I will never deal with them again, and others should look around for a company that deals fairly.

Avoid Downies at all costs, especially if you are trying to acquire coins on release days.The site is atrocious and has crashed all year.By the time you have wasted your time the coins are sold out everywhere else.Downies are also overpriced.Read all the reviews on review sites.Every review is terrible.What does that tell you?

3years ago i was charged 5 times for the same transaction and i never bought another product from them since. Today oct 4th 2023 i recieve a letter telling me i owe them 18 dollars considering i always paid by credit card i have no idea how they came up with this idea! These guys are no better then the scammers constantly calling people.

i was disappointed because the required side wasnt showing..the plain side was all you would get

These guys are just awful. Constantly releasing catalogues well after the coins I want have sold. Waiting on the phone for over an hour. How hard is it to hire more people just for the release days? There's not many of them yet you're always under prepared. Chris Pavey is just an unprofessional meanie. Refuses to talk or listen. You're better off at wynyards or imperial. Go on Facebook and join a numismatic group, anything but these guys. They're just no good.
UPDATE 22.09.23
Chris Sealy responded with this

I am more than happy for you to post about Downies Collectables, but please be careful about naming staff in public forums. This has already been escalated with regards to your post naming Chris Pavey with Google due to staff privacy and I wouldn’t want to have to head down a legal path if staff members including myself are publicly named.
Threats to sue me. They are more focused on their name than the way they treat their customers. Threatening customers is wrong guys.

I’ve sent them 3 emails and 2 contact requests via their website and they simply don’t bother replying, even though I purchased from them twice before.

When I purchased my proof set I was made aware of pre order / back order status. The time for delivery arrived and passed with no word, however, whenever I reached out to customer service they were quick to respond and even offered me a refund if I didn’t want to wait any longer. I find no harm in waiting if it means I get what I want at the end of the day at the best price I could find. It’s competitive out there!

Still waiting for my order placed and paid for on Nov 4. They tell me it’s at the warehouse packaged up and will be sent to the post office shortly. How long is “shortly”? Are they waiting for it to grow legs? Christmas is coming soon and the post office will be run off it’s feet delivering mail and packages. If they don’t send it by this week I am going to my bank and ask for a refund. Never ever will I buy from Downies again. Anyone else would be crazy to do so too.

Don't waste your time with these people , order took 3 months to turn up, customer service is doesn't exist , terrible

I cant believe some of the prices for coins at downies for a purple 2013 coronation $2 coin on one of their cards they want $239.95 and other resellers are selling them for $179.00 after a phone call to price match they said they don’t and won’t and they go of the current market value they obviously don’t know much about coins because that isn’t the market value for 1 coronation. Will check from time to time to see if they reduce the price but untill then no more orders.