This all started with me making a straightforward query to Catawiki about provenance for a particular lot (a Newark ninepence) because I was concerned that the seller was based in Bulgaria. Of course, all of that has been discussed and it would seem that the Bulgarian connection was somewhat less than bona fide!
Because my query to their coin expert Marcel Spijkerbosch was ignored I repeated it, but still no response. This silence was deafening as far as I am concerned and in the meantime the discussion about the Bulgarian connection and a first-hand account of how Catawiki might be "turning a blind eye" to counterfeits was posted.
This lack of communication from Catawiki to me is all I need to decide never attempt to buy in those auctions again - I have lost confidence. This is different to the eBay situation since from the conversation about this in the eBay's Worst Offerings thread it would appear that Catawiki staff may well be consciously ignoring counterfeit lots being peddled through their auctions.
The latest development on this has been that I responded to an email previously sent to me during December before all of this blew up. It was a request for feedback on Catawiki's customer service as I had previously made a query about another lot some time ago. This email was from the Manager of Customer Service - a Petra Hageman, and I saw this as an opportunity to enter into dialogue about the zero customer service I had received when making queries about provenance for a 'suspect' coin. Again absolutely no response and my message was sent a week ago. In my view this does not put Catawiki in a 'good light' at all!
Of course, none of this is proven and there has been an element of speculation but it is enough, I think, for all to be warned to treat Catawiki auctions with extreme caution!