I have been using Ctbids since it's inception and have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on it, sometimes for single lots. I used to love it but as of late the handling prices have gotten crazy with sellers tacking on an extra 20 dollars for taking the item to the post office. Many times they justify it with gas and staff costs as though your item is the only one being shipped from the auction when that's obviously not the case. If they are collecting 20 dollar handling costs from all the buyers who need shipping you can imagine how much extra they're making on the side. The terms are very vague regarding these fees, often referencing fees but not going into detail about the ridiculous prices until after the item has already been purchased. The customer service has gotten substantially worse over time and many of the sellers don't follow their own terms and conditions. My last 3 purchases have been as follows: 1. Won an 18 dollar lot with an item worth around 75 (good deal right?) and was charged close to a 100 dollars after s&h charges + seller handling fee + buyers premium. To be fair it was a stack of records but even so the actual shipping cost wouldnt have been more than 20 dollars. I run a record store so I ship items like this out all the time. In an effort to cut the costs I asked the seller to only send the one item which he did but only after telling me that he usually charges an additional 50 to dispose of the items but he'll make an exception for me (gee thanks!). He still charged me a significant amount for taking the item to the post office and my total s&h costs ended up being just shy of 30 dollars for a single vinyl record. The estimated delivery date for the one item is over a month after I purchased it and I have yet to receive it three weeks later. 2. Bought a 40 dollar lot of items and paid 40 dollars shipping because the seller chose to do it themselves and charged for the effort. (the actual costs couldn't have been more than 15 dollars Max) 3. Purchased a thousand dollars worth of items only to receive them MONTHS later (this was a whole story in itself, I won't even bother going into the details on here) when the items arrived there was obvious damage that wasn't shown on the photos. Was given the run around day upon day for months.
4. Purchased a single vinyl record and had to argue with them to reduce the price on the shipping and handling. Ended up paying around 20-30 dollars s&h. (for reference it costs me $4.35 + 1.28 materials to ship a vinyl record anywhere in the US. I charge my International customers 26 dollars flat to ship anywhere in the world. Oftentimes it costs me less to ship to Japan than it does to ship a single record from ctbids.)

If you are a reseller or are looking for deals keep in mind you most likely won't get them here. The extra costs make it impossible to get a bargain unless the item is ridiculously high value and you get it for a song. Be sure to ask the sellers lots of questions before bidding, specifically regarding additional handling costs as well as shipping methods. Also be aware that communication varies a lot between locations and a lot of them are only interested in making a quick buck.

So I've literally bought thousands of dollars of merchandise off this website, so I know a lot about them. First let me explain something to you. Every area that has items on this site up for auction has its own owner. It is like their own franchise. Each with different levels of business capabilities and professionalism. For example... the store in Utica, Boise-idaho, Tewksbury-ma, loudoun-VA, Brazos Valley and Annapolis & Arundel County, communicate with you are professional, and ship your items safely and quickly.
On the other hand, you have horrible business owners that make a person wonder why am I doing on this website.
They don't respond to you, they are rude, and do t know what they are doing at all.
The people from del sur, Cary NC, Indy North, will let you grow old before you see the items you bought, the guy from Denton and Collin County tx will have you pay for your items and supposedly "donate your items" if you don't pay immediately after he decides to send you your invoice. Same with greater tri-cities. But the worse of all of them is Moore Choctaw & east Oklahoma. Margo Gonzales. She is slow, has too much on her plate and will keep your items if she finds out they are worth a fair amount of money. She will claim to have sent them but she hasn't.
And when you have a problem with a seller there is nothing you can do... They are their own boss, owner of their business. So what can you do.
Shipping will always be pricey because they usually leave the items to be packed and shipped by a third party shipper plus they charge a handling fee for themselves.
Once I had a seller from Sheboygan WI charge me 9.00 to ship my item in a flat rate box and I ended up getting it in a regular envelope with a regular stamp on it. (It was a paper item).
So it is a real site selling mostly items from people that either pasted on or are being put into retirement homes. With some auctions from people that want to downsize or they are moving. The people hire from this company with each owner of their franchise having a strict territory that they cover. So if your new to the site you may have a horrible experience if the auction your bidding on is from a seller that is a jerk or a flake. Its live and learn with them. I will never bid on an auction from Moore choctaw ok, Margo Gonzales or from Denton tx, Rex norris.
Another thing I get sick of is having to hound some of these seller's to send a shipping invoice to you, or send them multiple emails asking where is my item can I please get an update... that is in my opinion unprofessional and shows that some of them but off way more then they can chew by getting into this business. Also one last thing. It may take some searching to find something you really want because some of them don't know wth they are selling, and if the kids of someone that past on is putting these items up to be sold they sometimes don't have a clue either, and just don't know how to list things.(and good luck having them answer any questions about the item). This may work in your favor...
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask

CT Bids (Caring Transitions auctions) is 100% legit. I have been bidding and buying with them for several years. HOWEVER, you should understand that each Host/Franchisee has a territory, and each of them runs things a little differently. I am North of Pittsburgh, PA, and so I live in Leslie M.'s territory, and I have dealt with her the most. She gets FIVE stars from me, all the way. Helpful doesn't begin to describe Leslie and her helpers. Your auction disclaimer will say something like, our ppl are not going to help you load your stuff, so come prepared... but Leslie's ppl ALWAYS help me, without being asked. They know me on sight and call me by my name now. And her auction descriptions are detailed, with measurements and really good pics. She will list out brand names for clothing lots, and even mention and picture small defects on a single item listed in a lot. And she even puts some thought into the lot titles, trying to put some humor into the names to relate to the items listed.
That said, I gave only four stars to the company overall. Why? Because Leslie seems to be the cream of the crop, and not necessarily typical of CTBids hosts, and I think the company could do a better job in monitoring their sellers. From what I can tell, the Greater Pittsburgh Area is split to three hosts. North, South, and... Central, maybe? The guy in the South territory puts up pics ONLY, with a simple title, NO WRITTEN DESCRIPTION AT ALL. And the one or two times I have sent him a question about an item, he has been brusque and blunt with reply. I guess this is good enough for him, as his stuff does sell, and maybe he doesn't feel a need to put more effort into it. But I just find his whole page cold and impersonal, and quite lacking, and as such, I don't even browse his page anymore, much less buy from him.
The central guy is another thing, too. He puts up good pics, and tries to put in some humor, and a little description (if I wasn't spoiled by Leslie, I would say they were good), although I have had quite a few items where damages were not mentioned, and condition was not as boasted. However, most of his sales are out of a storage warehouse in a VERY decrepit and rather scary neighborhood, and I get a shady vibe from his whole setup. I DO like the fact that the warehouse is a drive-thru and you can drive up indoors right to the pick-up door and through. Very COVID effective... but you do still have to get out and load your own stuff. That's another thing about his crew, they aren't lifty-loady helpful. Again, I'm spoiled by the North crew... There was one time I was picking up a HUGE bunch of stuff from him and one of his guys helped and brought me a dolly and everything, but I got such an impression that he was looking over his shoulder the whole time, like he could get in trouble for it...
So, that's my story, hopefully it sheds a little light for anyone skeptical. As far as trusting them with your credit card or Paypal, that's not a problem, they are def legit, NOT scammy. I have never had any problem with that end of things, and it SEEMS to be all handled centrally, not by the individuals.