I really appreciate everybody's thoughts.  The 
last time I asked about deputy services, the few 
replies I got were pretty negative about a 
particular service's reliability.  Now the posts 
seem split on that issue.

Since there still seems to be a little confusion, 
let me reiterate what happened.  Basically, I used 
 Celga for the first time to bid on a lot of 3 
Ryokos.  I was told, "No problem.  we've placed a 
bid on this auction for you."  I bid about 4k, and 
the auction ended around 1800 (I think!), so I 
figured I got it.  Since I don't shop for really 
expensive "dream cels", the only auctions that 
really warranted my use of a deputy are those with 
multiple cels for sale.  Otherwise, the fees make 
it prohibitive.  Since Celga was nice and 
friendly, I decided to bid on some more auctions 
and try to lump any winnings together with the 
Ryokos and save on shipping.

Of the five or six subsequent auctions I bid on, 
the folks at Celga were good about telling me:
---if they placed a bid
---if they couldn't place a bid because I was 
second and my bid was too low
---if they could place a bid, but another customer 
was first with a lower bid

I experienced all of these.  Not a problem in the 
slightest.  I won two of those auctions.  But 
since I didn't hear back from them (and because of 
all the horror stories I read on here about cels 
being mailed to the wrong customers!!) I decided 
to inquire as to exactly which auctions I won.  I 
received an e-mail that verified the three 
auctions I won, including the initial lot of 
Ryokos.

When invoices eventually got sent out, I was 
billed for the two later auctions, but no word on 
the Ryokos.  When I inquired about them again, I 
was told that another bidder was first and I lost 
them.  End of story.

Now, my only thought is there MIGHT have been 
miscommunication between the two fellows at Celga. 
 Makoto took my order and sent both confirmation 
e-mails (that he placed my bid, and that I won).  
Keigo sent the invoices and said I lost (or 
rather that my bid was never even accepted!).  
Just prior to that, Makoto was nice enough to 
explain that things DO get confusing and that they 
are working on a new website to aid in keeping 
things organized.

*sigh* I suppose there are worse tragedies in the 
world.  I just don't know what to do.  If I knew 
that orders weren't getting botched, I would be 
content to leave them alone and wait weeks to get 
auction results and such.  But if things can get 
screwed-up like this, it makes me want to keep in 
regular e-mail contact to confirm things, which 
only adds to their workload.  Heck, a few of my 
e-mails were answered by both Keigo AND Makoto, 
with neither one knowing that the other had 
answered!  :-)  Perfect example of the 
confusion.....

But it looks like there are few alternatives....

Thanks again, everybody.  I really would like to 
continue with Celga, but......  I will post a 
follow-up when I get a response back from them.

JP