Question about American Memorabilia

[sfgiants452]

Hi,

I am interested in getting some items form americanmemorabilia.com and I wanted to know if it is a trusted site. Has it served anyone well in the past? Has anyone been ripped off by them before? How would you rate them as a company? Any help WILL be appreciated!!!!

THANKS

[byergo]

I've had good luck buying and selling with them in the past.

[BULBUS]

it is a trusted site. i bought a few items from them without any problems. they take credit cards too, which i like. if you have any questions about a particular item, ask AM first and then post it here. there are a bunch of people on this forum that can help you out.

[sfgiants452]

Thanks

[EndzoneSports]

As a bidder/buyer, my impressions have generally been favorable in that I've been pleased with the items that I've obtained. As I would caution from ANY source, be sure you're doing your homework on the item(s) of interest prior to bidding/purchasing. I've found the staff to be pretty responsive in answering questions on descriptions that were unclear, providing additional detail, etc. Be advised that their "in house" authenticator for nearly (if not) all auction catalog items is Lou Lampson. Lou is very knowledgeable in some area, maybe not so much in others as enough research on this forum and others will show that there have been some pretty major gaffes made public. I say this not to harp on Lou, but as a word of advise not to necessarily take his or ANY authenticator's word, simply on face value. It is pretty much an industry standard--when items in their catalog are questioned--for auction houses to use the fall-back statement/excuse of, "we're not the experts so we have to rely upon the opinion of our authenticator(s)". If there's one knock on AMI, it is this point. As Lampson, DBA "100% Authentic" is essentially in AMI's pocket, several have questioned how objective his opinions really can be related to these items. The key point to remember here is that due diligence is the buyer's responsibility, not the authenticator's. Finally, if paying promptly by credit card (which they allow), shipping is just as prompt. Jerseys purchased from two different auctions (paid for the day after the auction closed via automated invoicing) were shipped and received within a week of the auction. Grade: B+

As a consignor, I was a bit less impressed. In one of their recent auctions, I sent a lower valued item as a test piece before deciding where to submit several higher value items. About 6 weeks after the auction, I received a bulk e-mail (presumable sent to all consignors) stating that consignment checks were being printed and would be in the mail within the week. This was the first of 3 such e-mails I received over the next month with none of the subsequent two explaining the reason for the delays. While possible that my one small consignment check got lost in the shuffle amongst the several high-profile consignors, and if so, shame on them, as such treatment of the "little guy" in this particular instance likely cost them a significant amount of business in the future. If this was not an exception and instead their normal practice, them my assessment is that there may likely be more customer-friendly auction houses with which to do business. C

Overall Grade: B

Best regards,

[trsent]

To add, I consigned some items to the last completed American Memorabilia Auction. The terms were payment to be made 45 days after the completion of the auction. I received my payment about 30 days after the completion of the auction. I was very pleased.

I know AMI often takes a bad rap on this site, but so do all auction houses at one time or another. I was very pleased with my experiences with AMI.

I agree with the comments above, always do you homework. Items can slip through the system, as authentication is not always perfect because it is not an easy job. Overall, most authenticators gets their items right, but when an error is made it sticks out.