American Memorabilia Consignor Finally Gets Paid!

[sammy]

The following is a quoted from the link provided below.

I finally was paid a couple of weeks ago, after about a dozen emails and then half a dozen phone calls (which towards the end, contained threats of legal action).

What a hassle... so not worth the trouble. It is beyond me, how they keep coming up with consignments, when they are so bad to their consignors (and apparently, their authenticators as well...)

In the end, it took me nearly 6 months to be paid, and that only happened after I had to bother them to eternity. I have heard from numerous other people who shared similar experiences, and were told the same exact thing... "Oh yeah- your items were never paid for, and we're trying to find someone who wants them. We think we've found someone, but it will take a little more time."

That's when you can get them to actually answer the phone... normally, you must leave a voice-mail that goes unanswered.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/567138/thread/1207348547/last-1212335915/American+Memorabilia (http://www.network54.com/Forum/567138/thread/1207348547/last-1212335915/American+Memorabilia)

[hblakewolf]

Looks like autographalert.com has a recent posting that also paints a rather poor picture for Vic and his "sidekick" Keeta....

http://www.autographalert.com/news.html

Breaking News:
May 31, 2008 Victor Moreno’s American Memorabilia
Getting Slammed!

A horror story that has been around for some time! Victor Moreno and his sidekick Susan Kieta have been holding auctions out of the Las Vegas home for a handful of years. Our files indicate numerous problems with this company over the years. From complaints to the Better Business Bureau in Las Vegas to Mr. Moreno having his membership in a major autograph organization terminated for his failure to respond to ethics complaints during March 2004. In August 2004 Susan Kieta received a delinquent letter from First Data demanding a payment of over $1,800 for default in a lease agreement for their electronic credit card machine.

Many of you may remember the fiasco of 2005 when American Memorabilia attempted to sell the famous mass produced Columbia Records Bruce Springsteen album that contained a preprinted signature of Bruce Springsteen authenticated “as genuine” by PSA/DNA.

American Memorabilia has had their share of problems in the past with regard to authentication as well as making payments. One autograph authenticator who worked for American Memorabilia still has outstanding invoices for non payment dating back to 2003.

Moreno and Susan Kieta’s latest problems are now exposed on the following link
1. http://www.network54.com/Forum/567138/thread/1207348547/last-1209435357/American+Memorabilia (http://www.autographalert.com/1.%20http://www.network54.com/Forum/567138/thread/1207348547/last-1209435357/American+Memorabilia)

Statements from consignors state: “it is now almost May and still no consignment check or any other compensation for lots sold in AMI’s November auction. No return communication either.”

Another consignor states: “I should not have believed they were truthful the first time around...”

And yet another consignor says: “What auction house gives their buyers 5+ months to pay. My guess is that the buyers paid long ago and the auction house kept your money.”

Another says: “I didn’t even realize they were still holding auctions.

And another: I was given the same standard answer..the winning bidder has supposedly not paid for the items...the trouble is that this was the excuse given me the time before. Shame on me..”

One disgruntled consignor writes: “..I had to actually threaten Kieta with legal action to get paid on my last consignment.....AMI is quickly getting to the point where they can’t even be taken seriously....”

One more consignor states: “For anyone considering consigning to American Memorabilia, a word of caution...count on it taking a minimum of 5-6 months to be paid for your consignments. This is a trend that has grown progressively worse...there is only one person who oversees consignment checks (her initials are “K”) and she is rarely present. She is readily accessible however, if you have a payment due....or are considering consigning something...”

http://www.autographalert.com/moreno.jpg Victor Moreno of American Memorabilia

This auction house is a supporter of 3rd party authenticators who they obviously pay for certificates of authenticity. For autographs they utilize PSA and JSA. American Memorabilia’s website states you only receive a standard authentication letter. However those winning bidders have the luxury of upgrading the standard letter for an additional fee. Their most interesting statement is : “(American Memorabilia) reserves the right to refuse any item that comes from any authentication company.
Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@comcast.net

[cicero]

Please call me. I am a longtime collector in the hobby and I want to talk for a minute about American Memorabilia. Thank You Dale Cicero (503) 819-1102

[sammy]

PSA/DNA to Authenticate Controversial Mickey Mantle 500th Home Run Ball




Staff Writer - July 9, 1999 http://images.collectors.com/Articles/mantleswing.gif
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. - After reviewing extensive evidence, the sports authentication experts at PSA/DNA Authentication Services announced the company will authenticate the controversial Mickey Mantle 500th home run ball owned by Dale Cicero using their unique DNA technology. The historic ball will be displayed at the Collectors Universe booth during Atlanta National Sports Collectors Convention July 22-25.
Mantle's 500th home run ball ignited a firestorm of debate at the Guernsey Auction January 12 at Madison Square Gardens. Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball was the first lot up for auction that day, and brought an astonishing $3,005,000. Mantle's 500th home run ball was the other high-profile lot that many buyers were eagerly awaiting.
Minutes before Cicero's Mantle ball was due on the auction block, a friend of the Mantle family approached Guernsey President Arlan Ettinger. He claimed that Merlyn Mantle, Mickey Mantle's wife, possessed the real 500th home run ball.
When Ettinger informed the attendees that it was in his best interest not to auction the Mantle 500th ball, boos and hisses ensued. Stunned, confused, and angered, the auction attendees watched as the Mantle ball on which they had planned to bid was withdrawn from the block.
"It was a battleground," said auction attendee and Collectors Universe expert Miles Standish, "People were furious. At least 50 people wanted to bid on that ball. It was a consignor's nightmare - to have your item pulled from the bidding auction of the century."
Which was the authentic ball - Dale Cicero's or Merlyn Mantle's? PSA/DNA, the authenticator of the McGwire 70th home run ball, was enlisted to investigate and solve the Mantle 500th home run ball mystery.
PSA/DNA analyzed exhaustive documentary evidence, reviewed additional relevant non-documentary evidence, applied the vast experience of their own team of experts, and consulted with other renowned experts in the sports collectibles field before making their decision.
Dale Cicero's ball was deemed authentic.
Their decision arose after careful consideration of important facts and observations. Upon examining the Cicero ball, experts agreed that it was undisputedly a vintage, game-used Joe Cronin official American League baseball. Also, the ball is signed on the side panel in faded ink by Mickey Mantle. The signature, verified as an authentic vintage 1960s Mantle autograph, reads, "My 500th - Home Run - Mickey Mantle -5/14/67."
Moreover, the Cicero ball has a well-documented lineage that dates back to that historic spring day that Mantle hit his 500th home run. Louis Defillippo of New York originally caught the milestone homer, took it to the locker room and gave it to Mantle, who signed a different ball in exchange.
Mantle then presented his 500th ball to H.D. Youngman in 1967. Mr. Youngman kept the ball in a secure vault until 1985, when it was placed, along with other significant baseballs, in the Baxter Springs, Kan., Little League Museum.
"It's a well-known fact that Mantle's 500th home run ball has resided in the Baxter Museum for many years. That has never been questioned until recently," said leading industry expert Bill Mastro, of Mastro Fine Sports Auctions.
Mickey Mantle Jr. retrieved some of his father's signed baseballs from the Baxter museum in 1990, but not the historic 500th ball. The transfer of the memorabilia was well documented.
In 1995, dealer Scott Goodman bought the entire Mantle collection from the Baxter Museum. On February 6, 1996, Cicero bought Goodman's 500th Mantle ball in an auction, and it has remained in Cicero's possession since. "Evidence relating to the provenance of the Mickey Mantle 500th home run ball owned by Mr. Cicero is overwhelming. PSA/DNA is honored to be able to authenticate such a valuable and significant piece of baseball history," said Jason Meyerson, PSA/DNA President. PSA/DNA will tag Cicero's authenticated Mantle 500th ball using the same exciting DNA technology employed to authenticate McGwire's 70th home run ball. An invisible, yet permanent and non-transferable, trace liquid containing a synthetic strand of DNA will be applied to the ball. This DNA tag is nearly impossible to replicate (the chances are 1 in 33 trillion) and will ensure the authenticity of Mantle's 500th home run ball for the remainder of its life.






http://images.collectors.com/Articles/mantle500th.gif close-up of the PSA/DNA confirmed Mantle 500th homerun
ball currently owned by Dale Cicero




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Investors hope Mantle baseball launches memorabilia business

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City) (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182) , May 5, 2000 (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_20000505)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- Yellowed by age, the baseball Mickey Mantle smacked for his 500th home run 33 years ago has landed in the hands of local investors hoping it launches their memorabilia business.
The ball's odyssey began with the swing of the former New York Yankee great's bat May 14, 1967. A fan retrieved it, and more than three decades later it has found its way to a bank's safe-deposit box here.
Bob Przybysz said he and other members of a local investment group hope the collectible bought in March from Oregon entrepreneur Dale Cicero will become the centerpiece of their memorabilia company, Prime Global Collectibles.

Przybysz refused to reveal the ball's sale price, other than that it was in the six-figure range.
"We are unsure about what we will eventually do with the baseball, but we needed something big to help with getting our business off on a high note," Przybysz told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Thursday.
He said the company will buy and sell collectibles, not just sports memorabilia, and work as a broker for others who want to buy or sell them.
"It will be like commodities sales," he said.
Since Mantle hit the home run off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Stu Miller, the baseball's travels have become part of the game's lore.
Louis DeFillippo, then an 18-year-old fan, caught the ball in Yankee Stadium's stands and gave it back to Mantle, who signed another baseball and gave it to DeFillippo in exchange.
Mantle later gave the ball to his business manager, Harold Youngman, who put it on display in 1982 at the Baxter Springs (Kan.) Little League Museum, along with baseballs Mantle hit for his first home run, his 300th home run and his 1,000th run batted in.
When Youngman died in 1990, he bequeathed Mantle's collection to the museum. Memorabilia collector Scott Goodman bought the ball in 1995 from the museum, and Cicero the next year paid $24,200 for it in an auction sponsored by Chicago-based North Shore Sports.
"For me to sell something is rare," said Cicero, his collection estimated at $3 million to $4 million.
Cicero planned to sell the ball in January 1999 at an auction conducted by Guernsey's, a New York auction house. Minutes before bidding began on Mantle's baseball, his widow, Merlyn Mantle, called the auction house and claimed she had the real baseball at her Dallas home and that Cicero's ball was bogus.
"The news was big that the ball might be phony, but at the time I thought there was no way it could be," Cicero said.
Through subsequent investigation, Cicero's ball was found to be the real deal, bearing the date May 14, 1967, and a signature that matched that of other items Mantle was signing about that time.
The ball held by Mantle's widow carried the slugger's bold "Sharpie-marker" signature that he adopted in the 1980s.
Mantle, forced to the sidelines by chronic knee problems after the 1968 season, was 63 when he died of cancer in 1995.