Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

[mvandor]

I could not recall if I had previously registered at Grey Flannel, but couldn't get logged in so I tried to register. However, I couldn't because I didn't have the two auction house references, so I emailed them. First a Debbie emails me that I'm in their system but they need to update my address/phone/credit card, which I replied to.


Then I get the below from a higher up:

Mr. Vandor,

Please disregard the previous email from Debbie in my accounting department. If you would like to bid in my auctions and have no references, we require you to put money up front. I would need you to send me a bank check/certified check for $10,000 to my attention at the address below. Once I have it, I will clear you to bid. If you do not win any items in my auction, I will refund your money after the conclusion of the auction on April 29th, 2009.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter. Be well.

Thank You,

T.J. Favilla
Auction Director - Grey Flannel Auctions
8 Moniebogue Lane
Westhampton Beach, NY 11978
631-288-7800 x221
TJ@GreyFlannelAuctions.com
www.GreyFlannelAuctions.com
www.GreyFlannel.com

I'm looking at a lower end item or two, not a "Premier" item. I'm going to tie up 10 gr with auction houses rolling out of business or into bankruptcy??? I think not.

My reply:

$10,000 given all the auction houses closing or near bankruptcy. You must be crazy.

[trsent]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

I could not recall if I had previously registered at Grey Flannel, but couldn't get logged in so I tried to register. However, I couldn't because I didn't have the two auction house references, so I emailed them. First a Debbie emails me that I'm in their system but they need to update my address/phone/credit card, which I replied to.



Then I get the below from a higher up:

Mr. Vandor,

Please disregard the previous email from Debbie in my accounting department. If you would like to bid in my auctions and have no references, we require you to put money up front. I would need you to send me a bank check/certified check for $10,000 to my attention at the address below. Once I have it, I will clear you to bid. If you do not win any items in my auction, I will refund your money after the conclusion of the auction on April 29th, 2009.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter. Be well.

Thank You,

T.J. Favilla

Auction Director - Grey Flannel Auctions

8 Moniebogue Lane

Westhampton Beach, NY 11978

631-288-7800 x221

TJ@GreyFlannelAuctions.com

www.GreyFlannelAuctions.com

www.GreyFlannel.com

I'm looking at a lower end item or two, not a "Premier" item. I'm going to tie up 10 gr with auction houses rolling out of business or into bankruptcy??? I think not.


My reply:

$10,000 given all the auction houses closing or near bankruptcy. You must be crazy.

You should have us all pitch in some to help you pay the deposit for the privilege to bid.

[mvandor]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

You should have us all pitch in some to help you pay the deposit for the privilege to bid.

Wry humor I assume. It's not a question of financial ability it's a question of risk. AMI looks to be rolling into bankruptcy, another auction house has ceased operation and reopened under another name, others simply aren't paying consignors.

I'd have to be a complete fool to send $10,000 to an auction house for a deposit in this economic environment.

[kingjammy24]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

color me confused again. GFC's auction website states that in order to bid "you will be required to provide a valid credit card number". seems like typical auction protocol to me. however, if they have a valid credit card number, why then the need for a $10k cash deposit? in case i bid and don't pay? run the card! that's what they took it for isn't it?

the real problem of course is that if you purchase a bad piece from GFC and put it on a credit card, you can remedy the situation instantly by instructing your card to reverse the charge. if you send them a money order, as they're instructing, you're SOL.

how's this for a slogan:
"Grey Flannel Auctions is not responsible for computer or human error which may result in any customer dissatisfaction"

anyway, i notice TJ's bio says he "worked at yankee stadium for 4 years" but strangely neglects to say exactly what he did at yankee stadium for those 4 yrs. anyone know?

rudy.

[suave1477]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

anyway, i notice TJ's bio says he "worked at yankee stadium for 4 years" but strangely neglects to say exactly what he did at yankee stadium for those 4 yrs. anyone know?

rudy.

Rudy you don't know Freddy The Pan Man???

[kingjammy24]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

i know it's off-topic but it just struck me as odd; to overtly make a point of saying he worked at yankee stadium but completely fail to elaborate on the position. obviously, working at yankee stadium isn't the same thing as working for the yankees so it's got me curious. i imagine it was brought up by GFC because it's somehow relevant to his current position as auction director. if it's relevant, then i'd be interested in hearing what exactly TJ did at yankee stadium.

rudy.

[camarokids]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

I'm looking at a lower end item or two, not a "Premier" item. I'm going to tie up 10 gr with auction houses rolling out of business or into bankruptcy??? I think not.

My reply:

$10,000 given all the auction houses closing or near bankruptcy. You must be crazy.

This must be their way of quietly refusing you access to bid in their auctions.

Do think this could be because you are a member of GUU?????

I have never placed a bid with a "major" auction house. I did bid in Historic's auction once. At the time I lived down the road from them, so I could have picked up any winnings in person.....

[otismalibu]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

Do think this could be because you are a member of GUU???

I think they have a different email for that.

Here's the one I got

I would prefer that you not bid in my auctions. In reading your online postings concerning Grey Flannel, I see nothing but negativity towards us. Therefore, with this in mind, I see no reason to allow you to bid and greatly appreciate your understanding in this matter. I wish you well.

[mvandor]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

This must be their way of quietly refusing you access to bid in their auctions.

Do think this could be because you are a member of GUU?????

Could be, the first email I received asked for updated info, which was reasonable, followed by the second email with the $10,000 demand from the auction honcho. Perhaps he looked here and verified my membership, or even saw I've made a commennt or two about their lack of effort to authenticate their items as of late.

[kingjammy24]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

there's something disturbing here, besides TJ's infantile customer service skills. one of the main responsibilities of an auction house is to try to fetch the highest price for their consigners.

i wonder how the consigner of the item(s) greg was planning to bid on would feel if knew that TJ shrunk the bidding pool on his item(s) simply out of personal spite or the consigner of the item lower-end item(s) mvandor was planning to bid on knowing that a ridiculous $10k deposit was being required. there is no mention of any such deposit required on their website. it simply says that if you don't have references, you'll be asked to leave a credit card.

imagine if you consigned an item to an auction house and that auction house was rejecting eligible bidders simply because some employee didn't like them. if i was a consigner, i'd be pissed. oh wait, you don't have to imagine it, it's the current GFC business model. brilliant. run an auction house like some sort of grade school playground.

"with this in mind, I see no reason to allow you to bid"

with the fact that greg posted on GUU in mind, TJ sees no reason to deliver the maximum return to his consigners by allowing a eligible bidder to participate? i guess you only learn that kind of sharp business sense spending "4 yrs at yankee stadium".

rudy.

[hblakewolf]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

there's something disturbing here, besides TJ's infantile customer service skills. one of the main responsibilities of an auction house is to try to fetch the highest price for their consigners.

i wonder how the consigner of the item(s) greg was planning to bid on would feel if knew that TJ shrunk the bidding pool on his item(s) simply out of personal spite or the consigner of the item lower-end item(s) mvandor was planning to bid on knowing that a ridiculous $10k deposit was being required. there is no mention of any such deposit required on their website. it simply says that if you don't have references, you'll be asked to leave a credit card.

imagine if you consigned an item to an auction house and that auction house was rejecting eligible bidders simply because some employee didn't like them. if i was a consigner, i'd be pissed. oh wait, you don't have to imagine it, it's the current GFC business model. brilliant. run an auction house like some sort of grade school playground.

"with this in mind, I see no reason to allow you to bid"

with the fact that greg posted on GUU in mind, TJ sees no reason to deliver the maximum return to his consigners by allowing a eligible bidder to participate? i guess you only learn that kind of sharp business sense spending "4 yrs at yankee stadium".

rudy.

Rudy-
you made another interesting post recently about Grey Flannel. According to O'Keffe's story, a bogus Ripken jersey was purchased from Grey Flannel; rather than simply reimburse the buyer's $2,475, (and avoid the publicity), Russik comes to the People's Court, "admitted his company had erred" and "looked like a whipped dog".

Kingjammy24 vbmenu_register("postmenu_82729", true);
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,660


Best of O'Keeffe: Lots of Grey area in game-worn rip-offs
Lots of Grey area in game-worn rip-offs

By Michael O'Keeffe
New York Daily News

Justice may be blind, Grey Flannel president Richard Russek recently learned, but it certainly knows when a letter of authenticity ain't worth a damn.

Grey Flannel, the Long Island sports memorabilia house, bills itself as the world's foremost authenticator of game-used jerseys, but Judge Marilyn Milian issued a sharp dissent in a July 7 broadcast of "The People's Court."

"The Case of the Ripken Rip-off" began when collector John Cherpock bought what dealer Sean Ford claimed was a Cal Ripken game-used retro jersey tailored for the second game of the Orioles' July 18, 2001, doubleheader with the Texas Rangers. Cherpock paid $2,475 for the jersey, which was accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Grey Flannel.

"I wouldn't have bought it without the letter from Grey Flannel," Cherpock said.

Six months later, Cherpock consigned the jersey to Robert Edward Auctions. The New Jersey auction sent it back because, contrary to Grey Flannel's LOA, the second game of the doubleheader was canceled thanks to a chemical spill that shut down parts of downtown Baltimore.

Cherpock told Russek and Grey Flannel CEO Howard Rosenkrantz he wanted them to reimburse him for the $2,475. Grey Flannel was liable, Cherpock says, because it issued the letter vouching for the jersey. "This is why people pay premiums for certificates, because they hold themselves out as experts," Cherpock says. Russek and Rosenkrantz offered Cherpock the $400 Ford had spent to get the jersey authenticated. Cherpock filed suit in Nassau County small-claims court, but agreed to bring the case to TV when contacted by The People's Court producers.

"Even if I lost, I would have let the public know what kind of guys they are," he says.

Before Judge Milian, Russek admitted his company had erred. But he said Grey Flannel didn't owe Cherpock the $2,475 because Cherpock didn't hire Grey Flannel. Besides, he added, a disclaimer on the bottom of the certificate of authenticity was just opinion.

Russek said Grey Flannel thought it had reliable sources for its opinion - a letter from a limo driver who said Ripken gave him the jersey and a letter from a guy named Charles Jeffrey - but he later acknowledged he didn't even have a letter from the driver.

"Let me talk to you about negligence," the judge said. "There are two types of negligence. There's plain old simple negligences, and then there is negligence that is so out there, that is so bad, that is so wrong, that it is gross negligence...it takes two seconds to just find out if the game even ended up being played on the date and time you are certifying."

Milian then went ballistic: "What you have is just a paragraph signed by some schmo named Charles Jeffrey with no address, no phone number!" she screamed.

By the end of the show, Russek looked like a whipped dog. "This is what gives the memorabilia business the bad reputation that it enjoys right now," the exit interviewer told him.

"Yeah, well listen, in almost all cases we're correct," Russek countered. "We made a mistake. The judge ruled. What can I say?"

"Yeah, but gross negligence," the interviewer added. "You didn't even try."


Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@comcast.net

[gingi79]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

Thanks for the heads up on Grey Flannel. I have no interest in consigning or bidding with them after this most recent debacle. I don't mean the countless items proved to be fake by this website. I mean the underhanded bush league crap pulled by GF illustrated in this thread. Not to mention I stopped dealing with them when they were 10 minutes away and still made me pay $25 in shipping because "the item isn't in this office" They mailed it from their "other" location even though I paid to the Long Island location and the postmark came through Long Island.

If posting on this board upsets an Auction Company to the point where they demand $10k or refuse to allow you to bid, they obviously have something to hide and believe the comments from this board are causing them to lose business. However, I might have had interest in some other items from their auction but nevermind now.

I'm sure they won't miss my business. Considering how many people in this very small hobby will now think twice about bidding with them because of their business practices, they will lose money however. In this economy, most people are selling their items to make ends meet. I have to wonder what other juvenile tricks the company is pulling to limit the already diminished bidder pool?

Far be it for me to tell other collectors what to do but I think their actions speak for themselves.

[camarokids]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

I think they have a different email for that.

Here's the one I got

I would prefer that you not bid in my auctions. In reading your online postings concerning Grey Flannel, I see nothing but negativity towards us. Therefore, with this in mind, I see no reason to allow you to bid and greatly appreciate your understanding in this matter. I wish you well.

That is pretty sad. They should be adult enough about it and accept the findings and learn from it. Not label it as negativity criticism.

After all, the members here are actually helping them by pointing out their items that are listed incorrectly or that are not legit.

Unless they prefer to sell illegitimate items to unsuspecting customers????

I guess it is their business to run as they see fit, even if they run it into the ground ....

One thing the "major" auction houses have going for them is, there are tons of rich people out there with tons more money than brains. These rich bidders will spend big money while having a blind trust in these auction houses. Also they do so without doing any research themselves (homework).....

I guess I won't be allowed to bid in their auctions now, oh well .....

Anybody want to buy a SuperMan cape for 30K ?????

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

After all, the members here are actually helping them by pointing out their items that are listed incorrectly or that are not legit.

Stoppit Camarokids....you're making too much sense!

[mvandor]

Re: Has Grey Flannel Lost It?

I should add that around the time I began emailing about getting access for bidding, I also had emailed them about the Jerry Rice jersey in their auction (see http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_f...ad.php?t=24592), pointing out that the wide nameplate is inconsistent with 2000 photos of Rice, sending them photographic proof.

Never received a reply and item was not removed.