CollectGU
05-10-2006, 08:01 AM
Vintage will no longer be using MEARS, as per MEARS website
MEARS and Vintage Authentic's Auctions
April 29 2006 at 9:09 AM Dave Grob (davegrob1@aol.com) Dave Grob (Login davegrob1 (http://www.network54.com/Profile/davegrob1))This week, Steve Jensen at Vintage Authentic and I spoke about our contract work with his organization in 2006. Steve has decided not to use MEARS exclusively for his work based on a number of factors including cost and responsiveness to his needs and timelines. While Steve expressed a desire to still want to use MEARS for select pieces, the way we currently operate just does not meet his requirements.
As sorry as I am to have lost this account and I must admit that Steve had valid concerns. Our price structure represents a function of our actual costs in terms of time and labor as compared to what was being done for SCDA. The volume of work for Vintage was really just more than we could absorb and do it in the manner we felt it needed to be done and still meet his time lines. At first blush, one might suggest that we just hire more people. Frankly, I would love to but the population of people capable and WILLING to do this work is just too small. There are dozens of knowledgeable people out there to be sure. But this is what we would require:
1. Physical proximity to our base of operations.
2. The willingness to be publicly and fiscally accountable for their work.
3. If they wished to continue to buy and sell, be in compliance with our policies in this respect.
Although it has been offered that we out-source this work to a series of niche or specialty collectors around the country, this is just not feasible due to the logistics involved. In addition, it would not be cost effective for an auction house to plan to expense bringing in a Yankees guy, a Packers guy, a Flyers guy and a Lakers guy per say for an auction.
John Conard has been involved with us for some months in both a researcher and data entry/data mining capacity. John has been a hobbyist for some time and we look to expand his role within the organization as well. We have been hampered in recent times with Dave Miedema’s failing health issues that restrict his travel and the organization misses him greatly on both a personal and professional level.
We wish Steve and the folks at Vintage Authentic only the best in 2006. Steve was the first to truly embrace a many of things that MEARS feels add value to our service such as published grading and listing actual letters and work sheets on line.
Dave Grob
Policy Director
MEARS
MEARS and Vintage Authentic's Auctions
April 29 2006 at 9:09 AM Dave Grob (davegrob1@aol.com) Dave Grob (Login davegrob1 (http://www.network54.com/Profile/davegrob1))This week, Steve Jensen at Vintage Authentic and I spoke about our contract work with his organization in 2006. Steve has decided not to use MEARS exclusively for his work based on a number of factors including cost and responsiveness to his needs and timelines. While Steve expressed a desire to still want to use MEARS for select pieces, the way we currently operate just does not meet his requirements.
As sorry as I am to have lost this account and I must admit that Steve had valid concerns. Our price structure represents a function of our actual costs in terms of time and labor as compared to what was being done for SCDA. The volume of work for Vintage was really just more than we could absorb and do it in the manner we felt it needed to be done and still meet his time lines. At first blush, one might suggest that we just hire more people. Frankly, I would love to but the population of people capable and WILLING to do this work is just too small. There are dozens of knowledgeable people out there to be sure. But this is what we would require:
1. Physical proximity to our base of operations.
2. The willingness to be publicly and fiscally accountable for their work.
3. If they wished to continue to buy and sell, be in compliance with our policies in this respect.
Although it has been offered that we out-source this work to a series of niche or specialty collectors around the country, this is just not feasible due to the logistics involved. In addition, it would not be cost effective for an auction house to plan to expense bringing in a Yankees guy, a Packers guy, a Flyers guy and a Lakers guy per say for an auction.
John Conard has been involved with us for some months in both a researcher and data entry/data mining capacity. John has been a hobbyist for some time and we look to expand his role within the organization as well. We have been hampered in recent times with Dave Miedema’s failing health issues that restrict his travel and the organization misses him greatly on both a personal and professional level.
We wish Steve and the folks at Vintage Authentic only the best in 2006. Steve was the first to truly embrace a many of things that MEARS feels add value to our service such as published grading and listing actual letters and work sheets on line.
Dave Grob
Policy Director
MEARS