opinion on american memorabilia?

[hollywoodgarbage]

baseball, basketball and football game used stuff

[TNTtoys]

Thus far, here are my opinions...

1. Very customer focused. Very responsive to emails. Will provide additional photos on the fly upon request, etc.

2. Will immediately remove an item when pointed out to them as not quite what they thought it was. I speak from experience.

3. Seem to have an audience of very rich bidders who would literally pay anything for what they are after, as a lot of the final prices are completely off the charts.

4. 100& Authentic/Lou Lampson... ummm I suggest you do your own homework. There is quite a bit of volume that comes through this auction house, and some things are apparently missed in haste.

[suave1477]

Unfortunately I cannot say the same as TNT regarding there customer service and they use Lou Lampson so to me that says it all.

Hollywood if I were you, go to the search option and put in American Memorabilia you will get threads discussing this same topic of how members feel about American Memorabilia

[lund6771]

I agree with Suave...it takes many months to get paid with numerous excuses...you talk to them on the phone and they are very nice, which means they tell you what you want to hear and then nothing shows up....I would plan on getting paid around 6 months...they do get some really nice stuff sometimes though...correspondence is very poor

[reed1216]

I am still waiting for an LOA from them that should have come with the item. The item was purchased in their December auction. The invoice promised that it was on the way and the representative(s) on the phone, each of the three times I called them, were very nice.

I just received their catalog and if the stuff is real, which I have questions about, some items are very nice. I will not be participating in any more of their auctions though, until the LOA from the December auction finds its way to my home. I'm not holding my breath....

[CollectGU]

What item was missing the COA? Maybe I can help.

Regards,
Dave

[reed1216]

Hi Dave,

It was a NY Islanders Bryan Trottier game worn jersey. I have since sold it and the buyer accepted the invoice, as well as the catalog, in lieu of the LOA. I was frustrated because the listing stated that the item came with the LOA and when it arrived, the invoice said it would be forthcoming. I waited a week or two and called. I repeated the wait a couple weeks, then call routine two or three more times before I gave up. I ended up selling it to someone who had seen it on my webshots page. I promised the buyer that if the LOA surfaces, I would forward it to him. For the time being, he is okay with the invoice and the catalog, but it was awefully frustrating paying for an item that, in my eyes, wasn't complete. Getting the "rounaround" after payig didn't instill a whole lot of consumer confidence. I didn't even want to bring it up in public until they had every opportunity to make it right. I guess I figured 4 months was enough, when I posted last night.

[lund6771]

who was the LOA from?

[CollectGU]

I believe Rich Ellis. He authenticates all hockey items

[lund6771]

Rich is a nice guy, but my personal opinion is that a LOA doesn't have any value unless it's from the team...I bought a jersey from Grey Flannel in one of their auctions that was awesome, but to me, the LOA is pretty much worthless...if your buyer likes the jersey I wouldn't lose any sleep over this LOA...I definitely understand the frustration of not getting the complete package though

[Marichal27]

My opinions differ from TNT. They have owed me over $1600.00 from consignment fees since the auctions ending in Dec. '06 and Jan. '07. I recently called anonomously, and asked when they pay out on consignments. The person I spoke with said between 45-60 days. When you never receive a payment, the co-owner says, "Well the person who won the bid hasn't paid for it.....etc." Or some other excuse. They are a bunch of jokes. Plus the almighty Lou Lampson authenticates items. We know his track record as well.

[otismalibu]

I've never bought or sold with American Memorabilia. I have, on about 4 or 5 occasions over the years, emailed them with some basic questions about an item they had listed. For example, I asked the size of a pair of autographed shoes they had listed. They've never replied to any of my questions. Except for the last time I contacted them with a question. They emailed me back to say they couldn't answer my question because I didn't leave enough contact information. Figure that one.

Does one need to be registered with them to have questions answered?

[CollectGU]

In answer to your question, I'm pretty sure you need to be a registered bidder to get a response. They have no problem answering any questions on items from bidders. Tony there is more than happy to help out if a bidder has any additional questions. On numerous occasions I've had them call me for additional info. on items I've consigned at the request of bidders.

Regards,

Dave

[lund6771]

I've asked questions and have also recieved quick responses for info on certain lots...I believe that certain people there do their "jobs", but when it comes to getting paid, don't hold your breath....the excuses that I got, concerning payment, were Disney like....great imaginations..check is in the mail, bidder hasn't paid, etc...I think they make Kia do all the dity work because she's really nice, and you almost feel sorry for her, like she's one that's suppossed to put out the fires

[reed1216]

I apologize for not responding. I didn't see that this thread had continued.

The LOA I referred to was supposed to have been from Rich. I have spoken with Rich by email and by telephone regarding other items I have collected and he is one of the nicest and most knowledgeable people I have ever corresponded with in the hobby. I felt and still do feel, that this was not Rich's problem. AMI stated to me over the telephone that they had the letter and would be mailing it. After it failed to arrive, I called again and was politely told that there was an oversight and it hadn't been mailed. I was assured that it would be and that was about a month ago, after I made the deal to sell it to another collector.

I do agree that LOAs, unless they're from the team or league (ie: MeiGray), are generally overated by collectors. However, given AMIs reputation (they use Lou Lampson- enough said), Rich's LOA meant a lot. As far as I am concerned, this is more of a case of a customer not getting what was agreed to in a transaction, rather than a customer getting ripped off. I do not feel ripped off at all. However, in an industry where lots of shady things are passed on as "real," I expect to get what was described in an auction. In my eyes, they dropped the ball and given that some of their items that they have sold in past auctions has been "questionable" to say the least, I don't feel that I can justify spending hard earned money with them.

[TNTtoys]

All,

I see a lot of you disagree with me regarding this auction house, and appear to have just cause. I have not consigned any items to them, so I wouldn't have the same experiences as you might have.

In a nutshell, my dealings have been very pleasant -- but my purchases have been very limited due to the fact that:

1. the final prices have gone far beyond normal for comparable items (for example, a game worn 1980s non-championship year Mets Keith Hernandez jersey just sold for $2,400)

2. I am not comfortable with Lou Lampson's authentication on items know little to none about it. I do know my fair share on Mets jerseys, but apart from these, my knowledge is limited, and I am more inclined to stay away than to take a chance.

Nick

[lund6771]

I'd rather have a LOA from Bozo the Clown than Lampson...

[sammy]

I'd rather have a LOA from Bozo the Clown than Lampson...


Excuse me, but what is the difference?

[reed1216]

I just wanted to update the forum on the LOA that should have accompanied the Bryan Trottier jersey I purchased in December.

I contacted them again on Wednesday and was assured that it had been sent. The representative I spoke with swore she was the one who mailed it, so I assume the only conclusion could be that it was lost in the mail. She further assured me that she would contact Rich Ellis and have him issue a replacement. Once it is reissued, AMI will FedEx it to me so I can forward it to the collector I sold the jersey to.

I will keep the forum posted on what happens. I don't want to bash a company for an honest oversite, if that's what this was. I hope everything works out and I believed the representative when she said she mailed it. Those things can happen, although it is rare. I will update the forum when the situation is addressed.

[reed1216]

I thought I would update the forum on the progress of the LOA I had been waiting for from AMI. It arrived today, so the ordeal is completed. Apparently, Rich had written it, sent it to them and when it was sent to me, it was lost. Rich reissued one and it arrived. Now, if only they removed Lampson from their payroll....:confused: