AMI Auction: What Happened???

[suicide_squeeze]

Look....this all seems to have taken a bad turn, with bickering going on between us members who should be looking out for our own. It's silly.


I want to take a theoretical approach to this all, and I hope you can follow and understand where I'm coming from.

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT intended to be a suggestion that these are my opinions on the current situation at AMI. This is simply food for though to illicit deep thought on how to handle your emotional anger if you are one of the consigners owed money from an auction house and while you are trying to receive payment....ANY auction house.


Okay members, consider this ficticious scenario.....

-An auction house has (for whatever reason) fallen out of the good graces with the public.

-They owe a lot of money to a lot of different consigners, but are faultering in payments because they don't have the money.

-Furthermore, they are troubled with severe fall-offs of incoming consignments because the word is out, and consigners are reluctant to take the risk any longer.

-It has been common knowledge for some time, public common knowledge to anyone who makes even a feeble attempt to find it, that this particular auction house is in trouble.

-At this point, if you are owed money, you need to take action to insure you are in the "food line"....legally represented and noted as being a creditor to this ongoing concern.

-After doing so, and with all of the knowledge out there about this "company" and their problems, you are told by your attorney(s) to "relax and back off, we'll take it from here"...

-The auction house is still getting in consignments, just a lot less. It is harder to get quality items, and the transparency of what is being offered is tougher on the auction house, because there are so many fewer items being offered. Maybe, just maybe, since there is more of an opportunity now to research a potentially desireable piece, it is harder for the house to push through other "less desirable pieces with questionable authenticity", because they could be shown rather quickly as being "bad", further damaging the chances of the house staying in business.

-So, the most reasonable explanation left on where the consignments are coming from, would be either through personal contacts, aquaintences in the inner circles of the business, or flat up from "sweat shops" who are in the business of coming up with bad items they modify, tweak, or otherwise, to make look as authentic as possible, to offer to the unsuspecting public. Add to that, possible forgeries of certain items that are being offered, all to increase "receivables" to help keep the doors open.


Now I ask you......If you are owed thousands of dollars from this auction house, WHY are you concerned about the consigners who are feeding items to this (ficticious, in my example) auction house?

You shouldn't be.

Chances are, the items are bad, non-desirable, and fabrications/forgeries to mislead. Furthermore, these "consigners" should know better by now. You can't police EVERYONE in the hobby, even with your good intentions. And, if the stuff is "good", well that would be the best scenario! Then whoever wins it is happy, got an authentic item, and a consigner will get paid!

If the house makes enough profit in the longrun, they may ALL get paid.

If they eventually run out of gas and have to close the doors......who will be the last group of consigners who was feeding all of the items to this house that you guys are worried about at this point?

Think about it. The answers start to come a bit into focus....

Could it be the inner circle of associates that have been supplying questionable items for years?

If so, do you really care about these consigners?

[suicide_squeeze]

OK Administrators.......I see you removed my definition of "POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY"

My bad....thanks for understanding it was all in good humor, however...

[cordovacollector]

But if they get "new" monies in, they would (hopefully) go to the new consignors and pay for ongoing expenses and overhead. I doubt enough new monies could be generated to pay the former consignors that were cheated in the past.

When a guy is digging a hole and suddenly finds he can't get out but you let him keep on digging, all he does is make a bigger hole that's harder to get out of. Perhaps kindest thing to do is close doors now and pay what they can to past consignors. And have the courts be sure they settle the resititution when they find other employ ... with the caveat that they can't be hole diggers again.

At least customers wouldn't have to worry if they were buying stolen goods or if their payments were going toward old debt and thus creating new consignors that won't be paid either. And former consignors wouldn't be offered "ponzi" schemes to pay past debt.

I think we've beaten this horse to death and it would be a kindness to close the thread. All have their opinions, and it serves no purpose to shout at the deaf.

[suicide_squeeze]

But if they get "new" monies in, they would (hopefully) go to the new consignors and pay for ongoing expenses and overhead. I doubt enough new monies could be generated to pay the former consignors that were cheated in the past.

When a guy is digging a hole and suddenly finds he can't get out but you let him keep on digging, all he does is make a bigger hole that's harder to get out of. Perhaps kindest thing to do is close doors now and pay what they can to past consignors. And have the courts be sure they settle the resititution when they find other employ ... with the caveat that they can't be hole diggers again.

At least customers wouldn't have to worry if they were buying stolen goods or if their payments were going toward old debt and thus creating new consignors that won't be paid either. And former consignors wouldn't be offered "ponzi" schemes to pay past debt.

I think we've beaten this horse to death and it would be a kindness to close the thread. All have their opinions, and it serves no purpose to shout at the deaf.

cordova,

Unfortunately I agree with you on all accounts.

It seems to be heading that way.

I just hope that the people owed all that money find a check in the mail one day from AMI for the whole amount...one way or the other. The whole thing is a mess, and it's terrible.

[sarahsdad]

I see now. Your bids are more of a philanthropic gesture towards your fellow collectors who have not been paid. Why didn't you say so? This whole misunderstanding could have been avoided.
sarahsdad

[Lokee]

Well I just read all 5 pages of this topic. I will now bow out of this topic. Thanks