A Reasonable Response From A Reasonable Auction House - Ha!!

[dcgreg25]

Just to play devil's advocate, why would an auction house want to try to auction something that didn't sell a couple months (or less) earlier?

Ken
earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com

Good point Ken. Auction houses want fresh, exclusive items to build their reputation. However, it seems they should have communicated this with you before you placed the items in the other auction. Not seeing the full communication, I do not know if this could have been communicated earlier. In my (limited) experience as a consignor, one of the questions I have been asked about items is if they have been in auctions before, how long, etc. Regardless, the email certainly could have been phrased in a more positive way so they did not lose a customer. Perhaps they could have encouraged you to consign it for an auction later in the year or something.

[TriplexXxSports]

...and I would have been fine with that.

The original communications were that I was going to run some items in one auction, and then run some more in another auction that was at a later date, possibly overlapping some of the items from one to another (assuming that not all of them sold in the first auction).

That was communicated between myself and the 2nd auction house. Nothing was said until "D-Day" about not allowing my items for consignment.

[TriplexXxSports]

Not only that, but it was told to me in such a distasteful manner. Like I'm some POS, and my items are no good now because they were run by another firm.....

[godwulf]

The first individual with whom you dealt either didn't know what he was talking about when he agreed to auction your "leftover" items - in other words, he wasn't really authorized to make that commitment - or he was simply overruled at the last minute by someone more in authority in the company - the second person with whom you dealt. If the former, then it was primarily his ignorance of company policy, in promising you something he couldn't deliver, that led to your disappointment.

As for the ill-mannered way in which the second guy broke the news to you...gee, I've never met a sports collectibles dealer who was in any way insensitive or socially retarded. I'm shocked!

[karamaxjoe]

I've never met a sports collectibles dealer who was in any way insensitive or socially retarded. I'm shocked!

That statement says a lot. Most of the dealers I know have been in this sordid business their whole lives and are used to dealing with people in a rough way. They could really use some customer service training if they really want to keep customers. I've spent my whole career in the customer service world and if word got back to my boss that I sent an email like that, I'd be finished.

[TriplexXxSports]

....... if word got back to my boss that I sent an email like that, I'd be finished.

LOL, it was the boss that sent me my final e-mail. That's that kicker.

[godwulf]

By the way, I got to thinking about it, and I wanted to make clear that I was not saying that all sports collectibles dealers are that way, of course. I've encountered several who were the nicest guys you'd ever want to do business with.

[dcgreg25]

Not only that, but it was told to me in such a distasteful manner. Like I'm some POS, and my items are no good now because they were run by another firm.....

I hear ya TriplexXx....they had an opportunity to sell your items and get you a good price in which case, my guess is you would have used them instead of the first auction house going forward. Unfortunately, they blew an opportunity to gain a customer instead of losing several.

[TriplexXxSports]

Ya know, I am all about the 'fresh' look and all of that. I understand that concept. What erks(sp?) me about it is why is it that I was denied consignments because they were run at another auction house months before. Its not like I am sending them to an auction that starts next week. There is a period of 4 months in between. I was honest with them in my initial communication clearly telling them that I was going to run my items in another auction prior to theirs to maximize visibility and potential sales. All I got was a 'thank you' and 'is there any other questions I can answer'......

As Dave put it earlier in this thread, maybe people would rather buy from one auction house rather than another, based on personal preference. We have all had conversations here about getting items from places like AMI, or Coaches Corner, etc. What if you saw an item in one of those auctions that you wanted but hesitated to bid. It never sold, and 4 months later the same item ended up in Robert Edwards, or Lelands..? You would more likely bid on it then, wouldn't ya?

Another reason out there that might cause a potential bidder to hesitate on bidding on an item is the difference in buyer premiums from one place to another. All the auction houses try to be competitive in the BP's. If an item doesn't sell at one place it may sell at another with a lower BP.

Another thing that 'grinds my gears' is what about the whole Flea-Bay scenario. I am willing to bet that if I were running these items on eBay in the months prior to the 2nd auction houses start date there probably wouldn't be much of a problem. But since I am running them in a 'competitors' auction prior to consigning to them, now there's a problem?!

I just wonder if my items are being victimized because of the competition between auction houses. It would make sense that a place that uses their own personal 'authenticators', for example, would not want to push an item with a Legendary Auctions LOA, or a Mears LOA. Lou Lampson LOA's seem to get away with it since he has worked for alot of these companies in the past, but I can see a direct LOA with a specific auction houses name on the letterhead could cause some conflict.

Now, I don't mean to sit here and sound like a whiny little school girl with my panties all up in a bunch (which I probably do) but, I just cannot see a logical explanation as to why legit game worn gear would get turned down, why this particular auction house would look past potential profit, and why the owner of this company would act in the manner that he did about this whole situation.

Something smells fishy.......