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A Reasonable Response From A Reasonable Auction House - Ha!!
In short, I have been in contact with 2 auction houses about moving some of my current inventory to raise a little cash so I can focus more on my collecting priorities in 2010.
Each house had different dates they were running their auctions so in order to maximize visibility and potential sales I went with the auction house that was running the earliest auction first.
Throughout this time I stayed in contact with with the 2nd auction house working on consigning stuff to them which may include some of the items that did not sell in the 1st auction (if there were any). The gentleman that I was dealing with at this particular firm was nothing short of professional and helpful. We agreed and I was told to contact him when I was ready to make the move on consigning my items to them and we would get to work on the details.....
So, I sent an e-mail this morning giving an update and to get some more detailed info about their process to get the ball rolling. The response that I received (from a different individual) was unwarranted and unprofessional, to say the least!
(here is a copy of a couple of the e-mails that I exchanged with this auction house. For the protection of the company and parties involved, I did a little editing.)
__________________________________________________ ______________
From:
Subject: Re: Possible Consignments
To:
Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 7:56 AM
Thank you. I believe I have all I need. I am working with another firm to get some items listed in an auction with a earlier closing date . When that auction is completed I will be in touch as to which items I will be looking to place in your April auction. I am trying to maximize visibility for my items and move them as quickly as possible. Thank you for all your information and time.
I will be in touch in regards to the April auction.
Matthew
Response:
From:
Subject: Re: Possible Consignments
To:
Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 8:06 AM
Matthew,
Is there anything else I can do to assist you in making your decision? Any more questions I can answer?
__________________________________________________ _______________________
From:
To:
Sent: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 8:14 am
Subject: Upcoming Auction Consignments
As we spoke before, the (1st) auction is about to end (edited)....Therefore, I would like to pursue the option of consigning some items with you folks in your next auction.
I was looking for some information on how the process needs to work. Please let me know and I will begin to get things together on my end.
Thanks Again for your time,
Matthew
RESPONSE (different party than the original person I worked with):
From:
Subject: Re: Upcoming Auction Consignments
To:
Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 7:55 AM
Sorry it does not work like that. You should have given it to us in the first place. The public has already seen what did not sell. Why would we want to run also rans. If you have something fresh and good please let us know.
Thank You
__________________________________________________ _______________________
Interesting response to say the least. I am being penalized for not using them in the first place. What is that? As stated before, I wanted to maximize visibility for the items I am selling. Now since another auction house touched them they are all of the sudden no good? They are not fresh? What's the difference if I had been running them on eBay this whole time?
Needless to say I feel it is very unprofessional to contact me in that manner, especially when the original party at this firm and I agreed on this process. One would think that the auction houses would be happy to give things a go, especially since it is potentially money in their pockets.
Very frustrating, and very unprofessional....
Each house had different dates they were running their auctions so in order to maximize visibility and potential sales I went with the auction house that was running the earliest auction first.
Throughout this time I stayed in contact with with the 2nd auction house working on consigning stuff to them which may include some of the items that did not sell in the 1st auction (if there were any). The gentleman that I was dealing with at this particular firm was nothing short of professional and helpful. We agreed and I was told to contact him when I was ready to make the move on consigning my items to them and we would get to work on the details.....
So, I sent an e-mail this morning giving an update and to get some more detailed info about their process to get the ball rolling. The response that I received (from a different individual) was unwarranted and unprofessional, to say the least!
(here is a copy of a couple of the e-mails that I exchanged with this auction house. For the protection of the company and parties involved, I did a little editing.)
__________________________________________________ ______________
From:
Subject: Re: Possible Consignments
To:
Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 7:56 AM
Thank you. I believe I have all I need. I am working with another firm to get some items listed in an auction with a earlier closing date . When that auction is completed I will be in touch as to which items I will be looking to place in your April auction. I am trying to maximize visibility for my items and move them as quickly as possible. Thank you for all your information and time.
I will be in touch in regards to the April auction.
Matthew
Response:
From:
Subject: Re: Possible Consignments
To:
Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 8:06 AM
Matthew,
Is there anything else I can do to assist you in making your decision? Any more questions I can answer?
__________________________________________________ _______________________
From:
To:
Sent: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 8:14 am
Subject: Upcoming Auction Consignments
As we spoke before, the (1st) auction is about to end (edited)....Therefore, I would like to pursue the option of consigning some items with you folks in your next auction.
I was looking for some information on how the process needs to work. Please let me know and I will begin to get things together on my end.
Thanks Again for your time,
Matthew
RESPONSE (different party than the original person I worked with):
From:
Subject: Re: Upcoming Auction Consignments
To:
Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 7:55 AM
Sorry it does not work like that. You should have given it to us in the first place. The public has already seen what did not sell. Why would we want to run also rans. If you have something fresh and good please let us know.
Thank You
__________________________________________________ _______________________
Interesting response to say the least. I am being penalized for not using them in the first place. What is that? As stated before, I wanted to maximize visibility for the items I am selling. Now since another auction house touched them they are all of the sudden no good? They are not fresh? What's the difference if I had been running them on eBay this whole time?
Needless to say I feel it is very unprofessional to contact me in that manner, especially when the original party at this firm and I agreed on this process. One would think that the auction houses would be happy to give things a go, especially since it is potentially money in their pockets.
Very frustrating, and very unprofessional....
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