Help please with a couple of G/U bats

[earlywynnfan]

Re: Help please with a couple of G/U bats

Also, I don't know what Bushing will have to say, you'd probably be better off with the LOA in hand when speaking with him. He is very helpful in educating others, though.

Unfortunately, I don't see much satisfaction from Geppi's, although I hope I'm wrong. They posted many pics for all to see. Granted, they could have stated what the LOA said, which I'm betting states that this is a post-career bat, but they will probably come back and say that you could have asked any questions before bidding.

Feel free to email me anytime if you have bat Q's. I don't know everything, but I've been burned enough to have learned a few things!

Ken

[TNTtoys]

Re: Help please with a couple of G/U bats

I think that the best possibility now is to return the items. If I were to sell the Harrelson and the Williams, I may get my money back; I may get a little less. Then, I am left with a store bat for my collection...which doesn't make any sense.

Bottom line is that the lot was listed as:

<<
Item Description

1) Keith Hernandez Game Used Bat 2) Bud Harrelson Game Used Bat 3) Billy Williams Game Used Bat MEARS Authentication

>>

And where do I begin about the discrepancies...

1. The Hernandez bat is NOT game used.
2. The Williams bat could not be game used either if is came out after his career.
3. No MEARS letter.

I think that if you are misled when purchasing an item, the seller is at fault. Furthermore, this was the auction I "backed into" and became the winner afterwards. There were 2 higher bidders, and both withdrew their bids after the auction had ended. I think I know now why.

[MSpecht]

Re: Help please with a couple of G/U bats

Hi Nick

This is an unfortunate, but interesting, situation. As Ken noted, the auction house may try to fall back on the fact that they posted pictures that adequately depicted the three bats. The problem is, they also posted an auction title / dexcription that was, at the very least, inaccurate (either through negligence or lack of information about the items.) The question is, what do they expect a potential bidder to rely on, their (inaccurate) description or the posted pictures? In this case, due to your level of knowledge at the time of the auction, the photos did not assist you in making an informed decision. Rather, you relied on the representation of the auction house that the items were what the auction house stated them to be.

If the auction house claims no responsibility for their descriptions, and says that you had sufficient information via the photos with with to make a decision, then your next question is simple: "Why not just publish the photos of each lot without the title or auction description since the photos are all a bidder needs to make a decision?"

The answer, of course, is that auction text is largely a marketing tool used to induce (seduce?) the potential bidder to covet the item. In the case of bats, do you ever notice that an auction description of, say, 600 words, contains about 575 words on the player, the player's accomplishments, and other irrelevant stuff, and maybe 25 words on the bat itself, with little or no specific information beyond "it is (presumably) made out of wood?" Sometimes a model number and very rarely length, weight, labeling period, etc.

In this particular instance, what kind of action would the lot have received if the title and text had read :

Lot of Three Bats, including:

One commemorative, non-professional model, Keith Hernandez bat;

One post-career Billy Williams bat, not game used by Billy Williams; and

One professional model game used Bud Harrelson bat.

Please keep the forum informed as to your progress and the resolution of this matter. I would suspect that, as the auction description was so obviously in error, that the auction house would not hesitate to remedy this situation to your satisfaction.

Good Luck.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[TNTtoys]

Re: Help please with a couple of G/U bats

Hi guys,

I didn't realize you were tracking this one...I thought it was a dead thread by now.

In any case, I did contact the auction house yesterday, and explained that none of the bats were as represented, and gave specifics for each of them. They did not hesitate to remedy the situation. They will be arranging a shipper to pick the package up and then once they have it back, they will refund me the cost. It may take a few days but I think it will have a good outcome... Not the one I was hoping for, but at least it was not all bad.


A brief recap of the lot --

1. Hernandez - Listed as game used.
Issue - Was commemorative store model instead.

2. Williams - Listed as game used and authenticated by MEARS.
Issue #1 - His career ended before the bat was made (1977-1979).
Issue #2 - No records exist for him having ordered Louisville Slugger bats during the years 1977-1979. Possibly a coaches bat, possibly not.
Issue #3 - Bat was smaller & lighter than the bats he used at the end of his career.
Issue #4 - No MEARS hologram; no MEARS certificate. Upon contacting MEARS, they claim to have never authenticated the bat.

3. Harrelson - Listed as game used.
Issue #1 - Bat contained tape through the middle (a bit high) and a bat expert pointed out to me that he has never seen a Harrelson bat with tape.
Issue #2 - Bat was cracked and tape was placed on the bat over the crack in order to mask the damage.
Issue #3 - A different player's number was on the knob of the bat. Possible that Harrelson ordered the bat but another player used it?

Anyway, that was my first experience buying bats...phew!!! Maybe I ought to stick to jerseys... at least I know what I'm doing there...lol

[MSpecht]

Re: Help please with a couple of G/U bats

Thanks for the update, Nick. It is always good to see that if an error is made, an auction house or seller will take positive steps to correct a situation. That has been Geppi's reputation in the past, and it looks like there was no hesitation in this matter.

I think it is important for everyone to realize that no single person / seller / auction house is exempt from making a mistake. The test of integrity is the response to those situations. Those that respond appropriately are the ones that maintain a loyal customer base.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com