View Full Version : Mastro/legendary consignment checks?
gnuche
05-28-2009, 01:15 PM
For the last month the message on mastroauctions says the intend to send checks out in May. With two days left in may what are the chances?
Will Mastroauctions ever pay the consignors? From a legal standpoint I consigned
when all the new owners of legendary auctions were with Mastro. Can they legally be held responsible for the debt since they were a part of mastro when the auction took place.Am I the only one who feels that legendary is badly tainted by this whole mess? Is mastroauctions eventually going to pay or are they getting ready for bankruptcy?
slidekellyslide
05-28-2009, 01:41 PM
I have no idea if Mastro is ready to file bankruptcy, but I'm almost certain the principles of Legendary are not responsible for anything that Mastro is liable for. Since all the individuals running Legendary are also the same as those who were running Mastro I can't see how not paying consignors won't reflect poorly on Legendary.
The whole thing reminds me of a fellow here in town (Rod 'The Krusher' Kush - yes the former pro football player) who owned a furniture store that had possibly the worst customer service you can imagine...I had two poor experiences with his store and the last one ended up with me filing a complaint with the BBB. The store had the lowest rating one can get from them before I ever lodged my complaint. His store went out of business a few years ago.....now he is opening a new store and he still owes hundreds of thousands of dollars on his old store.
Jim VB
05-28-2009, 02:06 PM
Just to clarify, are you waiting for payment from the final Mastro auction, of the premier Legendary auction?
In the case of the former that seems well over due. If it's the latter, you may be waiting a little while longer.
I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me that all the steps they have taken to separate Legendary from Mastro would not stand up to close scrutiny. To announce that Legendary has acquired the assets of Mastro is ludicrous. They were/are owned by the same investment group (Silk Road Equity). Any money transfered during the sale came out of a left hand pocket and into a right hand pocket (with perhaps, a little going Bill's way to stay out of the new company.) Doesn't seem like it would take much work to prove that the "sale" was a farce.
gnuche
05-28-2009, 02:21 PM
Jim,
I consigned a large lot of cards to mastroauctions on 9/28/2008
Yes 2008! It was auctioned in mastro's last auction. 8 months
Jim VB
05-28-2009, 02:24 PM
I'd be looking for an attorney by now.
Rob D.
05-28-2009, 02:56 PM
I'd be looking for an attorney by now.
Or perhaps an owner of a chat room.
Are we a chat room? As much as I get beat up I thought it was a boxing ring, or an octagon? I will make a call or two but I have a feeling I might not find much out. I am sorry you are having this problem Gary.....You are certainly one of the good guys in the hobby.....
btw Gary- have you tried calling Doug?
gnuche
05-28-2009, 04:06 PM
Leon, I have not talked to Doug or anyone else for that matter. The message on mastroauctions said they were hoping to have all checks mailed in May.
I was waiting(naively I guess) thinking I will get paid in May. Legendary said they are not responsible for consignment checks for the last mastro auction.
Why call Doug?
Hey Gary
Doug was the President of Mastro. He probably has connections. As for me making calls that is who I would call to find out. I have never spoken with Bill Mastro on the phone but I have spoken with Doug many times....I would start with him....shoot me an email if you want his number or you want to chat off line...
leonl@flash.net
Rob D.
05-28-2009, 05:22 PM
Are we a chat room?
Sorry, I got mixed up on my Internet communication venues.
Although technically, thanks to this new forum platform, you could list a chat room among your assets.
Sorry, I got mixed up on my Internet communication venues.
Although technically, thanks to this new forum platform, you could list a chat room among your assets.
or a liability http://cdn.content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/000203C8.gif (http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&lpver=3&ref=10)
Rob D.
05-28-2009, 05:41 PM
Thanks for that.
HRBAKER
05-28-2009, 07:15 PM
or a liability http://cdn.content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/000203c8.gif (http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&lpver=3&ref=10)
say no to crack!
Jim VB
05-28-2009, 10:10 PM
or a liability http://cdn.content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/000203C8.gif (http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&lpver=3&ref=10)
Leon,
If you've got a suggestion box going... that is probably a feature we could do without.
I'm just saying...
RichardSimon
05-29-2009, 09:46 AM
Considering they were lightning fast to criticize my testimony in a deposition I gave in a lawsuit against them by Bill Daniels, it is amazing that speed has deserted them when it comes to paying consignors.
egbeachley
05-29-2009, 10:31 AM
The consignors don't have the ultimate risk, the buyers do. If Mastro goes bankrupt, and has no money, the items go back to the consignor since the sale wasn't completed (a consignment becomes a sale only upon payment).
baseballart
05-29-2009, 01:54 PM
I can't comment on any aspect of law in the United States, but in Canada, a consignor should register a personal property security interest for their consignment, and even then, the interest is generally not sufficient to compel the return of goods from a bona fide third party purchaser. This means that if a Canadian auction house goes under without paying its consignors, the consignors are out of luck
Max
Knuckles
06-09-2009, 06:17 PM
I'm in the same boat. I consigned back in October. One item made it into their December auction and I received payment finally by mid March. The second item went into the February auction and I'm still waiting for the close to 2 grand for that one.
On May 13th Walter Tomala sent me this e-mail
Garret, we're expected to make all payments to consignors by the end of May. Sorry for the delay.
Thanks,
Walter Tomala
Then on Sunday, May 31, 2009 I received this e-mail.
Subject: Mastro Auctions Consignor Update
Dear Garret,
Now that June is upon us we thought it would be appropriate to communicate the current situation related to the amounts owed to you from past consignments.
First and foremost in liquidating Mastro Auctions we remain confident that all consignors will be paid. We were hopeful that based on monies received by Legendary Auctions and by liquidating other assets including accounts receivable and inventory this would have been accomplished by the end of May. We are working diligently to liquidate all assets in order to be in a position to remit the outstanding obligation you are due. We have had to take legal action on a few significant accounts that owe us money. In addition we have a few large receivables that will mature in the next few months. We are confident that the actions we are taking will yield positive results which will enable us to pay you. As of the current date we have extinguished all of our senior secured bank obligations and the monies we recover from these other sources will be used to pay out these final obligations. Our inability to pay these obligations in a timely fashion has been very unfortunate and for that we apologize. We ask for your to bear with us as we continue to work through this very difficult situation.
Sincerely,
Walter Tomala
Controller
Mastro Auctions
It's been frustrating, and it's no wonder why their current auction is so weak. How about paying the consignors that make your business a possibility.
- Garret
Knuckles
06-09-2009, 06:23 PM
Also, for what it's worth I've read else where that Legendary and Mastro are still under the same ownership: Silkroad Equity
- Garret
gnuche
06-09-2009, 06:47 PM
Sooo, they have a few CD's that will come due in several months. The bank that
has them would give them a short term loan for probably a 1/4 of a point
using the cd's as collataral. I can understand why Mastro wouldn't care, but you
would think the other three owners would want to clean this up as quickly as possible to avoid all the negative publicity. Just because Doug/Mark/Bill and Ron made a gentlemen's agreement amongst themselves as to who owes what a court of law would probably laugh at it.
IMO they will all go into bankruptcy after they auction off Bob Gibson's stuff at the national, and that is why none of them give a rat's ass. I have held off talking to an attorney but wondered if a class action suit could be filed against legendary & Mastro? Any lawyers on the board have any opinion?
three25hits
06-09-2009, 08:14 PM
Random thoughts by legendaryauctions.com
we offer consignors peace of mind that their consignments will be treated with the utmost care and that every aspect of the auction process will be executed with the greatest attention to every detail.
Our goal is your total satisfaction with the presentation of your fine collectibles. We do whatever it takes
Griffins
06-10-2009, 09:03 AM
I had a hard time getting paid by Mastro. Calls to Doug went unanswered, as did faxes, emails and letters. Leon kindly stepped in and got it taken care of. Although they did move slowly, they did move and it was eventually resolved.
Based on my experience I would rather haul everything to a local card shop before I ever considered consigning to them again. This ship looks to be taking on water fast.
chaddurbin
06-10-2009, 12:11 PM
ugh that's some bad news gary...hope it gets straightened out soon but if not you can talk to doug/mastro/legendary personally at the nat'l?
quan
Bosox Blair
06-12-2009, 03:51 PM
ugh that's some bad news gary...hope it gets straightened out soon but if not you can talk to doug/mastro/legendary personally at the nat'l?
quan
Hahaha! For the guys I grew up with "talk personally" would be an effective and fear-instilling tactic :eek:.
Cheers,
Blair
Wesley
06-24-2009, 01:52 PM
Any progress for you, Gary? Strangely, I have been paid for the April auction, but not the February one.
gnuche
06-24-2009, 04:56 PM
Nothing from mastro/legendary yet. They advertise peace of mind to consignors.They owe me over 5k and I wonder how many other consignors are being scammed. They advetise their ethics are seconed to none. What a joke. These guys maneuvered to legally put themselves in a position so as to not
be liable for mastro's debts but continue to take credit for all the positives about mastro. Sale of a Wagner, millions in sales etc etc. These guys have
the same ethics as coaches corner. CC screws the buyers and The sons of
mastro auction house screw consignors. Leon, I think youn should suspend all
their advertising until everyone is paid. How much do they owe people Millions?How many consignors have they shafted Hundreds? Thousands? REA listen up!You do 3 or 4 auctions a year and these guys will be begging you for a job.
Leon, remember how mad you got when you got screwed. Legally they may
have covered their asses but ethically they have no excuses. They should all
be ashamed of themselves. Kick them off net54 The biggest scam of all times in both number of people screwed and the number of dollars consignors
have lost. I hope Bob Gibson got some up front money.
three25hits
06-24-2009, 05:29 PM
Nothing from mastro/legendary yet
:mad:
Very interesting points gnuche -- sorry you are having to deal with this...
.
Wesley
06-24-2009, 06:03 PM
If Mastro/Legendary still has not paid their consignors for the December 2008 or February 2009 auctions, then I don't think Gary's suggestion is unreasonable at all. Certainly the decision belongs to Leon, but we have seen BST users (appropriately) banned before for not honoring their agreements, and this seems a lot worse and on a much larger scale.
three25hits
06-24-2009, 08:30 PM
Seems that two people in this thread are owed $7,000.00
I'd wager to say that if this money were "lost" on the BST in just two transactions, the indignation would be loud and constant. Just today, the posts were fast and furious over someone "selling" cards before he had the cards in his possession. That is minor and trivial compared with what's going on here...
Jacklitsch
06-24-2009, 08:39 PM
When I'm ready to divest there is no way Legendary is going to get any of my business. I'm to the point of not even looking at the catalogs.
For what its worth this might have got more traction if posted on the main board.
HRBAKER
06-24-2009, 09:31 PM
Seems that two people in this thread are owed $7,000.00
I'd wager to say that if this money were "lost" on the BST in just two transactions, the indignation would be loud and constant. Just today, the posts were fast and furious over someone "selling" cards before he had the cards in his possession. That is minor and trivial compared with what's going on here...
Brian,
I am in full agreement. This is beyond ridiculous. Let me add that I believe the Ryan situation was handled correctly and promptly unlike the payment situation IMO.
Jeff
Banner advertisers are always under scrutiny and I am sure these issues will be taken into account when the next term for their ad is due. I certainly understand the frustration.....
AS for what happened on the board today with the Ryan situation it was an obvious error and was corrected on both of the biggest boards it was on. I would say that particular issue was taken care of very well, at least in the long run.....
three25hits
06-24-2009, 09:57 PM
From what I know, the situation today was handled correctly and fairly.
How much longer does legendary/mastro have on their term? I'm glad that T-206 Museum didn't have a banner ad term when their business methods were revealed, or we'd have to look at their logo for the remaining term as well.
That legendary/mastro can continue advertise here, and gain new "customers" here, while not paying folks here -- it just stinks. If a random board member were doing what legendary/mastro is doing, they would be ridiculed and banned (probably very quickly). And rightly so...
I can't imagine the frustration of our hobby brothers who consigned to mastro in good faith, and then have promise after promise broken, and still not paid.
As Steve mentioned, its a shame this thread isn't on the main board...
Gary,
I am really sorry to hear this is happening to you. You are one of my favorite people in the hobby. This really sucks.
JimB
3-2-count
06-24-2009, 11:02 PM
Gary,
I echo Jim B's feelings here. You are top notch and this is just an absolute "CRIME"!!!! So sorry you have to deal with this.
Brian states it best above. For them to be able to advertise here for business and then not pay is just sickening.
edited to add, I am in full agreement that this thread should be moved to the main board. It's the right thing to do........
Bicem
06-25-2009, 12:29 AM
edited to add, I am in full agreement that this thread should be moved to the main board. It's the right thing to do........
agreed, need to warn people before others think about consigning to them.
smtjoy
06-25-2009, 08:34 AM
This is down right wrong and something should be done. After reading this, just seeing the adds above is like a slap on the face, they really should be taken down till they take care of this. Give them their advertising money back, maybe they could use it to pay their consignors.
Ya'll don't know the whole business story. Regardless, I agree with pretty much everything folks are saying. Their ad was paid for in advance for 6 mos, from Jan1. The renewal is only a few days away. I doubt they will continue to have a banner on this board. I wish I could say everything I am privy to but I just can't. Gary N is a good hobby friend and there is no way I like what is happening to him or any other consignor that hasn't been paid. Thanks....