Simple Auctions Hacked Again

[jfkheat]

It looks like Simple Auctions may have been hacked again. I just checked several auction sites that are hosted by them and none would open, including the Simple Auction site. Goldin is down. If they have been hacked again I'm sure several of the auction houses will be looking for a new home.

[notfast]

It looks like Simple Auctions may have been hacked again. I just checked several auction sites that are hosted by them and none would open, including the Simple Auction site. Goldin is down. If they have been hacked again I'm sure several of the auction houses will be looking for a new home.

They keep having issues and have yet to move to a different auction host.

You’d think they would have moved on awhile ago because this is embarrassing.

[Peter_Spaeth]

They keep having issues and have yet to move to a different auction host.

You’d think they would have moved on awhile ago because this is embarrassing.

Is there a viable alternative?

[Fballguy]

From Goldin...

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Is there a viable alternative?

I certainly think there is!

[Lorewalker]

Is there a viable alternative?

Getting pretty old. There are other choices. Not sure why these houses are putting up with this and subjecting their consignors and buyers to it.

[BRoberts]

Getting pretty old. There are other choices. Not sure why these houses are putting up with this and subjecting their consignors and buyers to it.

How has Bob Freedman never made a public post on this board regarding whether the thousands of people registered with the auction websites on his platform had their personal information compromised by the first "hackers" weeks ago? He finds time to post his memorabilia pickups but can't address this issue?

[sbfinley]

How has Bob Freedman never made a public post on this board regarding whether the thousands of people registered with the auction websites on his platform had their personal information compromised by the first "hackers" weeks ago? He finds time to post his memorabilia pickups but can't address this issue?

Stolen data briefing laws are almost universal now in all 50 states. I would venture to guess anyone who would have had personal data breached will be notified. Yeah it sucks not knowing (I’m probably registered at 20 SSA affiliated sites) but:

A) Most data breach notifications go out months after the initial attack, when the full scope of data stolen is accounted for.

B) If any data was stolen, by law the effected parties will be alerted.

C) They were probably advised not to discuss it until the above notices are posted.

[Exhibitman]

I hear they will be up and running again on Monday...:rolleyes:

[mantlefan]

How many times does this have to happen until Auction houses start using another company? (Create Auctions) SA should have implemented security patches after the last attack.

[bnorth]

How many times does this have to happen until Auction houses start using another company? SA should have done a better job of protecting their data.

As long as customers keep bidding and the AHs make $ it will never change. We as collectors seem to turn a blind eye to a LOT of stuff.:eek:

[BRoberts]

Stolen data briefing laws are almost universal now in all 50 states. I would venture to guess anyone who would have had personal data breached will be notified. Yeah it sucks not knowing (I’m probably registered at 20 SSA affiliated sites) but:

A) Most data breach notifications go out months after the initial attack, when the full scope of data stolen is accounted for.

B) If any data was stolen, by law the effected parties will be alerted.

C) They were probably advised not to discuss it until the above notices are posted.

Let's hope Bob Freedman knows the laws.

[autograf]

My nonsports auction is with SSA. I have done three auctions a year for the last two years. 2021 is the third year. I'll do Feb, Jun and October this year. The hack hasn't caused me many problems other than I had to push my Jan auction back to Feb. It sounds easy to just hop over to another software but it is not quite that easy. All the historical data would have to be ported over somehow and you'd have to learn a completely new software for running your auctions. It may come to that at some point and I'm sure other SSA users are considering jumping ship, but, for now, I'm staying put. As for information gathered, other than address and phone number which is important, my site doesn't collect any payment info--only paid through the PayPal API or via check/money order. And passwords are not visible to me through the software. I hope that's the case as, like most of you all, I'm registered with a number of SSA sites too. Last word I got was that the sites would be back up this afternoon.

[MCyganik]

I'm curious how these things work behind the scenes because for the layman like myself it sounds like a bad movie.

Auction Server gets taken hostage. Hacker claims responsibility, supposedly doesn't want info from the hostage, just wants money to release the hostage.

Server CEO has long-time IT experience, hires firm that specializes in internet hostage situations. "Never negotiate with terrorists!" customers say. They begin negotiating with the hackers.

Server CEO and hostage firm negotiate a settlement to release the hostage. "It's okay," they say, "in most situations the hacker just wants a lump sum and they'll go away".

The hacker releases the hostage. The Auction Server needs time to recuperate from the trauma but otherwise is intact and well-functioning. After a few days, life moves on.

3 Weeks Later

Auction Server is missing. Who is to blame?

[Peter_Spaeth]

How many times does this have to happen until Auction houses start using another company? (Create Auctions) SA should have implemented security patches after the last attack.

Has any auction changed companies since SA started having these problems or are they all just staying the course despite all the issues?

[prewarsports]

We switched about four years ago from SA to Create.

[Shoeless Moe]

Day 3


and still nothing.


getting annoying.

[bobbyw8469]

Seriously...this is ridiculous.

[Mark17]

Hopefully, after the ransom was paid and the hackers helped the sites come back up, there was a thorough analysis of all the code to be sure the hackers didn't leave any back doors, or redirect links.

I had won an auction with VSA and there was no way I was going to pay through their website - I went down and paid in person. Had they been too far away, I would've mailed a check. Even opening an invoice in .pdf format would make me nervous.

I think it is false security to assume that payment info is safe because it isn't collected or stored by the various AH. IF the hackers left spyware on the servers - and I'm not saying they did, but since they had control of the servers for several days (including that weekend they supposedly weren't working,) unless and until a full forensic analysis is performed and results made public, we don't really know what's going on.

[notfast]

I just don’t understand why these auction houses, that are “breaking records” left and right, are putting up with this. I’m sure consigners don’t like their 6-7 figure cards being for sale on websites that go down so often.

[RedsFan1941]

i knew a guy once whose roof was damaged by high winds and started leaking. he put a couple blue tarps on his roof over the trouble spots. he left those tarps up for years even though they didn't fix the problem. but they were cheaper than a new roof.

[Mark17]

i knew a guy once whose roof was damaged by high winds and started leaking. he put a couple blue tarps on his roof over the trouble spots. he left those tarps up for years even though they didn't fix the problem. but they were cheaper than a new roof.

The problem with your analogy is that it's the guy's roof and if he made a poor decision, ultimately he's assuming all the risk.

In this case there's a problem at the top and it is trickling down to affect a bunch of AH, and those who do business with them. And nobody seems to be able to say conclusively what, exactly, that impact and potential risk is.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I just don’t understand why these auction houses, that are “breaking records” left and right, are putting up with this. I’m sure consigners don’t like their 6-7 figure cards being for sale on websites that go down so often.

They seem to be very loyal to Bob, for whatever reason?

[okumeister]

Nevermind

[Exhibitman]

The servers will be back up on Saturday, er, Sunday. Monday morning absolutely, or possibly Tuesday...

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/dropins/Jeong%20jack.gif

[perezfan]

It’s a valid rant. As a consignor, I’d be pissed as well. Consignors should be kept in the loop and should be the first to receive info/updates. I don’t think the outage will negatively affect most prices in the end, provided they are back up and running today. Most of the serious bidding occurs at the end, and many of these auctions run a lot longer in duration than is really needed.

But you still want as many eyes as possible, and a few potential bidders could be missed because of the weekend outage. It’s aggravating as hell.

As far as switching servers, it is more complex than most people realize. A tremendous amount of work and expense is involved. From my understanding, SAS (despite the current issues) has a unique and turnkey platform on both the front and back ends. They have unique features which allow for ease of listing, invoicing and shipping that other companies simply do not offer.

That said, it’s still a clusterf*ck :mad:

[SWinn]

I'm curious how these things work behind the scenes because for the layman like myself it sounds like a bad movie.

Auction Server gets taken hostage. Hacker claims responsibility, supposedly doesn't want info from the hostage, just wants money to release the hostage.

Server CEO has long-time IT experience, hires firm that specializes in internet hostage situations. "Never negotiate with terrorists!" customers say. They begin negotiating with the hackers.

Server CEO and hostage firm negotiate a settlement to release the hostage. "It's okay," they say, "in most situations the hacker just wants a lump sum and they'll go away".

The hacker releases the hostage. The Auction Server needs time to recuperate from the trauma but otherwise is intact and well-functioning. After a few days, life moves on.

3 Weeks Later

Auction Server is missing. Who is to blame?

In my experience, it boils down to more common sense than IT experience. I know guys who have been in the industry for years but everything always, and I mean always, seems to fall apart (for some strange reason lol). If you're routinely getting attacked by ransomware I would be running like crazy in the other direction (as a customer).

There are many auction platforms out there. I come across them all the time in my own work. Many people opt for fully managed solutions because they don't want the IT headache on top of the logistics, understandably. It's a lot to manage.

But sometimes the best route is DIY for reasons like this. Hopefully the light is seen and all works out well.

[bobfreedman]

Board members, we were hacked once again however after the first hack, SpearTip was hired and prevented a second attempted attack Sunday Morning. A decision was made to take the servers offline and do a through check to determine how they were able to penetrate our servers (although no encryption nor data loss occurred). We have estimated that there was a Trojan Horse installed on the first hack. We decided to take everything offline and rebuild our environment and harden the security even more.

The decision was also made to install redundant security measures to prevent future attacks. This is why the servers of all our clients utilizing our software have been down. These additional layers of security have now been implemented, the servers are being tested and should be ready to be back online tonight.

We have gone through great expense to prevent the this again and we are being very proactive in hiring additional staff and hiring SpearTip on a full time basis. This has been a very trying time as you can imagine and I appreciate our customers loyalty and hope that we can once again provide you the level service you are accustomed too. Thank you

Also, from the first hack, a complete forensic analysis was done and determined that no data loss occurred

Bob Freedman

[RedsFan1941]

We have estimated that there was a Trojan Horse installed on the first hack.

Also, from the first hack, a complete forensic analysis was done and determined that no data loss occurred

Bob Freedman

your people did a forensic analysis after the first hack and determined no data loss but somehow during this analysis a trojan horse was missed?

[GeoPoto]

Once upon a time I ran a company that almost ran out of cash (actually, we ran out of cash, but for a brief enough period that we were able to skinny through by stretching suppliers, delaying officer paychecks, and other things that would normally be unthinkable). At the next board meeting, the question came up whether we should be looking for another CFO. I took the position I would rather have the CFO who (almost) ran out of cash rather than the one that hadn't run out of cash -- yet. Nothing sharpens the mind like living through your own mistakes.

[UKCardGuy]

Also, from the first hack, a complete forensic analysis was done and determined that no data loss occurred

No data loss occurred isn't the same as a secure environment. To me, "No data loss occurred" means that all the data was unencrypted and the records were restored.. Was the forensic analysis performed on just the data integrity or the entire environment?

Based on the fact that a trojan horse had been left, I'm guessing it was the former. That's extremely disappointing. I'd have expected the full security implications to have been considered after the first hack. At best, the approach seems very naive.

If someone takes over my house, changes the locks and demands a ransom for the new keys - I wouldn't simply trust that they didn't make copies of the keys or sabatoge other entrances.

[RedsFan1941]

The problem with your analogy is that it's the guy's roof and if he made a poor decision, ultimately he's assuming all the risk.

In this case there's a problem at the top and it is trickling down to affect a bunch of AH, and those who do business with them. And nobody seems to be able to say conclusively what, exactly, that impact and potential risk is.

the problem with my analogy is that it was too hard for you to follow.

[Mark17]

the problem with my analogy is that it was too hard for you to follow.

Your analogy was to simpleton to be applicable here.

[notfast]

Guess they won’t be back up today.

AH better hope their stuff sells well or they are going to have some annoyed consignors.

[mantlefan]

"The decision was also made to install redundant security measures to prevent future attacks. "

Why wasn't this done after the first hack?

[NATCARD]

12 hours after last update and still down. Slightly frustrating for me but it must be overwhelming frustrating for auctions sites with live or about to go live auctions. Jeff W (National Card Investors)

[chriskim]

I lose momentum to place bids and completely lost track of when their auction ends since they mostly get postponed somehow.

[Jay Wolt]

I lose momentum to place bids and completely lost track of when their auction ends since they mostly get postponed somehow.
I'm sure when this mess is fixed, the auction houses will contact their customer base
w/ info when their auctions will open, or the ones that were running will state their new closing date.

[darwinbulldog]

The real winner here is PWCC.

[arcadekrazy]

I lose momentum to place bids and completely lost track of when their auction ends since they mostly get postponed somehow.

As a consignor to one of the affected, in-progress auctions, THIS is my biggest concern - loss of momentum & enthusiasm.

The lack of a clearly defined "recovery time objective" is frustrating - it seems to be a moving target. My heart goes out to the auction companies, because they can't set a clear expectation of return to service with their customer base

[Shoeless Moe]

Hoping it's back up today, we'll see.

[notfast]

My heart goes out to the auction companies, because they can't set a clear expectation of return to service with their customer base

They’ve had these issues going back over a year. Can’t have any empathy for the auction houses when they’ve kept dealing with Simple Auctions after repeated failures.

[Mark17]

What I would like is some assurance that ALL of the code the hackers seized control over has been thoroughly inspected, or compared to backup (clean) versions. Specifically, if I click on a link on one of the affected auction sites, is that link taking me where it's supposed to?

After previous discussions here and a couple of PMs I received, I, personally, am not too concerned about any of my personal data having been stolen. I do think all the AHs involved should force everyone to change their passwords however.

As a computer guy, what I am most concerned about is the integrity of all the code the hackers had control over, and whether or not there can be assurances given that there aren't new vulnerabilities built into it, not just at the higher levels where hackers could gain system-wide access, but also at the individual AH level.

For instance, about 6 years ago a company I worked for was hit by a ransomware attack. I was the first to notice our files were in the process of being corrupted, seeing folder after folder turn into gibberish. The IT guys shut down and loaded a system backup from the previous day, so our company hit was just one day of lost work, and they later told me the hack had come in through a .pdf someone at another site had opened.

So, do any of the affected AHs produce invoices in .pdf format? If so, was that code available to the hackers to replace or modify? Has all of that kind of potential problem been fully analyzed so the whole system can be reasonably considered safe for users?

I am not saying the examples I mention are applicable here. I have no idea what has been done by the hackers or the people working to clean up the sites. All I am saying is that, generally, when a hacker - a thief - has control of a system for a number of days, there are, potentially, a variety of nefarious things that can be done.

I think some detailed assurances should be given, for the sake of everyone, as to the thoroughness of the cleanup.

[chadeast]

As a consignor to one of the affected, in-progress auctions, THIS is my biggest concern - loss of momentum & enthusiasm.

The lack of a clearly defined "recovery time objective" is frustrating - it seems to be a moving target. My heart goes out to the auction companies, because they can't set a clear expectation of return to service with their customer base

I'm sorry that you are affected by this. I think that your concern is very valid. I won two cards that I had been eyeing on January 14 from one of the affected sites, and now consider myself lucky that the auction ended last week. If the auction had been postponed for days on end, I may well have found somewhere else to spend my money. Not having future auction offerings to browse is a momentum killer for sure.

I feel for the consignors and auctions site owners. Bad situation all around.

[Exhibitman]

The real winner here is PWCC.

I was thinking something similar: that eBay is the real winner. The cost of an AH sale and an eBay sale are nearly the same (eBay is a bit lower). I had always been of the mindset that rather than waste my time, use an AH to sell stuff so I don't have to retail and fulfill orders. But with all these issues and delays, maybe I just list my consignments on eBay instead. At least eBay doesn't seem to have trouble keeping the lights on.

[Snapolit1]

Still down.

Unreal.

How do auction houses that do 10s of millions in year in sales justify this?

Stated otherwise, and less politely, how fucking hard would it be for a successful business enterprise to pay some programmers to create your own bidding platform?

[111gecko]

It's a shame this is happening. Take the blame-game out of this and the reality is consignors may start looking to companies that don't use SA. Tough to blame them, but there are some good AH that use SA and they are ultimately the ones that will get hurt by this by sellers going elsewhere...

[wazoo]

Still down.

Unreal.

How do auction houses that do 10s of millions in year in sales justify this?

Stated otherwise, and less politely, how fucking hard would it be for a successful business enterprise to pay some programmers to create your own bidding platform?

Tell us how you really feel 😂😂

[Kenny Cole]

I'm not going to adequately speak for the auction houses that are affected since I'm not in that position, but my understanding is that it is very difficult, verging on impossible without a huge expenditure of funds, to migrate elsewhere. And, as I further understand it, there aren't many, if any, other sites that check the needed boxes. That's the proverbial between a rock and a hard place situation. And I also bet that, even with no performance, there is still a bill sent out that is expected to be paid. That's absolute bullshit.

[drcy]

It's a shame this is happening. Take the blame-game out of this and the reality is consignors may start looking to companies that don't use SA. Tough to blame them, but there are some good AH that use SA and they are ultimately the ones that will get hurt by this by sellers going elsewhere...

That's assuming other platforms are safer. They might be less safe. We know SA is addressing the issue, whereas may other platforms may or may not have.

As often is the case with companies that have to react to problems, perhaps SA is now the safest platform.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

I was thinking something similar: that eBay is the real winner. The cost of an AH sale and an eBay sale are nearly the same (eBay is a bit lower). I had always been of the mindset that rather than waste my time, use an AH to sell stuff so I don't have to retail and fulfill orders. But with all these issues and delays, maybe I just list my consignments on eBay instead. At least eBay doesn't seem to have trouble keeping the lights on.

There are companies that don't use Simple Auction.

[111gecko]

That's assuming other platforms are safer. They might be less safe. We know SA is addressing the issue, whereas may other platforms may or may not have.

Absolutely agree....point being; this isn’t the first time on the same affected sites. Wondering if consignors would take the chance to go to another knowing they haven’t been hit yet. Crap sandwich any way you look at it...and; I’m still trying to bid!!!!

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

.

[jfkheat]

Goldin and most of the other auction sites are back online. There are still some that I can't get to open

[Kenny Cole]

I can assure you that the expense for switching (having done it from a company other than Simple to another site) is not prohibitive, and, as long as Simple makes the user's data available, no information needs to be lost in a migration.

And therein lies the issue. You have no more idea than I do what it costs to switch over from Simple Auctions or what that might entail. Having heard from several of those who are in that situation, based on what I understand, I tend to disagree with you. Why don't you talk to Lee or Al and report back? I suspect you may change your tune if you do that.

[chriskim]

If SA really got hacked again then I think SA paid the ransom (again) and their server is up now (at least Goldin is live again)

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

.

[Kenny Cole]

The expense shouldn't be on Simple's end other than whatever they are going to charge to export your images, which can be somewhat of a chore, and data to spreadsheets, which shouldn't be very hard to do at all, and which they would have to be pretty bold, given the circumstances, to overcharge for that.

I do have knowledge of changing a platform and the costs of setting up on a new platform. So is my knowledge perfect to the situation? No. But it's a lot more in depth than random conjecture.

RMY switched from Simple four years ago, so a member HAS done it and he kept all his historic data and images, lists etc. Thinking Rhys is probably pretty happy he did right about now.

It isn't random conjecture. Have you talked to Al or Lee? I suspect not. I will simply say that their views about the matter seem to be completely different than yours. I don't imagine that either of them is very happy about the situation they are in, nor would I be, but switching doesn't appear to be quite as easy as you seem to think it is, at least from their perspective.

[MCyganik]

Again I'm just a layman here with no real skin or knowledge in this game so I'm probably full of hot air, but here's my most recent thoughts.

I imagine most of SAS's clients are small-time auction houses in the grand scheme of things. Generally, profits and overhead costs are within the means of the auction's proprietor, who may run their auction as a side business/hobby or to eke out a living by themselves or with a close knit team. Not to make an absolute killing with a large salaried staff.

There's a trust that they've built with Bob & SAS, at the end of the day a fellow collector like most of them. It also enables a network of peers they can bounce ideas off of within SAS's framework, both as collectors and auction runners.

SAS is literally called Simple Auction Sites because in a lot of ways it is cut and paste web design, like a Tumblr blog for auction houses. SAS's system allows easy to set up access for small auction houses that don't have a lot of technical knowledge or startup capital to manage a whole individual auction platform.

I imagine despite these technical/ransomware issues, leaving the safety of the 'nest' Bob has built would be overwhelming and perhaps harmful for many small businesses under SAS's portfolio.

That being said, it certainly seems SAS's ability and reach has a limit, as we see in these ongoing technical/ransomware issues that are now affecting millions of dollars worth of business. Maybe there was some naivety about its security, maybe the hackers were just that good at breaking into the code. But it seems SAS was a sitting duck for a long time coming for someone to pull a stunt like this.

It also reflects the size of the clientele. What is a company like Goldin (a few other big ones), holding monthly+ auctions and pushing millions of dollars of artifacts each month, doing still using a platform that peers 20x less the size of them use that we now learn might be easily penetrable? Loyalty to Bob? Maximizing profits?

Once an online auction house gets big enough to hire a dozen staff members, shouldn't they begin to invest in proper in-house IT and web development? They are going to be the ones that attract an audience. If I'm a profiteering hacker and I see a company running monthly 6 figure auctions for 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle cards and high-end Michael Jordan memorabilia, I'd probably try to get a piece of that action too.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

.

[Kenny Cole]

Speaking of conjecture...

I will simply ask once again if you have talked to Lee, Al, or anyone else on that site to get their perspective. The fact that you can't or won't answer is the answer.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

So I owe an apology to Kenny, Lee and Al. Apparently I am losing my mind. I know, and do chat with Lee and Al periodically and could've sworn when the first hack went down I chatted with both. Apparently I remember incorrectly. I want to be clear that they are great guys and my whole point behind my posts was that good companies and people don't deserve to have something like this happen to them.

I HAVE spoken with both of them now, but in the interest of fairness, and again with an apology to Kenny as well, I removed my posts even though they live on in Kenny's quotes.

[BRoberts]

Why in the world does someone have to talk to Al or Lee to determine whether switching auction providers is cost prohibitive? What might be cost prohibitive to Al might not be to Scott. Or Ken Goldin. or Kenny Cole.

Scott says he has done it, and it wasn't cost prohibitive. Just because Al and Lee say it is, that invalidates Scott's opinion? Having trouble following your logic, Kenny.

[Kenny Cole]

Really whom I speak with isn't your business, but for some reason you have to know. Yes I reached out to both of them immediately after the first hack and traded messages with each of them. Happy?

You are right in the sense that I couldn't care less who you talk to. It does irritate me that you simply pull stuff out of your ass when you don't know come here from sic 'em about the subject upon which you are opining. And that is rather clearly the case here. In any event, I guess we will just have to agree to disagree. It doesn't make much sense to continue on, because you will remain convinced that you are right and I will remain convinced that you are not. Such is life. Carry on ...

[Kenny Cole]

Why in the world does someone have to talk to Al or Lee to determine whether switching auction providers is cost prohibitive? What might be cost prohibitive to Al might not be to Scott. Or Ken Goldin. or Kenny Cole.

Scott says he has done it, and it wasn't cost prohibitive. Just because Al and Lee say it is, that invalidates Scott's opinion? Having trouble following your logic, Kenny.

They aren't nearly on the same site, nor do their respective sites even remotely have the same features or functionality. That is a huge difference. And that is why what works for Scott may not come even close to working for Al, Lee, Goldin, or whoever. That is also why I don't think Scott can presume to speak about what works for Al or vice versa. Opinions are only as valid as the information upon which they are based. That is and has been my point.

[perezfan]

Yes, the situation is more complex than 90% of people here seem to comprehend. Probably best not to comment unless you have worn the other man's shoes.

As for SAS.... at least this latest outage was the result of taking proactive measures to combat the issue moving forward. Did it take longer than desired? Of course... it sucks. But it's a good bet that these annoying measures will protect against something far worse.

Other servers should probably be doing the exact same right about now, as ransomware attacks have now become the #1 form of international terrorism.

[Stampsfan]

Interesting comments, especially about migrating data from one software provider to another. However, some of the comments indicate that SAS is not used for the larger AH's. Is this truth or conjecture? Also, developing your own proprietary auction (and inventory) systems is not an inexpensive undertaking.

I am old enough to have worked for companies that developed their own accounting, payroll, and inventory systems, but that just is not the way things are done now. I would assume that AH's would pay to use a cloud based (SaaS) inventory application, coupled with auction type software.

Are there larger auction house type software that the biggies are using, other that SAS?

More curious than anything... Thanks.

[notfast]

It’s weird to me the perceived loyalty that members have here to an auction hosting site/AH that has had repeated issues. This isn’t a one or even two or even three time issue.

I don’t know the logistics of a specific solution, but there has to be another way to go.

[GeoPoto]

You have to shoot ducks where they fly.

[Shamus]

As a bidder I prefer the nuisance shutdowns to the in-house shill bidding that was prevalent when the auction houses controlled the servers. Lesser of two evils.

As a consignor I wouldn't be thrilled with the stop and go format created by the hacks.

[swarmee]

As a bidder I prefer the nuisance shutdowns to the in-house shill bidding that was prevalent when the auction houses controlled the servers. Lesser of two evils.

As a consignor I wouldn't be thrilled with the stop and go format created by the hacks.
Welcome to the board. Please post your full name since you're making a comment about an auction company.

You may have forgotten (or not known) that many of SAS's auction houses have had the ability to see your max bid. So saying that this way beats in-house software is not correct in this case.

Do they still have that option? That they have to manually turn off seeing Max Bids placed using SAS websites?

[Leon]

Welcome to the board. Please post your full name since you're making a comment about an auction company.

You may have forgotten (or not known) that many of SAS's auction houses have had the ability to see your max bid. So saying that this way beats in-house software is not correct in this case.

Do they still have that option? That they have to manually turn off seeing Max Bids placed using SAS websites?

Might be a tweener on that one. Not sure he called out a specific company?

.

[swarmee]

Might be a tweener on that one. Not sure he called out a specific company?
You're the boss. I figured since guys like Heritage still have the ability to outbid you on their platform (rule 21), that his comment wasn't all in the past.

[Leon]

You're the boss. I figured since guys like Heritage still have the ability to outbid you on their platform (rule 21), that his comment wasn't all in the past.

I wouldn't try to nitpick and he didn't call out a company to me.

My thought is always, if someone said that in my direction would I want to know who said it? In this case it's not really in anyone's direction, at least to me. It's a blanket statement. Always appreciate the help though. I need it. :eek:
.

[jayshum]

Does anyone know if there is a problem again with some auction sites? When I try to load the Goldin Auction web page, I am getting a "Service Unavailable" error.

[jayshum]

I was also unable to load the Wheatland Auction, but now both it and Goldin are loading ok so if there was a problem, at least it was brief.

[sb1]

They are in the process of doing more updates to some of the sites, I got a notification last week.

[notfast]

Goldin site loads now but you can’t search or view anything in the auction.

[BeanTown]

Maybe a goodtime for HA or REA to license their custom website to other AHs. This will add sales history for reference, and add to the database.

[Mark17]

Maybe a goodtime for HA or REA to license their custom website to other AHs. This will add sales history for reference, and add to the database.

Would REA and Heritage rather help out their competitors, or continue to enjoy a significant reliability advantage over them?

[h2oya311]

Dare I ask? Is SAS down again? Some of the big AHs that use the software appear to have broken links (again).

[yanks12025]

Tried to access Goldin Auctions and it looks like Simple Auctions is down again

[jayshum]

Goldin Auctions is coming up for me now with a message saying that server work is currently being performed.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g3ONwhvT2L8/W4nzwLm7qzI/AAAAAAAAs5s/rzJHxrf-MIQXdup6q8NgUuwNBA4HCCJgQCLcBGAs/s400/and%2Bnow.jpg

all sites are down including Simple Auction itself

[swarmee]

In related news, Ken Goldin mentioned on Blowout a couple of days ago that he expects to make a major announcement about his hosting service tomorrow.

02-11-2021, 11:53 PM #16
kgoldin

we have a MAJOR announcement on Tuesday Feb 16th that will address all of the above technology issues.
when system issues propped up due to a denial of service attempt the bidding period was extended by 45 minutes to allow additional time to get initial bids in prior to extended bidding. We will ALWAYS err on the side of caution to protect our consignors in matters such as this. but stay tuned for Tuesday news. After the announcement i will be conducting an IG live on my IG page @kengoldin and be taking a Q+A period. We know we are an important part of this industry and a trendsetter, and will do everything we can to protect that reputation and our place in the industry. thank you
Ken Goldin
founder
Goldin Auctions

[Exhibitman]

There is a solution:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/dropins/websize/pickens%20korman%20ditto.jpg

Taggart: I got it. I got it.

Hedley Lamarr: You do?

Taggart: We'll work up a "Number 6" on 'em.

Hedley Lamarr: "Number 6"? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that one...

Taggart: Well, that's where we go a-ridin' into town, a whampin' and whompin' every livin' thing that moves within an inch of its life.

[pawpawdiv9]

In related news, Ken Goldin mentioned on Blowout a couple of days ago that he expects to make a major announcement about his hosting service tomorrow.


https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/kevin-durant-logan-paul-mark-193011723.html
Kevin Durant, Logan Paul, Mark Cuban, More Invest in Goldin Auctions
Goldin Auctions, which specializes in auctioning sports memorabilia and collectibles, has been sold to a group that includes Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant and YouTube personality Logan Paul.

Per Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw, Ken Goldin sold a majority stake in Goldin Auctions to an investment group for $40 million.

Durant and Paul are joined by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, actor Mark Wahlberg and others in buying a stake in the auction site.