My experience with LOTG
 

I recently won an auction from LOTG.
This is the Lot...

https://loveofthegameauctions.com/Lo...entoryid=14067

After paying in a timely manner (check cashed by
AH on 12/10/17) and inquiring as to the status of my order.. I was told that my order had been 'misplaced or lost' and to 'wait a few days' while he looked into it. I waited...

Subsequently, I have since been told that the lot I rightfully won has been 'lost'. The explanation was .. ' I must have sent them to someone else' and 'Companies of all sizes make mistakes'...

On 12/28 (Thursday) Al told me that the Lot was 'lost' and that he would send a check out to me ''this week''....


Well as of today... 1/8.. no check and no cards... I still expect a check but why the hold up?

My name is Frank Horvath and I stand 100% by everything I've said here.

Thats a terrible experience. I wonder if that was a good price.

Anyway, i wont bid on any of their auctions or consign.

I would not worry, Al will make it right. He runs a great auction and has always been a stand up guy. Keep in mind also, the east coast is getting crushed right now and the USPS has issued an advisory, so your check might be delayed.

My experiences with LOTG and Al have all been great.

Great auction ? ... Does that mean losing buyers cards?

Sorry I disagree.

East coast snow... ok true... I am dealing with that also but have within the last 5 days confirmed deliveries from PA to MN and NJ.

+100000. Al is a great stand up guy. With the mail being slowed by the weather, it will be there any day. I am in Charleston, SC and we got hit with a snowstorm (worse in 30 years) and didn't get mail from Wed-Sat. Finally got mail today.

Mark

I will also stand 100% by everything that Frank says here.

He won the lot in question, and paid very quickly. His check was deposited on December 10, and his order was pulled and put into the queue to be packed and shipped.

After not receiving any sort of tracking number, Frank reached out to me December 20 to inquire about the status of his order. Since I had no record of the order having shipped, I asked him for a couple of days to get to the bottom of it, and on December 28, I sent Frank an email advising him that I could not locate the package. Best I can guess, his cards were packed up with someone else's order and shipped to them in error. I offered him a full refund, and told him that he could have the refund in the form of a check or auction credit, whichever he would prefer (some folks like the credit).

Frank responded that he had no need for an auction credit because he'd never be bidding with LOTG again. I responded that I understood his frustration, took complete blame for the error, and DID say that "companies in every industry certainly do make mistakes occasionally."

I cut and mailed a check for the amount in full the following day, December 29.

This thread is, unfortunately, the first I am learning that Frank has not received his check, and once again, Frank, for that I apologize. I did cut the check, and I did mail the check, for the amount in full. Perhaps the combination of a holiday weekend and rancid weather in the Northeast is to blame for it not arriving at this point, so I will suggest we give it a couple of days, and if the check is not there by then I will stop payment on the check and PayPal you the money, and absorb all fees.

It is absolutely my goal to be 100% perfect in every transaction, with every lot and with every order. Sadly, despite the lofty goal, occasionally we make a mistake that is 100% in our control and we simply fall down. When that happens, we do our best to make it 100% right in every case.

I'll also stand 100% by everything I've said here.

Happy New Year, Frank, and everyone else as well.

-Al

Some day when the sun sets for the last time on old Kawika my collection will be auctioned off by LOTG. (The catalog is going to be a corker). I trust Al like a brother. If it were me I would wait for him to make things right. He will.

I will scan a copy of the envelope and postmark to this thread when it arrives...

Sounds great. I'd be curious to see that myself, since the letter carrier picks up the mail from the box just outside this office every afternoon. If you post the check, which I hope you do, I'd appreciate if you'd obscure the bank account number.

-Al

I wish you were as concerned for me receiving my winnings as you are with this thread...

Ill block out all confidential info... Al

Frank

Frank, Al has proven to the vast majority of this board about his being a stand up auction house owner and person. You are treating him like he is the guy with socks on the floor holding up a superimposed T206 Wagner for sale.

You will find the board are overwhelmingly on his side. Sorry you have had some issues...stuff happens, and it is the true test of a man's character how they handle it.

Brian Park:er

I've bid in most all of Al's auctions and received everything timely. I think he came on the thread and agreed with everything you said, apologized, and continues to want to make it right. I guess, at what point will you be happy? Hopefully you'll get the check soon or take the PayPal and cut your losses. I've had issues with auction houses in the past too, but at some point, beating the dead horse doesn't make it deader. Hope it's cleared up in the next day or two for you. You seem like you don't believe that he's done what he said he had done......

I had an auction a few years ago where someone accidentally sent me the wrong card. Not LOTG. A more valuable card. I made it right. Took some time.
Sometimes things happen. No one is perfect.
As far as I know Al has one other person working with him. It it was a mistake, once you get your check you are in no worse position than you were the day before the auction started. I'd suggest taking a deep breath and calm down. Not saying I wouldn't be frustrated to but this will be made right.

If you and Jake would like a list of auction houses that are run by people who have been in jail, defrauded little old ladies out of their retirement on TV, allow consigners to bid on their own items, have molested children, or are known to trim/soak cards, I'd be happy to send it to you so you can make sure you don't support the real criminals in this hobby either.

If the worse thing Al ever does is mistakenly put a lot in someone else's package and then makes it right, I think I can live with that.

Jeff Payne

Almost forgot about that guy. Hard to believe it has been so long.

I’ve consigned and bid in every one of Al’s auctions since day one. Saying he’s top notch is an understatement. Sorry this happened to you, but he will work hard to make it right.

To Steve...
 

Steve.. I have always appreciated your comments, that's why I will respond to you. There is no need to 'take a breath' ... 'calm down' as you say... I've only relayed facts...

FH

Add me to the list of Net54 members who have had nothing but positive experiences with LOTG. I am confident that Al will make this right.

I understand your frustration. It sucks when something doesn't go as it should. None of are in the hobby to get more aggravation in our lives.

But he is a good guy.

Add me to that list as well-Al is the man. And he runs a great auction house too!!

Joe K

+1000

I'm more concerned that if someone got extra cards in their package they never returned them to Al. I've only had great experiences with Al and his company.

Al is one of the best people in the hobby and his auction house is as reputable as you will find. He clearly made a mistake but I would bet my collection on him doing right by it.

Chris Bland

I don't agree with the OP starting this thread, but I'm glad he did. Anyone in the hobby who wasn't already familiar with Al can now read all the glowing things people have to say about him - things that are 100% true. There are, unfortunately, a lot of bad guys in this hobby. Al is absolutely not one of them.

Obviously, Al is well-respected by the members of this forum. It is also clear that anyone can make a mistake. But I don't think we need to belittle the OP's feelings here. I don't know how common or rare the card he purchased may be, but I think he has every reason to be angry that he's not getting the card he purchased. And getting his money back isn't going to change that. So while I think that the support for Al is wonderful, and extremely telling of the kind of guy he is, I don't think it's right to write-off the OP completely and make him seem irrational. I know I would be extremely angry if I bought a card and it was lost, and I know that some of Al's defenders here would be too. Maybe we need to stop treating issues as black and white, right and wrong, true and false. Al is a great guy. LOTG is an amazing AH. And the OP has every right to be pissed off.

Orlando...
 

Thank you.

FH

This was my thought. How does this work? If you receive something that isn't yours and don't give it back, is it considered stealing?

Al, any clue as to which package it might have mistakenly been added to?

+1

+1

Hard to imagine that all the posters would feel the same if they were in the OPs shoes. Just sayin’.........

I, too, have consigned to and won cards in LOTG Auctions. Shit sometimes happens, despite the best efforts of good people. Al C. is good people!

Last year, I won a card on ebay from a dealer that also has a brick-and-mortar store. Apparently, the card was sold in the store before it could be removed from online. The seller kept me up to date on looking for the card and after a few days, I got a full refund. Was I frustrated? Of course. But, I wouldn't have then come on here and blasted the guy by name after he tried to do the right thing.

Falvo
 

.... and others....


appreciate your input...

Hope there isn’t a mailman with sticky fingers between the two locations.

Rob M

11 extra PSA-slabbed t206 cards would be a little hard for the buyer to miss. They would also alter the weight of the package they went out in from what would otherwise be expected, I would think, by an amount that might make it possible to isolate to whom they could have been accidentally shipped. I'm sure Al's already looked into that, though.

I have bought from Al/LOTG in the past, and would do so again without hesitation. I'd be disappointed and frustrated if this were to happen with something I won, but as long as the seller made it right, it wouldn't be much different from losing by one bid. And I've done that lots. :)

I agree with this. Also, the check cleared on the 10th, and the OP had to reach out 10 days later to inform the AH that his order hadn't been sent out. I would expect someone at LOTG to have been looking for these cards to send out before that. And after being informed it took another 8 days to get a response back? If this happened to me I would not be pleased.

I get that AL is well respected and one of the good guys in our hobby. But from what I've read in this thread this particular situation could have been handled better in my opinion.

I have been on the awkward seller side of that equation twice. I have offered a full refund and 10% off their next purchase as an apology. While I understand being frustrated I gotta agree with Al. No company is perfect. I am much more interested in how a company (or person) rectifies their mistakes than I am in them being perfect.

Does it suck? Absolutely. But unless you suspect foul play (and there would be no reason not to ship you that lot for what you paid) are you really so perfect that you can't comprehend an innocent, honest mistake? If so I hope you never find yourself in the wrong!

I'd concentrate on anyone else who won T206 lots in the auction. There were several lots in it. Start with the person who won the most cards (where 11 extra T206s were more likely to go unnoticed), and go from there.

Steve

+1

Although Al and LOTG are top notch, this situation seems to have been handled rather poorly. I have no doubt that Al will make this right, but he lost a customer in the process and it could've easily been avoided. I hope everything is resolved sooner rather than later

According to Al, 8 days after the customer inquired about status of the order, he was sent an email that the item could not be located, and that a refund would be issued. Perhaps this was longer than ideal, but it sounds like once the customer received this email, he decided to instantly state that he would not do business with LOTG again (which is certainly the right of any customer).

To me it seems like the customer is not of a forgiving nature, and perhaps is a little quick to pass judgement without willing to consider mitigating factors (AH is a 1 or 2 person business, mistakes happen, life getting in the way of responding promptly, weather affecting delivery of mail...I recently had a package I sent take almost 2 weeks to get to its destination, etc).

We all have our faults, and I am willing to acknowledge mine is putting a colon in my full name.

Brian Park:er

I'm a pretty forgiving person, so I most likely wouldn't have went the exact route as the OP did, but I'm not saying he's in the wrong here nor do I think Al and co run a bad auction house...I just think it could have been handled a little better and with a tad more urgency...it is what it is at this point.

I agree.

Brian

Sad to see this thread when I woke up today.

Also, as someone who works for an Internet company (and has for the past decade), it always surprises me that folks think the "best approach" to dealing with customer service issues is to jump to social media to vent their frustrations and share their experiences vs. simply picking up the phone and calling. Alas.

I think all companies make mistakes, and I am usually willing to give any company a one-time free pass. You've made a different decision, Frank, which is your prerogative.

From my perspective, I have consigned to (nearly every?) one of Al's auctions since the inaugural one many years ago. I consider Al to be both honest and hard-working. I have also spent many thousands of dollars across LotG auctions over the past few years, and always revel in amazement at some of the cool items that Al unearths and researchs to benefit the hobby and his consignors.

I consider him to be one of the good guys of the hobby, echoing what many others have said here. I don't think any AH will ever have a 100% satisfaction rate, and I'm sorry that you're unhappy with your experience. But I think it is important to note that your experience is a snowflake, compared to the blizzard of kudos that Al, Jeff and LotG continue to receive.

Marc

and 1 more vote for Al is a stand up guy and does everything in his power to make things right.... from personal experience and stuff does happen.

If someone received a lot he neither won nor paid for, he must return it. Al should have gotten a call from him the same day the cards were received.

Al is a stand up guy and the best in the business. The person who received the wrong lot apparently isn't. It wasn't a free gift.

Considering that the only AH I have ever received a package from in less than a week has been Sterling I personally think that the OP came here to slander Al, Jeff, and LOTG and should be liable for that. In the amount of time that this issue was handled in I am sure any of us would have been happy especially since its one of the larger Auction Houses. Does eBay not take just as long to settle a issue like this? The OP is probably pissed he didn't get the lot so he could resubmit for grade bumps and make money.

I consigned some cards to Sterling before Lee came to ownership. A tougher card was lost during the grading and it took almost 30 days to settle up. I allowed the AH to take every step possible to track the card down before I was contacted and just paid outright for the card based on market value. Now I could have came here and said all kinds of bad stuff but I can guarantee this is the first in 7 years this has ever been mentioned here. What I am saying is the OP and I will never have a transaction, and I truly hope LOTG auctions takes a stand since they did make it right in a timely professional manner.

Barry I do hope that the person that received the cards returns them. Sadly we both know that this is not how a lot of people are anymore:(

I sell groups of T206 cards on eBay every few years — I run up the mountain and then I sell, sell, sell. It’s apparently how I collect, I guess.

Anyway, when I sold a bunch of T206s on eBay this past summer, I have to say that the tone of the buyers was much different than it used to be. In addition, for the first time ever, I had two cases opened against me - one by a guy who was intent on a refund while also getting to keep my card (I won that case); and another by a guy who said a Beckett case cracked in shipping (I asked him to return the card for a full refund, he didn’t, he opened a case against me to ask for a partial refund and to get to keep the card - I settled that one, but have to say the evidence that the case cracked in shipping was not a compelling one).

Buyers seem to be jumping for help from third parties and social networks before trying to reasonably address easily resolved disputes. I have a whole new appreciation for what even the best auction houses must go through. Definitely not an easy gig. It would take outright fraud for me to air such grievances here.

Having said that, we live in the Yelp! world, with Amazon reviewers, and TripAdvisor experiences. That’s why these threads are so important today — you can leave a bad review, but if you have a great reputation this community will come immediately to defend you. If other collectors came out of the webisphere to share similar stories of lost shipments and delayed refunds, a different pattern would emerge than we’ve seen here.

....it always surprises me that folks think the "best approach" to dealing with customer service issues is to jump to social media to vent their frustrations and share their experiences

I don't even know Al, but couldn't agree more with the above statement.

Just don't try it the other way around.

Lets see if someone goes forward and says they got his cards packed by mistake with their order and will return it....if they do, ill send them a T206 for free...not a good trade for them but better than nothing!

right it only appears AFTER he started the thread is he getting 'action' Looks like he tried beforehand as well. Makes sense that he would post whats going on and he does say he 100% backs what he says and gives his name....what more can you ask for a buyer

maybe people will bid more on these auctions hoping to get extra goodies by mistake...

I've never had the luck to win an LOTG lot but I've been a frequent bidder. I would be upset if this happened to me but I don't know what else could be done other than what the AH is doing.

It could always be worse. I won a card with a different AH and when the card was sent to the wrong address the AH made me wait for them to settle with USPS to get a refund on their insurance before they would refund me on the auction price, despite the fact that I had nothing to do with an insurance claim against USPS. I'll NEVER bid with that house again and am happy to share the name if anyone is interested.

Slander is something that is said orally, not written. Libel is when something defamatory is written. In either case, however, the statement(s) has to be false for slander or libel to apply.. Al came into this thread and said what the OP wrote was true regarding his winnings being lost. As far as the OP not receiving a check yet, how do you know it is not true?

That being said, I had a fabulous experience purchasing from LotG in the past and would not hesitate to do so in the future. Mistakes happen, although I understand why the original poster is upset.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/slander

So the situation sucks for the OP, paid, never got his lot which is what he really wanted.

I will also say that if you call Al he will talk to you. He will make things right and he will put the effort into running a professional business. Al has ben very clear both on the phone and on boards about him being a one man show which results in some longer times to ship. He hasn't hid this, lied or done anything but be straight up front about all this. He stays up all night monitoring the auction, creates all the invoices, packages the lots and mails them. This is called transparency and the hobby needs all of this it can get.

Patience is something we in the hobby could all use a little more of. Also directly dealing with the person in a private manner always seems to go a long ways to conflict resolution.

Like Jeff said, there are tons of felons, perverts, sex offenders and fraudsters involved in this hobby running AHs. To mu knowledge, Al is none of these...

We as people and collectors need to try harder to work things out IMO, no one is forcing anyone to spend their money. LOTG needs a little slack here, they run a professional business.

I can't believe some of the responses that I'm reading. There's this notion with a lot of Net54 members that if a "good guy" makes a mistake, they shouldn't be called out for it. I wouldn't have handled it the way the OP did, but I don't fault him either. He's waited a month since cleared payment and he doesn't have his cards or his money back. Is a month not a reasonable amount of time? If you purchased something on eBay and you still didn't have it a month after payment received, wouldn't you feel like the OP does? Maybe you would handle it differently, but I can almost bet that you would feel the same way. Being a "good guy" doesn't excuse you from making mistakes or getting called out for the mistake. I think it was an honest mistake, but the "he's a good guy, so we're on his side" has to be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read on this board.

David-

I think Al has accepted accountability, and no one here is giving LotG a "free pass" for making a mistake.

The overriding notion I keep coming back to - why didn't Frank pick up the phone and make a call instead of going to social media?

People usually move quicker when others are watching.

I agree, Al did accept accountability and handled the situation very professionally. But statements like "You will find the board are overwhelmingly on his (Al's) side" sure sounds like a free pass to me. The buyer did nothing wrong, but we're going to overwhelmingly take the sellers side? And I'm not picking on the person who wrote that statement or calling him out, there are many other similar statements.

This. I recently had a similar situation as the OP, but I waited over 2 months for my refund. I was very patient, but I finally posted bad reviews on several websites, posted on my neighborhood website (it was a neighborhood business) and filed a complaint with the BBB. I got my refund check the very next day. So social media does work.

Let me repeat, I would have handled the situation differently from the OP, but we all handle different situations differently, But to take the side of the person who is in the wrong even if they do accept fault is absolutely mind boggling to me.

I agree with both points here. There are a lof of ebay buyers out there that try to profit by submitting false claims and taking advantage of sellers. And review sites like yelp are ruined my millennials leaving bad reviews because an unreasonable request wasn't honored, or they were too easily offended.

However, in this specific case it seems the opposite is happening. Most of the replies I have read are from members quickly jumping to Al's defense because of his reputation. I mentioned earlier I would not have been pleased with the way this was handled and the delays had I been the buyer. In reading Al's response again the offer of compensation is also less than I would have hoped. A credit for a future auction for completely losing an order? My reaction to this would have been similar to that of the OP. Especially if this was my first experience with LOTG, or any auction house.

A more appropriate response would have been something like a full refund, and an offer to wave the buyer's premium on the OP's next purchase for the inconvenience. An honest mistake was made, and they certainly can happen to anyone. But something more should have been done to make this right.

+1000

One of the issues here is "what does it mean to be 'made whole?'" If you owe me $500 and repay it, I am made whole. If you owe me 11 t206s and simply refund what I paid, I am not made whole. I don't want the money. If I did, I wouldn't have spent it on 11 t206's. Unless the cards are found, which I suspect they will be, the OP will never be made whole. I think Jesse's idea of waiving BP on the next purchase is a way of, not only returning the money, but also acknowledging that a mistake was made. Merely returning the money shows no efforts to encourage future business, and makes it seem as if he's been made whole when he has not. Again, this is NOT a shot at Al or LOTG, but if we are having this conversation, then we should address the concept of being made whole and what steps a business should take to make up for mistakes if they intend to keep their Sterling reputation.

Some thoughts...
 

First off to Al...

I appreciate you coming on here and admitting fault and agreeing with the timeline that I put forth. You were always a gentleman when we talked regarding this situation and you were also a gentleman in this forum. For this I commend you and truly appreciate your actions. Should I have been more patient? It surely appears many feel that way and that is something for me to consider in future actions.

Having said this I feel it is important to say that none of this would have happened if one of two things took place.

1) I received my auction winnings.
2) I was reimbursed in what I felt was a timely manner.

In less than 24 hours since I have posted this thread it has been suggested that I be sued. I have been blacklisted. My character has been called into question. I find it ironic that many will give LOTG a pass for what many (myself included) consider an honest mistake but will crucify me for also making what they consider a mistake.

To me, what I did was the equivalent of leaving a negative feedback. And to me, it was a negative experience.

Also, thanks to the many posters who tried to see my side of this and posted level headed, understanding responses.

Lastly, I am going to reserve the post below this reply to post the scan as promised because I do not want to bump this thread again.

Held
 

As promised....

Ouch!
 

LOL, Glenn, you kill me...

Unfortunately I have, and what I found out is that my full name is partly made up of corn.

Brian (now you know me on a first name basis)

I understand the OP's frustration as I had a similar incident recently with Lelands. I was awarded lot #156, (2) 1941 Lou Gehrig Memorial July 4th Ticket Stubs, in their October auction. After having made payment and not receiving delivery information I called the auction house. I explained to the gentleman who answered the phone the reason for my call and he placed me on hold for several minutes. Upon returning, he indicated their system was down and he could not determine whether my item had been shipped. The following week, I called again and was transferred to a woman in the business office who explained to me the ticket stubs could not be found. Rather than accept an immediate refund I told her I'll wait one more week, maybe the tickets would reappear. The following week, I requested my refund and within two days it was received.

As for LOTG, Al C. is #1 in my book!

In keeping with the spirit of transparency and the rules, my name is Hal Taylor.

I really like that idea. I have no doubt that the entire situation was just an honest mistake, but something like waiving the buyer's premium (up to a certain amount) would have been a really decent way of apologizing to the buyer. Seems like that would have been a way of keeping a customer instead of losing one, which is apparently what has happened.

I suspect Al is a pervert. Just a hunch.

It all boils down to one thing. The buyer paid for the cards he won but never got them and I guess as of yet has not been sent a refund check yet. I don't care who the auction house is or how good a guy he is supposed to be, I would be pissed off. I hope the buyer gets this settled quickly.

Who the hell gets 11 cards they didn't win or pay for and makes no effort to contact the AH? The rest of this will be worked out between the OP and Al and my guess is with no hard feelings for the future, but if someone is just keeping the cards as a bank error in their favor that truly sucks.

My advice to the AH and OP is to troll eBay over the next few months. All of the serial numbers are visible on the cards so if they come up for sale you'll know who has them.

I can feel for both sides here, as I've been on both sides.

As a bidder/buyer I expect to get my winnings in a timely manner. I would definitely be disappointed if I did not. If the AH explained that something is lost and they are trying to track it down, I'd expect them to take a few days and do that. I had it happen to me recently where an eBay seller mixed up two sets of cards and sent my Brooklyn Dodgers TI set to the winner of the Yankees TI set and vice versa. I returned the Yankees set immediately. Asshat Yankees buyer kept my Dodgers cards (my set was more valuable and sold for more due to the # of HOFers in it including early Drysdale and Koufax cards). And it was the seller's fault, 100%. So I get the frustration, believe me; instead of adding a desirable Koufax to my collection I got a refund. But the seller took care of it. What burns me to this day is that some jerk kept the mistaken set.

As a seller, this has happened to me a couple of times with eBay lots. Each time I've had to go through my collection and storage, and the item was just misfiled or filed other than where I thought it should be. Only once has it gone completely AWOL. So I get allowing the seller a bit of time to find a missing item.

Now, in terms of Al's saintly nature, I am biased because he is my friend (heck, I camp at his table at the National), but let me give you all another story. I lost the check from my last consignment. I let Al know and he immediately cut me a replacement check. It took a week to get here: mailed on the 26th, arrived a week later. Weather and holidays. A little perspective is warranted here. The holidays and a bomb cyclone can really f*** up a business schedule and mails. If the check arrives shortly, I hope the OP will post the envelope and check here (sans ID info) to show when it was cut and mailed, as represented.

I’ve bought and consigned items with Al in the past. He was very fair when it came to an item I had consigned that was subsequently lost (before getting auctioned off). All it takes is an email and a little patience. I recall that his bank is a small little credit union or something to that nature, so checks aren’t always delivered expeditiously. If he said he issued you a refund, that’s exactly what he did.

Given the number of t206 collectors on this board, whoever decides to re-sell those cards that don’t rightfully belong to him, I hope this comes back to bite him in the a$$.

Also, imagine if you were in Als shoes and trying to find the missing cards. I’d much rather wait as long as possible to find them (and hope a person came forward with the extra cards) and later send them along to the buyer with an apology / auction credit for the delay. The alternative would be to issue a refund and have to re-run the cards at auction if they came back later (assuming the buyer no longer wanted them). If said cards then sell for $700, now you’ve got an angry consignor if you don’t make him whole as well. What a mess!

That said, while I wouldn’t go about things the way the OP did, I certainly can see his POV, especially if this is a first-time xp with LOTG. Hopefully the comments made by board members will quell any fears you may have that you won’t be getting the refund you deserve. You will.

If Al mistakenly sent all of the 11 PSA cards as one group to one other person he could check all his shipping receipts for package weights from the last auction and determine who he sent the cards to. Cards in PSA holders weigh approximately 1.7 oz.
1.7x 11 = Over 1 pound of cards! :D

I very rarely sell on eBay anymore, but I did sell a few items last week. I mail all my items in person at the post office. I'm looking at the postal receipt right now and it lists the weight of each package on the receipt. I know auction houses probably use a different postal software, but does it capture the weight of the package anywhere? You have to figure 11 graded cards is significant weight and I would be looking for a package that was shipped that weighed more than it should have. Anyway, just a thought.

Edited to add: Charlie and I were thinking the same thing at the same time. :D

To me, what I did was the equivalent of leaving a negative feedback. And to me, it was a negative experience.

No its not the equivalent of leaving negative feedback and IMO its more on the lines of slander/liable(what ever you want to say). All your sniffling and whining and not once did your sorry ass take into consideration that the AH not only had to pay you back what you spent, they lost a consignment, and they now will have to pay the consignee what you paid also to settle up on that side. This also goes to the guys that think more compensation is due! Put the shoe on your own foot and wear it then see what song you play.

Having said this I feel it is important to say that none of this would have happened if one of two things took place.

1) I received my auction winnings.
2) I was reimbursed in what I felt was a timely manner.

I find it ironic that many will give LOTG a pass for what many (myself included) consider an honest mistake but will crucify me for also making what they consider a mistake.


Al made this right and for you(in a very timely manner) compared to any other auction house out there. Ask Brian or Rob how REA would have handled this. I am willing to put money on it that you would still be waiting for everything to take its due process(as it should) and had you came on here about them you probably would be getting it a lot worse! Then you come here sniffling and whining like a "millennial crybaby that didn't get his way" as someone said earlier. Be a fucking man, pull up you panties, and move on! If this is a "HONEST MISTAKE" as you say then why do you continue dragging Al/LOTG through the coals? Crucify you? For a mistake that can have volumes of repercussion against LOTGA. You must have lost your ever loving mind somewhere.

"I have to say that the tone of the buyers was much different than it used to be ..."

Perhaps it is simply a reflection of a world obsessed with social media and immediate gratification, but I, too, am surprised by how quickly some folks go into public intervention mode. I've had a couple buyers open disputes without even asking me to resolve their issues. Last year I bought something off eBay that was incorrectly sent to another eBay buyer's home. I received the other buyer's item, so I simply mailed it to him. But my package was inadvertently sent to the other buyer's summer home, so I had to wait a few months until the snow melted until I got my item. I was disappointed by the wait, but it passed quickly ...

Andrew, I've only have had good experiences with Al and LOTG. However, the OP has not been made "right" yet, as he has still not received his refund check. And what he's said is obviously not slander or libel since Al has admitted to everything that the OP said. You've come closer to slander/libel with your statements than the OP has.

I think it is unanimously agreed that Al is a good guy. However, my sense is that Al is struggling as a one man band in NJ to do all the jobs necessary to run a mid size auction, especially one putting out a nice catalog. If economics allow, Al might be well served to add an employee in NJ to help with the day to day tasks which would free Al up to do more consignment hunting.
Also, on a side note, Derek's post raises an interesting point. One of his consignment lots was lost before being auctioned off. At that point he was offered a settlement price for that lot. Al was fair and Derek was sayisfied. However, It is not always the case that a consignor will walk away satisfied if an event like that occurs. For higher value consignments consignors should consider stipulating individual insurance values for each lot and include these figures in the consignment agreement. That way if a lot is lost the consignor need not rely on the fairness of the auction house. In general, consignors need to read the consignor agreement, attempt to strike out terms they view as objectionable, and remember that everything is negotiable; the consignor agreement is just the auction houses' first offer.