A Message From REA

[spacktrack]

To everyone involved in last night's auction as a bidder, consignor, or observer:

In short, we're sorry. Words cannot begin to express the level of frustration that we experienced here at REA, and we know that the same frustration was felt by all of you as you sat down to the auction. It's incredibly disappointing when something doesn't go as planned, especially something that routinely brings great enjoyment to collectors. For that we apologize. We consistently strive for a high level of service and we didn't meet that last night.

I can tell you that we work incredibly hard to deliver the best auctions to the hobby twice, and soon to be three times, a year. We have invested in tremendous people and incredible infrastructure, and last night our IT infrastructure disappointed us and all of you. Despite rigorous testing, we encountered a number of issues at various times throughout the final night. Without getting into too much detail, I can tell you that this was not a bandwidth issue. We know very well what type of traffic to expect, and we build around that, including buffers for when traffic hits multiples of the expected load. Despite the very best planning, these things happen. We've all heard of Wal-Mart's site going down on Black Friday or the IRS site crashing on tax day. These are not planned, and they have to be worked through.

We are not computer experts, and we rely on a team of administrators, programmers, and developers, along with their countless resources, to make sure that things work. When they don't work, we rely on these same people to diagnose and correct any issues that arise. Last night, we were relying on the best available information and the best available advice from these experts and others that we consulted. Decisions were made to bring down the site temporarily around 9 PM to initiate a fix. While it worked for many, we understand that it didn't work perfectly for all.

This is the definition of an imperfect situation because there is no one-size-fits-all solution. For every person who is intently focused on a single item, there is another who has been diligently tracking several dozen. For every person who sets an Honest Auto Bid Sunday evening, there is another who wants to manually place his last bid. There are buyers and consignors on both sides of the coin, and decisions have to be made that are believed to be in the best interest of all.

Extending initial bidding was a necessity due to the timing of the first outage to the site. With this, we are confident that we were able to accommodate nearly everyone who wanted to qualify. The auction opened October 5, and with a record number of bidders involved, we're sure the 23 days of initial bidding was sufficient despite the short outage near the end. We handled scores of phone calls during that outage and manually took bids over the phone and via e-mail from concerned bidders, ensuring that we were able to enter them prior to the initial bidding deadline.

The decision to extend the end of the auction is something that we reserve the right to do when we feel it cannot responsibly be ended as planned. Thankfully, this is an option we've never had to exercise until last night. Again, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this. The extension caused some great displeasure because they were winning an item or had an item at a good price while others were hugely frustrated because they couldn't get back in to update bids. We made what we believed was the best decision given the situation, and we tried to keep bidders informed as best as possible through e-mails, a fully staffed phone bank, and posts on the board so that they were not in the dark. The additional extensions were made until we could determine that the site was offering uninterrupted access for the overwhelming majority of people for a reasonable amount of time. In our opinion, this was the best way, in light of the undeniably frustrating situation, to end the auction. Pausing the auction or extending it another day, in our opinion, would have led to more confusion and could have worsened the situation. There was literally no perfect solution, despite many thrown around and considered. We made the decision that we did, and we stand by it acknowledging that there are some who disagree. We ask for your faith that we considered all the available information and tried to do what we thought was best.

I want to acknowledge my team in the office who handled themselves with great poise and ability in the face of this situation, and I know many of you spoke to them upon calling into the office. Dean, Tom, Calvin, Bob, Michael, and Paul were doing their best to communicate information, assist bidders, and maintain calm. They did a great job despite being subjected to unbelievable verbal abuse from some customers. Some of the e-mails and phone calls we received last night are among the worst I've ever seen or heard in any situation, and they certainly had no place in sports card auction environment regardless of how frustrating things were getting. No one wanted this to happen less than we did.

We've waived all shipping charges for this auction, which was set to implement a new cost structure for shipping, handling, and insurance. We are already packing and shipping, and will be getting orders out and consignor checks mailed with the same speed you've always known. We are already digging deeply into the situation to ensure this never happens again in any fashion. We appreciate everyone's participation last night, their patience, and their understanding that we tried at every step to make the best decisions. We look forward to putting this behind us and delivering another blockbuster auction in March 2019 that everyone can be excited about and enjoy at the same level they've always known with REA.

Brian

[KMayUSA6060]

Thank you very much, Brian.

[T_Hamilton]

Brian -

They proactive communication from you and your team was impeccable. You did the best you could do and controlled what you could. Problems happen, but it is how you respond to them... Personally, I think you and your team did a fantastic job under the circumstances.

Best,

Taylor

[greenmonster66]

Great communication on your end, always up to date, only disappointed I didn't win 1 auction :-(

[Rhotchkiss]

Brian, stuff happens. What is most important is that you communicated regularly and often and you did your best under impossible circumstances. No love lost here. My only complaint is that i wish the outages started before I got into a bidding war for Zeenut Claxton!!

Ryan Hotchkiss

[jetsguy1]

While it was a nitemare for sure, REA has maintained the dignity that we have come to expect. I received numerous emails detailing the issues to the extent that I felt that the REA Crew was doing everything they could under the most difficult of circumstances. I work in the live event business and I can tell you that things happen, sometimes in a hurry, that simply cannot be accounted for in advance. The risk is always there and nobody thinks about it, except the producers of the live event, until it happens.
My hat is off to you Bryan and the rest of your crew. You will fix it and we will return as we should. Honesty is always the best policy and you have been a good man for standing up and telling the truth...
MPH

[Michael Peich]

Hi, Brian,

Thank you, as always, for the transparency and concern for the service you provide. I can only imagine what a nightmare the slow server situation was for you, your staff, fellow bidders, and consignors. While I cannot speak for others, I can speak for myself and report that when I called REA and spoke with Bob, he was patient, considerate, and concerned that I and others were having problems. He explained what he could and did everything in his power to help me, and I presume others. I know that the rest of the staff extended the same courteous assistance to others as Bob did with me.

My only disappointment is learning that some folks were disrespectful and hateful in their emails/calls to the office. That kind of behavior has no place in this arena, something we call a hobby. I am sorry you and the staff had to endure other people's bad behavior.

Cheers,
Mike

[Luke]

Originally Posted by Michael Peich

Hi, Brian,

Thank you, as always, for the transparency and concern for the service you provide. I can only imagine what a nightmare the slow server situation was for you, your staff, fellow bidders, and consignors. While I cannot speak for others, I can speak for myself and report that when I called REA and spoke with Bob, he was patient, considerate, and concerned that I and others were having problems. He explained what he could and did everything in his power to help me, and I presume others. I know that the rest of the staff extended the same courteous assistance to others as Bob did with me.

My only disappointment is learning that some folks were disrespectful and hateful in their emails/calls to the office. That kind of behavior has no place in this arena, something we call a hobby. I am sorry you and the staff had to endure other people's bad behavior.

Cheers,
Mike

Well said. I couldn't agree more.

[tbob]

Originally Posted by Michael Peich

Hi, Brian,

Thank you, as always, for the transparency and concern for the service you provide. I can only imagine what a nightmare the slow server situation was for you, your staff, fellow bidders, and consignors. While I cannot speak for others, I can speak for myself and report that when I called REA and spoke with Bob, he was patient, considerate, and concerned that I and others were having problems. He explained what he could and did everything in his power to help me, and I presume others. I know that the rest of the staff extended the same courteous assistance to others as Bob did with me.

My only disappointment is learning that some folks were disrespectful and hateful in their emails/calls to the office. That kind of behavior has no place in this arena, something we call a hobby. I am sorry you and the staff had to endure other people's bad behavior.

Cheers,
Mike

+1.

I self-censored my comments about how this is reflective of the mean and hateful diatribes we are enduring in today's society these days.
Brian, sorry you had to endure this.

[Golfcollector]

Originally Posted by T_Hamilton

Brian -

They proactive communication from you and your team was impeccable. You did the best you could do and controlled what you could. Problems happen, but it is how you respond to them... Personally, I think you and your team did a fantastic job under the circumstances.

Best,

Taylor

+1

[glynparson]

Originally Posted by T_Hamilton

Brian -

They proactive communication from you and your team was impeccable. You did the best you could do and controlled what you could. Problems happen, but it is how you respond to them... Personally, I think you and your team did a fantastic job under the circumstances.

Best,

Taylor

I agree with this 100%. Great job by the whole team

[Jobu]

I agree that abuse for this type of thing is totally uncalled for, shame on those people. As has been stated, $hit happens and making the best of it doesn't involve being a jerk to people who are doing their best to fix something that is beyond their control or ability to plan for. I like Brian and I like REA.

With that said, free shipping for winners is a nice gesture for their annoyance but a bit misplaced. The winners only could have benefited from the website problem keeping competing bids away - at best the site issues had a neutral effect and winners paid what they would have anyway, at worst, there were tens of thousands of dollars of bids not placed. The people who were annoyed and also may well have lost money here are the consignors and REA, the bidders only could have come out ahead or paid what they would have anyway.

[drcy]

I didn't win anything. Do I also get free shipping?
"Doable free shipping."
Whoah.

[cgreat14]

Man you guys screwed up. Go back to the old days when I could stay up till 5:45 AM and kick ass. I would out wait those guys and would win every time. It was a challenge but I loved it. Look at Mile High...still doing the same way and no complaints. Stop trying to fix it, if it works. You got the moaners out there who complained about staying up too late....tough....it worked.

[bensie]

This is exactly why I don't wait until the last minute to place bids. I had all my max bids placed days before the final call. No late nights or babysitting for me! I set my bids and forget all about the auction until the morning after.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by bensie

This is exactly why I don't wait until the last minute to place bids. I had all my max bids placed days before the final call. No late nights or babysitting for me! I set my bids and forget all about the auction until the morning after.

That's great, but if you're juggling a budget sometimes it's just not possible.

I've been on the same end of this problem as Brian as an auctioneer, with a different service, and I have to tell you it's one of the worst feelings you can imagine. EVERYBODY is mad, the next day people who didn't realize there was a problem take THEIR turn getting mad. There's nothing you can do but be as fair as possible to all involved. Basically try to keep the playing field as level as you can so everyone suffers or benefits equally.

I think anyone who has dealt with Brian appreciates what a positive force he is in a hobby that desperately needs more like him.

[ejharrington]

I received my winning lot today by far the fastest I’ve ever received any item in any auction. Great job by REA

[Howe’s Hunter]

Was truly not expected for at least a week or more. First time I've ever sold an item through REA, if I ever sell again, they would be my first contact. Thanks to Brian for all he does.

[Snapolit1]

Brian's post was excellent. Could be a case study on how to deal with a problem like this. Apologize and take it head on. Well done on the communication front. On the other hand, I'm a little perplexed by all the people offering congratulations and massive pats on the back. This was a huge issue going to the absolute core of their business. I'm not sure any major league kudos are in order here. Their site is not Amazon. They don't have a gazillion people logging in from around the world. The fact that their platform cratered seems to suggest to me at minimum a lack of diligence on selecting that hosting company.

Honesty is very important in this game. I get that. And their honesty counts for a ton. But it doesn't mean everything.

[OldOriole]

Just now, I was pulling out of my driveway to go to send off payment for REA and was met by a Fed Ex truck with my auction winnings. It's only been a day and a half since the auction ended and I haven't even paid yet! Very impressive delivery.

[timzcardz]

Originally Posted by spacktrack

We've waived all shipping charges for this auction, which was set to implement a new cost structure for shipping, handling, and insurance.

And that had slipped right past me.

Was used to the 20% including the S&H, so I didn't notice anything different in the invoice.

[Dpoolem3]

I won the Sporting Life lot

so the waived shipping and handling is like winning the lottery.

I was locked out for a few hours but I had set my max bid earlier in the day and had decided to let it ride...I anticipated on being outbid