A little disappointment rant

[tiger8mush]

Is now a bad time for me to bring up that I got a tracking # email from Sterling, 45 mins after I paid on a Sunday night?

Edited to add: LOTG is awesome. I bid on (and lost) exactly 20 lots in this past auction. I've won items in 10 of their auctions and have never had an issue. I can understand the OPs frustration, but hopes he reconsiders his stance (unless, Mark, you are going to bid on T213-1s hee hee )

[mrvster]

your attitude is refreshing! your auctions are top notch! keep up the great work

[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by lug-nut

It's funny how much smack some of you guys talk when several of you have posted far worse derogatory things about fellow board members. I'm not going to humor most of your posts since they were a little extreme.

I will clarify that I did pay via PP and I did not expect my items delivered within a week, I expected a "shipment sent" email like I was told in the email that came 3 days after the end of the auction. And the email I sent to LOTG, has not been answered as of 20 minutes ago.

I expressed my disappointment about an AH that no matter what AH it was, would get the same response. I know for a fact that I'm not the first to express their disappointment about an AH on forum. I wasn't slanderous, I didn't call anyone a douche-bag, I wasn't sarcastic like some of you were in this thread. which now tells me what sellers and buyers to stay away from. I don't post negative feedback on ebay and I'm not petty. And quite frankly, I don't give a frogs fat a*s if your domino's pizza was late, get a real job so you can afford papa john's.

^This post made some good points and the end also made me laugh

I think Mark probably should have tried again to contact Al to try to resolve this, but to his credit, he did say he did email and didn't get a response...even though Al said he didn't receive anything...so who really knows where the email is

No one should be bashing Mark for venting about his experience, even if you agree or not. He made some good points and although I don't know if I would have taken the exact path he did, I'm sure I wouldn't expect to get ripped for sharing my experience with everyone here. It's no secret that Al is amazing and one of the best in the business, but that doesn't mean he won't make mistakes from time to time...and I'm not saying he made a huge one here.

I think some of the people that responded to this thread missed the point of the OP. He wasn't looking for everyone to take down Al and his company, but to hear some voices with some constructive feedback would have been nice...which some did.

Mark has been a valued member of this board for a long time...let's treat him with some respect. That being said...Mark, I think you should reconsider LOTG and continue to bid

[Peter_Spaeth]

Talk about staking out a position squarely in the middle. Have you considered politics?

[oldjudge]

After Al's heartfelt apology I think makeup sex is in order.

[Bliggity]

I have only won one item in a LOTG auction, and the packaging was the best and safest I've ever seen from any auction house (or eBay seller, for that matter). I hope I win more in the future and I'm happy for the shipping to take a little extra time to make sure it's done correctly. Thanks, Al.

[cardsfan73]

All I can say is my very first auction house experience was with LOTG and it was a great one! I had a few rookie questions about some things and Al was always quick to reply with helpful answers. I had spent no money with him and no money on auctions before, but this didn't matter to Al, he decided he would earn my business!

Being new to the world of auctions houses and reading some of the horror stories you hear about with some of the other companies I was very tentative about jumping in. The respect & kindness I was shown by Al encouraged me to give it a shot and I was rewarded with outstanding services and a new avenue to explore in my never ending search of St. Louis Cardinals & St. Louis Browns items.

I am sorry you had a bad experience your first time out but I really encourage you to give them another shot. Since my first experience with LOTG I have bid with a few other auction houses and received pretty good services but nobody has gone above and beyond like LOTG does. I think you would be hard pressed to find better!!

Keep up the good work LOTG! I can't wait for the next Set Builders Auctions!!

Thanks,
Scott

[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Talk about staking out a position squarely in the middle. Have you considered politics?

I assume you were talking about my post when you responded

Yeah, I'm in the middle because I can see both sides...but that's also my point, Peter. I learned that early on...to look at both sides and assess and try not to make a snap judgement. Although I probably wouldn't have went to the extent that Mark did, I still understand his frustration and making him feel like an a**hole (like some did) would have been the last thing I would have done in response to his rant.

As far as politics goes...never!!!

[z28jd]

I'm just mad I didn't win anything in his last auction. Hopefully Al can do something about that

[kmac32]

I miss the Jerry Springer Show

[ValKehl]

Al, great response to the OP. If you ever get tired of doing auctions, you could teach classes in damage control. Not that there was any need for an apology or damage control in this instance, IMHO. If Al isn't the best in the business, then I don't know who is!
Val

[drmondobueno]

Originally Posted by egbeachley

I would prefer to wait an extra month rather than have an AH hire a bunch of temps for a couple days and need to raise the buyers premium to pay for it.

And charge shipping and handling, and taxes, and.....

[ZenPop]

Originally Posted by eric72

you mis-spelled, "sorry, i may have jumped the gun a little and apologize for attacking an auction house that does a (generally) great job."

it's ok. Everyone makes mistakes.

lol! :d

[ZenPop]

Originally Posted by al c.risafulli

hi everyone:

First, thanks to everyone who chimed in with such positive comments. While they're all much appreciated, i think mark's concern is valid because he clearly expected that his shipment would be sent to him within four days of my receipt of payment, and i did not meet that expectation.

When i set up lotg, i wanted to model my shipping after sterling and rea, who are the fastest in the biz. Sterling sometimes ships the day they receive payment! Since most other auctions ship, in my experience, within a week or two of receipt - so i set a goal of shipping within a week, via priority mail, and most of the time, i meet that goal.

In this case, since shipments will go out slightly more than a week after some payments were received, i felt it was important to let winning bidders know. I sent out an email on wednesday to that effect. Perhaps it would have been smarter to just ship when i could, but i felt like customers who are accustomed to receiving their material from me in four or five days have a right to know that they'll be receiving it in eight or nine.

Mark, since you addressed my company here in a public forum rather than privately, i hope you don't mind that i respond to you publicly as well. Again, i apologize for the inconvenience of your having to wait. I know that lotg is not the first auction house with which you've done business, so i know you're aware of how frustrating it can be to have to wait three and four weeks to receive your winning items. I understand that you were expecting better service from lotg, and i apologize for not being able to deliver this time around.

I'm extremely disappointed to have let you down with the first and only item you've ever bid on with my company. I received your payment at 11:30 pm on monday night, and while i understand many customers want their material shipped immediately, some times it's just not logistically possible due to volumes and time constraints. When i sent out the email on wednesday evening, i did it so that i could properly set expectations. In that email, which admittedly was sent almost 48 hours after you paid, i explained that we were behind schedule and would be slow in fulfilling orders due to our attendance at the white plains show. I understand that you take issue with our priorities and our planning, and yet i hope you also understand how important shows can be to an auction house.

You've noted several times that you expected a "shipment sent" email, as you were told you would receive. The part that i may not have been clear about is that you will only receive a "shipment sent" email after your shipment has been sent. The reason you have not received that email is because your shipment has not been sent. It is slated to be shipped on monday, and you can trust that when it is, that email will be sent to you.

You also mentioned in your recent post that the email you sent to me has not been answered. Unfortunately i searched through my inbox and my spam folder, and have received no email from you. The only emails i have ever received from you are the paypal receipts from the day you paid. Perhaps you used the wrong email address? Of course that doesn't matter; you have every right to be frustrated for not receiving a response and i hope you accept my apologies. Trust that your winnings will be shipped to you on schedule tomorrow, via priority mail, which means you will receive it 8 calendar days after your payment was made. I realize that's not as quickly as you would like, and for that i apologize.

It's unfortunate that i've lost your future bids, as it's my goal to delight every customer. The longer lotg is in business, the more i realize that's not really possible, but it doesn't stop me from trying!

Regardless, i hope you do enjoy the item you won, and i thank you for your bid.

Warm regards,
-al

bravo!!!

[Tabe]

Personally, I have no problem with OP's post. It's not like the East Coast National came as some big surprise. If shipping was going to be a problem, that should have been stated ahead of time.

Kudos to Al for his great response but that doesn't negate that OP has a good point.

[BobbyVCP]

Al I thought your drone delivery service would be operational by now....you are such a slacker...great auctions and great guy and a breathe of fresher air in this hobby.

[forazzurri2axz]

I would like everyone here to boycott every single AH for obvious reasons...finally I could get a lot of cards at great prices!

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by drmondobueno

And charge shipping and handling, and taxes, and.....

Unless Al has an in with the IRS I'm pretty sure he isn't the decision-maker on who gets charged which taxes.

[drmondobueno]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Unless Al has an in with the IRS I'm pretty sure he isn't the decision-maker on who gets charged which taxes.

Yeah, I know. Just being an @ss bitching about taxes. My bad. Al is not the guy who has hit me with surprises in the past. Just sayin.

[timn1]

Originally Posted by Wildfireschulte

Some guys just can't wait to get their new bubble gum card. OP probably negs eBay buyers/sellers first day after auction ends - I know the type. Al is the best - what other AH would send an apology email in advance knowing that things were being delayed?

+1

[Beastmode]

Originally Posted by VintageBall

Ok that was a great response. Well done!

I'm a New Yorker, we don't do Domino's or papa john's, but that response was funny. But Mario Batali does have a great pizza place here, if you're looking for something more upscale than the usual NYC slice...

Of course, when Papa John opened up an East Village location, they actually handed out flyers touting their new "East Side Village" location, so clearly all that extra dough they are charging you isn't going to learning new markets!

I like that you can give and take, a true New Yorker!

[Beastmode]

Poor Lug-Nut, absolutely gets shredded for voicing his opinion. Talk about killing-the-messenger. Keep your head up Lug-nut, it's was a good point.

For all AH's, if your going to accept payment, ship the product within 48 hours. Or...don't process the payment until you're ready to ship. Simple business. Win customers and build a loyal brand. Buyers don't want to hear about the labor, just deliver the baby.

[Mountaineer1999]

Originally Posted by Beastmode

Poor Lug-Nut, absolutely gets shredded for voicing his opinion. Talk about killing-the-messenger. Keep your head up Lug-nut, it's was a good point.

For all AH's, if your going to accept payment, ship the product within 48 hours. Or...don't process the payment until you're ready to ship. Simple business. Win customers and build a loyal brand. Buyers don't want to hear about the labor, just deliver the baby.

Agreed. Heck, Al even agreed. I'm beginning to think people are just looking for a reason to attack.

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by Beastmode

Poor Lug-Nut, absolutely gets shredded for voicing his opinion. Talk about killing-the-messenger. Keep your head up Lug-nut, it's was a good point.

For all AH's, if your going to accept payment, ship the product within 48 hours. Or...don't process the payment until you're ready to ship. Simple business. Win customers and build a loyal brand. Buyers don't want to hear about the labor, just deliver the baby.

This doesn't make sense for checks as the AH should be able to wait for the check to clear before sending something out.

jeff

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Is there really a difference in price between Domino's and Papa John's?

To me, this and Jay's request for make-up sex are the most interesting parts of this thread. Everyone here knows Al and so there's really nothing to talk about with regard to his customer service. I'm still blown away with how fast he's become a major player in this industry, and he's one of my favorite guys in the hobby in all respects. The first time I met him I gave him a pretty big pile of my stuff to auction off, just because I like the guy, and I had only known him for a day. How many people can you say that about?

[ALR-bishop]

[stone193]

It's not like you're waiting for a kidney?