OT Ever been ripped off on any deal?

[ruth-gehrig]

To make an extremely long story short I feel like Im in the process of being screwed by a guy from craigslist. I put out an ad for someone to make me a frame for a large poster I have. I met him for measurements of the piece. He asked for half down so he didnt pay for materials out of pocket. He originally told me it would have been done last Sat then Sun. Now he says give him a few more days due to his allergies! Luckly he doesnt have the poster just half the money for a deposit. He gave me an invoice and money back guarantee whatever that means at this point.

Have you ever been ripped off in any type of deal?

[bnorth]

Anybody that has bought memorabilia or cards has been ripped off whether they know it or not. This is an amazingly slimy hobby we are in.

Good luck on getting a nice frame or your $ back.

[Shoeless Moe]

Karma is a pretty sure & powerful thing, and those who rip others off will pay the price for it at some point.

[murphusa]

no, but a few have tried. And for some reason it always was one of the big time memorabilia dealer who trying to stick it to me.

[batsballsbases]

Michael,
If Im reading it right its not really about memorabilia its about a frame thats going to hold a piece of memorabilia. As a person who does sell memorabilia alot I find what you call a piece of memorabilia (a frame) isnt what I consider memorabilia. Sorry you were taken but maybe next time go to a regular framer and pay the little extra instead of trying to save a few bucks from craigslist. Everyone knows that craigslist is a crap shoot at best when it comes to finding a GOOD deal. I would say its a 50/50 chance it will work out.Hope it works out for you but how you wrote this makes all people who sell memorabilia look very bad! When it really has nothing to do with it. My 2 cents..

[ruth-gehrig]

Al you are right this isnt exactly about a piece of memorabilia. This just got me thinking about deals and people getting ripped off memorabilia or not. Slightly off topic on a few counts I suppose.

I posted the craigslist ad because frame shops want to keep the piece for upwards of 2 weeks. My thoughts were to show this piece to someone experienced in frames for measurements for the frame and matting and to then return with the piece to finalize the deal. Time will tell how it turns out.

I was also interested in hearing other members' bad experiences. Feel free to vent!

[batsballsbases]

Michael,
I understand but maybe just change or remove the word memorabilia and ask how other people were ripped off in a deal. Im sure card people have horror stories to about cards that were bought and turned out to be trimmed, re print, re backed etc. Just struck a nerve about memorabilia people as I have had hundreds of dealings with people on this board and many more off of it and have never done a deal that both parties wernt satisfied.. And Im talking many items that reach into the 4 figures. Al

[batsballsbases]

Thanks Mike! Hope it all works out!

[ruth-gehrig]

Thanks! Wording has been changed to prevent misunderstanding.

[slidekellyslide]

Actually the very first deal I ever made on Net54 I felt I got ripped off, but I didn't know it right away. Traded a badly miscut T206 card for a common P2 pinback. At the time I didn't know that people were crazy for oddball T206 cards. I only have myself to blame though as I made the trade without doing my homework.

[Butch7999]

Does having an item damaged in transit because of cheap, careless packaging by the vendor count?
We've had that happen a couple of times...

On the other hand, we've ripped ourselves off more than once by being ignorant cheapskates,
declining to pull the trigger on a deal we guessed was overpriced only to learn too late that it was underpriced...

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Karma is a pretty sure & powerful thing, and those who rip others off will pay the price for it at some point.

You certainly got that right.

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

You certainly got that right.

The bigger they are the harder they fall.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

The bigger they are the harder they fall.

Oh yeah

[ooo-ribay]

When I sell on eBay, it's usually cheap duplicate stuff. Because it's not worth much, I try to ship as cheaply as possible (and charge as little as possible). Lately, I've had a few folks say they haven't gotten something. I suspect this is because they see I didn't purchase tracking. Funny how they usually go away if I say "that's odd, delivery was expected on xxx, the other person I shipped to has already left feedback, etc."

I really don't enjoy selling on eBay. Buying, yes. Selling, no.

[ruth-gehrig]

I expected more horror stories of deals especially considering how long some have been involved with the collecting world. I can also see that if someone got screwed over big time they don't want to talk about it.

It continues to be one excuse after the other from this guy supposedly making a frame for me. First excuse was it rained to much and he couldn't get out to buy materials, next was his allergies were too severe. Last night I text him that I'd at least like a pic of progress with reply that he's not near it but will asap.

When he took measurements last Wednesday he said the entire project would be completed 3 days later! A week and and a half later now and he can't even text me a picture of how it's progressing if at all. He hasn't dropped all contact yet so maybe he's just slow but sucks at customer service.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by ruth-gehrig

Al you are right this isnt exactly about a piece of memorabilia. This just got me thinking about deals and people getting ripped off memorabilia or not. Slightly off topic on a few counts I suppose.

I posted the craigslist ad because frame shops want to keep the piece for upwards of 2 weeks. My thoughts were to show this piece to someone experienced in frames for measurements for the frame and matting and to then return with the piece to finalize the deal. Time will tell how it turns out.

I was also interested in hearing other members' bad experiences. Feel free to vent!

If you go to a frame shop and they tell you they want to keep the piece for two weeks it is because they have a lot of work and you have to wait your turn. If you went to a frame shop that said they can have it back tomorrow then they have no other work to do. Which shop is the one you should use??

[ruth-gehrig]

I just got back two framed pieces from "America's #1 Framer" - Michaels which did take 2 weeks to complete. Get home to unwap both pieces and one piece has obvious scrap mat pieces stuck between mat and frame Takes them 2 more days to fix and when it was picked up this time they remounted the picture upside down! Seriously Michaels what kind of professionalism is that? Little attention to detail!

A busy business doesn't necessarily mean they serve quality products

[perezfan]

I refuse to leave anything of value to framers. Much prefer to do it myself. Most have no comprehension of rarity, value, etc. The one time I did leave something behind (probably 12 years ago), they set it aside in order to complete the paperwork. Within 30 seconds, another employee kicked and tripped over it on his way to helping someone else.

Hope it ends up working out.

[ruth-gehrig]

Originally Posted by perezfan

I refuse to leave anything of value to framers. Much prefer to do it myself. Most have no comprehension of rarity, value, etc. The one time I did leave something behind (probably 12 years ago), they set it aside in order to complete the paperwork. Within 30 seconds, another employee kicked and tripped over it on his way to helping someone else.

Hope it ends up working out.

Exactly. I know Michaels small disclaimer, that isnt apparent until they ring you up, is they provide $250 max insurance per item and probably a nightmare getting them to pay out anything.

[perezfan]

Right- an administrative nightmare. These companies make it next to impossible, in the hope that you'll just give up on pursuing your claim.

[ruth-gehrig]

Quick update - I did get my money back after continuous excuses.

I took the piece to a highly respected frame shop to inquire about a few things.

First thing I asked was "If I bring in a poster can you take measurements and build a frame without me leaving the piece?"

Response: "Yeah we could probably do that but why?

Me: "Because if you screw it up or lose it I can't go replace it from Walmart"

In the bottom right hand corner the printing company typed their company name is small letters. I told the framing guy I would like the mat to be notched out so this would still show. He said "just write it down on a piece of paper and stick it to the back."

Are you kidding me?? Im the customer and do what I want! Is it really that difficult?

I left the store....I may have to figure this out on my own.

[vintagesportscollector]

Good luck, Mike. That is a sharp piece -really nice!!

[7nohitter]

Michael,

It sounds like you're dealing with rubes....what you're asking is not that difficult, especially for a halfway decent framing shop. Sorry you're having so many difficulties.

[djson1]

If you were to ask for a show of hands....Anybody who has visited this forum should be raising their hands (whether they know it or not), assuming we all buy memorabilia.

[bobbyw8469]

I had a buyer send me back empty slabs in the mail instead of the cards that I sold him and said he could return. Does that count?