Broadway Rick

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Posted By: David R

Anyone have any feedback on transactions with Broadway Rick's Strike Zone?

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Posted By: Brian Lindholme

...message title is the clue...

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Posted By: Paul

He has perhaps the worst reputation of anyone in the hobby.

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Posted By: leon

I did one deal with him and it was bad....never did another. Here is a quote from their owner, from about 5 yrs ago:


"In a phone interview with MSNBC.com, Broadway Rick’s owner Richard Kohl acknowledged that he improperly bid the cards up using an account that he originally created for a friend, but said he did so only to avoid taking a financial hit on the item.

‘I will never do it again'
“I started my piece out at $1 and (the false bid) was to get people up to get the price I paid for it, and not to take a great loss,” he said. “I should have started at the price I wanted. I was warned by eBay. I’m ashamed of myself and I will never do it again.”



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078735/

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Posted By: Anonymous

.

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Posted By: David R

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I get the picture. No need to pile on.

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Posted By: Tony Galovich

Years ago when Rick did the show circuit I did quite a considerable amount of business with him & never recall a problem
But it is evident his business ethics have taken a slide downward big time
I have seen over the yrs when business get's more competitive the marginal dealers turn to shady dealings to make more $$$ as they can't compete

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Posted By: Dan Koteles

his caramels were nearly second to none.

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Posted By: Jay

Have dealt with Rick over the years and never had any issues.

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Posted By: Neal

I won 3 auctions from him on Ebay several months back,no problems at all! Excellent service!

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Posted By: John S

I recall the shill bidding issues from an article in VCBC. I have never purchased anything from him. For those of you that have is his merchandise as advertised?

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

My items were exactly as advertised. But this was over 6 years ago, and involved game-used flannel jerseys (not cards). I actually obtained some beautiful all-original pieces from Strike Zone (as it was called at the time...)

They used to run phone auctions, and advertised heavily in the SCD. This was before ebay became so prevalent.

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Posted By: leon

The one card I bought was a mayo (I believe)....I bought it raw. I sent it in to be graded ...came back trimmed. I told Rick. He said I would have to send it to the other grading company (it was SGC or PSA at the time) and see what they said. They said it was trimmed too. About 4 months later, and $50 in expenses, I got a refund. I am glad others have never had an issue. BTW, he used to have some of the worst feedback on ebay for a large seller. You don't get to be one of the worst for no reason.....I think he has changed handles a few times to try to hide the ebay feedback....sort of like changing his name (which it appears he has done).....good luck

edited to add his current ebay handle...nice..

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=brsz&ftab=AllFeedback

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Posted By: Iggy...

From my one transaction with him, a long time ago, I think he over-grades a bit. If that was his only transgression, it wouldn't be a big deal. He definitely has earned his bad reputation and I wouldn't buy from him, even if he was the last dealer on earth...

Not to rehash an old thread, but here is the old link to the "MSNBC" story on his shill bidding episode a few years back... I guess, it will follow him to his grave.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078735/

-Lovely Day, Iggy...

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Posted By: Doug

I only had one transaction with him and it was for a "NM" 1952 Topps Willie Mays 9 years ago when I first started collecting vintage cards. Of course when I sent the "NM" card to PSA it came back an EX 5. Newbie mistake on my part I guess...

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Posted By: Al Davis

He has always had a very good selection of over-graded and altered cards. He is about as unpleasant to deal with as there is. You should count your fingers after shaking his hand.

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Posted By: Rick Kohl

Hello

I would like to take time to address some of the items that have been brought up in this post.

First, about the shill bidding. Yes i made a mistake that i deeply regret. The item in question was erroneously listed without a reserve and I did bid on it to preserve my investment. When asked about it, i was honest in my response. It appears that it is an error that i will never be able to live down. All I can say is that i deeply regret it

If you check my ebay board (brsz-2) you can see that I have almost 13,000 feedbacks with 99% of them being posative.
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZbrszQ2d2QQfrppZ50QQfsopZ1QQfsooZ1QQrdZ0

In my 20+ years in this hobby i have always tried to "do the right thing". Unfortunately you cant always please all the people all of the time. As most of you know, the hobby was very different 20 years ago. In a time without PSA or JSA, it was quite possible to sell a trimmed card or fake autograph. I am not the only dealer who made this mistake, and if you notice, any higher $ items that I now have, come with a reputable 3rd party COA

Im sure some of you have already "written me off", Im not trying change minds or hide from anything, I just wanted to present my side of the story.

If at any time, anyone has an issue with an item or transaction with Strikezone. Please feel free to call my office (1-800-344-9103) to discuss it

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Posted By: Aaron Seefeldt

I've never had an issue with anything I bought from Rick over the years...

Haven't seen or heard from him (other than the post above) for a few years...

-Aaron Seefeldt

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Posted By: Turner Engle

Well, I had some decent snipes on about 20 of his T205's, but now it looks like I'll be holding off.

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Posted By: boxingcardman

“The item in question was erroneously listed without a reserve and I did bid on it to preserve my investment. When asked about it, i was honest in my response. It appears that it is an error that i will never be able to live down.”

Your post is misleading. It wasn't one item or one apparent error. As reported in VCBC #22 (10/02), you operated two Ebay User ID’s: brsz-2 and nsports, which you used to shill the following auctions:

--a PSA 8 Joe Jackson Sporting News card [Ebay ID #1843485321]

--a lot of 5 PSA 9 Dick Butkus cards [Ebay ID #1843484941]

--a lot of basketball cards [Ebay ID #1843485483]

--a shoebox of Bowman baseball cards [Ebay ID #1843493727]

--a 1959 Topps set [Ebay ID #1843487168]

According to the MSNBC story linked above, you also shilled an auction for a Jim Jeffries book.

If you can't even recite accurate, complete facts in your mea culpa post, how to you expect some of the more experienced collectors in the Hobby to trust anything you have to say or to sell?

edited to add: and you've racked up 127 negative feedbacks (39 in the last 12 months) according to your Ebay profile today. I don't think that many unhappy customers is a good thing...

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Posted By: Steve

The ebay handle you show Rick and the one leon shows are 2 different handles.

one has 41 negs, the other 127. 168 negs? wow.


Not that there is anything wrong with having 2 different handles.


Steve

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Posted By: MikeU

99.0% feedback is nothing to brag about.

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Posted By: Rick Kohl

Unfortunately on eBay you cant please all the people all of the time. If any of you have sold anything in quantity, you would know what i mean. I am not saying 99% is perfect, but i think its a more accurate reflection of customer satisfaction then the 1% who are unhappy. People are always quick to point out that X number have been unhappy in some way but always fail to mention the overwhelming majority who were happy.

Again I encourage anyone to please call me (1-800-344-9103) to discuss any items i have or issues that you might have.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Well, Adam, at least Rick accepted responsibility for his actions -- he didn't have to. I'm not supporting what Rick did at all, but I wonder how many big auction houses shill bid in a much less transparent forum as ebay.

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Posted By: leon

I/we appreciate you coming on the board and explaining yourself. I am definitely one for giving folks a 2nd chance. The problem with feedback on ebay is that most dissatisfied customers won't leave a negative feedback. I believe the feedback I posted is for you and/or your company. It's about 97%. I am sorry but to me that is pathetic. I am way far from perfect but my feedback on ebay is. It's really not that difficult....take care

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=type-card-collector&ftab=AllFeedback

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Posted By: DD

To paraphrase a MASH episode: "I have a question". "Yes". "Why didn't you answer his question?" The multiple items with shill bidding remains unexplained.

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Posted By: leon

I don't disagree with your statement about auction houses though I do firmly believe due to this board and the FBI investigations there is far less of it today than a year or two ago. Defending this current feedback is indefensible:

Members who left a positive: 1610
Members who left a negative: 41

All positive Feedback: 2169

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Posted By: Rick Kohl

Leon: I commend you on your feedback. But when you have 300+ items every week, its harder to maintain a spotless reputation as having 10 items a week. Heck, if you look at most of the people who give me negatives they are new to eBay and with just a phone call, could have avoided the negative

Jeff: You have no idea how right you are. Being in this business i have seen all sorts of things. I am not proud of the MSN article, but i fessed up to it, most wont. I could have denied it or made up some lame story, but i didn't. I know some will continue to bring up that article every time my name is mentioned, and i guess its something i just have to live with. People who know me truly know the kind of person i am.

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Posted By: Steve

Rick, Those that know you must be proud that you made make restitution to those you've shilled upon... You did, right?

Incidentally, Recent studies show, over 50% of disatisfied buyers do not post any feedback due to the possibility of Dealer retaliation.

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Posted By: leon

Like I say it takes some character to even come on the board and defend yourself so I applaud you for that. I will just leave it there. Good luck in your endeavors.....best regards

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Posted By: MikeU

http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=brsz-2+&Dirn=Received+by&ref=home

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Posted By: Aaron Conyers

Rick,

Do you now resolve issues with your customers? I had a issue and called you in the past and it was left unresolved. With no sarcasm intended, should I call again?

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Posted By: MW

I'm not taking anyone's side here, but in fairness to Rick, the vast majority of his negatives & neutrals are for dissatisfaction with shipping/packaging and subjective discrepancies in condition on "raw", lower-ticket items.

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Posted By: Jason

It isnt hard to maintain great feedback. 100% over almost 4000+s and only had to retract 2 negs from unlegit buyers. 80% of my feedback is generated from sales of nice vintage material and several hundred items over $1K. It is really simple to maintain good feedback. I just give a 100% refund gaurantee on anything I sell if the buyer is not happy. To date I have had 1 item returned (1954 Topps common with small wrinkle sold as EXMT and I wasnt even sure it didnt happen in shipping). THe funny thing is that I am just a collector and not a dealer like you Rick. I have done many deals on ebay however over the last several years. My point is that I have to agree Leon's perception of your feedback is pathetic. There are several other ebayers I know with 1000+ feedback and 100% positive. I am sure a negative is inevitable eventually, but 97% just flat sucks. Hopefully, you have learned from past mistakes and are striving to move foreward but 30+ negs in the last month doesn't speak well. Good Luck Rick.

Jason

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Posted By: MikeU

"I'm not taking anyone's side here, but in fairness to Rick, the vast majority of his negatives & neutrals are for dissatisfaction with shipping/packaging and subjective discrepancies in condition on "raw", lower-ticket items."

I agree with a small exception. There are also several "sold out/not available/no delivery" complaints. Combine that feedback wiht the MSN article and one could easily do a leap of faith that he no longer schills his auctions, but simply claims "sold out" when the items sell for too little.

Otherwise, people that complain about shipping, when the price is in the auction, need to be slapped. Same goes for someone complaining that the condition was VG not VG/EX as described.

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Posted By: Rhys

I met Rick for the first time last Summer when I was selling Dick Bartell's estate on behalf of his family. He called about some of the stuff I had and was very nice and even offered me his booth at the National for WAAAY below cost because he couldn't make the show (like $300 or something).

Despite what he did in the past, I think that coming on here and admitting he made a mistake and taking ownership is something that I appreciate and think most people dont have the humility to do in our society.

I have won a few things in the past and been pleased with them and would do so again.

Rhys Yeakley

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Posted By: Brian H (misunderestimated)

I have purchased items from Rick (Broadway Sports) sporadically for many years. I have never had any problems. As I recall any concerns I have had (which were rare and involved raw cards back when I regularly bought them) were always resolved to my satisfaction.

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Posted By: jamie

There are pages and pages of posts on Gameuseduniverse about questionable game used items sold by Broadway Rick as recently as last week. There are also numerous posts about how he pulls auctions if they don't hit a magical reserve. While he may seem apologetic and open, his ethics and practices remain questionable.

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=2627&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=1403&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=970&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=11619&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=10421&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=8458&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=8454&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=8446&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=7904&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=5654&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=4891&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=2179&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=1038&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=1031&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=879&highlight=broadway
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=464&highlight=broadway

There's more- I just got bored with cutting and pasting.

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Posted By: Steve

I just read through that toolhaus thing and I do not feel that the vast majority of negs/neutrals were due to shipping or to low priced items. Maybe I was looking at the wrong user name? He does afterall have two and both have huge amounts of negs.

In fairness to Rick I have never bought from him so I have no first hand knowledge on how he runs his business. The reason I do not is that this is not the first thread like this that I have seen. I was warned long ago.


Steve

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Posted By: MikeU

Summary of the original account negative/neutral feedback.


http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=brsz&Dirn=Received+by&ref=home

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Posted By: Bobby Binder

The shilling excuse to protect your investment does not fly for me. All you had to do is end all the auctions early and list again with a reserve or a higher price.

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Posted By: NickM

Does anyone have scannable copies of the articles about this from a few years ago?

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Posted By: Marc S.

<<Unfortunately on eBay you cant please all the people all of the time. If any of you have sold anything in quantity, you would know what i mean. I am not saying 99% is perfect, but i think its a more accurate reflection of customer satisfaction then the 1% who are unhappy. People are always quick to point out that X number have been unhappy in some way but always fail to mention the overwhelming majority who were happy.>>

One of my favourite hobby dealers has over 10,750 positives and only one negative. Yes, you can't please everyone all of the time -- but there seem to be many doing much better than you.

David B. Vintage - 24,000+ positives, no negatives.
Wayne Varner - 10,750+ positives, three negatives.
Steve Hart - 59,000 positives, two negatives

The list goes on and on, but I would suggest you stop deceiving yourself, as many of your competitors and fellow dealers/colleagues have managed to present best-in-class Ebay service, something that your firm is lacking.

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Posted By: Anonymous

If you look at the negatives, most are from issues that could have simply been avoided with a phone call. Unfortunately when you sell 400+ items a week, you get almost 1,000 emails a day. If you don't respond to someone's email 2 minutes after they wrote it, some are quick to leave you a negative.

As far as the "long list" of shilled items. Its quite obvious that no matter what i do, a vast majority here wont believe me. I admitted the shilling when it happened. When i tell you i didnt shill the other items, most will simply say Im lying.

I want to thank people like Rhys who have the courage to come on here to defend me.

As far as the items i do sell. Like i said i take every measure i can. Say i had a FB jersey. I send it to Lou Lampson and sell it with his COA. Some of you will take issue with that and badmouth Lou. All i can do is trust the people who claim to be "best in the business", but apparently sometimes that isnt good enough either.

If you look at my board you will see that everyday i sell items for .99 cents. Items that should go for much more, do i shill them? or "not sell them", no. I have items that sell for $10, that, on anyone's table at a show would sell for $50, do i shill them, no.

Again, im sorry for anyone's past experiences. I cant change the past.

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

One thing that I've noticed is that eBay feedback with respect to sports cards and memorabilia works very differently than feedback in other areas.

For instance, a 90% feedback rating for someone who sells compact discs on eBay is considered very good. Buyers often neg a seller if they don't like the music on a CD they bought.

But in cards and memorabilia, a 90% feedback rating is atrocious. All that buyers really expect is that the item they purchased is authentic, unaltered, and received in the condition that was described in the listing, on a relatively timely basis. One of the people mentioned in one of the articles linked above, a friend of mine, is a full-time eBay seller with 99.8% feedback on nearly 13,000 transactions, and the majority of the cards he sells are ungraded cards from the 50s and 60s, hundreds of them each week.

In other words, in sports cards and memorabilia on eBay, it's not really difficult to keep your feedback rating at 99.6 or above, regardless of how many transactions you've got. All you really need to do is describe your merchandise properly, package it well, and ship it on a relatively timely basis. Regardless of whether or not many negative feedback issues could be resolved with a phone call, the phone call should be, in my opinion, unnecessary as well, provided that the seller is meeting the simple requirements of running honest auctions and shipping responsibly.

I've got no rooster in this fight, but I can say that I am very hesitant to bid with a seller on eBay once the feedback dips under 99.6. I find that there are still plenty of items to buy without having to bid with sellers that have what I consider to be low feedback - the seller really doesn't have that much responsibility in the transaction that they shouldn't hover near 100% if they're doing their job.

-Al

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

But Al, when you do have a rooster in a fight do you dress him up with spurs and a nice cowboy hat?

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

-Al

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Posted By: joseph

I had two bad dealings with BR's years ago and never went back.

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Posted By: jamie

Lampson is the Pro Grading of the sports memorabilia world. It's a cheap ploy to rely on a questionable authenticator and blame him for the questionable items you continually offer. You're no better than the folks at Coach's Corner who offer questionable autographs.

If you were truly interested in "taking every measure", you'd stand by your items and offer refunds when they (so often) turn out to be fake.

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Posted By: Rick

Jamie:

The Lou Lampson comment was in response to something someone else else (in one of the threads linked above). My point was simply that i take the measures i can. I have autographs checked out by Jimmy Spence, game used items by Lampson or Bushing and high $ cards by SGC or PSA. I think the world of Lou. I was just stating that, as a dealer, thats all you can do. Even when you take those measures, people dont like or trust the authenticator.