My experience with LOTG

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by freakhappy

+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

[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

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.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by freakhappy

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

[philliesphan]

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

[toledo_mudhen]

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.

[barrysloate]

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.

[T205 GB]

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.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by T205 GB

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.

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

[rainier2004]

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.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by rainier2004

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...

I suspect Al is a pervert. Just a hunch.

[T205 GB]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

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.

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

[T206Collector]

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.

[Bpm0014]

....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.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

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.

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.

[orly57]

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.

[botport]

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.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

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.

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.

[Chris Counts]

"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 ...

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

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.

+1000

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

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

Brian Park:er

Just don't try it the other way around.

[timn1]

LOL, Glenn, you kill me...

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

Just don't try it the other way around.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

Just don't try it the other way around.

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)