Steve Verkman and Clean Sweep Auctions

[Archive]

Posted By: botn

A friend of mine had decided to start collecting caramel cards. He is still learning and is not doing enough listening. He participated in the most recent Clean Sweep Auction, despite my warning him.

He is now going to sue Steve in Small Claims as Steve refuses to take the card back. I am posting this here for those that lurk so that they can avoid this unnecessary conflict in the future.

Notice the back that Steve refers to has a "scrape". Here is what he got for about $600 OTD...

[supraman84]

I just made my 1st purchase from clean sweep for about 2 Grand. Each item I purchased stated it came with JSA LOA. Much to my disappointment every item I purchased came with an AUCTION JSA LOA. BIG DIFFERENCE! I Paid assuming it was as stated. I contacted Steve from clean sweep and he was not very sympatric to my response. I stated that every auction should state they are AUCTION letters and not JSA LOA's. He said since ALL of his auctions are with AUCTION letters I could have contacted them and they would have told me as such and since they do not do "Full LOA's" they do not specify. I said "Then tell your customer's that!" IF 100% are AUCTION letters tell them in both the write-up by description or show a picture of it there too AND put it in your Auction site rules and FAQs. People need informed. He said that people don't want to pay the extra for the FUll LOA's. I said again... TELL THEM THAT as I overpaid assuming it was a True LOA so I got screwed twice once on the overpayment and did not get what I paid for. He said basically there was nothing they could do. I'm not done pursuing it as I feel I overpaid about $350 - $400 under their deceptive practices. I told them to fix it in the future write-ups but I'm sure it fell on deaf ears. Why else would you not be truthful except that it would take away from profits of higher bidding! Shame on Clean Sweep Auctions for such deceptive practices. All other sites I buy from are truthful AND list on each and everyone what type of COA / LOA you are getting. I just want to say that I am not questioning whether their products are authentic as I believe they are and believe everyone I purchased is. The issue is upgrading each item to the JSA LOA's which they advertise as from the Auction letter is an amount between $50 and $150 depending on the item and number of signatures on it...not counting shipping and insurance to send it to JSA for the "real" JSA LOA.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by supraman84

I just made my 1st purchase from clean sweep for about 2 Grand. Each item I purchased stated it came with JSA LOA. Much to my disappointment every item I purchased came with an AUCTION JSA LOA. BIG DIFFERENCE! I Paid assuming it was as stated. I contacted Steve from clean sweep and he was not very sympatric to my response. I stated that every auction should state they are AUCTION letters and not JSA LOA's. He said since ALL of his auctions are with AUCTION letters I could have contacted them and they would have told me as such and since they do not do "Full LOA's" they do not specify. I said "Then tell your customer's that!" IF 100% are AUCTION letters tell them in both the write-up by description or show a picture of it there too AND put it in your Auction site rules and FAQs. People need informed. He said that people don't want to pay the extra for the FUll LOA's. I said again... TELL THEM THAT as I overpaid assuming it was a True LOA so I got screwed twice once on the overpayment and did not get what I paid for. He said basically there was nothing they could do. I'm not done pursuing it as I feel I overpaid about $350 - $400 under their deceptive practices. I told them to fix it in the future write-ups but I'm sure it fell on deaf ears. Why else would you not be truthful except that it would take away from profits of higher bidding! Shame on Clean Sweep Auctions for such deceptive practices. All other sites I buy from are truthful AND list on each and everyone what type of COA / LOA you are getting. I just want to say that I am not questioning whether their products are authentic as I believe they are and believe everyone I purchased is. The issue is upgrading each item to the JSA LOA's which they advertise as from the Auction letter is an amount between $50 and $150 depending on the item and number of signatures on it...not counting shipping and insurance to send it to JSA for the "real" JSA LOA.

I am unsure what the beef is. I thought that was standard operating procedure. They are never a full blow letter, but they are saying they are real and if you want to spend the extra $$$, they will send you a letter confirming that they are real. Just a money making ploy, and no one puts much credence in them.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

I am unsure what the beef is. I thought that was standard operating procedure. They are never a full blow letter, but they are saying they are real and if you want to spend the extra $$$, they will send you a letter confirming that they are real. Just a money making ploy, and no one puts much credence in them.

+1. It is also my understanding that this is in fact standard operating procedure for an auction. I just won a 1946-47 Team Issue period-autographed photo of Ted Williams with the same letter, and have no problems with it. Whenever I have had questions concerning an item, Clean Sweep has never failed to respond in a complete and honest manner. I have been doing business with Steve and Clean Sweep for at least 15 years, and have had no problems whatsoever with them.

Best wishes,

Larry

[Clydewally]

I just had to return an item to a seller who gave me the JSA auction LOA along with the item with the understanding I could return it if JSA failed to give the full letter. JSA returned the item to me as secretarial when I sought to upgrade to the full letter. So I have lost lots of confidence in the auction LOA. I don't know that they pay much attention to these AH Lots.

ken

Ken

[Brian Van Horn]

I have dealt with Verkman in person and through his online auction. About my only concern is he seems a little high strung, but if I worried eccentricities, including my own, I wouldn't be in this hobby.

On a side note, the first message in this thread is from October 2003. It shows two things:

1.) A history of concern.
2.) That this thread is about to hit puberty. A new thread may be in order.

[supraman84]

Originally Posted by Clydewally

I just had to return an item to a seller who gave me the JSA auction LOA along with the item with the understanding I could return it if JSA failed to give the full letter. JSA returned the item to me as secretarial when I sought to upgrade to the full letter. So I have lost lots of confidence in the auction LOA. I don't know that they pay much attention to these AH Lots.

ken

Ken

That's exactly WHY I am writing about their site saying JSA LOA's when in fact they are not and are Auction LOA's. I overpaid on my paid a purchase price based on this deception. Now I will have to pay more which ruins my investment value on my items purchased.

[supraman84]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

I am unsure what the beef is. I thought that was standard operating procedure. They are never a full blow letter, but they are saying they are real and if you want to spend the extra $$$, they will send you a letter confirming that they are real. Just a money making ploy, and no one puts much credence in them.

If they say JSA LOA it should mean LOA's not Auction LOA. It is not standard operating procedures. If you buy "Sealed" HP toner from someone on EBay, should you assume it's a compatible toner or the real HP toner? I would assume the real if that states it that way and don't show enough information to tell you otherwise. I've bid from many sites and this is the only one that does not tell you it's Auction letters not real LOA's. The beef is to buy and believe you are getting the real deal only to have to pay between $50 and $150 per item to upgrade to what they are advertising it at.

[Sophiedog]

Originally Posted by supraman84

I just made my 1st purchase from clean sweep for about 2 Grand. Each item I purchased stated it came with JSA LOA. Much to my disappointment every item I purchased came with an AUCTION JSA LOA. BIG DIFFERENCE! I Paid assuming it was as stated. I contacted Steve from clean sweep and he was not very sympatric to my response. I stated that every auction should state they are AUCTION letters and not JSA LOA's. He said since ALL of his auctions are with AUCTION letters I could have contacted them and they would have told me as such and since they do not do "Full LOA's" they do not specify. I said "Then tell your customer's that!" IF 100% are AUCTION letters tell them in both the write-up by description or show a picture of it there too AND put it in your Auction site rules and FAQs. People need informed. He said that people don't want to pay the extra for the FUll LOA's. I said again... TELL THEM THAT as I overpaid assuming it was a True LOA so I got screwed twice once on the overpayment and did not get what I paid for. He said basically there was nothing they could do. I'm not done pursuing it as I feel I overpaid about $350 - $400 under their deceptive practices. I told them to fix it in the future write-ups but I'm sure it fell on deaf ears. Why else would you not be truthful except that it would take away from profits of higher bidding! Shame on Clean Sweep Auctions for such deceptive practices. All other sites I buy from are truthful AND list on each and everyone what type of COA / LOA you are getting. I just want to say that I am not questioning whether their products are authentic as I believe they are and believe everyone I purchased is. The issue is upgrading each item to the JSA LOA's which they advertise as from the Auction letter is an amount between $50 and $150 depending on the item and number of signatures on it...not counting shipping and insurance to send it to JSA for the "real" JSA LOA.

I agree with you. If it says JSA LOA it should be the full Letter of Authenticity and NOT an auction house letter. I'd be pissed too because chances are I would have bid a little higher thinking I was getting the full LOA

[supraman84]

Originally Posted by Sophiedog

I agree with you. If it says JSA LOA it should be the full Letter of Authenticity and NOT an auction house letter. I'd be pissed too because chances are I would have bid a little higher thinking I was getting the full LOA

Thank you! I told them in my reply that if you do not change your future auction listings and / or put it in your rules & FAQs then the only reason they would not do it is to get suckers like me to overpay by deception. I don't think I should have to call an auction site to find out what letters they are "really" providing. They add enough photos - put in one of the actual or a "sample" photo of what it is. - Thanks for those who do agree this is not acceptable. I am not just writing this to express my disappointment but to warn future first time buyers they that they know what they are getting BEFORE they bid for the first time. Steve did not reply back to my 2nd email to him after I went into more details of this deception. I guess he did not have a good way to reply back w/o providing more inaccuracies.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by supraman84

Thank you! I told them in my reply that if you do not change your future auction listings and / or put it in your rules & FAQs then the only reason they would not do it is to get suckers like me to overpay by deception. I don't think I should have to call an auction site to find out what letters they are "really" providing. They add enough photos - put in one of the actual or a "sample" photo of what it is. - Thanks for those who do agree this is not acceptable. I am not just writing this to express my disappointment but to warn future first time buyers they that they know what they are getting BEFORE they bid for the first time. Steve did not reply back to my 2nd email to him after I went into more details of this deception. I guess he did not have a good way to reply back w/o providing more inaccuracies.

Steve V is out if town on vacation but asked if I could post this for him, so of course I will. This is cut and pasted.....


"Hi Guys,

Thanks to the several people who posted kind comments about my company. I am truly sad this bidder is unhappy and I expressed this to him in my email response but he is simply asking for something that we cannot provide and stay in business. We will review this policy for future auctions and may well revise our auction rules to prevent any potential confusion in the future.

If the OP wants to return the items for a refund, he is welcome to.

(1) I am on a much needed personal vacation with my family, that is why I could not answer the second email from the OP (it was an 800-word) email and it seems from him searching blog posts going back to 2003 that he is on a vendetta and is very difficult to communicate and reason with.

(2) There is no intent to deceive or misrepresent anything. The auction the OP bid in is clearly noted as our affordable autograph and memorabilia auction, with almost all items having a retail value of $500 or less and low minimum bids (we do not shill bid nor have hidden reserves). Most of the items in fact have minimum bids well under $100 for items with a retail value under $100. For example, a Phil Rizzuto or Johnny Mize single signed ball that might sell for a final bid of $50 or $60 or a Rickey Henderson signed 8x10 photo that might sell for a final bid of $25. For this reason, we feel there is no reasonable expectation that these items could come with $50 LOAs (and the auction is filled with them). The lot would effectively be selling for less than $0 on a grand scale.

The idea is to keep things simple and consistent. One reason we do not offer full LOAs for some items and auction LOAs for others is that it sends mixed messages (why does this lot have it and not this one? and we feel this leads to confusion to our bidders). We note in the description JSA LOA and by that we mean an auction LOA. We have been doing this AND NOTHING BUT THIS for the entire history of JSA and our 10+ years auctioning off autographs. There is frankly no other way to sell individual items at auction, especially at these price levels (items with values under $150) at auction and include authentication.

(3) The OP won three items for bids of $50 or less with JSA LOAs – is it honestly reasonable to expect those items to come with a $50 LOA and then extrapolate this to the entire auction? I understand everyone wants to get a deal, and this great, but there is getting a deal and then getting a deal, we feel this just does not make any reasonable sense. We also bid in other auctions (and have no problem with the auction LOAs), we would never, ever expect to get a $50 LOA on any item, especially something under $500, much less $100 in value. If this was important to us, we CERTAINLY would ask before bidding as there are actually three kinds of JSA LOAs.


Thanks again to our supporters and the collecting community that supports our auctions. I will be traveling today and my office is moving this week for the first time in 18 years so I will not be able to post again but if anyone has any questions or concerns please feel free to email me at info@cleansweepauctions.com – Steve Verkman"




.

[Orioles1954]

It takes only a couple of seconds at the end of each description. If it takes more than a couple, you need new writers. At the end of each description....

Auction LOA from JSA or...
Individual JSA cert cards or...
Full photo LOA from JSA or....
Due to time/expense (or lack of exemplars), this lot has no authentication.

James Feagin

[ALR-bishop]

I recently won an item from them for around $1000. I retired back in 2007 and must not have won anything else from them since that time because they still had my office address on file. I had not updated it ( although my correct address was on my check and affixed to the invoice I sent with payment).

I had not received the item and was wondering where it was when they contacted me about the fact the item had been returned and inquiring whether I had a new address. I received the item shortly thereafter. They did not ask for additional money for redelivery, even though they incurred additional expense due primarily to my failure to update my profile with them. So, a positive recent experience for me.