Memory Lane Gehrig expectation vs reality

[BeanTown]

Originally Posted by Snowman

There's a bit of irony in your post here. PWCC, love them or hate them, is BY FAR the most accurate auction house when it comes to disclosing flaws and providing quality images. In their premier auctions, they even have rotating videos from every angle at super high resolution and have a guy narrating it as he points out every minor defect on the cards. And even their standard scans for cheaper stuff is extremely high resolution. You can zoom in 100x and see even see the print dots and grains in the paper fibers. You may not like them for other reasons, but in terms of the customer experience, they're second to none and it's not close.

Maybe you got confused on my post. I’m amazed on how PWCC is still in business after being kicked off eBay and having an FBI investigation on them. PERIOD.

The second part of my post was on auction houses (ANY) and how they they should use Hi Res images. Its rare I ever do business with PWCC for many reasons. Glad you’ve had success with PWCC Snowman. Maybe you know Brent personally or might even be an investor.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by BeanTown

Maybe you got confused on my post. I’m amazed on how PWCC is still in business after being kicked off eBay and having an FBI investigation on them. PERIOD.

The second part of my post was on auction houses (ANY) and how they they should use Hi Res images. Its rare I ever do business with PWCC for many reasons. Glad you’ve had success with PWCC Snowman. Maybe you know Brent personally or might even be an investor.

PWCC was kicked off ebay because they were launching a platform to compete against them, not because they were caught shill bidding. ebay attempted to tarnish their reputation. I don't know Brett at all, but I live right up the street from ebay's headquarters and I know a lot of people that work there. They've been trying to recruit me for years. I know how ebay operates.

The FBI investigation turned out to be a nothing burger. Zero charges were filed. Just as I, very loudly, predicted would be the case.

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by Snowman

PWCC was kicked off ebay because they were launching a platform to compete against them, not because they were caught shill bidding. ebay attempted to tarnish their reputation. I don't know Brett at all, but I live right up the street from ebay's headquarters and I know a lot of people that work there. They've been trying to recruit me for years. I know how ebay operates.



The FBI investigation turned out to be a nothing burger. Zero charges were filed. Just as I, very loudly, predicted would be the case.

Only took Jeff Lichtman to put it to bed. Definitely nothing there hahahaha

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[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

Only took Jeff Lichtman to put it to bed. Definitely nothing there hahahaha

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Would be interesting to hear his take on what happened, but I think he's unlikely to share that intel.

That said, PWCC was just one branch of a much larger investigation. And no charges were brought against any one person or entity, despite a copious amount of evidence having been handed over to the FBI and multiple subpoenas having been issued.

Regardless, PWCC is under new ownership anyhow, so whatever Brent was up to really isn't relevant anymore IMO.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Snowman

PWCC was kicked off ebay because they were launching a platform to compete against them, not because they were caught shill bidding.

Huh? What is your source? So you want us to believe eBay not only booted PWCC off of the site but then went out of their way to notify everyone who bought a card from them that they were shill bidding? That is libel so if you know that the actual reason they were booted was because of launching their "competing" platform then you might know why PWCC did not sue the shit out of eBay.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

Huh? What is your source? So you want us to believe eBay not only booted PWCC off of the site but then went out of their way to notify everyone who bought a card from them that they were shill bidding? That is libel so if you know that the actual reason they were booted was because of launching their "competing" platform then you might know why PWCC did not sue the shit out of eBay.

Yes, that is precisely what I'm saying. And the reason they didn't sue for libel is because ebay's lawyers were careful when crafting that email by saying, "individuals associated with PWCC" were shill bidding. In other words, their consigners (ebay's responsibility, not PWCC's) were shilling their own cards. Also, ebay has had a decades long track record of actively enabling shill bidding on their platform. And PWCC has a fully built out auction platform up and running literally one month later. A custom built in house website that had been in development for the better part of a year. This is not just coincidence. There is zero chance that PWCC was kicked off for shilling cards themselves.

[Snowman]

Well, I have good news to report. I received a check from Memory Lane for a full refund on the Goudey Gehrig plus $100 to cover return shipping.

It came as a bit of a surprise though, as I did not receive a follow up phone call or an email response regarding the card after they received it back in hand. They just sent out a check. But I'm OK with that. At least they made it right in the end.

[irv]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Well, I have good news to report. I received a check from Memory Lane for a full refund on the Goudey Gehrig plus $100 to cover return shipping.

It came as a bit of a surprise though, as I did not receive a follow up phone call or an email response regarding the card after they received it back in hand. They just sent out a check. But I'm OK with that. At least they made it right in the end.

Wise decision on their part, especially if they knew this thread was active.
We'll see, going forward, if they try the same stunt?

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Well, I have good news to report. I received a check from Memory Lane for a full refund on the Goudey Gehrig plus $100 to cover return shipping.

It came as a bit of a surprise though, as I did not receive a follow up phone call or an email response regarding the card after they received it back in hand. They just sent out a check. But I'm OK with that. At least they made it right in the end.

Glad it worked out for you in the end!

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Well, I have good news to report. I received a check from Memory Lane for a full refund on the Goudey Gehrig plus $100 to cover return shipping.

It came as a bit of a surprise though, as I did not receive a follow up phone call or an email response regarding the card after they received it back in hand. They just sent out a check. But I'm OK with that. At least they made it right in the end.

Congrats Travis. I wouldn’t worry too much about the paucity of communication. If my experience with AH disputes is any guide, sometimes less is more when it comes to communication.

[Exhibitman]

I am glad it worked out.

I am in no way excusing selling that card with that scan, but scans are tricky. I try to scan every card I buy and sometimes the same setting on the same scanner produces very different results with different cards. Creases are especially dicey; sometimes they show up, sometimes not.

If I sell a card with a crease online I try to mention the crease even if I can see it, but I am one guy doing all the tasks. The writers at ML might not have had the card in hand, just the scan, when writing it up. When you are scanning large numbers of cards for sale and have a scanner setting down, odds are you are not looking at every scan the way a collector would, and if your work flow is broken up in a manner that leaves the card in the vault and circulates images, this sort of thing can happen as a 'garbage in, garbage out' situation. Now, if ML relists with the same deceptive scans, we veer into the realm of intentionality.

As far as remedying the situation, it doesn't help that most AHs' idea of customer service is that once the card is delivered, service is over. I think it more likely than not that had Snowman not started shit-posting Memory Lane on boards like this, he would still be arguing for a refund.

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by Snowman

It came as a bit of a surprise though, as I did not receive a follow up phone call or an email response regarding the card after they received it back in hand. They just sent out a check.

That's their way of silently letting you know that they'll refund your money, but they’re really not happy about it. In situations like this, it should always follow up with an apology, regret any inconvenience, whether it was intentional or not. That's the professional thing to do.

[calvindog]

This was like a 2K card with an obviously bad scan, not a major sale. I have no doubt ML would have refunded the money once they got the card and confirmed the error/bad scan, regardless of Travis bringing it up here, as the mistake was that clear.

You guys can't really think that ML is in the business of ripping people off for a thousand or two thousand bucks?

If anything, and I don't speak for ML -- they surely could have been pissed about this being outed before they were given the chance to rectify it. I don't blame Travis for doing so, it's a hobby issue and he's certainly allowed. But the negative backlash occurred before they had the chance to make things right and they're not the auction house known for misleading scans. They could be a bit pissed.

No auction house is perfect and shit can happen with so many lots. In this hobby, if an error is fixed painlessly, we should celebrate it.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Well, I have good news to report. I received a check from Memory Lane for a full refund on the Goudey Gehrig plus $100 to cover return shipping.

It came as a bit of a surprise though, as I did not receive a follow up phone call or an email response regarding the card after they received it back in hand. They just sent out a check. But I'm OK with that. At least they made it right in the end.

No explanation? That is strange.

[Johnny630]

Very smart, business move memory lane good job. No need to address anything send out the check make it right and move on. Good job.

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Yes, that is precisely what I'm saying. And the reason they didn't sue for libel is because ebay's lawyers were careful when crafting that email by saying, "individuals associated with PWCC" were shill bidding. In other words, their consigners (ebay's responsibility, not PWCC's) were shilling their own cards. Also, ebay has had a decades long track record of actively enabling shill bidding on their platform. And PWCC has a fully built out auction platform up and running literally one month later. A custom built in house website that had been in development for the better part of a year. This is not just coincidence. There is zero chance that PWCC was kicked off for shilling cards themselves.

Zero chance ebay was worried about competition from PWCCs platform.

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[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

Zero chance ebay was worried about competition from PWCCs platform.

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I don't know if "worried" is the right term, but ebay is one of the most aggressive companies there is when it comes to taking out their competition by any means possible. They have a long standing history of buying out and filing suit against small competitors to ensure their monopoly remains in place. PWCC has done hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions over the years. I assure you, eBay wants that business. They have an entire division dedicated to gaining market share in the collectibles space.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Yes, that is precisely what I'm saying. And the reason they didn't sue for libel is because ebay's lawyers were careful when crafting that email by saying, "individuals associated with PWCC" were shill bidding. In other words, their consigners (ebay's responsibility, not PWCC's) were shilling their own cards. Also, ebay has had a decades long track record of actively enabling shill bidding on their platform. And PWCC has a fully built out auction platform up and running literally one month later. A custom built in house website that had been in development for the better part of a year. This is not just coincidence. There is zero chance that PWCC was kicked off for shilling cards themselves.

I think unless you are a party to either side's legal team, it is pure speculation on your part. "Individuals associated with PWCC" could mean far more than just consignors. It could include employees of PWCC too. It is a matter of convenience for you to conclude eBay was referring to only consignors.

Despite the impressive numbers PWCC did on eBay, they represented a immaterial amount of eBay's bottom line. With that said, I am sure eBay did not want PWCC taking their sales to their own site but if that was a violation of the agreement PWCC had with eBay, namely they will not compete, and then they went ahead and competed, why can't eBay simply steer clear of a potential libel suit and just say, PWCC violated terms and boot them?

Anyway, glad you got made whole by ML. Great to hear that they did the right thing. I still contend it was a complete oversight.