where do you sit on the subject at hand?

And that's the reason why HA will not change their policy. Until a lot of people start voting with their $$$ instead of their mouths, you can't expect anything to change.

As stated, I will never, ever, again bid on something in an HA auction until they address this issue. Who is with me? Take a stand, people, and spread the word.

jeff

I have consigned to them for an upcoming auction and have no doubts the items will bring a fair price. I've found that collectors will bid on an item in any auction if they want to add it to their collection. Very few actually stick to their guns and have the self control to follow their words.


I've worked many auctions. I have been an active bidder in some of those auctions for myself during these auctions, nothing hidden. If I knew an item could be bought at a price where it could be flipped for a profit, hell I threw in a bid. I don't care who buys my items as long as I get a decent price.

Have a nice time at the gathering!!

I do not bid in large auctions very often, so I don't really have a strong opinion on the policy. I do think this is an issue for buyers more than someone that consigns like yourself Rawn.

However, I am not sure that it is hypocritical to go to the Net 54 dinner because you disagree with a sponsors policies and practices. I don't like all of the sponsoring companies for a fundraiser that I attend annually, but I still go to enjoy the event and the people attending. Does that make me a hypocrite? I am not attending the event to support the sponsors, I am there to support the organization that is having the event.

I do agree that if you complain strongly and then still bid in their auctions, that is another story.

The issue of whether people will bid on the auction if there is House Bidding is obviously yes. As you say, people will bid if there is an item they really want. That still doesn't make it OK for them to do it.

I think the issue of people going to the dinner, etc. is deflecting and distracting this thread from the real topic of the House Bidding by Heritage.

In my little world, yes. To further the point, I'm against any organized religieon, therefore will not attend any benefit held in a "church". I will attend funerals, weddings afterwards at the site away from these places, i.e. receptions, cemetaries. I'm a man of principals, slow to ship out packages, but they will come.

I would in no way go to a meeting sponsered by a company that I publicly bash, just to get some free food and drink. I sleep well at night.

Rawn

Rawn will not be attending the dinner because not only is it sponsored by Heritage Auctions but the food will be catered by Chick Fil A and In and Out Burger, the drinks will be provided by Wal-Mart, and his table and seat number ended up being 3:16...

:D

That's obviously not true of everyone. There are many board members who toss catalogs without even opening them, if from an auction house they disrespect. You can assume that people posting in this forum are being hypocrites. Some probably are, but I doubt anyone's going to guilt them into behaving differently.

Yeah, it was an interesting topic with additional information potential, until the pedestals came out.

Just pointing out facts and questioning whether a company wants to continue to act in a way that hurts their customer base.

edited to stop the back and forth. Rawn, you have your opinion and I have mine. Agree to disagree.

Rawn, I believe you had said before that you have children. What would you do if one of your kids wants to get married in a church some day?

I would tell my son to just go ahead and give her half on your shit, kick you in the nuts and limp away. Seriously boys, I would not go to the event, (it's a gathering of us geeks), if I felt strongly about Heritage.

Josh, if you were to make this comment about members of any faith, instead of my belief in none, you would be an outcast by now.

Hypocrits come out when their beliefs are questioned. I have no beliefs, therefore, "Oh to hell with me". Let ye that are without sin cast the first stone.....Looks like a long weekend for you in a cramped booth saying "sorry".

I don't shop at walmart, I support local owner's.

Rawn,
I am an outcast and proud of it. Most people took it as a joke. I hope you did as well.

I am not attending the dinner this year either. Why? Honestly because my government values other things other than paying teachers what they are worth.

..no harm was meant by it and it was to point out that often we overlook certain things in our lives that supposedly compromise our value systems.

Joshua

The auction house practices of (i) house bidding, (ii) house consigning, and (iii) access to absentee bid amounts, etc. extend beyond Heritage - I believe to nearly every baseball auction house - except REA (with Honest Auto Bid). Please advise of others.

This discussion should include Heritage, but extend beyond it - perhaps in a new all encompassing thread.

We should be encouraging all auction houses:

(i) to have a block-out screen for absentee and ceiling bids
(ii) to not have house bidding (or if you do, to make each such BID public RIGHT WHEN IT IS PLACED), and
(iii) to not have house consigning (or if you do, to state in the description that such lot is house-owned)
(iv) to not have hidden reserves

Which auction houses state that they do this? Which do not so state?
And - how do we know that they are adhering to their published rules anyway?

If you're not taking food from Heritage (please give it to me), who can you take food from? These practices are endemic to the field of auctions - there needs to be better federal/state laws reflective of advances in technology (screens for absentee/ceiling bids) and advances in understanding (auction houses likely should be only auction houses). But a collecting community can have some impact, particularly on the larger players in the arena.

Nm

Go right ahead and state you opinion,Jason.

3.16 would be a great ERA for the Sox to pick up.

Rawn

Please don't get me started on teacher's wages. I would love to work 38 weeks a year for 30K plus benefits a year here in Maine. I have a teacher on my facebook that complains endlessly about the work and posts photos of her summer exploits. I lived with a teacher for 2 years and she was never late getting home from work and I never saw her doing any homework.

Rawn
.
.

Having no pedestals is a pedestal.

...........and there's nothing wrong with that.

Funny you should say that - I was thinking it myself as I typed. It's kind of a strange loop.

I like to put women on pedestals....just high enough that I can see up their skirts.

I'm confused.

Rawn,
You don't like heritage, won't go to the dinner because they are a sponsor yet you consigned items to their next auction? If i confused the information, sorry.

I have no opinion on the degree of hypocrisy it is to bid (or dine with) with a AH that you complain about, however I do think it is myopic to think that any business would change their practices when customers continue to demonstrate that despite their indignation they will come back for more.

Actually,Brock, I have no problem with any auction house. I have said nothing against them or for them. I have a problem with the bashers that will go to the gathering regardless of their personal feelings.

It's the little pricks on here that think they are the kings that get to me. Please reread the posts and then come back with something constructive.

Ever seen the Carrigan? I will never stop looking for it.

Rawn

ok... sorry for the confusion.

Wow, way to bash my profession as not important, lazy and a bunch of complainers...

Joshua

PS Very hurt and I thought better of you Rawn.

Nice link, I would hope many read it. So now I'm a troll for telling it like it is. Cool, get over it, how many out there would like a teacher's sched? I would rather than 64 hours a week on the clock plus classes off the clock. O chit I'm not in the union.


I still call my teachers Mr. or Mrs.

Rawn

I guess your experiences with the two teachers you mention just says it all for the entire discipline.
(If you think it's such a cushy job, Rawn, what's stopping you from becoming a teacher? Lack of education, perhaps?)

Actually no, it's the attitude of the parents. I'll put my education up against anyone on the board. I'm thinking maybe 51% I'm ahead of. Fine with me.

Rawn

So do the rest of us.

Smelled you from a long way off.

Anyone else want to chime in to get off topic? 12 weeks vacation a year to start plus snow days, workshops, conferences and it's only the start.

Rawn

So does Rawn.
But thinking people side with you, Joshua.

All for paying teachers if they deserve it. Some care, some don't.

I'm against unions as wel.

Rawn

If you figure out a way to measure that, let the rest of us know.

I REALLY wish you'd become a public school teacher, even in the relatively friendly confines of Maine. It would smack the condescension off of your face in the first week, I know it.

Rawn,

I actually used to like you before this thread but when you attack something very dear to me and something that I work extremely hard at (and attack it for no reason other than to make yourself seem superior), then I feel I might need to respond.

Your education might be higher than mine (although I doubt it). I am glad you have one. I wonder if it was home schooled or did you have dedicated/ hard working teachers? Even if you have 12 horrible teachers, it only takes one good one to erase all that.

Trade jobs with me for a week...I will be a field technician (whatever that is) for a small company in Maine and you can be an elementary teacher in one of the poorest districts in California.

I spend over $1000 of my own money a year for my classroom (sometimes more)...how much do you spend for your job? I work hard at school. I do not get breaks during the day except for a 45 minute lunch (which we often work through). (I often spend recess copying, calling parents, writing reports, meeting with the principal, etc.) I work from 7 am to 5 pm nearly everyday. I work nights at least two times a week catching up on grading, planning, or email. I teach summer school. Did you know that the majority of teachers in this country work a second job during summer (some even at night) to make ends meet? My summer break was exactly 9 weeks this year and I start back on August 6 even though the kids do not start until the 12th. How many days did you work this year where you did not get paid? I had 5 furlough days this year and 5 this coming year. I have not had a raise in my salary for 7 years (not even a cost of living increase).

You mention dealing with parents...I can just imagine what your parent conferences must be like with your children (not sure you have any...but I shudder when I think about it).

I joked with you and you attacked me. I am just dismayed.

I would like to thank a few people who pm'ed me and sent support.

Done with you and this thread...troll turned out to be an accurate description...now I am sad I ever helped you with the t205 polar bear carrigan. :(

Joshua
Proud Public School Teacher of the last 15 years!

Rawn,
Although it's very difficult for a man to do, many times it's necessary for him to step away and say he was wrong. I have no beef with you, but can tell you that you came away in this thread looking very disrespectful towards others. Sometimes a man's opinion should be kept to himself out of pure respect for others. Nothing more!!

4 "sentences"
1 of 4 is incomplete.
1 ends with a preposition.

Personally, I would not "put my education up against anyone on the board" if half my sentences were grammatically flawed.

Your potshots against the education profession at all levels are simply ignorant. As an educator I work about 50-60 hours per week during the nine months per year when I am getting paid. I work about 20-30 hours per week during the summer when I am not getting paid.
JimB

+1000

I have to agree 1000% with Joshua on this one. My grandfather and father were both school teachers for over 35 years in their respective school districts. My dad didn't make a lot of $$$ but he worked hard all year long. In the summers he and others painted houses, took second jobs, etc. to make ends meet. Most nights were spent grading papers or entering grades into grade books or creating new assignments. And that was after he coached football or wrestling or whatever other school activities he was involved in after school let out. During sports seasons, my father left the house each morning at 6:30am and got home at 6:30pm every night.

When I got my Master's in Computer Science as a snot-nosed 20 something, I made more money right out of college than my father who had been teaching for 25 years by then. How fair is that? If our children are our future, how can we not value those who educate them?

Keep doing what you do, Joshua. Our kids need teachers like you!

jeff

There's no question that our teachers are underpaid and underappreciated and it's really not fair. In particular I want to laud Joshua for all his hard work, and I'm sure he does a whole lot more for his students than his job requires. And yet he keeps getting attacked for it; this isn't the first time. I just don't get it.

When I was younger, I had thoughts of being a teacher. Such an impt job IMO, and to have someone come on and talk bout how many weeks they work and all is sour grapes. Its a TOUGH job w a lot of kids who you have the power to help thru life.

One of the professions I respect t he most.

I was very fortunate that I had one very special teacher, in which I really don't know where I would have ended up without her. God Bless you Bonnie Deal, wherever you are.

I also have a great deal of respect for Teachers, at every level. But... correct me if I'm wrong... didn't you guys know going into it that you were choosing a career that would never really be financially rewarding?

I would think that the biggest financial perk for Teachers has to be a having real pension instead of a 401k - and being able to retire before you're too old to enjoy it. Hell, in my field, I'm lucky my job offers any kind of retirement at all.

I too am not a fan of unions, but I do understand that there are some fields that they are essential like the Police, Firefighters, and Teachers. Of course after 25 years of service, my employer has given me just one raise... from $10 an hour to $10.75 (and I'm the Supervisor!) No kidding. When you depend on gratuities for your livelihood, you pretty much must work swingshift, weekends, and Holidays, so at least you'll have a decent opportunity to make your money. So, I tend to not feel so bad for union workers that have full benefits. But like all the rest of you, I also chose my career without a gun to my head (that came at least ten years into it).

Joshua, I've stayed out of this because I'm very tired from defending our job for the last few years. In Ohio, much like Wisconsin and many other states, teachers have become the public face of "everything that's wrong with this country: cushy job, world-class benefits, economy-destroying retirement plan." And don't forget that with tenure, you can't fire us! (No matter that none of these are exactly true.) I'm tired of hearing how many lousy teachers people have had through the years. I'm tired of politicians passing mandate after mandate at us, no matter how unreasonable.

So I come here, where I can think sports and take my mind off all this. And what do I see? A colleague dealing with the same crap, in one of the most important threads we've had here!

Joshua, you aren't going to change Rawn's mind. Let it go, it's not worth it.

Rawn, I don't know you and have never dealt with you. You are completely entitled to your opinions. And I am completely entitled to think you're an ass.

Ken
earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com

To clout: I knew I'd get a much smaller paycheck than if I took my abilities and went into business. I feel it's a fair tradeoff with the perks of the job. I actually consider my pay to be fair; I'd love to make more, and my checks have been getting smaller recently instead of larger, but so have everyone else's. Maybe it's just my circle, but I don't know any teacher who brings up salary unless being attacked.

Ken

My kids have had so many wonderful teachers who have made a huge impact on their lives (and of course one or two who haven't measured up -- as would be the case in any profession).

I find it interesting that the poster who is so critical of teachers and so impressed with his own education can't spell simple words like cemetery, hypocrite and religion, and also doesn't know the difference between principle and principal.

Greg

Understood Ken. My brother was a Music Teacher and he took related jobs for the whole 30 years he taught. For the many good to great years our economy thrived, my customers were very generous to me as I always have provided first-rate service to the tippers and non-tippers. I've always treated everyone with respect until they show me different (same goes for here), and the tips have been a byproduct of good respectful service. I've been grateful for every dollar I've ever gotten and I have never let the size of the tip dictate the size of the thank you.

However, this weak economy has slashed my income 60% and I still give the same great service, but since my customers (the ones I still have :() are making far less money than they used to, it goes without saying that it would effect me and anyone else that lives on tips. I'm very thankful that I still have a job and that people still want to give me money. :)

Were all in this together, no matter what we do for a living. I hope we make good choices this November to help get us out of this mess.

I also knew my pay would be smaller...but I was okay with that as opposed to sitting in a cubicle all day and doing engineering work (I was a physics major in college at one point with a minor in chemical engineering)...

What I am not okay with is people telling me that I have a easy job and we get paid a fair wage for what we do. We arguably have the most important job in the world, safeguarding and teaching children. No children/no future. I think we should get paid more...yes. Will getting paid more make what we do any less important or easier? Nope. My job stays the same whether I get paid minimum wage or millions and it has never been easy. Rewarding yes. Easy no.

Joshua

Well guys, I can only speak from my experiences here in this little corner of the world. I worked for my local school district for four years and have never seen any of the workings of schools in other areas. The teachers in my area have it pretty good. The tenure factor, the pay and benefits are well above the median of the general population of the workforce for the area.

My son will be entering his freshman year of high school. He got his first B this past year and is an outstanding P/1B/hitter for the local teams. He is planning on studying law.

In my job, I spend up to 200 days a year on the road working in conditions ranging from the southern border in the heat of summer with armed guards protecting us to the northern border in the winter where we have to snowshoe in to the sites to work.

As I have stated, there are many teachers that I will never forget and they will always have my respect. I guess I have offended some on this board and offer my appology.

Rawn