I you are considering consignment with Probstein123, read this first

[james_b]

Sorry I am not very active and don’t post very much on this forum but I feel this needs to be shared in hopes that others will not be taken advantage of as I have been. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and have given Rick Probstein multiple chances to fix the situation but to be honest with you he has pretty much ignored me. Here is the situation…

Over the last few months I have consigned over $3,000 worth of auctions with Probstein123. For the most part all my transactions have went smoothly. Last month one of my lots had finished and I received my payment a few weeks later. The spreadsheet below is what Probstein123 had sent to me.



Fast forward this month I had sent probstein123 another lot of cards. As usual everything finished up and I was sent a spreadsheet of the cards with he had auctioned off for me. The only difference is on this sheet it contains a card that I had previously sold. To my surprise this time it actually sold for $51.50 more dollars than it did previously (First auction here), Second auction here). The spreadsheet sent to me is below.



Now here is where I have a problem. The math does not add up. As you can see from my current lot after fee’s I net gain of $696.73. with the added $45.32 (after his fees) for the resale I should be receiving $742.05 combined total. But somehow I am only receiving $654.38. Rick Probstein resold my card for a higher profit, pocketed the difference then charged me an additional $42.35 for unknown reasons.

Once I noticed the error I emailed Rick Probstein (I may or may not be talking with him IDK, honestly that does not matter) pointing out the error and asking for an explanation. I received a reply (within about 2 hours) telling me yes it is my error “its in the accounting , yes”. So I went back and triple checked everything over again and I do not see it. Probstein123 has a huge “accounting” error in their favor. Again I emailed them to please re-look this over because the math does not add up. The only thing I received back was another spreadsheet charging me money than previously stated. Rick Probstein sold my cards for a $51.50 additional profit ($45.32 should have been my take) then charged me an additional $42.35 to re-sell my card shorting me $87.67 in total.

Given what I have presented to you and if I am in error please explain to me how I am wrong. If you see where I have been short changed and the lack of customer service I have received from Probstein123, please reconsider doing business with this them. There are other alternatives out there like PWCC and I am sure there are others on this board who probably can help you as well. If you have sold items through Probstein123 you may want to double check their “accounting” methods I am sure I might not be the only one who is being shorted.

**based on previous feeback on other forums I need you to understand that I had no idea this card was being re-listed or as to why. Before the shrilling accusations come in look at my invoice and tell me why I would let cards card at a lesser price than it cost to grade not to mention his fees. Also I have nothing against Rick Probstein.

[cardsfan73]

Not a Probstein fan myself, but in the interest of fairness I believe you were exposed as shilling your own listing over on the PSA board.

http://forums.collectors.com/message...hreadid=944130

Thanks,
Scott

[Bestdj777]

Per forum rules, you must post your full name if you are going to say stuff like this about another person or business.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by cardsfan73

Not a Probstein fan myself, but in the interest of fairness I believe you were exposed as shilling your own listing over on the PSA board.

http://forums.collectors.com/message...hreadid=944130

Thanks,
Scott

I thought being able to shill your consignments was why you went with Probstein. Well that or he could sell your baseball player Bill Russell auto as basketball HOFer Bill Russell. Heck he will even list your opened vintage pack of smokes as being never opened and containing a T206 card.

Sorry couldn't resist Probstein runs such a high quality operation.LOL

[Sean1125]

Shilling or not the issue is this person claims that Probstein underpaid them.

Probstein was just fine.

175*.88=154-108.68=$45.32 (what you were paid).

You are wrong.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Bestdj777

Per forum rules, you must post your full name if you are going to say stuff like this about another person or business.

That is handled.

[ALR-bishop]

Is this an example of suicide by bulletin board ?

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Is this an example of suicide by bulletin board ?

No, just the appalling state of mathematics education in the USA today.

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

No, just the appalling state of mathematics education in the USA today.

No, It depends on which State,and if the parents spend time with the their kids

State Rankings for Math and Science Education

RANK STATE SERI
Well Above Average 1 Massachusetts 4.82
2 Minnesota 4.06
3 New Jersey 4.04
4 New Hampshire 4.01
5 New York 3.94

[MetsBaseball1973]

Wow. So someone takes the time to put a businessman on blast, and trash him in public....but doesn't take the time to:

1. Check math before mouthing off.
2. Delete the original post.

And also shilled his own card?

Hysterical. #comeuppance.

[begsu1013]

[Leon]

Originally Posted by james_b

Sorry I am not very active and don’t post very much on this forum but I feel this needs to be shared in hopes that others will not be taken advantage of as I have been. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and have given Rick Probstein multiple chances to fix the situation but to be honest with you he has pretty much ignored me. Here is the situation…

Over the last few months I have consigned over $3,000 worth of auctions with Probstein123. For the most part all my transactions have went smoothly. Last month one of my lots had finished and I received my payment a few weeks later. The spreadsheet below is what Probstein123 had sent to me.



Fast forward this month I had sent probstein123 another lot of cards. As usual everything finished up and I was sent a spreadsheet of the cards with he had auctioned off for me. The only difference is on this sheet it contains a card that I had previously sold. To my surprise this time it actually sold for $51.50 more dollars than it did previously (First auction here), Second auction here). The spreadsheet sent to me is below.



Now here is where I have a problem. The math does not add up. As you can see from my current lot after fee’s I net gain of $696.73. with the added $45.32 (after his fees) for the resale I should be receiving $742.05 combined total. But somehow I am only receiving $654.38. Rick Probstein resold my card for a higher profit, pocketed the difference then charged me an additional $42.35 for unknown reasons.

Once I noticed the error I emailed Rick Probstein (I may or may not be talking with him IDK, honestly that does not matter) pointing out the error and asking for an explanation. I received a reply (within about 2 hours) telling me yes it is my error “its in the accounting , yes”. So I went back and triple checked everything over again and I do not see it. Probstein123 has a huge “accounting” error in their favor. Again I emailed them to please re-look this over because the math does not add up. The only thing I received back was another spreadsheet charging me money than previously stated. Rick Probstein sold my cards for a $51.50 additional profit ($45.32 should have been my take) then charged me an additional $42.35 to re-sell my card shorting me $87.67 in total.

Given what I have presented to you and if I am in error please explain to me how I am wrong. If you see where I have been short changed and the lack of customer service I have received from Probstein123, please reconsider doing business with this them. There are other alternatives out there like PWCC and I am sure there are others on this board who probably can help you as well. If you have sold items through Probstein123 you may want to double check their “accounting” methods I am sure I might not be the only one who is being shorted.

**based on previous feeback on other forums I need you to understand that I had no idea this card was being re-listed or as to why. Before the shrilling accusations come in look at my invoice and tell me why I would let cards card at a lesser price than it cost to grade not to mention his fees. Also I have nothing against Rick Probstein.

I wonder if I am in the minority in only reading the comments, and not all of this, and still getting to the same conclusion?

[AustinMike]

Not to defend the OP, if in fact he did shill his own auction, but he has a point about the "invoice."

According to the 2nd spreadsheet, Probstein owed him $696.73 for the 11 items in the 2nd grouping. The relisted card sold for $51.50 more than it did the first time, resulting in a net to the OP of $45.32. This means Probstein owed the seller $696.73 + $45.32 = $742.05. Instead, Probstein shows a net final of $654.38 which means he did not add the $45.32 to the due amount, but instead subtracted $42.35 from the due amount. So essentially, the OP was short-changed $87.67.

For those of you who say Probstein was just fine, please explain why it is fine to not pay the OP the $45.32 he is due for the relisted card and in addition, subtract $42.35 from what he is owed from the 11 cards sold in the 2nd grouping.

[AustinMike]

In regards to the accusations of shilling, I have to confess ignorance. Here is the bid history of the winner of the first auction:

Bidding Details


Bidder Information
Bidder: t***l ( 406Feedback score is 100 to 499)
Feedback: 100% Positive
Item description: 2001 Team Topps Legends 1958 RC Retro Jim Brown Browns BGS Authentic w/ 10 AUTO
Bids on this item: 2

30-Day Summary
Total bids: 22
Items bid on: 16
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 0% Help
Bid retractions: 0
Bid retractions (6 months): 0

30-Day Bid History
Category No. of Bids Seller Help Last Bid Help

Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 1 5d 23h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 2 Seller 2 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 3 2d 8h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 2 Seller 4 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 5 2d 6h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 6 2d 14h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 7 2d 21h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 8 6d 3h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 9 2d 11h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 10 5d 12h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 2 Seller 11 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 3 Seller 12 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 13 5d 22h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 2 Seller 14 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 15 1d 23h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 11 1d 1h

How does one determine the OP shilled this auction and actually ended up winning it from the information above?

[begsu1013]

Originally Posted by AustinMike

In regards to the accusations of shilling, I have to confess ignorance. Here is the bid history of the winner of the first auction:

Bidding Details


Bidder Information
Bidder: t***l ( 406Feedback score is 100 to 499)
Feedback: 100% Positive
Item description: 2001 Team Topps Legends 1958 RC Retro Jim Brown Browns BGS Authentic w/ 10 AUTO
Bids on this item: 2

30-Day Summary
Total bids: 22
Items bid on: 16
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 0% Help
Bid retractions: 0
Bid retractions (6 months): 0

30-Day Bid History
Category No. of Bids Seller Help Last Bid Help

Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 1 5d 23h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 2 Seller 2 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 3 2d 8h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 2 Seller 4 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 5 2d 6h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 6 2d 14h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 7 2d 21h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 8 6d 3h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 9 2d 11h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 10 5d 12h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 2 Seller 11 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 3 Seller 12 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 13 5d 22h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 2 Seller 14 <1h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 15 1d 23h
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Football 1 Seller 11 1d 1h

How does one determine the OP shilled this auction and actually ended up winning it from the information above?

i think you posted the 1st account used on the 1st sale...

this is the 2nd one:

30-Day Summary
Total bids: 99
Items bid on: 88
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 70%


personally i think this is great and they deserve each other. how does probstein not have knowledge of the shill process here? i, have personally stopped bidding on his auctions these days and have now noticed a lot of cards undergoing a new selling system:

1. card gets listed at outrageous buy it now price w/ best offer option. all @ $5K for $100-$300 cards. this under the guise of "saving time w/ listings".
2. the card then gets auctioned/shilled for just above what solid offers were made for said card in step 1 above.
3. card then pops up for buy it now at just below shilled price in step 2.

this happened to me on several cards from a 73 set break and a couple dock ellis cards...

my name is Bob Evans and have no problem telling this in face and in person to rick.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by begsu1013

i think you posted the 1st account used on the 1st sale...

I think he meant to post the bid history from the 1st auction...that's the one accused of shilling. I agree with Mike, I don't see shilling either. If someone else does, please point it out. It appears that some CU member mentioned shilling and, as typical, other CU members piled on.

As far as the OP goes, sorry but there is enough information out there about Probstein that you should have known better. You play with snakes...

[james_b]

I appreciate the feedback and have read all the replies.

For the record again, I did not bid on this item either time. I had no idea it was relisted until he sent me this months invoice. No matter what I say people will claim shilling, but thats simply not that case. If it happened, it happened on his end. Honestly at this point I wish he would had not put it on my invoice at all and just pocketed the money without me knowing versus taking the money and then chagrining me.

As far as the math goes Probstein123 should be adding the additional $45.32 to my sellers invoice not taking it out of my invoice.

[nolemmings]

Looks like some of our Jethroes here need some practice with their cipherin. Math isn't all gazintas

Also, no shilling seen here.

[begsu1013]

rick or his employees using their own accounts to bid up prices could certainly be plausible...

[nolemmings]

Where is there evidence of shilling by anyone?

[tribefan]

Originally Posted by james_b

I appreciate the feedback and have read all the replies.

For the record again, I did not bid on this item either time. I had no idea it was relisted until he sent me this months invoice. No matter what I say people will claim shilling, but thats simply not that case. If it happened, it happened on his end. Honestly at this point I wish he would had not put it on my invoice at all and just pocketed the money without me knowing versus taking the money and then chagrining me.

As far as the math goes Probstein123 should be adding the additional $45.32 to my sellers invoice not taking it out of my invoice.

Looks like the OP is square on in his concerns. From the latest post, I can't see how that can be disputed.


MK

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by tribefan

Looks like the OP is square on in his concerns. From the latest post, I can't see how that can be disputed.


MK

At least you get a consignment check within 2 months or one at all..i still waiting for one from Mile High from a March auction