American Memorabilia

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Posted By: Mark

For anyone considering consigning to American Memorabilia (AMI), a word of caution... Count on it taking a minimum of 5 - 6 months to be paid for your consignments. This is a trend that has grown progressively worse, as time goes on. I am still waiting for compensation from items in their November '07 Auction, with no reimbursement date in the forseeable future.

There is only one person there who oversees consignment checks (her initials are "K") and she is rarely present. She is readily accessible however, if you have a payment due, are attending an out of town Trade Show, or are considering consigning something.

So unless you feel like waiting half a year to be paid, my strongest advice is to use ebay or one of the many other auction house alternatives. Just a helpful FYI for fellow Forum members...

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Posted By: Todd

I have also had problems in getting paid through AMI. Most auction houses have a standard of 45-60 days from the close of the auction. AMI consignors are lucky to get paid within 120 days. I had to actually threaten Kieta with legal action to get paid on my last consignment. I was told when I called about 60 days after the auction that the winning bidder had not paid for it but I know exactly who the winning bidder was and this very well known authenticator/dealer pays very quickly. If Kieta would spend as much time actually trying to run an auction house instead of trying to do a trashy version of the Robb Report AMI could be a decent auction house. From the suspect authenticating by Lou Lampson to the street looking models AMI is quickly gettng to the point where they can't even be taken seriously in the world of sports auction houses.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I didn't even realize they were still holding auctions.

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Posted By: Mark

Todd... I was given the same "standard" answer.... the winning bidder had supposedly not paid for the items, but she expected to receive their payment before too long.

The trouble (in terms of credibility) is that this was the excuse given me the time before. Shame on me for going back to them with another round of consignments I should not have believed they were truthful the first time around...

BTW... most of the other major auction houses are getting consignment checks to me within 30 days of their closing dates... 40 days, absolute max!

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Posted By: Jason L

I had no ideas the models get paid that much, but I guess, given the recent publicity surrounding NY's Gov Client 9, it shouldn't be too surprising!

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Posted By: davidcycle

Funny, Jason.

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Posted By: davidcycle

If a husband is having enough trouble getting his wife to agree to allow him to spend money on sports memorabilia, the last thing he needs is the catalog coming in the mail looking like Victoria's Secret. It's okay for Victoria's Secrets to arrive in the mail looking like Victoria's Secret, but his auction catalogs should look like Sports Illustrated. As George Constanza would say, "We had a pact!"

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

I wonder if NYC Client 9 paid that hefty a sum, with a stipulation that his girl "perform" in a game-used uniform? Should have at least been a Colt .45s Home or Brooklyn Dodgers Satin for the kind of cash he paid.

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Posted By: ChiefHunChuck

While the modeling / auction combination may be interesting to some, I think more buyers (and sellers) would prefer to have more substance and less fluff in these auctions.

Payment to all parties should be specified and adhered to and in preference to the glitz. No reason a seller should have to wait more than 60 days to get their share of the proceeds.

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Posted By: Mark

An update on the AMI fiasco. It is now almost May, and still no sign of a consignment check, or any other compensation for Lots sold in AMI's November Auction. No return communication either...

"K" originally used her patented excuse about not yet being paid (after 5 months), but could not articulate which lot(s) remained unpaid for. When pressed for specifics, the commuication just stopped.

Maybe I should make a trip to Las Vegas to get my consignments back. Does anybody think they would still actually be there, or would this be more of a "gamble" than playing the slots?

Just reinforcing my strongest advice to avoid this outfit at all costs (with regard to bidding, and consigning, both). If I had just sold these items on Ebay, I would have been paid in October 2007, and avoided the 15% commission, as well as multiple headaches and wasted time spent trying to recoup my money.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

What auction house gives their buyers 5+ months to pay? My guess is that the buyers paid long ago and the auction house kept your money.

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Posted By: J Levine

Not sure they even have a storefront anymore.

BTW, is there anything in their consignment contract saying when a consignor will be paid. If you can prove that the buyer paid and that an unreasonable time has passed, I am pretty sure you can sue them for the money AND any interest that the money would have earned you.

Joshua

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Posted By: Richard S. Simon

I was an autograph authenticator for American Memorabilia.
Used to go out to Vegas 3/4 times a year.
After a couple of trips, K asked me to accept payment for my services through paypal. I told her I preferred not to. She asked why. I told her because it would cost me 2 1/2% off the top. She then offered to pay me the money that paypal was charging.
It appeared to me then that they were short on $$$. Why would they pay me that way if they were not short on money.
--

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Richard S. Simon

autographalert.com has picked up on this story now.
Seems that an authenticator of their's has not been paid for several years (not me).
It also seems that a number of complaints have been made to the Better Business Bureau and the complaints then do get resolved.
I suggest that if you guys still have not gotten paid,then contact the BBB and your money will appear just like that.
==

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Mark

Thanks, Richard, for reviving this thread. I finally was paid a couple of weeks ago, after about a dozen emails and then half a dozen phone calls (which towards the end, contained threats of legal action).

What a hassle... so not worth the trouble. It is beyond me, how they keep coming up with consignments, when they are so bad to their consignors (and apparently, thier authenticators as well...)

In the end, it took me nearly 6 months to be paid, and that only happened after I had to bother them to eternity. I have heard from numerous other people who shared similar experiences, and were told the same exact thing... "Oh yeah- your items were never paid for, and we're trying to find someone who wants them. We think we've found someone, but it will take a little more time."

That's when you can get them to actually answer the phone... normally, you must leave a voice-mail that goes unanswered.

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Posted By: Josh Siegel

AM is not an auction house. They are an internet auction company, as are many of the players in today's market. There is a huge difference. An actual auctioneer has to be licensed by the state in similar fashion to any other professional(although it is probably the easiest license to obtain). They are held in check by the state they are goverend by. With a licensed auctioneer in most states, if the contract states you will be paid within (45) days and you do not, you can simply contact the state and file a written complaint. The state loves when this happens because they can get fine happy and check your books for a number of years. I have heard stories of it costing the auctioneer thousands in fines. The specifics vary from state to state, but most of the major auction houses conduct live auctions in some form so they have a licensed auctioneer on board. State laws have not caught up with e-commerce just yet.

-Josh