Consignor Frustrations - Probstein

[lahmejoon]

Wow, that's pretty reasonable. I've never consigned anything before, but it would seem that with the premium his auctions tend to get, a seller could come out the same or better with less hassle. What is PWCC's pricing structure?

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by lahmejoon

Wow, that's pretty reasonable. I've never consigned anything before, but it would seem that with the premium his auctions tend to get, a seller could come out the same or better with less hassle. What is PWCC's pricing structure?

Here are PWCC's rates off of their website:

Single Graded Cards (PSA, SGC, BVG, BGS)
Auction Sale Price Rate
$0 - $100* $6 + 10%*
$100 - $200* 15.0%*
$200 - $1,000 13.5%
$1,000 - $2,000 12.0%
$2,000 - $3,000 11.0%
$3,000 - $4,000 10.0%
$4,000 - $5,000 9.0%
$5,000 - up 8.0%
* Ask for special PSA 'Set Break' & volume discounts for these rate categories: brent@pwccauctions.com


Single Ungraded Cards*, Small Group Lots**, Memorabilia***
Auction Sale Price Rate
Minimum $50 Auction Value
$50 - $100 $10 + 10%
$100 - $200 20.0%
$200 - $500 17.5%
$500 - $2,000 15%
$2,000 - $5,000 12.5%
$5,000 - up 10%
* Singles graded by companies other than PSA, SGC, or BVG/BGS are considered ungraded
** Small group lots can contain up to 50 raw or graded cards per lot
*** All memorabilia must be authenticated by PSA/DNA, JSA, UDA, or Steiner

Complete Sets & Large Group Lots
Auction Sale Price Rate
Minimum $250 Auction Value
$250 - $500 $50 + 10%
$500 - $1,000 20.0%
$1,000 - $2,000 15.0%
$2,000 - $5,000 12.5%
$5,000 - up 10%

Unless PWCC and Probstein are getting a better deal from ebay, they pay 8% (after their TRS discount) to ebay for their final value fees. Depending on how they have set up their incoming payments through paypal, they are likely paying between 1-2%/per dollar on their incoming paypal payments.

[Exhibitman]

That PWCC hard minimum plus % will kill you on lower value cards. If a card sells for $10, my cost is 70% [$6 + $1 = $7/$10 = 70%]. That is like the old Teletrade. At $20 it still costs me $6 + $2 = $8 = 40%--which is more than major auction house commission plus buyer premium level. If a card sells for $35--which is a pretty strong sale--it costs me $6 + $3.50 = $9.50/$35 = 27.14%

[peterose4hof]

Teletrade! Wow, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. I can still hear in my head the robotic voice, "Welcome to Teletrade".

[KC Doughboy]

For anyone considering using Probstein, please read my story...

And it continues...

They have now had my cards for over 2 months and because they don't want any cards under $25 in value, they are supposed to be mailing back the my 500 remaining 1952's, 1953's etc.

Getting my cards back from Probstein has been like getting them sold.

"We will get them in the mail to you this week."
..."We are shipping them Monday and we'll give you the tracking number."
..."the guy who does shipping is gone so I can't get a tracking number for you."
..."You will have them by Thursday at the latest, if not Wednesday."

The result... it's Thursday and all I hear are Crickets... no cards, no tracking number, no return phone calls, no return e-mail!!

My advice to anyone considering Probstein,
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

[jhs5120]

I'm sorry this happened to you, I try to sell raw cards and lots myself. I don't think Rick really is interested in spending a couple of hours grading raw cards only to make a few bucks on the consignment fees. I agree, he should have told you this when he received your order and he definitely should have sent your cards back by now, but I try to reserve graded cards and higher priced memorabilia for Rick.

Jason

I'm not sure I understand the process - if "they don't want any cards under $25 in value", how did these cards reach Probstein in the first place? Aren't consignments pre-approved by Probstein before they're shipped to him? Did he pre-approve these cards and then change his mind?

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by KC Doughboy

They have now had my cards for over 2 months and because they don't want any cards under $25 in value...

Rick has stated before that he does indeed take cards under $25 in value, so it sounds like he's giving you the runaround. I could post a link to that thread, but we all know Rick is a liar anyway, so what does it matter? Besides, if Rick didn't want them, he should have mailed them back as soon as he received them, not keep them for two months and then say he doesn't want them.

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Rick has stated before that he does indeed take cards under $25 in value, so it sounds like he's giving you the runaround. I could post a link to that thread, but we all know Rick is a liar anyway, so what does it matter? Besides, if Rick didn't want them, he should have mailed them back as soon as he received them, not keep them for two months and then say he doesn't want them.

Unless you have a link to Rick saying he takes any and all cards under $25 in value, I'm not sure how that's relevant.

And we don't "all know Rick is a liar" - I don't know him, but that's not how I'd characterize him based on what I've read. I doubt it's even a majority opinion on Net54.

Also, unless my math is fuzzy, "he" hasn't kept anything for "two months" (or "over two months"). It's getting close to that, but why exaggerate? (And I put "he" in quotations because, as I understand it, Rick operates a business with employees, and may be ultimately but not directly responsible for the problem)

If the cards were sent unsolicited and outside the parameters Rick has established, I could understand things getting confused, resulting in delays. 6+ weeks is too long, but mistakes happen. If a dozen more consignors come on here with similar stories, I might be alarmed, but so far I'm not reading anything here (or on the "shill" threads) that would dissuade me from doing business with Probstein.

This is in no way meant as a dig against the OP, but I'm always amazed at how often people come on this site and allege things about other people, and most posters seem to take the allegations at face value. There's always bias, there's always another side to every story. A thread like this is pretty meaningless to me without corroboration, support and (most importantly) evidence that it's part of a bigger or more widespread problem.