Auction House thievery Lelands style

[perezfan]

I suppose you could have driven to New Jersey, picked up the card yourself, and saved a bunch of money on Shipping/Insurance. Or you could've flown to NJ to pick it up, probably at about a "break-even" rate.

Seriously, these exorbitant shipping/insurance charges are something I've always been suspicious of... not necessarily with Lelands per se, but across all auction houses (REA excluded). At least it sounds like your card arrived safely and undamaged, which is lots better than the alternative.

[Rhotchkiss]

There are usually at least two sides to every story, but based solely on your side, it appears Leland’s flat out stole $200 from you; charging you for insurance they never procured. That’s no bueno. And, just stupid business. You buy a $60k card, likely pay immediately, and they do this? That’s what I call penny wise, pound foolish. I expect they lost you as a customer. Unfortunate all around.

Meanwhile, REA sent me a shipping confirmation the day after the auction ended, the cards came the next day, and If I paid shipping and/or insurance, it was peanuts. REA is a class act, they know how to do things, and they are pound wise.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

There are usually at least two sides to every story, but based solely on your side, it appears Leland’s flat out stole $200 from you; charging you for insurance they never procured. That’s no bueno. And, just stupid business. You buy a $60k card, likely pay immediately, and they do this? That’s what I call penny wise, pound foolish. I expect they lost you as a customer. Unfortunate all around.

Meanwhile, REA sent me a shipping confirmation the day after the auction ended, the cards came the next day, and If I paid shipping and/or insurance, it was peanuts. REA is a class act, they know how to do things, and they are pound wise.

REA is by far my favorite auction house. Brian is smart, not a pig and his is the only auction house which I don’t need to call to ask where my cards are. He takes a loss on shipping but he understands the value in keeping the customer happy. It shouldn’t be so difficult to not use shipping and insurance as a profit center but this is our hobby. In addition he doesn’t bid on his own lots and doesn’t have wildly misleading scans, both of which Heritage is guilty of and is unwilling to change.

[painthistorian]

Hi Steve- I do agree with you now although Lelands has always treated me fairly.

[pokerplyr80]

8.25% of 60k is about 5k, not 600. Sounds like they knew what they were doing. I would be interested to hear their side though.

[calvindog]

Fed Ex does not insure collectibles except up to a small amount. They certainly do not cover a 60K card. Most auction houses either self-insure or have a third party policy.

[Kenny Cole]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Fed Ex does not insure collectibles except up to a small amount. They certainly do not cover a 60K card. Most auction houses either self-insure or have a third party policy.

That was my initial thought. So the answer doesn't make sense, nor does the rest of it.

[CuriousGeorge]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Fed Ex does not insure collectibles except up to a small amount. They certainly do not cover a 60K card. Most auction houses either self-insure or have a third party policy.

From Jillian Clinedinst, the General Manager of Lelands.

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[robertsmithnocure]

I do not even think that Fedex will insure collectibles. I bet that most collectible companies have a private blanket policy to cover all of their shipments. I am not sure if this is in the the 1% price range or not.

My guess is that Leland’s charges the 1% to either cover the cost of their private insurance or else they are just self insuring and figure that they will take the risk for 1%.

Either way, expensive shipping charges should be disclosed up front so that a bidder can take them into consideration when bidding.

*I did not see Jeffrey’s post. Looks like he beat me to it.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by robertsmithnocure

I do not even think that Fedex will insure collectibles. I bet that most collectible companies have a private blanket policy to cover all of their shipments. I am not sure if this is in the the 1% price range or not.

My guess is that Leland’s charges the 1% to either cover the cost of their private insurance or else they are just self insuring and figure that they will take the risk for 1%.

Either way, expensive shipping charges should be disclosed up front so that a bidder can take them into consideration when bidding.

*I did not see Jeffrey’s post. Looks like he beat me to it.

I promise you that the third party policy costs nowhere near 1% of the entire auction sale.

[CuriousGeorge]

First, it wasn’t tax. It was clearly shipping and insurance and I have many emails to attest to that. What it was is an outright money grab. I suspect they use their own insurance or self insure every package and then use FedEx rates to charge the clients. Whether it’s right, wrong, unethical or not is everyone’s decision to make. Where it becomes unquestionably unethical is when I ask them specifically if they are buying insurance from FedEx specifically for every package and they tell me they are. And then they don’t. That’s outright dishonest and thievery.

My assumption is they have stolen millions of dollars over the years playing this game and getting away with it. If someone complains they cut the fee so they make less. But still outright dishonesty.

So where does it end in this industry? PSA, PWCC, Moser, shilling at AH’s and now this along with all the other characters doing exactly what the others are doing but just haven’t gotten caught yet. It is pretty disheartening.

I welcome Lelands to come on and give their side of the story but they probably should read the emails first. They should do the right thing and donate all the money they stole on shipping from this auction to the charity of Hotchkiss’s choice. Or spend it on bigger ads on net54.

As an aside, I bought one much more expensive card from REA with a $20 shipping fee. I can complain all I want in the manner in which Brian closes his auctions but he is a prince of a guy and always seems to do the right thing. Fast delivery, packed great and always a pleasant transaction. In this ethical cesspool of a hobby that’s quite refreshing.