Auction Scans/Descriptions Expectation vs Reality

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

I don't understand. Why would anyone, other than the owner(s), feel compelled to rush to the defence of any auction house?

Because they want the auction house to be their friend. Or, to be fair, they may genuinely have a good opinion of the business and or be friendly with the owner. To a great degree this is or behaves like a small hobby where lots of people know each other at different levels.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Because they want the auction house to be their friend. Or, to be fair, they may genuinely have a good opinion of the business and or be friendly with the owner. To a great degree this is or behaves like a small hobby where lots of people know each other at different levels.

Yeah, I suppose. My own relationship with auction houses is strictly arm's length. I'm not really "friendly" with any.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Yeah, I suppose. My own relationship with auction houses is strictly arm's length. I'm not really "friendly" with any.

That doesn't surprise me.

Kidding aside, pretty much the same for me.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Yeah, I suppose. My own relationship with auction houses is strictly arm's length. I'm not really "friendly" with any.

I think there’s an element where as collectors, we can grow fond of our favorite AH. Maybe they’ve been flexible with us on some purchases. Maybe they’ve cut us a deal on some selling costs. Or maybe we just have a natural affinity for the people who are running the show, and we like how they conduct themselves within the hobby.

And sometimes when a group we like is attacked, then it’s common to have a bit of a defense mechanism kick in, where we feel the need to defend their actions and character. Particularly if we feel the attack is maybe unfair, or doesn’t really disclose the full story. Not all that surprising for humans to experience such an emotional response under those circumstances. And emotional reactions have been known to occur around here from time to time.

[Snowman]

Below a certain dollar threshold, I can certainly see it not being worth an AH's time to go pulling low-grade cards to provide descriptions for bidders or to write up a description for the listings. What that threshold should be is more debatable though. Less than $100? Probalby not worth their time. $1k+ cards though? If that's still not worth their time, then they probably shouldn't be worth your time either.

Memory Lane, for example, provides false descriptions and intentionally hides creases. Then they bitch at you over the phone when you call to complain about receiving a $25k+ card with large hidden creases despite the listing clearly stating that the card was absent of such flaws. Perhaps if the card were $100k+, they might be more honest in their listings? Somehow I doubt that though.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Below a certain dollar threshold, I can certainly see it not being worth an AH's time to go pulling low-grade cards to provide descriptions for bidders or to write up a description for the listings. What that threshold should be is more debatable though. Less than $100? Probalby not worth their time. $1k+ cards though? If that's still not worth their time, then they probably shouldn't be worth your time either.

Memory Lane, for example, provides false descriptions and intentionally hides creases. Then they bitch at you over the phone when you call to complain about receiving a $25k+ card with large hidden creases despite the listing clearly stating that the card was absent of such flaws. Perhaps if the card were $100k+, they might be more honest in their listings? Somehow I doubt that though.

And knowingly auctioning off items they were not in possession of

[Johnny630]

Lmao !!!