Quote:
Originally Posted by calvindog
Greg, I've answered that question 38 times since I started criticizing Mastro a few years back and nothing I've said exculpates these auction houses.
Now here's one for you: do you think the auction results posted above are fishy? 5K for a card that sells for $200 bucks the other 20 times it sells? How about the inordinate amount of purported reneggers? And the personal guarantees he offers certain consignors? Any of that disturb you (assuming you were a bidder and not a consignor)?
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Well I must be one dumb guy because I really don't recall the answer to my question or I would not have asked. If you think you are being ripped off then buy from someone else. Mitigate your damages. You feel shill bidding is going on then turn it over to someone who can ascertain whether or not it is happening. Gather evidence. Prices on their own are not evidence. There are circumstances behind auction results and higher than usual bids does not always mean the item was shilled. Prices are the starting place to launch an investigation not the determining factor that an item was shilled and your justification to attack someone's credibility.
You are a lawyer, a defense lawyer of all things. Imagine if your clients were tried and convicted on the quality of the evidence you have on Goodwin and even Mastro. Have you seen bidder records for either of these firms? You are nothing more than a messenger of information and have no first hand information or experiences that I am aware of.
Sorry but you are a bully sometimes and you come off as a guy with a personal vendetta and your campaign does get lost on me as a result. But I will answer your questions, unlike you who will not address mine from above or the one I posed regarding the E300 Cobb which you conveniently skirted around.
At face value, without looking at the circumstances, the 5K bid is odd. It is so odd that I feel there is something we are missing. And because I do not have all the facts I prefer not to condemn Bill. Next, who are these people who are claiming that Bill has stated he has had an inordinate number of reneggers? Same question on the issue of these personal guarantees he is offering, which sounds more like a hidden reserve than anything else? And finally, actually Jeff, no it is not that disturbing to me because of the other issues which in my opinion, make shill bidding look like an act of kindness. I am more concerned with how many butchered cards SGC and PSA have, knowingly or unknowingly, graded. That has always been my number one concern in this hobby which has only gotten worse over time. I am also concerned about owners of grading companies still actively selling cards. Grading improprieties trump all Jeff. In the case of shill bidding, while unlawful, the worst thing is that I pay the maximum I am willing to pay for an item.
I like to have all of the facts before I draw a conclusion. I don't think you or any of us have all of the facts to draw a conclusion one way or another.
09-20-2009, 10:21 PM
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