USED to be REA's big fan ---not any more

[forazzurri2axz]

First of all, before a few members criticize this as being “negative”, I have run it by Leon and he
has no problem with my post as long as it is not anonymous—

An introduction to the situation is as follows::: I was the winner of the 1956 Topps set in the REA auction, all PSA 8’s with a Mays 8.5 and 30 PSA 9’s. The price was $35,000 and with 17.5% premium the total for this set was $41,125. Because I won more lots than I thought I might, I decided to sell the PSA 9’s after replacing them first with PSA 8’s and at some time sell a 100% PSA 8 set. In the two weeks following the auction , I was able to get 28 PSA 8’s, including the Mays. Only after receiving the set 2-3 weeks after the auction ( the delay was my doing in switching funds etc, not REA’s ) did I then email a few fellow collectors asking if they would be interested in upgrading some of their 8’s to PSA 9. One responded immediately and we worked out a transaction for 9 of the PSA 9’s..A few hours after I then discovered that one of the three PSA 9’s for which I had not yet found a PSA 8 The Pirates Team Card #121 , was in fact NOT a PSA 9 as the registry indicated and as REA had listed in their description of the set.(this was not part of the 9 card transaction)

A few facts about this card. It is a TOUGH card in PSA 9; it has not been indicated as being sold on VCP since 2007; it sold 4 times in 2006/2007, from $1600-2300.00. I calculated the card at a MINIMUM of $1500 plus buyers premium when I evaluated all the cards in the set. The SMR which in my opinion is a poor guide at best in general has a PSA 8 at $315 and $1500 in PSA 9. I contacted REA in regards to this problem and spoke with Dean who told me he would contact the consignor and get back to me---Here is what happened after that!!

Consignor admitted selling the PSA 9 some time ago and did not remove it from the registry
Obviously REA went by the registry since they advertised it as a PSA 9 and sent a PSA 8 to me instead
Consignor offered $1000 which I refused. When I spoke with Dean again, I was told that I paid 85% of SMR and so the card is only worth 85% of 1500.00 ---another offer was $1500 and I would return the PSA 8---I refused that since I would no longer have a complete set AND the card is worth more than that AND I also paid the buyer’s premium.

REA then told me the consignor would give me a Snider PSA 9 if I would PAY THEM $500.00 and my Snider PSA 8 in the set. VCP Snider 9 ==$1900 less my $500.00 less my PSA 8 Snider approx $300.00.I still felt that was not fair since that is an $1100 value for a card worth a lot more than that. I felt that $1500.00 was fair and I would keep the PSA 8.

REA offered to take the set back and when I explained my transaction , I was told I should have discovered THEIR error before making a transaction even if it did not involve that card. I pointed out that SMR is way off in many cases; the common PSA 9’s that sell for $250-$300 are the SAME SMR as the low pop commons that sell for $1200-$1500—that’s it’s a guide at best and it shouldn’t matter what %% I paid.

I was then given the opportunity to speak to Rob at which point I basically was told all of the above again and that if hypothetically all cards were shipped 1 grade lower than they advertised and they “refunded me in the manner I am requesting” then I would MAKE a profit of $10,000. Well, I guess that comes from the logic of 85% of SMR and I’m not smart enough to follow how all of a sudden I’m “hypothetically MAKING $10,000……I was told by Rob that he would (and this is a direct quote) “take $100.00 OUT OF MY OWN POCKET in addition to the $1500.00 and you return the PSA 8”. I lost my cool and raised my voice since it seems to me that if I spend $63,751.25 IN WINNING SEVERAL LOTS IN HIS AUCTION of which OVER $9,000 is buyer’s premium why the heck are they quibbling over $300.00----do they think my money comes from trees and his $100.00 is the ultimate sacrifice??? It seems to me that his $100.00 out of HIS pocket just might be part of MY $63,000+ that went into his pocket in the first place!!! This conversation deteriorated in “quality” at that point---I would told I was making him upset with my comments ( as if I shouldn’t have been upset by their penny-pinching?????) , that Rob had to get back to work and that he would write me out his own personal check for $300.00.

Follow-up---I did receive the $1800 after returning the PSA 8 and the person pointed out that the PSA 9 Miranda I sent in the 9 card transaction ($1250.00) was really an 8!!!!!!!!!!!!! I missed that REA sent me another PSA 8 instead of a PSA 9----one of the lowest pop PSA 9’s in the entire set missing as well. And no, I am not going back to REA about this

bill latzko