Goldin Auctions - thanks for fast resolution to issue

[raulus]

Just won a lot from Goldin Auctions (Under New Ownership!!), and received it in the mail yesterday.

In case you're curious, the lot details are here: https://goldin.co/item/1955-robert-g...-mays-andfzv67

Lo and behold, upon opening the package, what should mine wondering eyes behold? They are all completely fake. And not even good fakes. Six of them even have markings to indicate on the back that they are printed on HP or Kodak inkjet paper. As if that wasn't enough, they are all different sizes, and those that aren't printed on Kodak or HP inkjet paper are crudely mounted on a cardboard backing.

Apparently they don't really check to see whether items are genuine before selling them on their auction service? Or whoever is doing the checking didn't realize that HP and Kodak paper wasn't standard stock for the 1955 Robert Gould issue?

Pics below showing the front and back of the half dozen that are on HP or Kodak paper, just to show how ludicrous the whole thing really is.

I called the good folks at Goldin yesterday to request a refund. They indicated over the phone that they would open an investigation. I also sent them an email, just for good measure. I haven't heard back from them yet, but I'm hopeful that they will be big boys, own up to their mistake, and send me my refund. Considering it would have taken them about 10 seconds to fix the problem by not listing obvious fakes in their auction, hopefully it doesn't take them long to conduct their investigation.

I'll post further details once I hear back from Goldin.

[vintagetoppsguy]

I feel your frustration, but I would have given them the opportunity to make things right before posting. That's just my $.02

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I feel your frustration, but I would have given them the opportunity to make things right before posting. That's just my $.02

I hear you, but on the other hand keeping it private doesn't serve the purpose of warning board members to be vigilant.

[Republicaninmass]

Still sad their "team" let's these get sold in their auction

[Scott L.]

They sold fakes/reprints in their auction and should be called out for their complete lack of due dilligence. It has nothing to do with the refund part which I'm sure the buyer will get.

[parkplace33]

That is awful. I mean, really really bad.

[Goldin Auctions]

Mr pinoli
We are sorry for the error, this should have been caught long before it was previewed and apparently someone took a product on they are not familiar with. An unfortunate situation.
Please check your email for instructions to return and email
Thank you

[Bobbycee]

Just sheer incompetence. How many people at Goldin had their hands on these, & no 'expert' could decipher a problem?

No, Goldin does not deserve the benefit of doubt. This is amateurish.
A full refund + a future credit of no buyer's premium paid, should be the starting conversation.

[raulus]

As noted above by a Goldin representative, apparently my post got their attention, and Ken Goldin himself emailed me moments ago to offer a full refund, plus a credit against future purchases.

I'm going to guess that my post above helped to expedite the process a little, although I'm sure they would have shortly gotten to me either way. But in any event, thank you to Goldin for taking care of the situation and taking responsibility for their mistake.

All's well that ends well! And I'm sure that our good friends at Goldin will be that much more careful in the future, because nobody likes this kind of attention when it can be avoided.

[ullmandds]

from my experience ken is quite responsive on the forum.

[Casey2296]

Might want to have a discussion with that consignor...

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Might want to have a discussion with that consignor...

With a bullwhip...

[D. Bergin]

Hard to tell from the pictures, either here or on the Goldin site.

Was the photo paper (and other blank backs listed in the auction), used as mounting for the cards (ie. the cards are glued to the photo paper), or were the Gould cards...holes, creases, folds and all, simply printed on the paper?

Obviously it would be easy to tell in hand, I just can't tell from the pictures.

Even if they are real cards, glued on makeshift backing boards, that should have been revealed in the auction...rather then giving a general VG/EX condition representation.

[Tabe]

Are these actually mounted to the photo paper?

[raulus]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Hard to tell from the pictures, either here or on the Goldin site.

Was the photo paper (and other blank backs listed in the auction), used as mounting for the cards (ie. the cards are glued to the photo paper), or were the Gould cards...holes, creases, folds and all, simply printed on the paper?

Obviously it would be easy to tell in hand, I just can't tell from the pictures.

Even if they are real cards, glued on makeshift backing boards, that should have been revealed in the auction...rather then giving a general VG/EX condition representation.

What I suspect happened here is that some enterprising collector took pictures from online, printed them out, and then pasted some of them onto a cardboard backing. For the 6 that are included in the pictures above, they didn't bother to mount them onto cardboard, and just left them directly on the photopaper after printing them.

The cards, creases, rubber-band notches, corner wear, and other attributes are entirely printed onto the paper. In some cases, the cardboard backing doesn't even match up very well with the edges of the photopaper. To make it even more exciting, the color of the cardboard on the back is of completely different quality and color from card to card. I've attached some additional pics here to hopefully show some of the details, since inquiring minds need to know.

If we want to be charitable, perhaps the person who originally constructed this set did so simply for their own collecting enjoyment. Later, perhaps after their demise, a relative decided to consign them in an auction. Certainly that would be a better fact pattern than the creator of these items consigning them directly after their creation.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by raulus

What I suspect happened here is that some enterprising collector took pictures from online, printed them out, and then pasted some of them onto a cardboard backing. For the 6 that are included in the pictures above, they didn't bother to mount them onto cardboard, and just left them directly on the photopaper after printing them.

The cards, creases, rubber-band notches, corner wear, and other attributes are entirely printed onto the paper. In some cases, the cardboard backing doesn't even match up very well with the edges of the photopaper. To make it even more exciting, the color of the cardboard on the back is of completely different quality and color from card to card. I've attached some additional pics here to hopefully show some of the details, since inquiring minds need to know.

If we want to be charitable, perhaps the person who originally constructed this set did so simply for their own collecting enjoyment. Later, perhaps after their demise, a relative decided to consign them in an auction. Certainly that would be a better fact pattern than the creator of these items consigning them directly after their creation.

Ok, that's quite a boondoggle by the auction house then. If you can't be bothered to see if the rubber band holes in the cards, are actually holes or not...somebody was in quite the rush to get that lot done quickly.

At least they are going to make you whole without too much of a hassle.

I'd have to agree, it's probably somebody's old fantasy project that got swept up and sent to auction by somebody that didn't know any better, and somehow got by all the checkpoints without anybody weeding it out.

[Johnny630]

Mistakes happen. I give them a lot of credit for promptly taking care of you by making it right. I don't mind mistakes when they're owned and honest. Case here with Goldin.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Mistakes happen. I give them a lot of credit for promptly taking care of you by making it right. I don't mind mistakes when they're owned and honest. Case here with Goldin.

Agreed. I've had good experiences in the past with Goldin. And I expect that I will continue to bid on items in their auctions. Although I'm probably not alone on this board in hoping that prices will come down from their current nosebleed levels!

I will probably be a bit more wary about ungraded items, particularly if there's something about the pictures in the listing that gives me pause. Certainly in hindsight, with enough paranoia, there are some flags in the auction pictures to make you wonder whether the items were legit.

In this case, knowing Goldin as a quality shop with great expertise in this market, I had every confidence that they must be legit in spite of what appeared to be some oddities in their photos. In the future, I will probably ask some more questions during the bidding window if I see something odd in the pictures, which may lead them to take a closer look, and in this case might have led to the lot being withdrawn before the close of the auction.

I will admit that I was excited to get this set, and when I opened the box, at first, I thought that it was a joke. And then the closer I looked, the more confused I was by everything I was seeing. Ultimately, it didn't take long to realize that some tragic mistakes had been made along the way.

And I give great credit to Goldin for taking care of it promptly, and even expressing contrition in their approach.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

from my experience ken is quite responsive on the forum.

+1 Agreed

Sad the mistake happened and hopefully they put procedures in place from happening again but errors do and did happen

At least they are responsive and making it right

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by raulus

Agreed. I've had good experiences in the past with Goldin. And I expect that I will continue to bid on items in their auctions. Although I'm probably not alone on this board in hoping that prices will come down from their current nosebleed levels!

I will probably be a bit more wary about ungraded items, particularly if there's something about the pictures in the listing that gives me pause. Certainly in hindsight, with enough paranoia, there are some flags in the auction pictures to make you wonder whether the items were legit.

In this case, knowing Goldin as a quality shop with great expertise in this market, I had every confidence that they must be legit in spite of what appeared to be some oddities in their photos. In the future, I will probably ask some more questions during the bidding window if I see something odd in the pictures, which may lead them to take a closer look, and in this case might have led to the lot being withdrawn before the close of the auction.

I will admit that I was excited to get this set, and when I opened the box, at first, I thought that it was a joke. And then the closer I looked, the more confused I was by everything I was seeing. Ultimately, it didn't take long to realize that some tragic mistakes had been made along the way.

And I give great credit to Goldin for taking care of it promptly, and even expressing contrition in their approach.

I will preface this by stating that I am not a Goldin Auction customer. And I acknowledge that this was a fairly egregious error. But with their response (glad that they are making things right), I think they have earned a change in the title to something a little less inflammatory. Something that acknowledges that they made a careless mistake, but without much prodding, did the right thing.

Brian

[ezez420]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I feel your frustration, but I would have given them the opportunity to make things right before posting. That's just my $.02

Exactly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chriskim]

I know Goldin auction has been giving refunds and credits left and right to mistakes that they make. They generate million $ of commission in every auction, they can easily silent us with $. Thx for sharing your issue with us!

[rand1com]

Mistakes happen in all auctions no matter the precautions.

They run tens of thousands of items and on here a couple of really bad mistakes get outed. What about the tens of thousands that they get right?

Generally speaking, even in this egregious instance, the auction house should have had the opportunity to respond to the problem without being run through the mud on this forum.

If your correspondence met with no resolution within a week, then would have been the time to air it IMO.

[Snapolit1]

Everyone makes mistakes and Goldin is always a straight shooter in acknowledging when something needs to be remedied. Very responsive to their customers and very responsive to this board. However with something as egregious as this they should really step back and take a look at the skills and diligence of people processing commissions. This is pretty bush league stuff. Maybe they need to slow down a little more and take more careful study of what’s coming in the door. With the never ending auction cycle we are in these days, I’d be surprised if other AHs aren’t slipping up as well.

[Republicaninmass]

With 8000 lots and no rhyme or reason to how or what is listed I'm not surprised. Focus on your 4000 modern basketball autos , or find some competent help. Too big too quick

[frankbmd]

With Granny Hamner in the lot, none of this is surprising.

Go Granny Go.

[Fballguy]

This is egregious and I wouldn't have waited either. And the best way to ensure good customer service is the public call out. Works wonders on Twitter.

[raulus]

As some of you have probably noticed, this was my first post on the forum. And I suppose that I made a bit of an entrance. While I have often come to the forum as a resource to get intel on various obscure regional issues and understand viewpoints of my fellow collectors, I have not previously posted myself. So as an obvious and self-confessed n00b, if I have broken any unwritten rules of the forum, I sincerely apologize to the group.

But that preamble aside, some updates, and final resolution to these adventures:

Yesterday afternoon, the good folks at Goldin emailed over the shipping label, and I packed everything up and dropped it off at UPS. UPS delivered the items to Goldin this morning, and within a few hours, I received a notification that I had received a refund from Goldin. Checking my credit card account, it appears that the refund is pending, which is great news all around. From start to finish, about 42 hours total between my original contact with Goldin to report a problem, and the ultimate resolution. And in all honesty, that's pretty blinding fast. Mischief managed! And bravo to Goldin for making it happen.

In related news, some of you have criticized me for my eagerness to post on this subject. And your criticisms are not without merit. I will confess that my primary concerns were whether Goldin was really taking me seriously. When I first called Goldin to discuss the matter, the representative on the phone responded to me in a somewhat nonchalant and even somewhat suspicious fashion, and proceeded to inform me that his colleagues would be handling the matter, and that they would open an investigation. There was no indication about what that would look like, no indication about who would be calling me, when it would happen, no confirmation code to identify that an actual refund request had been filed. Nothing to suggest that anything was really happening.

As a result, I didn't sense any real desire, focus, determination, or willingness to take care of the situation. It could just be that the representative in question was a low-level employee with not much more to say, and it could just be that's part of their training when someone calls to report that their auction items are fake. But I certainly had some very real concerns about ending up getting ignored. Was I too quick to jump to these paranoid conclusions? Possibly, and in hindsight, given how quickly the issue has been resolved, certainly you may conclude that I was indeed excessively paranoid. Although we will never know what would have transpired in an alternate universe where I decided not to post on the forum. And for those of you who report that you would have waited to post on the forum, I guess we will expect that you do precisely that when you find yourself in a similar situation.

Finally, I have revised the wording of the original post to adjust the title. Some of you have suggested that such a change is appropriate. I can also report that Ken Goldin himself emailed me directly to request just such a change yesterday afternoon. At the time, I responded to Mr. Goldin that I would be happy to revise the title at the appropriate time, once the issue had been completely resolved. Certainly I expected that this was merely a matter of timing, and even very brief timing at that, and should be a small inconvenience to the Goldin Auctions organization, particularly since they would no doubt be resolving the issue promptly. And if I may be so bold to suggest it, if you don't want the collector world to know that you sell clear and obvious fakes through your auction house, then the obvious strategy is to not sell clear and obvious fakes through your auction house.

This morning, Mr. Goldin responded by email to accuse me of treating him harshly, to report that the majority of the forum agrees with him (based on his words, "in spite of being typically non forgiving and hard boiled"), and proceeded to tell me that he had looked me up online and knows all about where I work, to remind me that his organization is a multibillion dollar company, and requesting that I make the change right now. I must confess that I continue to be somewhat confused that Mr. Goldin felt the need to send this message to me, particularly because we were just hours away from final resolution, all of which was within his control. Certainly his reference to having looked me up online and knowing all about where I work was a bit unsettling, and did not improve my opinion of Mr. Goldin or his organization.

In what appears to be a rather gigantic coincidence, right about the time that Mr. Goldin made his initial request to me personally, some posters here also voiced exactly the same opinion on this forum, in some cases using very similar language to the email that I received from Mr. Goldin.

While it's certainly entirely possible that some of you are very sensitive to the reputation of Goldin Auctions, and have such a strong affinity with the brand and organization that you jealously guard and protect its reputation, I do wonder that such requests should be made at virtually the same time and in virtually the same fashion. I'm not saying that those posters universally consist of friends, family and employees of Goldin Auctions, but I was certainly intrigued by the similarities in timing, wording, and nature of these requests.

Final thoughts: I'm absolutely happy and even very pleased that Goldin took care of me, and give Goldin great credit for doing so in such a quick fashion. I could have done without some of the direct pressure and what seemed to me like veiled threats in response to what should have been a relatively reasonable approach (at least from my perspective). I realize that part of the fun in this forum is us beating each other up, and that comes with the territory, so thank you for the friendly induction yesterday. Based on some of the treatment I have received from Mr. Goldin personally, I will admit to not being particularly sure about how I will approach future auctions from this organization, but I'm confident that many of you will continue to be loyal customers, because in spite of occasional mistakes like this, they seem to get a lot of things right.

[perezfan]

I would bet your post helped to expedite the refund process. I had an issue with a more expensive piece that was not resolved as easily. I did not post the issue here, and was somewhat satisfied (but by no means overjoyed) by the result. I’m glad you got full resolution and that Goldin made it right.

[Peter_Spaeth]

From what I can see the OP was accurate and not at all malicious, he just posted in the hope that he would get a more concrete response than "we'll look into it." I don't see that he did anything wrong, why is there some obligation to tip-toe around auction houses? If it was any other business people would not be writing you should have pursued it privately.

[conor912]

….but look at dem cards dat he holdin’!

[Fballguy]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

From what I can see the OP was accurate and not at all malicious, he just posted in the hope that he would get a more concrete response than "we'll look into it." I don't see that he did anything wrong, why is there some obligation to tip-toe around auction houses? If it was any other business people would not be writing you should have pursued it privately.

Amen...They're supposed to be experts.

Lucky draw that their one picture of backs didn't show any with HP or Kodak?

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by raulus

This morning, Mr. Goldin responded by email to accuse me of treating him harshly, to report that the majority of the forum agrees with him (based on his words, "in spite of being typically non forgiving and hard boiled"), and proceeded to tell me that he had looked me up online and knows all about where I work, to remind me that his organization is a multibillion dollar company, and requesting that I make the change right now.

Wow. A guy bids in his auction, receives obvious fakes, and then gets this?

Classy.

[Peter_Spaeth]

The new Bagger's Auction has a few Robert Goulds.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The new Bagger's Auction has a few Robert Goulds.

I am guessing not a single Kodak backing will be present at this auction.

Brian

[Shoeless Moe]

I will first say I do not know Ken or anyone at Goldin Auctions personally. He has not contacted me. I am Switzerland, as neutral as they get, what makes me a fine umpire. Call 'em as I see 'em.

I am however, like the 2004 Red Sox, a self proclaimed idiot. Actually, others proclaim that as well.

I have consigned and purchased from the following auction houses:

Goldin
REA
Heritage
Hunt
Love of the Game
Lelands
SCP
Memory Lane
MEARS
Huggins & Scott

I repeat I have consigned & purchased from all of those. Not sure how many others can say that and I know no one personally at any of these auction houses.

They have all made mistakes in listings, in shipping charges and/or had their Sites crash during bidding, shit happens. I have seen several other auction houses crash and burn, Legendary, Crazy Uncle, 2 others I'm drawing a blank that were being investigated for something not good as well are through.

The bad ones, whether by karma or what have you, are gone. Thank God!

The ones above I first mentioned are still in business because they handle their errors well. I will still consign to any of them and I will still buy from any of them.

Goldin is one THEE best!!!! Best selection, Best results, Best customer service!

I will get nothing for saying this, don't want anything for saying this. I call 'em like I see 'em.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Goldin is one THEE best!!!! Best selection, Best results, Best customer service!

I will get nothing for saying this, don't want anything for saying this. I call 'em like I see 'em.

Out of curiosity, have you ever received an email informing you that they've looked up where you work?

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Out of curiosity, have you ever received an email informing you that they've looked up where you work?

Without question, a direct email like that from the owner of any auction house or business deserves an immediate apology. Look, we all get frustrated at times, but this crosses a serious line.

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Wow. A guy bids in his auction, receives obvious fakes, and then gets this?

Classy.

Post the whole email? Interesting.

[Republicaninmass]

These people giving Ken Goldin a pass personally need their head examined.. TRY LOOKING HIM UP FOR CHRIST SAKE.

The scoreboard ROBBED countless grandmothers years back with fake signed items during the last boom, then filed bankruptcy

From google. ""No other individual has done so much to screw over so many in this hobby. Ken Goldin was the man in charge at the now defunct Score Board, Inc. Many believe Ken Goldin pushed out countless product with autograph redemptions that he knew he wouldn't have to honor once Score Board, Inc. filed for bankruptcy. He left collector's holding now worthless redemption vouchers for the very same product he now often sells on Shop At Home for severely inflated amounts. "

History may not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

These people giving Ken Goldin a pass personally need their head examined.. TRY LOOKING HIM UP FOR CHRIST SAKE.

The scoreboard ROBBED countless grandmothers years back with fake signed items during the last boom, then filed bankruptcy

From google. ""No other individual has done so much to screw over so many in this hobby. Ken Goldin was the man in charge at the now defunct Score Board, Inc. Many believe Ken Goldin pushed out countless product with autograph redemptions that he knew he wouldn't have to honor once Score Board, Inc. filed for bankruptcy. He left collector's holding now worthless redemption vouchers for the very same product he now often sells on Shop At Home for severely inflated amounts. "

History may not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme

_

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Carter08

Post the whole email? Interesting.

You may interpret Mr. Goldin's email differently than I did, particularly because there wasn't much context to explain what he meant by his comments about looking me up. I will note that in the context of his repeated request to revise the title of the posting, it was particularly unclear to me why such a revelation (that he had checked me out) should be relevant to the urgent need to revise the posting immediately, rather than waiting for final resolution of the matter.

It may well be that there is an innocent explanation for his revelation of having looked me up, which is in no way sinister or menacing. Certainly at the time, based on the context and situation, I interpreted his comment as being a deliberate attempt to frighten me. If I misinterpreted his statement, then such misinterpretation is on me.

In any event, here's the full string, with the only edits being to redact contact information for the two parties involved (additionally, times shown on emails coming to me are pacific, since I'm out west, and eastern for emails received by Mr. Goldin):

On May 11, 2022, at 4:51 AM, Ken Goldin wrote:
To be honest
I think this is very harsh and it seems the majority of the forum, which is typically non forgiving and hard boiled agrees.
Once again, I would appreciate if you would edit the title Now. I took the opportunity to look at your website and see you are a an accountant and a tax professional. I’m sure you’re also realize that we are part of Collectors Holdings and a multibillion dollar company. We are not about to make commitments publicly and not honor of them were truly appreciate you changing this right now thank you
Sent from my iPad

On May 10, 2022, at 5:43 PM, Nicolo wrote:

Hi Ken:

You’ve been gracious towards me so far, in spite of my whining and petulance, and I thank you for being generous towards me in extending that grace.

You are also absolutely correct that you are the inspiration that finally got me off of the sidelines and into the posting game on the forum. So thank you for motivating me!

I’m happy to update the title of the thread as you suggested below. However, if I may be so bold, I would prefer to wait until we have reached a final resolution here. While I certainly trust and expect that you and your organization keep your word and are entirely trustworthy, I would prefer to wait to make this change until we get to the finish line. We’re certainly making good progress, and I’m confident that everything will resolved to everyone’s satisfaction soon enough, but in the meantime, if a little egregious internet clickbait keeps us all focused on getting to the finish line, then so much the better.

With any luck, we’re talking about days to get there, and not weeks or months, so I’m hopeful that the wait will be bearable in the interim.

Nicolo

From: Ken Goldin
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2022 1:59 PM
To: Nicolo
Subject: Re: Return for refund


Can you do me a favor

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=319449

This title it a magnet for bad comments and will live on internet forever
Can you change the title of the thread from ‘goldin auctions apparently fakes are ok’
To ‘goldin auctions thanks for fast resolution to issue’
Would appreciate it ‘’ken goldin

In Hey so you’re not familiar how to do so I see this was your first ever post so I’m guessing you are not
‘Edit post’ on your original post in thread
‘Go advanced’ after that
Then you will see the title in a box just change the title there thank you
Sent from my iPad

On May 10, 2022, at 12:24 PM, Ken Goldin wrote:
Sorry for the obvious error on the Gould set
Someone obviously did not do their job and check before it was posted
My office will provide you a return label and issue a refund when received
We are sorry for you inconvenience
We will also be crediting your account $250 for future purchases for the error
Thank you
Ken goldin

Sent from my iPad

[SyrNy1960]

Someone once told me, "arrogance and ego will sometimes override common sense."

Yes, this situation was embarrassing for Goldin Auctions. We all get that. However, take responsibility and move on. People will respect you much more when you do. There was no reason to go back at the buyer. We all know these sites exists and people post their good and bad experiences.

When things are handled the right way, the first time, threads like this won't grow into what they do.

[raulus]

I should also note that I have not requested an apology from Mr. Goldin, nor do I expect one. As far as I'm concerned, our transaction is completed, over and done, and I am confident that both parties are ready to move forward.

[kengoldin]

I had been told by sr members of the forum I shouldn’t post, because it will just attract more attention to the thread and negative comments from haters. However, after seeing this post I need to address it
The statement below is an outright lie.
You can simply look at the autograph section of this forum and find old threads about counterfeit score board COAs being produced in the MILLIONS after they went bankrupt. Score board itself had the athletes under contract and sold authentic autographs. Tony posada from ‘my favorite players’ ( the guy who was arrested at the national in for selling fakes ) and others counterfeited COAs and sold them with fake auto items. People coming into the hobby in late 1990s and after buy an item with a fake COA, see my name or my late fathers who died in 1994 and was on COAs prior to me..have it fail jsa or PSA and think SB sold a fake auto.
Tons of threads to confirm this , or you can go ask steve grad for example, or Tim Fitzsimmons retired FBI agent and author of ‘operation bullpen’ to confirm this . Just stop spreading this lie .
https://live.autographmagazine.com/p...seller-vintara

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...ke-autographs/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Autographs/...c_i_know_they/


https://twitter.com/steve_grad/statu...BBKjazqS5vyT_g

http://thejuniorjunkie.blogspot.com/...board-inc.html

With respect to redemptions, as has been previously addressed on this and other forums, that was a decision made by the bankruptcy court. I negotiated a $5.4 million cash payment to allow a phone company (frontier communications) to buy SB out of a phone card deal, in addition they forgive over $1 million in accounts receivables. This was a massive cash windfall for score board. As you can see by the Bloomberg article from 1997, the company was profitable at the time, profit in q3, AND going to report a MASSIVE profit in Q4 as a result of the deal in excess of $5.5 million. Instead of using the money to fund the company and purchase product , the company which at that time was controlled by TL ventures ( a division of then Public company safeguard scientific) Did not want to write down their investment and used the money to reduce long-term debt so that the company can remain listed on the NASDAQ which did no good for the company except maintain a nasdaq listing. Since it remained on Nasdaq they did not have to write down their debt….however, as the debentures were not coming due until 5 years later (2002) there was no sound business reason to do this deal and the cash should have been used to fund day to day operations. ] I was outraged and resigned effective immediately. After I resigned what happened was exactly what I expected to happen when they made a stupid decision, the company ran out of cash and declared bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court decided instead of filling redemptions that redemption holders were unsecured creditors and the product was sold to pay secured creditors. Again, this is 100% confirmed by facts you can read in link below and elsewhere. Just tired of seeing the same old comments by people who search bloggers and forum posters on the internet posting years later with no idea of the facts.

Note in the article my resignation was a ‘shock’

https://www.bloomberg.com/press-rele...ntier-agree-to

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...26/story5.html

For those of you who took the time to read this and actually go to the links and see 100% of what I stated is factual and not based on internet I appreciate you doing so.

9

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

These people giving Ken Goldin a pass personally need their head examined.. TRY LOOKING HIM UP FOR CHRIST SAKE.

The scoreboard ROBBED countless grandmothers years back with fake signed items during the last boom, then filed bankruptcy

From google. ""No other individual has done so much to screw over so many in this hobby. Ken Goldin was the man in charge at the now defunct Score Board, Inc. Many believe Ken Goldin pushed out countless product with autograph redemptions that he knew he wouldn't have to honor once Score Board, Inc. filed for bankruptcy. He left collector's holding now worthless redemption vouchers for the very same product he now often sells on Shop At Home for severely inflated amounts. "

History may not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme

[kengoldin]

Nicolo
As I have said in the first email to you , I am sorry and embarrassed this occurred. We have 100 employees now, as opposed to the 17 in jan 2021 when I agreed to the Chernin deal, and there is still a great learning curve for many of them which will happen and improve. The CEO has put procedures in place that I hope prevent anything like this from happening again.

And as stated in the email thread to you with your thankfully posted the entire thread now so everyone can read it and get the right context, my point in stating collectors holdings is a $4 billion company was exactly what the next line stated. I took the opportunity to look at your website and see you are a an accountant and a tax professional. I’m sure you’re also realize that we are part of Collectors Holdings and a multibillion dollar company, we are not about to make commitments publicly and not honor them. would truly appreciate you changing this right now
‘Sent from my iPad’
I use Siri a lot as you can see from my iPad, and sometimes Exact word for word I hope to come out does not come out perfectly if this caused you any confusion as to my intent that is unfortunate. I would think most reasonable people reading these two sentences above would see my reason for pointing out the size of my business was to emphasize the fact that we are not about to tell you that we are giving you a refund and not issue it! As you noted the refund came to you within minutes/hours of us receiving the return.
I see you have left open the possibility that you misinterpreted my email and I think anybody reading this slowly and carefully from bottom to top as well as hopefully you re-reading it can see what my true intent was and always has been. I look forward to better and happier days for you as a customer of Goldin and we will do our best to earn your business.

Finally, as far as my comment I went to your website, “I see you are a professional ..we are a multi billion $ company and not about to make a public commitment and not honor it”
I think we addressed this in another email we did exchange that you did not post, but I will below so everyone sees the full context
——————

From: Nicolo Pinoli
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2022 6:56 AM
To: Ken Goldin
Subject: Re: Return for refund

Thanks for clarifying.

Sent from my iPhone


On May 11, 2022, at 6:47 AM, Ken Goldin wrote:

 Completely inaccurate and I have zero clue how you are reading that into my email?
I see you are a professional and a businessman, and I am asking for some professional courtesy.
Your choice if you do not wish to give it.


Sent from my iPad


On May 11, 2022, at 9:45 AM, Nicolo Pinoli wrote:

 Ken:

It almost sounds like you are threatening my business? Is my inference accurate?

Sent from my iPhone

‘_—————————-

Originally Posted by raulus

You may interpret Mr. Goldin's email differently than I did, particularly because there wasn't much context to explain what he meant by his comments about looking me up. I will note that in the context of his repeated request to revise the title of the posting, it was particularly unclear to me why such a revelation (that he had checked me out) should be relevant to the urgent need to revise the posting immediately, rather than waiting for final resolution of the matter.

It may well be that there is an innocent explanation for his revelation of having looked me up, which is in no way sinister or menacing. Certainly at the time, based on the context and situation, I interpreted his comment as being a deliberate attempt to frighten me. If I misinterpreted his statement, then such misinterpretation is on me.

In any event, here's the full string, with the only edits being to redact contact information for the two parties involved (additionally, times shown on emails coming to me are pacific, since I'm out west, and eastern for emails received by Mr. Goldin):

On May 11, 2022, at 4:51 AM, Ken Goldin wrote:
To be honest
I think this is very harsh and it seems the majority of the forum, which is typically non forgiving and hard boiled agrees.
Once again, I would appreciate if you would edit the title Now. I took the opportunity to look at your website and see you are a an accountant and a tax professional. I’m sure you’re also realize that we are part of Collectors Holdings and a multibillion dollar company. We are not about to make commitments publicly and not honor of them were truly appreciate you changing this right now thank you
Sent from my iPad

On May 10, 2022, at 5:43 PM, Nicolo wrote:

Hi Ken:

You’ve been gracious towards me so far, in spite of my whining and petulance, and I thank you for being generous towards me in extending that grace.

You are also absolutely correct that you are the inspiration that finally got me off of the sidelines and into the posting game on the forum. So thank you for motivating me!

I’m happy to update the title of the thread as you suggested below. However, if I may be so bold, I would prefer to wait until we have reached a final resolution here. While I certainly trust and expect that you and your organization keep your word and are entirely trustworthy, I would prefer to wait to make this change until we get to the finish line. We’re certainly making good progress, and I’m confident that everything will resolved to everyone’s satisfaction soon enough, but in the meantime, if a little egregious internet clickbait keeps us all focused on getting to the finish line, then so much the better.

With any luck, we’re talking about days to get there, and not weeks or months, so I’m hopeful that the wait will be bearable in the interim.

Nicolo

From: Ken Goldin
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2022 1:59 PM
To: Nicolo
Subject: Re: Return for refund


Can you do me a favor

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=319449

This title it a magnet for bad comments and will live on internet forever
Can you change the title of the thread from ‘goldin auctions apparently fakes are ok’
To ‘goldin auctions thanks for fast resolution to issue’
Would appreciate it ‘’ken goldin

In Hey so you’re not familiar how to do so I see this was your first ever post so I’m guessing you are not
‘Edit post’ on your original post in thread
‘Go advanced’ after that
Then you will see the title in a box just change the title there thank you
Sent from my iPad

On May 10, 2022, at 12:24 PM, Ken Goldin wrote:
Sorry for the obvious error on the Gould set
Someone obviously did not do their job and check before it was posted
My office will provide you a return label and issue a refund when received
We are sorry for you inconvenience
We will also be crediting your account $250 for future purchases for the error
Thank you
Ken goldin

Sent from my iPad

[raulus]

Assuming everyone is satisfied, and has had sufficient opportunity to consider the meaning of these events, I propose that we move along.

These aren’t the droids you’re looking for!

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by raulus

Assuming everyone is satisfied, and has had sufficient opportunity to consider the meaning of these events, I propose that we move along.

These aren’t the droids you’re looking for!

This is Net 54, that rarely happens here.

[Casey2296]

I for one appreciate you staying engaged on this forum. In regards to your reply to Teds comment, I've built a couple of businesses, nowhere near the level you have but I understand the dynamic. I have a former business partner who is going through what you went through, he too blames it on former business partners and the BK court, the discussions we have are about personal responsibility or "what decisions did you make that resulted in a bankrupt company?". It's interesting to talk with him, he's filled with ego and hubris to a fault and that led to his downfall. I'm just a working class collector so I'm not really in your high class demo but for me when I talk to Brian at REA or Al at LOTG I'm confident they have my best interest at heart and their integrity is unquestionable. Your schtick might be profit at all cost to sell your company to the highest bidder, which is okay, it's just a different business model. Personally I don't spend my money with you for those reasons but you don't need my money anyway, and if Brian or Al ever posted a "Ken Goldin, Ken Goldin" video on YouTube I would question spending my money with them. Again, I'm a small potatoes old school collector that gets satisfaction from the incredible relationships I've made in this great hobby, and not one of them had anything to do with money.

[chjh]

"Nicolo
As I have said in the first email to you , I am sorry this occurred and embarrassed by the staff at goldin who handled this. Unfortunately we have 100 employees now, as opposed to the 17 in jan 2021 when I agreed to the Chernin deal, and there is still a great learning curve for many of them."

Interesting.