So, if I won a lot, then am informed I lost a lot by a $300 prior mail in bid, but had planned on bidding at least $2000 more on the phone if necessary to win it, that's all just........... hunky-dory??
"My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
Dimeman - I am not defending anyone. In fact, I suggested the OP go back and take the compensation SB offered him. On top of that, I continue to state that SB needs to come on these boards and address all the complaints (and questions) of the board members. If this is a "defense", I am doing one heck of a poor job! Good thing I hung up my jock strap from the practice of law 13 years ago!
Wondercoin
Please visit my website at www.wondercoins.com and my ebay auctions under my user name www.wondercoin.com.
Man, if I won a 1797 half and then found out I actually lost......
...that would be a real Pogue in the eye!
"My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
Mitch you are defending them. What else would you call it when you say "well maybe this maybe that happened". Like one guy said before "if you are high bidder and the auction ends...DONE DEAL!!!
They run a very very crappy site and don't seem to care. If everyone would stop using it.....maybe....just maybe they would do something about it.
They must have the 3 stogges for their IT department!
I placed bids in the final minutes of this auction, received confirmation via email that I was the leading bidder, and the official results, with my winning bids, were not posted until about 36 hours later. I received an invoice about an hour after the auction missing the lots I won with late bids. Needless to say, there is an issue with their software that is frustrating clients and will cost them money.
<< <i>You ever see a live auction where they hammer the lot, then come back 50 lots later, open it back up for one more bid and immediately close it without allowing anybody else to bid again? No? Because that's BS. >>
Believe it or not, this actually happened to me. Well maybe not 50 lots, but unprofessional just the same. And it was SB!
Melissa hammered a lot to me at home via Internet bid. A few lots later, she reopened the lot to the floor only. Internet bidding was not reopened. The floor took it at the next increment because I couldn't bid!
I was pissed to say the least. I called the next day and they told me that floor bidder gave them a written bid sheet before leaving. But they would offer nothing to fix the problem.
<< <i>I bid on two coins in the latest auction. Now I'm glad I didn't "win" anything, whew! >>
I saw a Walker that I thought was really nice that seemed to have sold for a very low price and I was sorry that I didn't bid. NOW, I'm glad that I didn't, as I would likely have been VERY disappointed had I 'won'.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My very first auction ever with Bowers and Ruddy back in 1976 resulted in a mail bid that was never executed. I had called the day after the sale ended to check if I had won any lots. My bid of $1250 on a gem unc 1868 quarter should have won since the lot sold for approx $800. But, since the "winning" bidder had already picked up the coin and left with it there was nothing they could do. Really? They couldn't call that customer/dealer and get the coin back from them saying they made a mistake? Wouldn't $400 more to the consignor have been appreciated? While a rare occurrence for them, they did state that some bids don't always make it to the auction floor. Apparently, I was not a worthy enough customer at the time to go to bat for. In the 38 years since, I've never had another instance anywhere of a potentially "winning bid" I submitted not showing up.
The series of events as told by the original poster doesn't surprise me in the least. I've sat in on major sales where the auctioneer has actually gone back and reopened a lot for additional bidding 10 lots after the fact because a well known bigshot dealer in the front row 'forgot' to place a floor bid on behalf of a client (so he claimed) and wanted the lot reopened. Now suppose me as a 'nobody' small time collector tried that same ploy and interrupted the sale 10 lots later and requested that a coin I missed be reopened for floor bidding?
I am a small time coin collector and have been watching SB for a while. I have not been shown anything that would give me confidence to use their service. This latest issue causes me concern about how they are conducting business. For as much as people complain about the bay I have never seen something like this happen and they have recently opened up a live bidding platform again. SB could actually go to Ebay and get software from them to run internet bidding. If I were to have an auction on the BST for a 1886-O Morgan Dollar MS65 for a 24hr auction, then close that auction with the highest bidder then paying by PayPal they would think deal don, right? Now if 48hrs later I contact the purchaser and tell them that I just found a bid that was higher as it was mailed in and I did not enter that bid during the specified auction time and I canceling the winning bid and giving it to the other person what would happen to me on the BST and on this board? I know the answer and so does everyone else, circle of trust and when doing business with a company such as SB you have the same expectation. I also am glad I did not win any bids but who really knows who won what honestly. My thought is this, if the bids were not entered in the allotted time frame then those bids do not count. At this point you apologize for not getting the bids in in time and provide a voucher for no buyer fees on their next auction purchase no matter the amount and finish the transaction with the high bidder who had the high bid at the end of the allotted time.
"<< Come on Mitch.....they blew it.....why do you continue to defend them! >> +1"
Guys. Understand that all we know thus far (at least what I have read) is essentially that SB might have released Invoices in error, one or more bidders quickly paid those Invoices and SB promptly returned that money. The parties paying those Invoices might believe they have the right to the coins at the prices listed in those Invoices whether SB sent them in error or not. SB might believe that in returning those funds (and canceling those erroneous Invoices) and issuing the correct Invoices, they protected consignors and (probably) the true high bidders on the lots in question. We also know that notwithstanding boilerplate language in the Terms and Conditions that gave SB the express permission to do exactly what I just described, SB offered compensation to the "aggrieved" parties. If an auction company issues an Invoice in error on a coin, does the fact that the recipient quickly pays it translate to a "done deal" between the auction company and that bidder with ownership of the coin passing to the bidder for the erroneous amount of the Invoice? If I understand some of the comments here, I might conclude that is exactly what many here believe.
I believe we are still missing facts here, because SB has not come forward to explain what exactly happened in the final day of their Internet Only auction. Were these Invoices for that Session issued by accident and SB simply needed to correct the error by returning any payments received on the erroneously issued Invoices? Is it more sinister than that? I simply suggest not assuming a sinister motivation for what SB did here unless and until we hear from SB and their explanation warrants such an interpretation.
And let me be clear about something. By no means do I prefer doing business with SB to the detriment of all other auction companies. I have always enjoyed doing business with Heritage over the years AND I LOVE doing business with the Goldbergs especially when I work with Glenn who is just one super straight shooting guy. I also have no issues with nearly all the other auction companies out there. I remember when I loved doing business with Teletrade and I often took a position contrary to a negative post here about Teletrade. What I find quite amusing is that often times those same posters who were quick to call out Teletrade are now calling (if not almost begging) for the return of Teletrade and wishing Teletrade were still around.
In short, let's give SB the benefit of the doubt and hope that a representative of SB stops by and explains to us all what exactly took place in their Internet session of their most recent sale.
As always, just my two cents.
Wondercoin
Please visit my website at www.wondercoins.com and my ebay auctions under my user name www.wondercoin.com.
If I were Stacks/Bowers I would just let the winning bidders that were notified they had won the lots and paid for them in full have the coins. I would then look at the so called bids sheets that were not found in time and look at the high bidders that had bid higher on those lots and add one bid increment and settle with the consigners using the higher figure. Doing this gives the win back to the notified winners and the lost bidders on the late form have no dog left in the fight, the consigners get the max amount and Stacks is out a few grand for THEIR screw up.
Then I would hire someone to fix their website and bid system
This could have been fixed internally without making a lot of people mad and skeptical of Stacks/Bowers and there practices.
Mark NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!! working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
<< <i>Here is the reply I got as to why the coin I won was taken away from me. This message came from Brian Kendrella, who is a really nice guy by the way.
<< <i>It looks like a one of the bid sheets our customer service team was still entering at the close of the auction had a max bid above your $300 bid. The results you saw were preliminary and unaudited, hence the change. I apologize for any confusion. >>
Now when an auction ends, and I am the high bidder, I should win. All bids should be entered before the clock runs out otherwise, how do I know I was outbid? Add to this that I was still winning the next morning, with my bid history clearing stating I won. Then a bid sheet gets entered and I am now a loser? I call BS on this and I am also in the camp of having enough of this whole thing. I can't help but believe the coin was taken back because I got a great price on it. If you can't trust that you will win when you are high bidder at the end of an auction, why bid? Could you imagine eBay or Heritage doing that? >>
Preach it... they shouldn't be sending out invoices, at the very least, until all bids are settled. I mean, I know it's automatic, but at least step in and do something about it rather than letting people get invoices, pay for them, then tell them they get outbid. It's probably an automated script that runs and does it... so just disable the stupid script or edit it to add a 48 hour delay! It literally takes 10 minutes max! What kind of a joke is that?
Stacks doesn't have a choice to write off the bids that aren't entered in time because if they did, their faulty systems would result in coins closing below their values and would drive consignments away due to lower than expected realizations. So they're forced in between a rock and a hard spot due to their crappy software and servers.. and they simply opt to screw over the bidders rather than the consignors because hey... at least when you're raising the prices paid, you're taking in more profit and the people who spend more money with you are happy. >>
Well, in this day and age of Internet Auctions, I'm of the opinion that if Stacks/Bowers is still going to handle "bids" by hand, that folks should simply not waste their time entering bids on the Internet. Or, not even participate at all?
Who does this anymore? Manually entering bids from bid sheets?
Where is the integrity of the auction? Who can say "when" the bid sheets were handed over?
Sorry, but there are far too many questions for me to even consider participating in any of their future auctions.
Perhaps other can justify or rationalize, but not me.
I decided to change calling the bathroom the John and renamed it the Jim. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.
Reopening lots on the floor to admit Internet or phone bids that hit just as the auctioneer hammered the lot happens all the time. Nothing wrong with that. In that scenario, other phone, floor, and Internet bidders still (usually but not always) have an opportunity to participate in further bidding.
However... and this is a HUGE difference here... changing results after the live auction, and more importantly AFTER INVOICES WERE SENT OUT is dirty pool, and utterly inexcusable. In my admittedly lay opinion, this could be actionable.
This company clearly does not have its act together on a number of fronts.
<< <i>I would think a man of QDB's stature would have extricated himself from this train wreck long ago… they must pay him VERY well! >>
I image QDB is more involved with the numismatic side of the company rather than the business side so he may not be totally aware of these short comings.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I hope you guys have learned your lesson with Stacks. Now when the Pogue sale comes up, make sure not to bid so I can afford some of the coins >>
While not discounting anyone's anecdotal concerns (they are real, and the situation sucks), other than wondercoin's, this may be the only useful forward-going statement made. . . .
For internet-only sales I have no ideas, but in an live "after the buzzer" situation, the current high bidder of record should be contacted and given the opportunity to bid against the late bid (after the sale, likely by phone) before the lot is finally awarded. Primarily, this serves the interests of the consignor.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - Geo. Orwell
Seems that SB had system data input issues resulting in delayed entry of bids. You thought you had the high bid but you didn’t. SB finished entering the bids and someone else was the high bidder.
Result:
A. The consignor got the money to which he or she was entitled based on the highest bid. That seems like the right result. B. The person who submitted the highest bid got the coin. That seems like the right result. C. You got to keep your money in your pocket. That seems like the right result. D. You are disappointed and annoyed. Guess what? Life is full of minor little disappointments and annoyances. This is just one of many. Get used to it. E. Unless they fix their system SB may lose business if bidders who prefer not to be disappointed and annoyed stop bidding in their auctions.
<< <i>I would think a man of QDB's stature would have extricated himself from this train wreck long ago… they must pay him VERY well! >>
I image QDB is more involved with the numismatic side of the company rather than the business side so he may not be totally aware of these short comings. >>
As far as I know, he has nothing to do with them. They bought his company years ago and just kept the name
<< <i>Please note the positive update now in my original post. >>
That's how it should have been resolved in the first place. Glad you got your coin. >>
I agree, the final outcome is to your advantage, Vern.
I have had some dealings with Brian, and he is a stand up guy who tries to resolve difficult sit- uations.
You would think, however, that the issues S/B has been having for a few years now - would have been straightened out by now.
I'd rip out the entire IT staff and hire an outside firm to handle the live auctions. I have as yet heard of a smooth sale since they merged together. When ANR formed - they used the previous Bowers format. There we're no problems. Once too many fingers were in the pie, things went South.
Move the base of operations back to Meredith, NH, at least they know what they are doing in NE.
Mike Hayes ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
"UPDATE - 2/13/15: Apparantly the SB rep I spoke with yesterday passed along my comments to Brian Kendrella, as he called me back later yesterday and said he would try and make it right by me. He stated he would call me back today. He did call back within the past half hour and stated that he had bought back the lot I'd thought I'd won, and would sell it to me at the amount of my auction invoice. He also stated that he would pay the consignor at the higher bid amount so that the only loss is taken by SB. I applaud Brian for taking the positive steps and hope that Stacks rights their ship."
When Brian is finished buying back all these coins to make all the runner up bidders happy for a nice profit to the high bidder, he might spark the next bull market for us all !!
Wondercoin
Please visit my website at www.wondercoins.com and my ebay auctions under my user name www.wondercoin.com.
<< <i>UPDATE - 2/13/15: Apparantly the SB rep I spoke with yesterday passed along my comments to Brian Kendrella, as he called me back later yesterday and said he would try and make it right by me. He stated he would call me back today. He did call back within the past half hour and stated that he had bought back the lot I'd thought I'd won, and would sell it to me at the amount of my auction invoice. He also stated that he would pay the consignor at the higher bid amount so that the only loss is taken by SB. I applaud Brian for taking the positive steps and hope that Stacks rights their ship. >>
Well done! A shame it got so out of hand.
I've talked with Brian in the past and he's a very decent chap. Out of the blue he called me over concerns I'd expressed last year about their website.
Nonetheless, I'm still shocked the foibles haven't been corrected. Plenty of time has passed. SB needs to reboot with a new design, crack coders, and plenty of testing. Lance.
All this mess also happened to me. Paid once on the night I received the invoice. Got another note the next day for two bid increments above my (already paid) invoice. So, I got to pay again...lucky me.
In addition to this farce, I also got my first experience with the frighteningly slow SB website. After this debacle, I will likely give the SB website yet another year to try to figure out their system.
Do they not realize they are the laughing stock of online auction venues? It has been, what, 14 months of this mess? Unbelievable incompetence.
-Brandon -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- My sets: [280+ horse coins] :: [France Sowers] :: [Colorful world copper] :: [Beautiful world coins] -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
You're lucky they could buy back the coin. Years ago, I won a lot, the auction house sold it to a floor bidder with the same hammer price, even though their terms said the coin was mine because I bid said hammer price first. The auction house tried to buy the coin back from the floor bidder, and the latter told them what they could do with themselves.
"Vou invadir o Nordeste, "Seu cabra da peste, "Sou Mangueira......."
Well I'll be. Brian followed up with me and I am now once again the proud owner of the coin I originally won. They bought it back from the other bidder at a price he/she agreed to and sold it to me at my price. The consignor is paid on the price they bought it from the other bidder.
<< <i>UPDATE - 2/13/15: Apparantly the SB rep I spoke with yesterday passed along my comments to Brian Kendrella, as he called me back later yesterday and said he would try and make it right by me. He stated he would call me back today. He did call back within the past half hour and stated that he had bought back the lot I'd thought I'd won, and would sell it to me at the amount of my auction invoice. He also stated that he would pay the consignor at the higher bid amount so that the only loss is taken by SB. I applaud Brian for taking the positive steps and hope that Stacks rights their ship. >>
Now THIS is good customer service. I wish I had had a similar experience with my mismanaged auction lot at ANR.
Good to hear you got the coin. Maybe Stack's legal team realized that they couldn't just rip up the invoice that they had sent to you and you had paid... but yeah, let's call it good customer service
Brian Kendrella is a good guy and will when ever feasible correct any problems at SB. I had an item I contacted them on that I thought was pretty rare and the expert in that division gave me indications on value. I purchased it based on their analysis and shipped it to them after I got the rare gold coin graded. On receipt, the value had gone down by 2/3 plus. So I asked them to return it. I got internal emails, as a courtesy between Brian and the division expert. Later I asked for a straight out offer and was offered good money and ended up shipping it to them. I would think with all the tech. pros out there they should be able to nail down the problems. If I were a consignor I would be nervous that all bids be executed.
Comments
I hope you guys have learned your lesson with Stacks. Now when the Pogue sale comes up, make sure not to bid so I can afford some of the coins
PCGS Registries
Box of 20
SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!
Wondercoin
...that would be a real Pogue in the eye!
Kendrella seems to have personnel problems. This ain't his first rodeo.
They run a very very crappy site and don't seem to care. If everyone would stop using it.....maybe....just maybe they would do something about it.
They must have the 3 stogges for their IT department!
successful BST sales with: mightyhunter
<< <i>You ever see a live auction where they hammer the lot, then come back 50 lots later, open it back up for one more bid and immediately close it without allowing anybody else to bid again? No? Because that's BS. >>
Believe it or not, this actually happened to me. Well maybe not 50 lots, but unprofessional just the same. And it was SB!
Melissa hammered a lot to me at home via Internet bid. A few lots later, she reopened the lot to the floor only. Internet bidding was not reopened. The floor took it at the next increment because I couldn't bid!
I was pissed to say the least. I called the next day and they told me that floor bidder gave them a written bid sheet before leaving. But they would offer nothing to fix the problem.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
<< <i>I bid on two coins in the latest auction. Now I'm glad I didn't "win" anything, whew! >>
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
<< <i>I bid on two coins in the latest auction. Now I'm glad I didn't "win" anything, whew! >>
I bid on two coins - and I agree, I'm happy I didn't win.
Of course, if they tell me I actually did win, I'd be very happy !!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
<< <i>Come on Mitch.....they blew it.....why do you continue to defend them! >>
+1
+1"
Guys. Understand that all we know thus far (at least what I have read) is essentially that SB might have released Invoices in error, one or more bidders quickly paid those Invoices and SB promptly returned that money. The parties paying those Invoices might believe they have the right to the coins at the prices listed in those Invoices whether SB sent them in error or not. SB might believe that in returning those funds (and canceling those erroneous Invoices) and issuing the correct Invoices, they protected consignors and (probably) the true high bidders on the lots in question. We also know that notwithstanding boilerplate language in the Terms and Conditions that gave SB the express permission to do exactly what I just described, SB offered compensation to the "aggrieved" parties. If an auction company issues an Invoice in error on a coin, does the fact that the recipient quickly pays it translate to a "done deal" between the auction company and that bidder with ownership of the coin passing to the bidder for the erroneous amount of the Invoice? If I understand some of the comments here, I might conclude that is exactly what many here believe.
I believe we are still missing facts here, because SB has not come forward to explain what exactly happened in the final day of their Internet Only auction. Were these Invoices for that Session issued by accident and SB simply needed to correct the error by returning any payments received on the erroneously issued Invoices? Is it more sinister than that? I simply suggest not assuming a sinister motivation for what SB did here unless and until we hear from SB and their explanation warrants such an interpretation.
And let me be clear about something. By no means do I prefer doing business with SB to the detriment of all other auction companies. I have always enjoyed doing business with Heritage over the years AND I LOVE doing business with the Goldbergs especially when I work with Glenn who is just one super straight shooting guy. I also have no issues with nearly all the other auction companies out there. I remember when I loved doing business with Teletrade and I often took a position contrary to a negative post here about Teletrade. What I find quite amusing is that often times those same posters who were quick to call out Teletrade are now calling (if not almost begging) for the return of Teletrade and wishing Teletrade were still around.
In short, let's give SB the benefit of the doubt and hope that a representative of SB stops by and explains to us all what exactly took place in their Internet session of their most recent sale.
As always, just my two cents.
Wondercoin
Then I would hire someone to fix their website and bid system
This could have been fixed internally without making a lot of people mad and skeptical of Stacks/Bowers and there practices.
NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
RIP "BEAR"
<< <i>
<< <i>Here is the reply I got as to why the coin I won was taken away from me. This message came from Brian Kendrella, who is a really nice guy by the way.
<< <i>It looks like a one of the bid sheets our customer service team was still entering at the close of the auction had a max bid above your $300 bid. The results you saw were preliminary and unaudited, hence the change. I apologize for any confusion. >>
Now when an auction ends, and I am the high bidder, I should win. All bids should be entered before the clock runs out otherwise, how do I know I was outbid? Add to this that I was still winning the next morning, with my bid history clearing stating I won. Then a bid sheet gets entered and I am now a loser? I call BS on this and I am also in the camp of having enough of this whole thing. I can't help but believe the coin was taken back because I got a great price on it. If you can't trust that you will win when you are high bidder at the end of an auction, why bid? Could you imagine eBay or Heritage doing that? >>
Preach it... they shouldn't be sending out invoices, at the very least, until all bids are settled. I mean, I know it's automatic, but at least step in and do something about it rather than letting people get invoices, pay for them, then tell them they get outbid. It's probably an automated script that runs and does it... so just disable the stupid script or edit it to add a 48 hour delay! It literally takes 10 minutes max! What kind of a joke is that?
Stacks doesn't have a choice to write off the bids that aren't entered in time because if they did, their faulty systems would result in coins closing below their values and would drive consignments away due to lower than expected realizations. So they're forced in between a rock and a hard spot due to their crappy software and servers.. and they simply opt to screw over the bidders rather than the consignors because hey... at least when you're raising the prices paid, you're taking in more profit and the people who spend more money with you are happy. >>
Well, in this day and age of Internet Auctions, I'm of the opinion that if Stacks/Bowers is still going to handle "bids" by hand, that folks should simply not waste their time entering bids on the Internet. Or, not even participate at all?
Who does this anymore? Manually entering bids from bid sheets?
Where is the integrity of the auction?
Who can say "when" the bid sheets were handed over?
Sorry, but there are far too many questions for me to even consider participating in any of their future auctions.
Perhaps other can justify or rationalize, but not me.
The name is LEE!
Reopening lots on the floor to admit Internet or phone bids that hit just as the auctioneer hammered the lot happens all the time. Nothing wrong with that. In that scenario, other phone, floor, and Internet bidders still (usually but not always) have an opportunity to participate in further bidding.
However... and this is a HUGE difference here... changing results after the live auction, and more importantly AFTER INVOICES WERE SENT OUT is dirty pool, and utterly inexcusable. In my admittedly lay opinion, this could be actionable.
This company clearly does not have its act together on a number of fronts.
They are an embarrassment. smh
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
<< <i>I would think a man of QDB's stature would have extricated himself from this train wreck long ago… they must pay him VERY well! >>
I image QDB is more involved with the numismatic side of the company rather than the business side so he may not be totally aware of these short comings.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
<< <i>I agree. This stinks.
I hope you guys have learned your lesson with Stacks. Now when the Pogue sale comes up, make sure not to bid so I can afford some of the coins
While not discounting anyone's anecdotal concerns (they are real, and the situation sucks), other than wondercoin's, this may be the only useful forward-going statement made. . . .
For internet-only sales I have no ideas, but in an live "after the buzzer" situation, the current high bidder of record should be contacted and given the opportunity to bid against the late bid (after the sale, likely by phone) before the lot is finally awarded. Primarily, this serves the interests of the consignor.
Result:
A. The consignor got the money to which he or she was entitled based on the highest bid. That seems like the right result.
B. The person who submitted the highest bid got the coin. That seems like the right result.
C. You got to keep your money in your pocket. That seems like the right result.
D. You are disappointed and annoyed. Guess what? Life is full of minor little disappointments and annoyances. This is just one of many. Get used to it.
E. Unless they fix their system SB may lose business if bidders who prefer not to be disappointed and annoyed stop bidding in their auctions.
CG
<< <i>
<< <i>I would think a man of QDB's stature would have extricated himself from this train wreck long ago… they must pay him VERY well! >>
I image QDB is more involved with the numismatic side of the company rather than the business side so he may not be totally aware of these short comings. >>
As far as I know, he has nothing to do with them. They bought his company years ago and just kept the name
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
<< <i>
<< <i>Please note the positive update now in my original post. >>
That's how it should have been resolved in the first place. Glad you got your coin. >>
I agree, the final outcome is to your advantage, Vern.
I have had some dealings with Brian, and he is
a stand up guy who tries to resolve difficult sit-
uations.
You would think, however, that the issues S/B
has been having for a few years now - would have
been straightened out by now.
I'd rip out the entire IT staff and hire an outside
firm to handle the live auctions. I have as yet heard
of a smooth sale since they merged together. When
ANR formed - they used the previous Bowers format.
There we're no problems. Once too many fingers were
in the pie, things went South.
Move the base of operations back to Meredith, NH, at
least they know what they are doing in NE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
<< <i>......
That's how it should have been resolved in the first place. Glad you got your coin. >>
I'm surprised at your lack of outrage over the fact that Brian will not hand-deliver the coin. . . . .
Apparantly the SB rep I spoke with yesterday passed along my comments to Brian Kendrella, as he called me back later yesterday and said he would try and make it right by me. He stated he would call me back today. He did call back within the past half hour and stated that he had bought back the lot I'd thought I'd won, and would sell it to me at the amount of my auction invoice. He also stated that he would pay the consignor at the higher bid amount so that the only loss is taken by SB. I applaud Brian for taking the positive steps and hope that Stacks rights their ship."
When Brian is finished buying back all these coins to make all the runner up bidders happy for a nice profit to the high bidder, he might spark the next bull market for us all !!
Wondercoin
<< <i>
<< <i>Please note the positive update now in my original post. >>
That's how it should have been resolved in the first place. Glad you got your coin. >>
+1
It's going to take a few long days in the office to untangle some of this mess.
<< <i>UPDATE - 2/13/15:
Apparantly the SB rep I spoke with yesterday passed along my comments to Brian Kendrella, as he called me back later yesterday and said he would try and make it right by me. He stated he would call me back today. He did call back within the past half hour and stated that he had bought back the lot I'd thought I'd won, and would sell it to me at the amount of my auction invoice. He also stated that he would pay the consignor at the higher bid amount so that the only loss is taken by SB. I applaud Brian for taking the positive steps and hope that Stacks rights their ship. >>
Well done! A shame it got so out of hand.
I've talked with Brian in the past and he's a very decent chap. Out of the blue he called me over concerns I'd expressed last year about their website.
Nonetheless, I'm still shocked the foibles haven't been corrected. Plenty of time has passed. SB needs to reboot with a new design, crack coders, and plenty of testing.
Lance.
In addition to this farce, I also got my first experience with the frighteningly slow SB website. After this debacle, I will likely give the SB website yet another year to try to figure out their system.
Do they not realize they are the laughing stock of online auction venues? It has been, what, 14 months of this mess? Unbelievable incompetence.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
My sets: [280+ horse coins] :: [France Sowers] :: [Colorful world copper] :: [Beautiful world coins]
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
<< <i> figure out their system.
Do they not realize they are the laughing stock of online auction venues? It has been, what, 14 months of this mess? Unbelievable incompetence. >>
You really should have seen the old Dix Noonan Webb website, it makes the StacksBowers look positively 22nd century.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Well I'll be. Brian followed up with me and I am now once again the proud owner of the coin I originally won. They bought it back from the other bidder at a price he/she agreed to and sold it to me at my price. The consignor is paid on the price they bought it from the other bidder.
I am impressed.
<< <i>UPDATE - 2/13/15:
Apparantly the SB rep I spoke with yesterday passed along my comments to Brian Kendrella, as he called me back later yesterday and said he would try and make it right by me. He stated he would call me back today. He did call back within the past half hour and stated that he had bought back the lot I'd thought I'd won, and would sell it to me at the amount of my auction invoice. He also stated that he would pay the consignor at the higher bid amount so that the only loss is taken by SB. I applaud Brian for taking the positive steps and hope that Stacks rights their ship. >>
Now THIS is good customer service. I wish I had had a similar experience with my mismanaged auction lot at ANR.
I suspect the PCGS platform you utilized got their attention. I wonder if others will be so satisfied.
Joseph J. Singleton - First Superintendent of the U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega Georgia
Findley Ridge Collection
About Findley Ridge
<< <i>Good for you Barberkeys...the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
I suspect the PCGS platform you utilized got their attention. I wonder if others will be so satisfied. >>
Grease > oil.
I agree! I hope this positive outcome doesn't get lost in the white noise of this thread.
peacockcoins