Somewhat OT Rick Probstein tells me I can file in small claims to get my cards back
RipublicaninMass
Posts: 10,051 ✭✭✭
Cards sent on 8/1
Excuses given about moving and the holidays etc
After two months, on 10/7 I sent him mulitple emails asking to cancel the consignments. His excuse was that evrything was still in boxes and he needed the packing list. Finally on 10/30 he got back to me and said he'd ship them back.
After more emails, on 11/13 I gave him a deadline of last Friday or I'd file in small claims.
I broke down and called him today and he said I would not have a tracking number, and "go ahead file in small claims".
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No that's customer service at the highest levels
Weird....so he either couldn't find the cards, or he just said "screw it", kept the cards, and told you to file? Weird behavior...
OK, that does it for me. I was thinking about giving him a second chance, but I guess I will need to find another venue.
I was extremely unhappy with his problem solving. Would NEVER recommend him!
I met Rick at the National. Seemed like a nice guy. Surprised by the response. Would have thought he would
just send your cards back than say this.
aconte
Well, this takes the cake for "things I never thought I'd read about on the forums"
There are always two sides to every story... and I'm sure there is more to this than what is being concisely stated here... but WOW, just WOW!
There are close to 20 unanswered emails asking him "where are my cards" and then about 10 more unanswered asking him to cancel the consignments. He did pick up his phone.
Went something like tbis
"Hi Rick, Ted Sherman, Its been four months and nothing has happened. I asked for my cards sent back with a tracking number last week and you never responded, so my only choice is small claims if I dont have my tracking number by 5pm"
Rick "fine, take me to small claims, you wont have your tracking number by 5pm"
"Fine, you won't have any customers"
Click
Need other side of story. Meanwhile I'm eating popcorn.
Wow
Yeah based on the last post, there has to be more to the story...hoping Rick chimes in.
Been a lot of bus throwing on the boards as of late. Why not attach an e-mail or some form of proof to substantiate your story? Not saying it didn't happen, but dragging a guy threw the mud with hearsay is pretty damming.
Collecting Unopened from '72-'83; mostly BBCE certified boxes/cases/racks.
Prefer to buy in bulk.
Nevermind
I'm going on 4 years using his services with probably almost a quarter Million in smooth sales. Not sure what to make of it. Hopefully everything ends up okay.
Rip was very understanding of Rick when I had my consignment problem. He advised me to be patient with Rick. I don't see what the "other side" of the story would be? Rick just needs to send the cards back. Almost 4 months later is just too long for a consignment.
I had to remind Rick a few times to send me the payment. I dont think it is intentional, I think Rick and his team are just too busy to resolve these types problems.
So having my cards since 8/4 isnt groinds for draging his name though the mud?
I only asked for them back when the baseball season ended. I'll try some screen shots of the emails. Little to no responses. I took " CANCEL IMMEDIATELY FORTH REQUEST" to get him to respond with his phone #
Isn't his phone stated in all of his auctions?
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
This isn't throwing Rick under the bus. Why is this so difficult to believe? It's not like this is the first - or tenth - story we've read about terrible service from Rick. The "go ahead and sue me" is new but the rest isn't. Who cares if he gets it right 98% of the time if you're in the 2%? Why is "they're too busy", as if that's some kind of excuse, even mentioned?
Bottom line: Until money or cards are received, these cards were basically stolen.
Phone calls are NOT memorialized. Even when I speak with someone on the phone, I follow up with an email of what we spoke about. He responded in minutes when I asked aboit consignment rates.
Mind you card recieved 8/4
9/20 "i still have 10 days to move"
9/28 "move complete"
10/9 "still backed up"
Asked 4 times to cancel
10/31 "forward me the packing list and I'll send them back"
11/13 "still unpacking"
Kept cards 3.5 months is all I need to see.
Agreed. This is pathetic. His prices are under PWCC almost 100% of the time anyway so if he now has this time-frame, forget about it!
I've always had good luck with Rick but I don't have any problem with the OP putting a complaint out here. It's their experience and they are entitled to share it just as all those who have had positive experience with him.
Appreciate today-
Bill
It's never a good idea to back a snarling dog into a corner! If you start off the conversation with a threat to take someone to small claims court how do you expect the call to go? After reading the above phone call to me it's clear you are also part of the problem. Maybe a different approach from start to finish would have resulted in better results. Not a sermon, just a thought.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
What I've read is the same horrible customer service I have experienced with Rick, and is the reason why I will never do business with him again. My advise to others would be to do the same. Customer service isn't about what happens when things go smoothly, it's all about what happens when things don't go as agreed upon.
Please do not confuse my post above with defending Rick I am just trying to point out a better way to try and resolve a situation.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
Phone calls are NOT memorialized. Even when I speak with someone on the phone, I follow up with an email of what we spoke about. He responded in minutes when I asked aboit consignment rates.
Just received this
hi ted, I was unable to unpack another 25 or so boxes yesterday...I still haven't come across your package again yet ( since the move )
I have another 50 or so packages to go....if u wanna wait that fine and if u wanna discuss compensation , then we can do that as well
No worries Cakes, I didn't. The only thing I was thinking about your post was that it would have been a good approach if there hadn't been 3 months of prior communication where the OP was either lied to or ignored. After getting the runaround for that long, Rick would be lucky if I didn't find my way to him and handle it in person. My post was just meant to warn others that this type of customer service isn't an isolated event, so they can be more aware of the risk involved when dealing with him.
still actively accepting consignments?
I have only experienced outstanding dealings with rick. That is not to say this is a bad situation.
Do you live on the east coast? Are the cards high end? If yes to both, i would just drive to his location and expedite solving the situation. Face to face dealings are always better than phone and better than email.
If travel no feasible, call or skype. If you are worried about memos...then look at state laws and record conversations, if legal.
I have found in general business, email comms rarely solve anything.
These are mere suggestions from the cheap seats. Gl gettinf the cards back
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I don't get the fascination with his services, the auction descriptions usually just advertise he is "Actively accepting consignments" and don't tell anything about the item. I won an auction before and the item arrived safely but I was worried opening it as the packaging job was very amateur....
I can't believe this is happening on Wes Spece's watch.
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I remember Wes lol
I'd pretty much had it when I finally called. I dont have to time to follow up each day on something that should have been handled with ease. Getting email blasts everyday about his auctions, yet no responses, only fueled the fire. 4 times asked him to cancel with no response, 4 emails asking to ship the cards back with no response.
Now I post about it, and he responds right away. I live in NY, and I doubt his place too far away, but its a waste of time when they could be shipped back in two days.
Also his phone, his laptop, and of course, his flatscreen.
Having recently used both Brent for graded cards and Steve for unopened, to super smooth results, I'm shocked anyone is using Rick. PWCC process from receipt, to listing, tracking and payment was flawless. And with both Brent and Steve, replies to emails were very timely.
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure PWCC moved from Cali to Oregon without so much as a hiccup.
Had the cards been sent in February and listed in July that may have worked out OK, though still not excusable. But from August to now, the market has taken a bit of a backstep. Add in the radio silence followed by take me to court, and yeesh.
I was done with Rick after I purchased a large number of cards and had trouble from shipping. The blanket term of we combine shipping is used and when I inquired, the shipping was not combined and the cost was astronomical. The items were said to be sent in multiple flat rate boxes, but ended arriving in regional rate boxes which shipping is half of the flat rate price. I called after receiving and spoke to Rick and he was quite unpleasant and seemed too busy to deal with my issue.
eBay Store
Greg Maddux #1 Master SetGreg Maddux #2 Basic Set
That is actually a really good point about timely service. I sent a consignment to PWCC the same time I sent my boxes to Rick. I was able to cash in on the spike with the PWCC consignment. If I had a similar delay that Rip had, I would have lost about 1/3 of the sale price.
I had a good laugh. Thanks for that.
Dodgers collection scans | Brett Butler registry | 1978 Dodgers - straight 9s, homie
As someone who is considering auction submissions in the near future, this info. is timely. I appreciate any commentary on the pos./negs. of the various AH-the success of the auctions, as well as any negative experiences..
Purchased many times from Probstein- always well packed and shipped in a timely manner. The one time a small dollar item was lost or not shipped - I sent an email and received a refund immediately
You need to be communicating with Rick via eBay since this is technically an eBay transaction. He receives a deep discount from eBay and I bet the second you get them involved you'll have a tracking number for a package with your cards.
I have bought several items from Probstein with no issues, but if I was selling I would go PWCC all the way. They get higher prices for their items and based on feedback they are great to deal with when selling.
+1 Probstein also has quite the amateur hour display when he is ending 500 auctions the very same second. It is even worse if you send in 20 lots that have similar interested parties and then they have less of a chance of getting bid up at ending.
Sorry to hear this. Hope you get your cards back.
I also had a very very similar situation and Im glad I got the cards back.
I exclude the probs name when searching on ebay right off the bat if Im on ebay.
On the buy side, I have purchased many cards, including many $500+, with no problems from Rick. The packaging is a little light from some high dollar cards but they came through OK.
I have purchased from him also without any problems with delivery times or damage. I have never consigned a card with anyone before.
sure, he responds/ships fast on a lot of things. the same could also be said to the contrary.
with that being said, anyone else notice that he continuously places the "seller is away and may not ship/respond" tag constantly so that he will retain his seller status by not adhering to the specifications required to hold such status?
he's basically using it as a blanket and stall tatic to allow him to choose what issues he wants to deal with and when. not cool, imo.
its basically there for vacation or emergency reasons, but he uses it year round.
i do not recall pwcc ever using it.