UPDATED--Unbelievable story on Kruk Cards--MUST READ

TonyC · September 23, 2011 3:29AM

I can't believe this story actually happened. When I called Kruk as a last resort, I told the last person I spoke to that word of mouth is the best advertisement, so I am putting my money where my mouth is and sharing this story.

I bought a 1996 Finest Jose Canseco Gold card for a team set from kruksingles on Sept. 18 (item number 220835339478)--I don't like to buy from Kruk to begin with, but he was the only person on eBay with the card and they were cheaper than dealers on Sportlots and Beckett.com. Soon after paying for the item, I receive a request to cancel the transaction with the following note:

We are sorry for this inconvenience but your card was not found. You should have a refund in your
PayPal to reflect the amount for the missing card. Please check that you do then respond to this case.
Thank you for your purchase.

I was a little miffed, but it is understandable that with all of the cards they have, they might make a mistake here and there. I agreed to cancel the transaction.

As of Sept. 21, I had not received a refund, so I sent an eBay message asking for my refund. I received the following response the next day, Sept. 22:

It should be coming soon, I'm sorry about the delay. We're having trouble and health issues.

WTF!?! How many people work at Kruk Cards, and they can't refund me $5 that will take them 2 minutes because of "trouble and health issues!?!" Are you telling me that A) they don't know how to do it,

EVERY SINGLE employee is having a health issue that prevents them from refunding me my $5, or C) some other bizarro explanation!?!

Today, Sept. 23, I called Kruk Cards and told the person that answered the phone what my problem was. He said in a genuinely surprised tone "You received that message from us?" He transferred me to someone who said that they were in charge. This person told me that the "person that gives the refunds is out on health issues and won't be back until next Tuesday at the latest." I asked him if he was telling me that only one person is capable of issuing refunds, and he replied that they only have one person with the power to issue refunds because it is a "security issue" and that "if everyone could give a refund, it would be insane." At that point I lost it and told him he didn't know how to run a business, yadda yadda. I said that I noticed in his feedback that having out of stock cards and not issuing refunds for long periods of time is a recurring theme in their negatives, and he said "If you want to leave a negative, I can't stop you." I went on for a few more minutes being a little pissy, then hung up.

I can guarantee that this is the last time I will try to do business with Kruk again. I guess when you get that big, you forget about the customers.

swartz1 · September 23, 2011 3:39AM

I stopped buying form them a long time ago...

Dboneesq · September 23, 2011 3:41AM

That is NOT a good excuse on their part.

IN BEFORE THE POOF!!!

tennesseebanker · September 23, 2011 3:41AM

You Went went through all that for $5 ??

hhmag70 · September 23, 2011 3:46AM

<< 

IN BEFORE THE POOF!!! >>

+1

MBMiller25 · September 23, 2011 3:46AM

I won't touch anything they have for sale with a 10 foot pole. To many bad experiences shared on these boards to warrant the possible trouble.

TonyC · September 23, 2011 3:47AM

<< You Went went through all that for $5 ?? >>

Isn't it a matter of principle? What, am I going to eat my $5?

I have owned a card store for 23 years, and one of the most important lessons I have learned is the good customer service is a key asset to surviving in the sports cards industry. When you think about it, all of us dealers have mostly the same old crap, and to be successful you need to have something that separates you from the competition; customer service is one of those qualities.

I guess I am so hot about it because it offends me personally as a store owner that tries so hard to keep customers happy.

YogiBerraFan · September 23, 2011 3:47AM

I will only buy PSA cards from them if that. Anything else can be a real headache.

itzagoner · September 23, 2011 3:53AM

whatta clusterKruk.

Ironmanfan · September 23, 2011 3:57AM

be sure to leave the appropriate feedback

IMF

Constantine · September 23, 2011 4:01AM

That is a lot of hassle for $5. I understand the principal part but geez.

Boopotts · September 23, 2011 4:10AM

The part about how 'if everyone could give out a refund, it would be insane' made me literally laugh out loud. Anyone who's ever had low or semi-skilled employees working for them can certainly sympathize with this, and understand why this policy absolutely has to be in place.

Mickey71 · September 23, 2011 4:22AM

Don't wimp out. Leave the appropriate feedback. They sound like outstanding sellers.

bbuckner22 · September 23, 2011 4:22AM

Francart · September 23, 2011 4:28AM

Will not buy from them again

KeepItWarm · September 23, 2011 4:44AM

Local to me and whack. I would avoid too. Drop the Neg bomb on them...no mercy! Satisfy the buyer in a timely manner or suffer the feedback.

grote15 · September 23, 2011 4:53AM

I no longer trust them either.

frankhardy · September 23, 2011 4:59AM

In 10 years, I have NOT received 2 items on Ebay.

One of the cards was a 1979 Topps Keith Hernandez that I bought for $1. Kruk Cards was the seller.

The only other card I didn't receive was a 1952 Bowman Mickey Mantle PSA 5. Guess who the seller was....... WIWAG. Luckily, HIS insurance paid for the card. He probably ripped off his insurance company.

spazzy · September 23, 2011 5:06AM

For many of you who have ordered from him, it is a believable story

gopokes99 · September 23, 2011 5:21AM

About 15 years ago, I used to buy complete sets from them because I didn't know any better. Out of about 10 sets, each one had 1 or 2 missing, sometimes stars, sometimes commons. They made good on them, but I got tired of the hassle.

EagleEyeKid · September 23, 2011 5:30AM

I stopped buying from them over 7 years ago.
They don't care about their customers.

hockeycrazy · September 23, 2011 5:37AM

I never buy from them. There have been many times in which they were the only person with the card I needed but I waitied it out until I saw someone else selling.

IMO, at a minimum, they are sloppy and lazy. I'm sorry this happened to you.

Dave

CNote · September 23, 2011 5:37AM

Man, that's kruk'd up. I'd be kruk'n man if they gave me that kruk'd up excuse. Kruk'n krock kruckers.

ThoseBackPages · September 23, 2011 5:57AM

they have a few cases i'd like, but wont budge on shipping. guess im seeing why here.

CDsNuts · September 23, 2011 6:04AM

The part about how 'if everyone could give out a refund, it would be insane' made me literally laugh out loud. Anyone who's ever had low or semi-skilled employees working for them can certainly sympathize with this, and understand why this policy absolutely has to be in place.

Agreed, but when one of my bartenders calls out sick I don't tell my patrons they're gonna need to wait til tomorrow for a drink. How hard would it be for them to go go "Hey Bill, Bob is having an appendectomy and will be out for the next few weeks. Can you handle refunds while he's out?"

Obviously they fall very short on the customer service side of things, but they've been in business this long so I guess it still works for them.

thedutymon · September 23, 2011 6:13AM

<< The part about how 'if everyone could give out a refund, it would be insane' made me literally laugh out loud. Anyone who's ever had low or semi-skilled employees working for them can certainly sympathize with this, and understand why this policy absolutely has to be in place.

Agreed, but when one of my bartenders calls out sick I don't tell my patrons they're gonna need to wait til tomorrow for a drink. How hard would it be for them to go go "Hey Bill, Bob is having an appendectomy and will be out for the next few weeks. Can you handle refunds while he's out?"

>>

Lee,

Nam told me if that's the case at your place, your to just help yourself......Or is that just Him ???

YeeHah

Neil

jeffcbay · September 23, 2011 6:54AM

hammered · September 23, 2011 7:11AM

<< In 10 years, I have NOT received 2 items on Ebay.

One of the cards was a 1979 Topps Keith Hernandez that I bought for $1. Kruk Cards was the seller.

The only other card I didn't receive was a 1952 Bowman Mickey Mantle PSA 5. Guess who the seller was....... WIWAG. Luckily, HIS insurance paid for the card. He probably ripped off his insurance company. >>

Wow, Kruk and WIWAG in the same post.
Yeah, this thread won't last long

PowderedH2O · September 23, 2011 7:14AM

Maybe what Kruk cards is saying is that their customer service is so bad that if everyone COULD give refunds, they would be doing nothing BUT giving refunds.

Morgoth · September 23, 2011 7:14AM

<< The part about how 'if everyone could give out a refund, it would be insane' made me literally laugh out loud. Anyone who's ever had low or semi-skilled employees working for them can certainly sympathize with this, and understand why this policy absolutely has to be in place. >>

So if the two guys in shipping get colds the same week nothing gets shipped? I know money transfers are much more serious but to have something so important delegated to one individual is pretty crazy. I am sure there is more than one reliable person/owner that could do this transaction if needed. Also we all know that this is a 5 to 10 minute task to do tops. We aren't asking them to wire money from a Swiss bank account to an off shore money laundering account.

Somebody in upper management needs to get the monkeys off the phones and back into the shipping department and try and behave like they know what they are doing over there. They need to hire someone that knows something about customer service.

WinPitcher · September 23, 2011 9:03AM

In my opinion a business like Kruk's should have at least 2 people that can authorize refunds.

Letting only one person do that could wind up costing them, unless of course the only person

authorized is the owner.

I would not have stressed over 5.00, I simply would have filed for my refund through PP

if it was not in my account when they first said it would be.

pato1516 · September 23, 2011 9:57AM

I think I found a photo of their customer service agent:

RoarIn84 · September 23, 2011 11:06AM

Wow... I've actually made money off Kruk. They have across-the-board 40%OFF sales and I plunder the most sellable items. Best pickup was a 1984 Tigers team signed bat for around $150 with PSA/DNA cert. Sold it on Craigslist for $350..... Thanks Krukky!!

itzagoner · September 23, 2011 11:45AM

"You want refund? Transfer!"

brendanb438 · September 23, 2011 1:05PM

Next time pay with a credit card via PayPal and do a chargeback through the credit card company. This way you will end up costing the bast ards around $25 to $50 depending on their merchant agreement with the CC company in question. Make them pay for not refunding that $5 in a timely manner. Than leave all 1 stars and neg them.

Boopotts · September 23, 2011 1:43PM

<< 

<< The part about how 'if everyone could give out a refund, it would be insane' made me literally laugh out loud. Anyone who's ever had low or semi-skilled employees working for them can certainly sympathize with this, and understand why this policy absolutely has to be in place. >>

So if the two guys in shipping get colds the same week nothing gets shipped? I know money transfers are much more serious but to have something so important delegated to one individual is pretty crazy. I am sure there is more than one reliable person/owner that could do this transaction if needed. Also we all know that this is a 5 to 10 minute task to do tops. We aren't asking them to wire money from a Swiss bank account to an off shore money laundering account.

Somebody in upper management needs to get the monkeys off the phones and back into the shipping department and try and behave like they know what they are doing over there. They need to hire someone that knows something about customer service. >>

I'm not saying anything about Kruk's customer service, which I'm sure is terrible; I'm just speaking to the quote about what would happen if everyone could process refunds, which I found hilarious and spot-on. It completely reminded me of my time as a roofer, where we would have moved heaven and Earth to keep our guys from ever having anything to do with the financial side of the business.

JMDVM · September 23, 2011 2:20PM

For the time it took to email you, they could have spent that time issuing a refund.

Stingray · September 23, 2011 8:24PM

<< You Went went through all that for $5 ?? >>

Sometimes it's the principle of things. They use to be in Metro Detroit area, now I think they moved to the west side of Michigan. I wanted to buy a set from them years ago and could easily drive to there warehouse, I don't think they really had a store front, to save on shipping costs. They said they had to ship it and I could not pick it up. Never have bought from them.

scashaggy · September 23, 2011 11:12PM

Glad I read this. I was looking at several cheap singles to buy from them. But if this is the way they treat their customers, I'll find them elsewhere.

RonBurgundy · September 23, 2011 11:27PM

Wake up in the morning feelin' pissy
Grab my loupe I'm out the door I'm gonna buy some 60's
Before I leave I grab an extra Willie and Hank
Cuz when I hit the show to trade they ain't comin' back

I'm talkin' dealers should be on their toes toes
They better not be closed closed
Or else I'll be blowin' up their phones phones
Drop dime better put me at ease
Refund's way past tardy
Ain't gettin' no tip from me............

Please stop make it pop
JO blow my grades up
Tonight I'mma tight
Till they get my sub in sight
Tick tock, on the clock
But the grading don't stop, no
Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh oh

Ain't got no care in the world, and they don't seem to hear
Ain't got no money to refund me but somehow they're still here
But still the dudes are lining up because they hear they got SCHWAGGER
But they kick em to the curb like some sorry douchebagger

I'm talkin'
EVERYBODY GETTIN' KRUK KRUK
TRYING TO KEEP MY JUNK JUNK
Gonna smack em if they keep on like punks
Now now they go til they kick them out out
Or the police shut them down down
Police shut them down
PO PO SHUT THEM DOWN?

Please stop make it pop
Carol blow my grades up
Tonight I'mma tight
Til I see my sub in light
Tick tock on the clock
But the party don't stop, no
Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh oh

You take my cash
You send my card
My heart it pounds,
Yeah you got me

Put your hands up
I got you now
You got my cash
Yeah I got you

You take my cash
You send my card
My heart it pounds,
Seems so easy

The Po Po's here
Put your hands up
Put your hands up up up up up
Party don't start, Kruk, til law walks in.........

Please stop, make it pop
Itzagoner's got his up
Tonight I'mma tight
Til I see my sub in light
Tick tock on the clock
Kruk your party's gonna stop
Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh oh

This seminal moment of humor is brought to you by Ron Burgundy. It is a free preview of the premium content he offers each day.

Sean1125 · September 23, 2011 11:29PM

Ron you need to make that mix and put it on youtube.

dmurphy3mvp · September 24, 2011 3:13AM

<< Wake up in the morning feelin' pissy
Grab my loupe I'm out the door I'm gonna buy some 60's
Before I leave I grab an extra Willie and Hank
Cuz when I hit the show to trade they ain't comin' back

I'm talkin' dealers should be on their toes toes
They better not be closed closed
Or else I'll be blowin' up their phones phones
Drop dime better put me at ease
Refund's way past tardy
Ain't gettin' no tip from me............

Please stop make it pop
JO blow my grades up
Tonight I'mma tight
Till they get my sub in sight
Tick tock, on the clock
But the grading don't stop, no
Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh oh

Ain't got no care in the world, and they don't seem to hear
Ain't got no money to refund me but somehow they're still here
But still the dudes are lining up because they hear they got SCHWAGGER
But they kick em to the curb like some sorry douchebagger

I'm talkin'
EVERYBODY GETTIN' KRUK KRUK
TRYING TO KEEP MY JUNK JUNK
Gonna smack em if they keep on like punks
Now now they go til they kick them out out
Or the police shut them down down
Police shut them down
PO PO SHUT THEM DOWN?

Please stop make it pop
Carol blow my grades up
Tonight I'mma tight
Til I see my sub in light
Tick tock on the clock
But the party don't stop, no
Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh oh

You take my cash
You send my card
My heart it pounds,
Yeah you got me

Put your hands up
I got you now
You got my cash
Yeah I got you

You take my cash
You send my card
My heart it pounds,
Seems so easy

The Po Po's here
Put your hands up
Put your hands up up up up up
Party don't start, Kruk, til law walks in.........

Please stop, make it pop
Itzagoner's got his up
Tonight I'mma tight
Til I see my sub in light
Tick tock on the clock
Kruk your party's gonna stop
Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh oh

This seminal moment of humor is brought to you by Ron Burgundy. It is a free preview of the premium content he offers each day. >>

Ron, this is frickin' hilarious! How I wish the entire board knew what song this went with. A YouTube link is definitely needed.

TonyC · September 24, 2011 6:45AM

<< Wake up in the morning feelin' pissy
Grab my loupe I'm out the door I'm gonna buy some 60's
Before I leave I grab an extra Willie and Hank
Cuz when I hit the show to trade they ain't comin' back

I'm talkin' dealers should be on their toes toes
They better not be closed closed
Or else I'll be blowin' up their phones phones
Drop dime better put me at ease
Refund's way past tardy
Ain't gettin' no tip from me............

Please stop make it pop
JO blow my grades up
Tonight I'mma tight
Till they get my sub in sight
Tick tock, on the clock
But the grading don't stop, no
Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh oh

Ain't got no care in the world, and they don't seem to hear
Ain't got no money to refund me but somehow they're still here
But still the dudes are lining up because they hear they got SCHWAGGER
But they kick em to the curb like some sorry douchebagger

I'm talkin'
EVERYBODY GETTIN' KRUK KRUK
TRYING TO KEEP MY JUNK JUNK
Gonna smack em if they keep on like punks
Now now they go til they kick them out out
Or the police shut them down down
Police shut them down
PO PO SHUT THEM DOWN?

Please stop make it pop
Carol blow my grades up
Tonight I'mma tight
Til I see my sub in light
Tick tock on the clock
But the party don't stop, no
Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh oh

You take my cash
You send my card
My heart it pounds,
Yeah you got me

Put your hands up
I got you now
You got my cash
Yeah I got you

You take my cash
You send my card
My heart it pounds,
Seems so easy

The Po Po's here
Put your hands up
Put your hands up up up up up
Party don't start, Kruk, til law walks in.........

Please stop, make it pop
Itzagoner's got his up
Tonight I'mma tight
Til I see my sub in light
Tick tock on the clock
Kruk your party's gonna stop
Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh oh

This seminal moment of humor is brought to you by Ron Burgundy. It is a free preview of the premium content he offers each day. >>

Did you already have that written or did you write it on the fly?

Stone193 · September 24, 2011 7:30AM

Cool Ron!

The only experience with Kruk for me was 20 yrs ago - he was buying out stores and large collections at that time.

When I spoke with him - he said one thing that spooked me - can't remember exact words but this is the main takeaway: "it's a nice card - it does have one peeled corner - but if you sell it in a screw-down - they won't tell the difference" - maybe he meant "I" would be satisfied with it for appearance sake - but not sure - I'll let others draw their own conclusion.

He was nice enough to talk with on the phone.

This guy has probably grossed tonnage over the years.

TonyC · September 28, 2011 3:50AM

Update to this story:

Yesterday Kruk sent me $5 via Paypal. They didn't refund my $5 on the original transaction or gift me $5; they SENT me $5, so I lost $0.45 in Paypal fees. I called and asked the person who answered the phone how much BS I need to go through to get my $5. The person said they would send me another $2 and that would make it more than $5. Soon after that, someone sent me $1.50, of which I lost another $0.34. So, in total, Kruk sent me $6.50, of which $0.79 went to Paypal and I received $5.71.

Does no one at Kruk Cards know the right way to send a refund, or are they just so wasteful with money that they don't mind giving extra money to Paypal that they don't have to? They are definitely the epitome of a careless business.

bking · September 28, 2011 4:05AM

<< Update to this story:

Yesterday Kruk sent me $5 via Paypal. They didn't refund my $5 on the original transaction or gift me $5; they SENT me $5, so I lost $0.45 in Paypal fees. I called and asked the person who answered the phone how much BS I need to go through to get my $5. The person said they would send me another $2 and that would make it more than $5. Soon after that, someone sent me $1.50, of which I lost another $0.34. So, in total, Kruk sent me $6.50, of which $0.79 went to Paypal and I received $5.71.

Does no one at Kruk Cards know the right way to send a refund, or are they just so wasteful with money that they don't mind giving extra money to Paypal that they don't have to? They are definitely the epitome of a careless business. >>

See??? This is what happens when just anyone can issue a refund!!!

123Slider · September 28, 2011 4:19AM

I must be one of the more cool people on here since I know what song this is Ron is working with.

Too funny on the multiple refunds!

TIK TOK

itzagoner · September 28, 2011 4:23AM

<< I must be one of the more cool people on here since I know what song this is Ron is working with.
>>

it's been awhile since i begged my daughter to stop playing it.

Dboneesq · September 28, 2011 4:30AM

RonBurgundy · September 28, 2011 6:49AM

Wrote that Saturday morning. There's a good cover band in Dallas that does it better than the original.

WinPitcher · September 28, 2011 6:59AM

This version is Tok.

UPDATED--Unbelievable story on Kruk Cards--MUST READ

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