I dropped my soap in GrahamCrackers shower

[MoundCityAuctions]

There was a period of about 1 week that we hadn't decided to either offer credit at future auctions or cash refunds for the difference in shipping. This was, to my memory, about 3 1/2 to 4 weeks ago. We eventually settled on partial cash refunds, sent out an email to everyone involved in the auction, and began processing refunds.

[MoundCityAuctions]

Divad, in answer to your question, this is Rob Lite. The last name is a nickname - my father is Rob Classic, we work together, and it becomes hard for either of us to tell who is being called for from another room if someone just says "Rob" so we added the nicknames. We actually do refer to each other as Classic and Lite in real life.

 

The first post by MoundCityAuctions in this thread was from Classic.

 

As far as why I'm here, the person immediately before the second post from MoundCityAuctions in this thread (my first post on this thread) said something that was patently untrue, and I felt like correcting him. Usually when I log onto the forum here I do a quick search to see if the term "Mound City" comes up in any threads, then I go see what's being discussed. Sometimes I post, a lot of the time I just kind of lurk and observe.

 

I do have to say that this forum has been very informative, and has helped me personally a lot, as far as learning more about comics, people who collect them, etc.

[divad]

So who's Rob Weiman?

[MoundCityAuctions]

*facepalm*

Both of us. Classic is Robert S. Weiman, Lite (me) is Robert M. Weiman.

 

Trust me, it's more annoying for me than it is for you. I love my father dearly, but I sometimes wish they had stuck with naming me Michael D. Weiman like they planned on doing originally.

[Foolkiller]

I really would rather not argue about it again.

 

It is excuse making because there's a world of things to have done differently and what I've seen is mostly deflection:

 

1) First investigate what charges are going to be passed on to the customer for shipping. As soon as you are immediately notified of over charges, immediately cease using that shipping and seek another one. Even before that, get a quote from the shipper post shipping approximations on your website instead of guessing.

 

2) The idea that because you had "record setting prices" means you ran a good auction is a complete fallacy. The bottom line is that all you needed were a handful of deep pocketed dealers and collectors who will pay for the books to be present. You could have gotten the word out to a select few and still would have achieved high prices. The books, not the auction house, were the driver in this case. While many of your scans were very good, there were plenty of mistakes with wrong scans or incorrect books listed. I really wouldn't be overly critical of that, but you certainly aren't deserving any pat on the back either. You got incredibly lucky with the find, and that dumb luck turned into an auction where you were able to reasonably run it.

 

3) I know you guys went away, but the bottom line is, put the vacation or travel on hold until the shipping is running smoothly. Or at least leave someone behind to answer calls and emails. It should never have taken as long as it did to resolve issues and problems and the fact that it did is evidence that you had your priorities mixed up.

 

4) There was no discussion of refunds until you were pressured to do so. This is the primary part that I would say is revisionist history. You've come on making it sound like you did everything you could and only because of acts of God were you unable to do better. This is untrue. In fact, you originally offered credit in future auctions and made it sound like it was all the third party shippers' fault instead of owning up to your responsibility right off the bat. It took a lot of pressure here for you to issue refunds etc. Not exactly model behavior.

 

The bottom line is that for your first auction, the auction itself wasn't run badly. It was fine. The shipping and post auction issues were run like amateur hour. It actually is a poster child for why you should use Comiclink, Comic Connect or Heritage instead of an operation which doesn't know how to run a comic book auction or just doesn't have experience in that area. Too much of a debacle.

 

By all accounts you are nice people. As business people running a comic book auction, I think this was a failure on a number of levels, and instead of apologizing, each apology is laced with defensiveness about how you really did nothing wrong. The fact of the matter is, there are many, many things which could have and should have been handled differently. I'm simply suggesting a more humble approach instead of defensiveness and revisionist history.

[MoundCityAuctions]

While I don't necessarily agree with everything you've laid out, I do want to start by saying that I actually appreciate the cogent and reasonable manner in which you've done so.

 

Obviously there were things that could have been handled better. I guess the point I should be trying to stress, is that considering that we had never held a comic auction before, I think we did a fine job. And even though there have been problems, they've primarily been related to shipping. The issues with the books having missing or incorrect scans was corrected a full week before the date of the actual sale. While it wasn't optimal to have the wrong scans up before then, it had been corrected for the sale by the time it happened.

 

In explanation, not excuse, for the defensiveness in our posture on this board, while there have certainly been people like yourself, who have approached the situation in a calm, reasoned manner, there have been a number of others who assumed an extremely aggressive posture, and began making claims that we were being unscrupulous, or intentionally deceitful. I don't like being called a liar, and I detest being called a cheat or a thief.

 

As far as the record setting prices being a "complete fallacy", I'm afraid I have to disagree. While I'm certainly not going to attempt to take all the credit (obviously the books were nice, people don't generally line up to give me thousands and thousands of dollars just because they like my face) I think its also wrong to give all the credit to the books. There were many, many places where the marketing, the cataloging, the actual production side of the auction process could have slipped or broken and completely destroyed the final sales values that the auction brought. You are certainly welcome to your opinion on the matter, but quite honestly when it came to the actual auction itself, we ran a good sale. Not the best sale, but a good one. However, I'm more than willing to agree that the post auction work was poorly handled. And you have my word that it simply won't be that way in the future.

 

For what its worth, I (Rob Lite) was in favor of refunding a portion of the shipping once we became aware of the problem. I posted about that earlier. Rob Classic doesn't always listen to me, and he IS in charge here. Sometimes I have to push a bit to get him to listen - he's admitted as much on here before.

[Foolkiller]

Look, at least you've done something to rectify it and I do appreciate that. Since I wasn't a customer, I'm sensitive to the fact that really the primary people that need to be addressed are those people. I understand your points as well, and I appreciate your willingness to recognize the shortcomings.

 

My point in not wanting to discuss it is that it just drags it out further and I think most people feel it has resolved.

[RedFury]

Jesus, I just read this train wreck.

 

Marc Nathan is a very good friend of mine - and the innuendo in this thread is, seriously, appalling. Jaime Graham is also a good friend of mine, and this is ridiculous. Jamie and Marc are tight, and they aren't "preying" on each other, they aren't trying to rip people off, and they aren't trying to drown kittens.

 

I find it interesting that everybody is all full of pomp and chest beating here over something that 1) was two years old and 2) is, essentially, 100% "he said she said" stuff. Give me a break.

 

+1

 

Marc Nathan is a good friend of mine too. And he doesn't deserve this. It's horrible that someone with an agenda and a grudge can just come on the boards telling a one-sided story and dragging people's reputations through the mud.

[supapimp]

[auction_attorney-migration]

After reading the last six pages of this thread I’m sensing that some people are just fed up with the lack of proactive disclosure with this seller. Sure he even offers cash refunds if too much time hasn’t passed, but any purchase with him has become a real hassle as the buyer is forced to confirm restoration by using CGC. The buyer shouldn’t have to do this and if the seller isn’t aware of what’s done to the comic HE should be the one sending the book off to CGC; NOT the buyer. That in and of itself is costing the buyer money; and in my opinion is something else the seller should also make good on; i.e. repayment for the grading fee’s. Casually saying hey this book may or may not be trimmed in my opinion isn’t good enough. It should be clear cut from the beginning, and if it isn’t the buyer has every right to return the book for a full refund even if it’s a century later.

[mschmidt]

After reading the last six pages of this thread I’m sensing that some people are just fed up with the lack of proactive disclosure with this seller. Sure he even offers cash refunds if too much time hasn’t passed, but any purchase with him has become a real hassle as the buyer is forced to confirm restoration by using CGC. The buyer shouldn’t have to do this and if the seller isn’t aware of what’s done to the comic HE should be the one sending the book off to CGC; NOT the buyer. That in and of itself is costing the buyer money; and in my opinion is something else the seller should also make good on; i.e. repayment for the grading fee’s. Casually saying hey this book may or may not be trimmed in my opinion isn’t good enough. It should be clear cut from the beginning, and if it isn’t the buyer has every right to return the book for a full refund even if it’s a century later.

 

What on earth are you talking about? I've spent plenty of money at Graham Crackers and Jamie Graham practices full disclosure on all his books - the point of this thread is that nobody can detect trimming 100% (not even the CGC graders who are paid to do this full-time), and that books do slip between the cracks.

 

Whether sellers need to have a completely open-ended, lifetime return policy (unlike pretty much any other industry out there) is a different conversation altogether, but if you're seriously suggesting that Jamie knowingly sells restored books as unrestored, you'd better have some evidence to back up that rather serious accusation. If not, kindly stfu and stop dragging his name through the mud.

[Flaming_Telepath]

...but any purchase with him has become a real hassle as the buyer is forced to confirm restoration by using CGC. The buyer shouldn’t have to do this and if the seller isn’t aware of what’s done to the comic HE should be the one sending the book off to CGC; NOT the buyer.

 

So what you're saying is that no dealer should be allowed to sell a raw book, right?

[DrWatson]

...but any purchase with him has become a real hassle as the buyer is forced to confirm restoration by using CGC. The buyer shouldn’t have to do this and if the seller isn’t aware of what’s done to the comic HE should be the one sending the book off to CGC; NOT the buyer.

 

So what you're saying is that no dealer should be allowed to sell a raw book, right?

Not true. Newly dropped moderns would be okay to sell raw.

[Flaming_Telepath]

...but any purchase with him has become a real hassle as the buyer is forced to confirm restoration by using CGC. The buyer shouldn’t have to do this and if the seller isn’t aware of what’s done to the comic HE should be the one sending the book off to CGC; NOT the buyer.

 

So what you're saying is that no dealer should be allowed to sell a raw book, right?

Not true. Newly dropped moderns would be okay to sell raw.

 

Oh, thank Christ for that.

 

I was getting worried for a moment.

[divad]

Since when is telling someone to "stfu" appropriate first-time discourse? In any setting?

 

How about "WTTB" and then politely disagree.

[DrWatson]

...but any purchase with him has become a real hassle as the buyer is forced to confirm restoration by using CGC. The buyer shouldn’t have to do this and if the seller isn’t aware of what’s done to the comic HE should be the one sending the book off to CGC; NOT the buyer.

 

So what you're saying is that no dealer should be allowed to sell a raw book, right?

Not true. Newly dropped moderns would be okay to sell raw.

 

Oh, thank Christ for that.

 

I was getting worried for a moment.

Although, any remainders need to be slabbed by the time the next issue comes out.

[comix4fun]

Since when is telling someone to "stfu" appropriate first-time discourse? In any setting?

 

How about "WTTB" and then politely disagree.

 

 

 

With as much misguided pontification as the poster displayed along with the little effort he put toward thinking through what he was suggesting and without having any first hand knowledge of the people he was talking about I think Mike was rather restrained in his response.

 

To suggest that all sellers must have the ability to spot all forms of resto, including trimming, on all of their books at all times otherwise they are labeled as dishonest is one of the silliest things I have read on this forum, perhaps ever.

 

But I agree Mike should have tacked on a WTTB at the end of his response.

[buttock]

Well I'm just pisst off. I'm angry as hell and I'm not gonna take it any more!

 

I want my refund for Mound City shipping, and I want my refund from Jamie Graham... and I want them NOW.

 

I'm entitled to that, aren't I? My indignation for the wronging of others knows no bounds!

 

 

 

 

 

(as long as I get a piece of the pie too)

[comix4fun]

Well I'm just pisst off. I'm angry as hell and I'm not gonna take it any more!

 

I want my refund for Mound City shipping, and I want my refund from Jamie Graham... and I want them NOW.

 

I'm entitled to that, aren't I? My indignation for the wronging of others knows no bounds!

 

 

 

 

 

(as long as I get a piece of the pie too)

 

 

 

ME TOO!!!

 

I didn't buy anything from either of those sellers, but I might sometime in future ( or not) but just to be safe I should be reimbursed before I actually "imburse".

 

I am prepared to collect on behalf of my great grandchildren in case it's 80 or 90 years from now.

[Flaming_Telepath]

To suggest that all sellers must have the ability to spot all forms of resto, including trimming, on all of their books at all times otherwise they are labeled as dishonest is one of the silliest things I have read on this forum, perhaps ever.

 

And that's saying something.

 

But you might be right...it was quite ludicrous.