• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Greg Manning Auctions

Started by panhandlefool,

31 posts in this topic

panhandlefool

panhandlefool

Posted
Posted

I've heard of Greg Manning Auctions before. Did they have anything to do with comics?

 

DJ UPDATE: Spain Raids Offices,Arrests 8 In Stamp Fraud Probe

 

(This updates a story that ran at 1032 GMT to change attribution, add details.)

 

MADRID (Dow Jones)--Spanish police have arrested at least eight people and raided the offices of two leading stamp collection companies as part of a probe into an alleged stamp investment fraud that could affect as many as 200,000 small investors, the country's financial crime prosecutor said Tuesday.

National police officers raided the Madrid headquarters of Forum Filatelico and Afinsa Bienes Tangibles SA, which is the world's No. 3 collectibles firm after Sotheby's and Christie's and is also the majority owner of NASDAQ-traded Escala Group (ESCL) with a 67% stake, or 18.2 million shares as of March 2006.

The Afinsa probe sent Escala stock tumbling in pre-market trading on INET Tuesday. At 1258 GMT, Escala shares were down 45.4% at $17.46. Escala was previously known as Greg Manning Auctions (GMA), based in New Jersey.

The operation forms part of a joint investigation launched by the National Court, tax authorities, financial crime prosecutors and the National Police over an alleged pyramid-type scheme based on overpriced stamps and other collectibles.

The prosecutor's office said in a statement that Spanish authorities are conducting more than 20 searches at company offices and private residences. The prosecutor's office also said it plans to conduct "several arrests" as part of a lawsuit against the two companies on charges ranging from tax evasion and money laundering to criminal insolvency and falsification of documents.

The operation comes after Barron's magazine extensively reported questionable practices at Afinsa, which operates a "no-lose" stamp-sales program for investors in Spain and Portugal. Many of the investors are retired individuals allocating an average of EUR150 to EUR300, according to court officials.

Afinsa guarantees a return of 6% to 10% over a fixed period, with a money-back guarantee when the contracts expire. According to Barron's, some stamp experts have expressed doubts about the value of stamps, which appear to be worth far less than what Afinsa charges for them.

So-called pyramid or Ponzi schemes pay high returns to investors by using the money from newly-arrived investors, rather than from revenue generated by any real business.

Court officials said that since Afinsa isn't classified as a financial institution, it had received poor governmental monitoring.

Afinsa and Forum Filatelico officials couldn't be reached for comment. Afinsa has previously defended the program and denied any wrongdoing.

An armed National Police officer was guarding the back entrance of Afinsa's plush headquarters in an upscale neighborhood of central Madrid, while a steady stream of employees were leaving the building.

Several Forum Filatelico and Afinsa employees, who were outside their respective headquarters in Madrid while National Police officers were searching the premises, said they weren't aware of any improper activities within the company.

A group of Forum Filatelico employees said some customers called the offices earlier Tuesday, as reports of the raids surfaced on local radio stations. Other customers insulted local staff and threatened to pull out their investments, according to those Forum Filatelico employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The police operation also took place after Barron's reported last month that the Lloyd's of London (LYL.YY) syndicate, which insures Afinsa's collection for $1.5 billion, could pull their backing.

Escala is scheduled Tuesday to release earnings for the third quarter of its 2006 fiscal year, after markets close in the U.S.

Chief executive Jose Miguel Herrero is due to attend a conference call with analysts Wednesday.

A person at the company said Escala executives are currently meeting to discuss the situation. She declined to provide additional information.

Escala Group reported $10.1 million net income, or $0.35 per diluted share, for the second quarter. That compares with $7.7 million in net income for the same period a year earlier.

The company also reported $7.3 million in revenue from stamp sales in March, in six auctions that attracted collectors from Australia, Denmark, Canada and Germany. Forum Filatelico has a 1% stake in mid-sized Spanish bank Banco Pastor SA (PAS.MC).

-Madrid Bureau; Dow Jones Newswires, djmadrid@dowjones.com; (34) 91 395 8119

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2006 09:58 ET (13:58 GMT)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
comicseekers-migration

comicseekers-migration

Posted
Posted
I've heard of Greg Manning Auctions before. Did they have anything to do with comics?

 

DJ UPDATE: Spain Raids Offices,Arrests 8 In Stamp Fraud Probe

 

(This updates a story that ran at 1032 GMT to change attribution, add details.)

 

MADRID (Dow Jones)--Spanish police have arrested at least eight people and raided the offices of two leading stamp collection companies as part of a probe into an alleged stamp investment fraud that could affect as many as 200,000 small investors, the country's financial crime prosecutor said Tuesday.

National police officers raided the Madrid headquarters of Forum Filatelico and Afinsa Bienes Tangibles SA, which is the world's No. 3 collectibles firm after Sotheby's and Christie's and is also the majority owner of NASDAQ-traded Escala Group (ESCL) with a 67% stake, or 18.2 million shares as of March 2006.

The Afinsa probe sent Escala stock tumbling in pre-market trading on INET Tuesday. At 1258 GMT, Escala shares were down 45.4% at $17.46. Escala was previously known as Greg Manning Auctions (GMA), based in New Jersey.

The operation forms part of a joint investigation launched by the National Court, tax authorities, financial crime prosecutors and the National Police over an alleged pyramid-type scheme based on overpriced stamps and other collectibles.

The prosecutor's office said in a statement that Spanish authorities are conducting more than 20 searches at company offices and private residences. The prosecutor's office also said it plans to conduct "several arrests" as part of a lawsuit against the two companies on charges ranging from tax evasion and money laundering to criminal insolvency and falsification of documents.

The operation comes after Barron's magazine extensively reported questionable practices at Afinsa, which operates a "no-lose" stamp-sales program for investors in Spain and Portugal. Many of the investors are retired individuals allocating an average of EUR150 to EUR300, according to court officials.

Afinsa guarantees a return of 6% to 10% over a fixed period, with a money-back guarantee when the contracts expire. According to Barron's, some stamp experts have expressed doubts about the value of stamps, which appear to be worth far less than what Afinsa charges for them.

So-called pyramid or Ponzi schemes pay high returns to investors by using the money from newly-arrived investors, rather than from revenue generated by any real business.

Court officials said that since Afinsa isn't classified as a financial institution, it had received poor governmental monitoring.

Afinsa and Forum Filatelico officials couldn't be reached for comment. Afinsa has previously defended the program and denied any wrongdoing.

An armed National Police officer was guarding the back entrance of Afinsa's plush headquarters in an upscale neighborhood of central Madrid, while a steady stream of employees were leaving the building.

Several Forum Filatelico and Afinsa employees, who were outside their respective headquarters in Madrid while National Police officers were searching the premises, said they weren't aware of any improper activities within the company.

A group of Forum Filatelico employees said some customers called the offices earlier Tuesday, as reports of the raids surfaced on local radio stations. Other customers insulted local staff and threatened to pull out their investments, according to those Forum Filatelico employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The police operation also took place after Barron's reported last month that the Lloyd's of London (LYL.YY) syndicate, which insures Afinsa's collection for $1.5 billion, could pull their backing.

Escala is scheduled Tuesday to release earnings for the third quarter of its 2006 fiscal year, after markets close in the U.S.

Chief executive Jose Miguel Herrero is due to attend a conference call with analysts Wednesday.

A person at the company said Escala executives are currently meeting to discuss the situation. She declined to provide additional information.

Escala Group reported $10.1 million net income, or $0.35 per diluted share, for the second quarter. That compares with $7.7 million in net income for the same period a year earlier.

The company also reported $7.3 million in revenue from stamp sales in March, in six auctions that attracted collectors from Australia, Denmark, Canada and Germany. Forum Filatelico has a 1% stake in mid-sized Spanish bank Banco Pastor SA (PAS.MC).

-Madrid Bureau; Dow Jones Newswires, djmadrid@dowjones.com; (34) 91 395 8119

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2006 09:58 ET (13:58 GMT)

 

 

893whatthe.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
panhandlefool

panhandlefool

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Greg Manning was based in NJ, USA. He had some hi-grade on consignment/else purchased from Mark Wilson (formerly World's Finest Collectibles, now PGC Mint).

Well, it appears the offices they busted are in Madrid. Is that just like a parent company/HQs, or what? Do they still have offices in the USA? This looks pretty bad on a lot of levels. It doesn't really affect the comic community like an Ewert thing, but it still goes to show the dollars, greed and fraud in collectibles...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Davenport

Davenport

Posted
Posted
Greg Manning was based in NJ, USA. He had some hi-grade on consignment/else purchased from Mark Wilson (formerly World's Finest Collectibles, now PGC Mint).

Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. May 2000

 

"Record prices were achieved due to the high quality and rarity of the comics offered. In addition, this was the first major auction in which the majority of the individual comic books offered were third party graded and encapsulated by the Comics Guarantee, LLC (``CGC''). GMAI and its affiliates have been strong supporters of the independent certification and grading of coins, sports cards, comic books and diamonds to protect consumers and to promote uniformity of grade descriptions. With the recent opening of CGC, GMAI took the lead in certifying the majority of its auction lots.

 

The certification service attracted serious new clients who appreciated the independent assessment of genuineness and quality made by CGC. Several coin dealers who are familiar with third party grading but new to the comic book world entered the comic book market and made their presence known in part because of the introduction of third party grading. The auction's major buyer was Jay Parrino, the president of ``The Mint'' of Kansas City, MO, who has built a national reputation as a premier professional in high-end United States coins and proper money... ''

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Calamerica

Calamerica

Posted
Posted

If I recall correctly, they were somewhere in New Jersey.

 

I bought from them three times.

 

Got a IM/SM # 1 pet CGC 9.2

 

Then bought an IM/SM CGC 9.4

 

when I went to buy the IM/SM CGC 9.6 they sent me my money back - said something about a "flood" in their "basement/storage area" and then the next day, not a week or month later, the VERY NEXT DAY they were out of business.

 

CAL confused-smiley-013.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Calamerica

Calamerica

Posted
Posted

But at least GMA( they were also on the NASDAQ for a while) refunded me my money - that could have gotten nasty if they just kept the money...

 

CAL 893applaud-thumb.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shadroch

shadroch

Posted
Posted

I've bought thousands of dollars worth of stuff off of teletrade and never had a problem.Okay,once they misplaced a $50 lot but gave me something like $100 credit so it worked out well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lou_fine

lou_fine

Posted
Posted
I've heard of Greg Manning Auctions before. Did they have anything to do with comics?

 

Most definitely!

 

They were the first major auction house to market CGC books and basically began the now common standard of outragous multiples paid for high grade slabbed books. Both Manning and CGC used each other to raised their profile in the industry as both companies were just starting out in the comic biz at the time.

 

I remember Bill Highes was their main comic expert and facilitated a lot of the big sales from Manning to Jay Parrino. This was all before Heritage came onto the scene who basically took over from Manning by using the same business model, with the big auctions and primo giveaway auction catalogues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
panhandlefool

panhandlefool

Posted
  • Author
Posted
didn't Manning sell out to Heritage?

It appears not:

 

"The Afinsa probe sent Escala stock tumbling in pre-market trading on INET Tuesday. At 1258 GMT, Escala shares were down 45.4% at $17.46. Escala was previously known as Greg Manning Auctions (GMA), based in New Jersey."

 

It appears this Escala is now what was Greg Manning Auctions. Maybe Manning sold out their comics to Heritage, but not the entire company.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing