I was reading my Morning Tribune and ran across this "problem solver" column that I pasted below as I couldnt get the link to work. Looks like someone else is having issues with Mastro.
Hopefully this issue is settled as mentioned in the column. This type of thing definitly does not make the world of sportscards look very good...or does it really matter to someone outside our hobby?
Here is the link if anyone needs to go directly to the Tribune and read it
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...2716082.column
Mastro Auctions slow in paying seller after company halted business
Jon Yates
What's Your Problem?
August 6, 2009
E-mail Print Vote For many baseball fans, it would be like manna from heaven -- an unexpected inheritance of extremely rare, extremely old baseball cards.
But Louis Dodaro fancies himself a surfer, not a baseball fan.
So when his uncle passed away last year and left him a stash of 1930s Goudey cards, the Riverwoods resident simply shrugged.
"I know some people would be drooling over this," Dodaro said. "I'm not a baseball card collector. I really don't know too much about this."
Still, he realized the cards that were at least 70 years old were valuable. So he plucked out a few of his favorites (including a couple of Lou Gehrigs) then gathered the remaining 136 cards for sale.
In September, he took the cards to Mastro Auctions in Burr Ridge. The 13-year-old company had received international media coverage for selling a lock of Elvis Presley's hair for $115,000, the infamous Steve Bartman baseball for $106,600 and a 1909 T206 Honus Wagner baseball card for $1.62 million. "They had a great reputation," Dodaro said. "I was very selective about these cards and who I went to."
But Mastro also had experienced its share of controversy. As reported in the Tribune last August, federal agents investigated the company for possible "shill bidding" in which bogus bids are submitted to drive up the price. No one has been charged.
Dodaro said he thought his cards were in good hands.
"I felt very comfortable," he said.
He felt even better when the cards sold in Mastro's February auction. But Dodaro said he wasn't told the sale price -- or how much he would receive. Weeks later, before Dodaro received payment, Mastro halted business.
On March 6, a group of Mastro employees bought the firm's assets and opened a new company, Legendary Auctions, based in Lansing.
Dodaro said he contacted a former Mastro employee, who promised he'd be paid in March. When that didn't happen, he called again and was told he'd be paid in June. Again, he did not receive a check.
By the time he contacted What's Your Problem? in July, he had almost given up.
"I have no indication when I'm going to get paid or even if I'm going to get paid," Dodaro said. "I called a couple times. They told me to call the controller for Mastro. I called. He never called back."
The Problem Solver called Doug Allen, a former Mastro employee who is president and chief executive at Legendary Auctions.
Allen said he no longer has any responsibilities at Mastro, which shut down because of financial problems. The first priority, he said, was to pay back money it owed to the bank. After that, Mastro intended to pay Dodaro and all other consignors, he said.
"They're not filing bankruptcy. They're not insolvent," Allen said. "They just have liquidity issues."
He said he remains in contact with the folks at Mastro, but Legendary Auctions is not responsible for Mastro's debts. Legendary, he said, is a completely separate entity.
"It's not a shell game where we said, 'Let's close this company and start a new one,' " Allen said. "It's not that."
Allen said he retained some records from Mastro, which showed Dodaro was owed $1,800 for his baseball cards. He promised to call Mastro's controller, Walter Tomala, and ask where Dodaro's money is.
The Problem Solver left repeated phone messages for Tomala but did not hear back. On Monday, the Problem Solver called Legendary Auctions' vice president and chief operating officer, Mark Theotikos, who also is a former Mastro employee. Theotikos promised to contact Tomala as well.
Tuesday morning, Tomala left a message on the Problem Solver's voice mail that said Dodaro's $1,800 check was in the mail.
"That's terrific," an elated Dodaro said. "When the check actually shows up and clears, I'll feel pretty good about it."
Dodaro said he plans to keep the half-dozen cards he still has, including the Gehrigs.
"They're probably going to be something I pass along to my future family," he said.