Bill Mastro denies widespread fraud in his auctions -- yesterday.

[bigtrain]

Adam's point is well taken. I don't know if I was a victim or not. Nevertheless,the damage done to the hobby as a whole is tremendous and the Judge should be made aware of that.
I know that Peter Nash would accuse Rob Lifson of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby if not for the fact that that happened decades before Rob was born. Nevertheless, as to his assertion on the Hauls of Shame website that Lifson knew the Wagner was trimmed when he sold it in 2000, I would like to know whether this can be proven or whether it is just another pot shot at REA that Nash likes to take at every opportunity.

[Rickyy]

Originally Posted by bigtrain

Adam's point is well taken. I don't know if I was a victim or not. Nevertheless,the damage done to the hobby as a whole is tremendous and the Judge should be made aware of that.

+1

I guess the current owner of the highest graded Wagner is happy with the item irregardless of whether it was trimmed or not...or that it's thus graded and priced inaccurately... his quote from Yahoo Sports states.."As a collector of rare cards and a fan who enjoys the history of the game of baseball, today's news does not change my pride in owning the Honus Wagner T-206 card. In fact, I've been advised that the notoriety of this turn of events has actually increased the value of the card and I will continue to enjoy having it as part of the 'Diamondbacks collection.' "

Well he should heed Adam's words...if he's truly in it for the "fun of collceting" he should be saddened by this turn of events like all of us are...

Ricky Y

[jhs5120]

We should put together a petition with as many signatures we can get. Someone should write a letter describing the state of the hobby and the corruption and fraud and how much we support a strict penalty for Mastro. I would certainly sign that!

[CaramelMan]

who was Bill's partner at the time? wasn't someone else his equal in that AH?

didn't the company continue, just with a name change?

who is to say the shenanigans stopped just because they changed a name?

[CobbvLajoie1910]

Originally Posted by CaramelMan

who was Bill's partner at the time ? wasn't someone else his equal in that AH?

didn't the company continue, just with a name change?

who is to say the shenanigans stopped just because they changed a name?

....that would be Uncle Jeff's old buddy Dougie Allen.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by CaramelMan

who was Bill's partner at the time? wasn't someone else his equal in that AH?

didn't the company continue, just with a name change?

who is to say the shenanigans stopped just because they changed a name?

It wasn't called Smith auctions...it was Mastro Auctions..Bill owned it, or the majority of it. The company sold to Legendary Auctions and the executives at Mastro are the executives at Legendary, plus or minus one or two....
...No one said anything about anything stopping. As of yesterday the investigation was ongoing. I heard that from a reliable source.

[sports-rings]

with all this talk of shill bidding, I'm so glad I don't provide auction houses my max bid. It's like leaving a stranger a key to your house.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by sports-rings

with all this talk of shill bidding, I'm so glad I don't provide auction houses my max bid. It's like leaving a stranger a key to your house.

If you've ever made any significant number of maximum bids with Mastro, you can be fairly certain you've been the victim of shill bidding if the following sequence of events transpired: (1) the auction is in the wee hours and winding down; (2) you are the high bidder at a price level significantly lower than your max bid; and (3) all of a sudden there is an incredible flurry of bids oh-how-so-coincidentally right up to but not over your max bid. You've just been "cha-chinged" up to your max by the master of the trade! Caveat Emptor--be aware that Mastro was not the only prominent auction house employing such slimy measures.

Regards to all, and to Jeff: Don't hold back--tell us how you really feel!

Larry

PS: Great letter, Adam.