Heritage Auctions - Boston Garters

[molenick]

Or what if one of the individual lots closed before the set and that bidder was told they won first? Would that also be considered completion of the contract and would that person have a legal claim to the individual lot they "won".

Clearly Heritage was premature in saying anyone "won" anything until all the lots were closed.

[Johnny630]

Did heritage ever send you an invoice??? If not I'm curious why did you send them money?

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Did heritage ever send you an invoice??? If not I'm curious why did you send them money?

Because he thinks this is going to help his court case. It won't. At this point, he's just being a sore loser. I suspect the kicking and screaming will continue all the way to the courtroom now. I also suspect the judge will recognize it as such.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Because he thinks this is going to help his court case. It won't. At this point, he's just being a sore loser. I suspect the kicking and screaming will continue all the way to the courtroom now. I also suspect the judge will recognize it as such.

It's not Snow you're correct. This is so silly I hope he makes peace with it and moves on he obviously has the money..... just be happy with your collection you have. Geez it's just cards.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

It's not Snow you're correct. This is so silly I hope he makes peace with it and moves on he obviously has the money..... just be happy with your collection you have. Geez it's just cards.

Why is it silly? Powell clearly got screwed from a fairness standpoint and it is something that means a lot to him.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Why is it silly? Powell clearly got screwed from a fairness standpoint and it is something that means a lot to him.

Didn't receive an invoice, I would not send without so.

[Powell]

Thank you Peter. I don’t appreciate being called a “sore loser.” I have lost thousands of lots over the years with no complaint. I believe I won legitimately and I don’t think anyone thinks it was fair to close the set lot if I didn’t win and the battle “wasn’t over” even though I believe it was.

[rand1com]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Why is it silly? Powell clearly got screwed from a fairness standpoint and it is something that means a lot to him.

I agree he got screwed but if I was looking to spend $750,000 on something I really, really wanted, I think in the 3 weeks before the end of the auction I would have called my contact at Heritage and questioned how the auction worked and that I wanted a call if my set bid was beaten so I would have a chance to bid again before the auction closed rather than counting on a formatted auction to take care of me.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by rand1com

I agree he got screwed but if I was looking to spend $750,000 on something I really, really wanted, I think in the 3 weeks before the end of the auction I would have called my contact at Heritage and questioned how the auction worked and that I wanted a call if my set bid was beaten so I would have a chance to bid again before the auction closed rather than counting on a formatted auction to take care of me.

Sounds like hindsight. Seems reasonable to assume the biggest auction house on earth would set it up right.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Geez it's just cards.

I don’t think we’re allowed to say that around here.

[notfast]

This isn’t the first time an auction has ran as a set and individually, right?

I feel like a high grade 52 Topps set was run like this fairly recently.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by notfast

This isn’t the first time an auction has ran as a set and individually, right?

I feel like a high grade 52 Topps set was run like this fairly recently.

It's probably the first time this type of auction was run in an "individual lot closing" format. That's the issue here.... Heritage's software was not properly equipped to handle the overtime bidding.

[brunswickreeves]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Because he thinks this is going to help his court case. It won't. At this point, he's just being a sore loser. I suspect the kicking and screaming will continue all the way to the courtroom now. I also suspect the judge will recognize it as such.

Will be interesting to see if the wire is accepted or rejected and what that might signal to substantiate or refute in this situation.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Because he thinks this is going to help his court case. It won't. At this point, he's just being a sore loser. I suspect the kicking and screaming will continue all the way to the courtroom now. I also suspect the judge will recognize it as such.

Once Heritage ships the cards around the country, rendering a claim for specific performance impractical, I don't see where this goes in court. There doesn't seem to be a damages claim here at first blush. Powell's best hope is Heritage does something now to rectify the situation it caused.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by molenick

Or what if one of the individual lots closed before the set and that bidder was told they won first? Would that also be considered completion of the contract and would that person have a legal claim to the individual lot they "won".

Clearly Heritage was premature in saying anyone "won" anything until all the lots were closed.

I don't know the timing but I am assuming that there was not continued bidding in all of the individual lots after the set lot closed, and if that's the case, it seems a fair assumption that other bidders received the same automatically generated notice as Powell.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by molenick

Or what if one of the individual lots closed before the set and that bidder was told they won first? Would that also be considered completion of the contract and would that person have a legal claim to the individual lot they "won".

Clearly Heritage was premature in saying anyone "won" anything until all the lots were closed.

Of course. Everyone was going to receive the "you won lot X" automated emails. Hence Heritage includes the warning strike given in each lot informing the bidder that winning the lot does not ensure a victory until all the chips have been counted. Someone was going to "win" and lose. That was the entire point of the warning message.

[Yoda]

At a minimum, Powell should receive a phone call from Chris Ivy today to discuss this dizzying issue. These are large sums of money involved here and Chris should in charge of trying to make it right. If Heritage accepted Powell's payment after, I guess, it was their computer that told him he had won the lot, then the contract has ben fulfilled and he is the winner of all the BG's.
In my many years in and out of the hobby, I have never seen such a boondoggle.