Memory Lane sold cards they didn't have per SCD

Rhotchkiss · #1 05-07-2024, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoda

I say all of this because it is a distinct possibility that paying out their own pocket could bankrupt ML.

I have total confidence that I will get paid in full, as will all other consignors whose cards were stolen -- Memory Lane is no fly by night outfit. I expect ML will lose some money here, but this will not sink the ship and they will continue as one of the best 3-4 sports memorabilia AHs. I also expect they will learn and grow from this, improving procedures going forward.

If/when I do get paid, I will disclose. If issues arise, then I have a forum to post on and I have legal recourse. But again, I believe the odds of needing either of the latter are super low.

For what its worth, I know more than what has been posted here, but its not my job or place to discuss (and none of your business to hear) some of these facts, especially those concerning the investigation. All I will say on the matter is that as someone who is potentially materially impacted, I am very satisfied with how this is being handled so far and I do not blame Memory Lane -- its a shitty scenario all around.

I hope (and frankly expect) that in time Memory Lane will make some announcement on the matter. But I expect that right now they are doing what advisors suggest (counsel, police, insurance, etc) and they are focused more on navigating this crappy situation than satisfying the interests and curiousity of message board posters.

BRIAN -- I dont know if ML will charge a buyer's premium, I assumed they would. The point is that no impacted winning bidder will be bound by their bid in the event the cards resurface -- they will be given the option and not the obligation to buy them (I assume on the terms run in the auction).

brianp-beme · #2 05-07-2024, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

BRIAN -- I dont know if ML will charge a buyer's premium, I assumed they would. The point is that no impacted winning bidder will be bound by their bid in the event the cards resurface -- they will be given the option and not the obligation to buy them (I assume on the terms run in the auction).

Thanks Ryan for the clarification. I retract my audacity remark (unless of course they would actually tack on that Buyer's Premium).

Brian

GregC · #3 05-07-2024, 01:39 PM

The ML rep was coming from the East Coast and the cards were located in California; that is why they were shipped (similar to how high value items are shipped every day).

But the method of transit is also moot, because the items were stolen after they were safely delivered. The package was supposed to be held in a secure place by hotel management.

Memory Lane could have had a California-based employee drive the package to the hotel by Sherman tank or armed convoy, and still, once hotel management was asked to store the package in a secure room, it could/would have been stolen just the same.

Carter08 · #4 05-07-2024, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregC

The ML rep was coming from the East Coast and the cards were located in California; that is why they were shipped (similar to how high value items are shipped every day).

But the method of transit is also moot, because the items were stolen after they were safely delivered. The package was supposed to be held in a secure place by hotel management.

Memory Lane could have had a California-based employee drive the package to the hotel by Sherman tank or armed convoy, and still, once hotel management was asked to store the package in a secure room, it could/would have been stolen just the same.

If your summary is true, it was a mistake to trust the management of a Best Western to hold secure millions of dollars worth of anything. You don�t think so?

brianp-beme · #5 05-07-2024, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carter08

If your summary is true, it was a mistake to trust the management of a Best Western to hold secure millions of dollars worth of anything. You don�t think so?

This hotel is a Best Western, not a Middle of the Road Western, Fair to Middling Western, or Just Passable Western hotel, so they should be expected to anticipate and securely warehouse millions of dollars worth of cardboard and plastic, even if hotel management was not notified.

Brian

Peter_Spaeth · #6 05-07-2024, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

This hotel is a Best Western, not a Middle of the Road Western, Fair to Middling Western, or Just Passable Western hotel, so they should be expected to anticipate and securely warehouse millions of dollars worth of cardboard and plastic, even if hotel management was not notified.

Brian

Best Western PLUS.

notfast · #7 05-07-2024, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregC

. The package was supposed to be held in a secure place by hotel management.

This is the issue for me and obviously others. Stuff of this value shouldn�t have even been in the hands of hotel management/staff.

Peter_Spaeth · #8 05-07-2024, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregC

The ML rep was coming from the East Coast and the cards were located in California; that is why they were shipped (similar to how high value items are shipped every day).

But the method of transit is also moot, because the items were stolen after they were safely delivered. The package was supposed to be held in a secure place by hotel management.

Memory Lane could have had a California-based employee drive the package to the hotel by Sherman tank or armed convoy, and still, once hotel management was asked to store the package in a secure room, it could/would have been stolen just the same.

So don't ask hotel "management" to store the package, have it held at Fed Ex for Joe to pick up, or Fed Ex it to Joe and have him fly out with the cards? In any case, obviously hindsight is 20 20 and nobody will do it this way again I assume.

MattyC · #9 05-07-2024, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

So don't ask hotel "management" to store the package, have it held at Fed Ex for Joe to pick up, or Fed Ex it to Joe and have him fly out with the cards? In any case, obviously hindsight is 20 20 and nobody will do it this way again I assume.

Say it was held at FedEx for Joe to pick up� can't it get stolen there? Happened to me once.

Say Joe brought them in person, kept them in his room. Goes out for a burger. Can't the room safe get burglarized?

Say Joe kept the box on his person at all times. He can get robbed. Then what� the internet says he's dumb for carrying them, why didn't he put them in a safe or ask the hotel to put them in the management's safe.

Like you said, Peter: hindsight is 20/20. People on the internet can Monday Morning QB this thing a billion different ways. But thieves are gonna thief.

Peter_Spaeth · #10 05-07-2024, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyC

Say it was held at FedEx for Joe to pick up� can't it get stolen there? Happened to me once.

Say Joe brought them in person, kept them in his room. Goes out for a burger. Can't the room safe get burglarized?

Say Joe kept the box on his person at all times. He can get robbed. Then what� the internet says he's dumb for carrying them, why didn't he put them in a safe or ask the hotel to put them in the management's safe.

Like you said, Peter: hindsight is 20/20. People on the internet can Monday Morning QB this thing a billion different ways. But thieves are gonna thief.

They could get stolen at the show too. A Fed Ex plane could crash. But the issue is what makes the most sense, not what is foolproof.

Lorewalker · #11 05-07-2024, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyC

Say it was held at FedEx for Joe to pick up� can't it get stolen there? Happened to me once.

Say Joe brought them in person, kept them in his room. Goes out for a burger. Can't the room safe get burglarized?

Say Joe kept the box on his person at all times. He can get robbed. Then what� the internet says he's dumb for carrying them, why didn't he put them in a safe or ask the hotel to put them in the management's safe.

Like you said, Peter: hindsight is 20/20. People on the internet can Monday Morning QB this thing a billion different ways. But thieves are gonna thief.

In a perfect world we should be able to expect to not get robbed but that is why there are safes, vaults, safe deposit boxes, alarms, etc. At the end of the day, it is the person(s) who is/are in possession of the valuables to take the appropriate steps to safeguard them at all times.

I cannot see how sending the box, which could have been carried on a flight, to a Best Western in the middle of nowhere USA to sit and wait for an agent of the company to show up 3 days later to claim them meets the level of safeguarding. To me it is careless but I am sure we are missing lots of details.

parkplace33 · #12 05-07-2024, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

In a perfect world we should be able to expect to not get robbed but that is why there are safes, vaults, safe deposit boxes, alarms, etc. At the end of the day, it is the person(s) who is/are in possession of the valuables to take the appropriate steps to safeguard them at all times.

I cannot see how sending the box, which could have been carried on a flight, to a Best Western in the middle of nowhere USA to sit and wait for an agent of the company to show up 3 days later to claim them meets the level of safeguarding. To me it is careless but I am sure we are missing lots of details.

I hope we do get more information about the entire scenario because I for one have wayyyyy more questions than answers right now.

savedfrommyspokes · #13 05-07-2024, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyC

Say it was held at FedEx for Joe to pick up� can't it get stolen there? Happened to me once.

Say Joe brought them in person, kept them in his room. Goes out for a burger. Can't the room safe get burglarized?

Say Joe kept the box on his person at all times. He can get robbed. Then what� the internet says he's dumb for carrying them, why didn't he put them in a safe or ask the hotel to put them in the management's safe.

Like you said, Peter: hindsight is 20/20. People on the internet can Monday Morning QB this thing a billion different ways. But thieves are gonna thief.

Obviously, any imaginable transportation scenario would yield some chance for loss, so utilizing the scenario with the least amount of risk would make the most sense. If ML picks up this package directly from the carrier an entire entity is eliminated (the BW) from the "chain of possession" which is going to significantly reduce the risk for loss.

Aaron Seefeldt · #14 05-07-2024, 03:36 PM

I'm curious to know if these cards were part of the stolen box:

D304 E Collins PSA 3 = $14,298
D304 Lajoie PSA 4 = $20,934
D304 Mathewson PSA 3 = $42,290
D304 Wagner PSA 3 = $50,339

An SGC 3 D304 Wagner sold in REA in August of last year for $11,700...

Curiosity killed the cat but the above prices made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Snowman · #15 05-07-2024, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

Obviously, any imaginable transportation scenario would yield some chance for loss, so utilizing the scenario with the least amount of risk would make the most sense. If ML picks up this package directly from the carrier an entire entity is eliminated (the BW) from the "chain of possession" which is going to significantly reduce the risk for loss.

Worth pointing out is the fact that not all flavors of theft are the same from the perspective of the insurance company. Some forms of theft are much more likely than others, which is why they impose different maximum payouts for different scenarios.

If I brought my cards over to a friend's house and asked him to watch them for me while I went to Disneyland for a few days, I can assure you that my insurance policy is going to give me the middle finger if I were to file a theft claim after his meth-head cousin stole my box of cards. But they would honor my claim if I left them in my safe and my home was burglarized and my safe broken into while we were on vacation.

While this strawman scenario isn't the exact same thing, it's also not that different from what supposedly transpired.

I used to work for a major insurance provider. I wrote algorithms to detect fraudulent claims. Insurance companies are in the business of denying claims, not honoring them. Honoring a claim only occurs after every attempt at denying it has failed. It's all going to come down to the specific language of the policy that details the coverage limits, if any, for when you ship something worth $2 million dollars to a Best Western Plus and ask them to hold it for you until you arrive a few days later. Perhaps they have some sort of rider that covers such egregious acts of negligence, but I certainly wouldn't be as confident as some people here seem to be that ML's loss is covered should they indeed have to file the claim.

Fuddjcal · #16 05-07-2024, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

So don't ask hotel "management" to store the package, have it held at Fed Ex for Joe to pick up, or Fed Ex it to Joe and have him fly out with the cards? In any case, obviously hindsight is 20 20 and nobody will do it this way again I assume.

Not to mention, that Hotel was probably one of the biggest dumps I have stayed in since the 1970's. Best Western PLUS, they say. Plus what? Bed Bugs? It was like camping. There are no safes in the room. The hot water took 20 minutes to warm up on the top floor. That's only if you gingerly turned it on and the handle didn't come off. The Elevators were out both nights and the tiny staff reflected all of it.

That said, I had a great time but was somewhat apprehensive traveling there with cash and cards. Obviously for good reason.

I probably had one of the best times on this trip than I've had in a long time though. Especially where baseball cards are concerned. So much so, I want to go back next year. I was waiting in the lobby when the detectives were doing follow-up interviews on SAT Afternoon, talking about a "Package" and "video". Now it all makes sense.

I really enjoyed getting to know Joe T and he helped "hard sell" me on a card at Ashish's table

before I left. Knowing that Bad MemoryLane is a local company, I bid pretty hard and won 3 great items. First and last time I'll use them. I just confirmed my lots were "not stolen" before I sent my fat check. I'm going to pick-them up in person.

Also, This is really the 2nd year I've utilized auction houses significantly. That said, I'm not overly happy with the entire experience of my losses or wins. My eyes are hurting...I CAN'T SEE giving these clowns 20% buyer premium. It is flat out gouging and not worth the service, IMHO. Get it down to 5% and I'll give them another chance.

I feel terrible for Ryan who has just a tremendous collection. At least he has faith in MemoryLane and is probably why he trusted his prized possession to them in the first place. If he's happy, I'm happy. Good luck Ryan.

Still I've made my last bid at Heretic, Bad MemoryLane and REA. cause I can't win anything @REA anyway.

Johnny630 · #17 05-07-2024, 04:15 PM

Am I the only one on this board that believes that the bidders on these cards Got a big middle finger from the auction house.

We are truly in a sad state in this industry.

Johnny Marsili

Swadewade51 · #18 05-07-2024, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Am I the only one on this board that believes that the bidders on these cards Got a big middle finger from the auction house.

We are truly in a sad state in this industry.

Johnny Marsili

+1 good luck to anyone trying to recoup cards they sold off in attempt to win something that wasn't there.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Peter_Spaeth · #19 05-07-2024, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Am I the only one on this board that believes that the bidders on these cards Got a big middle finger from the auction house.

We are truly in a sad state in this industry.

Johnny Marsili

ML seems to have been in a no win situation. I think most auction houses are going to err on the side of doing what's best for the consignors if that is different from what is best for the bidders.

GaryPassamonte · #20 05-07-2024, 04:17 PM

How are auction winnings of this high dollar value transferred to the winning bidder? Are they usually mailed or picked up? I would think most winners of a $2 million dollar card would pick it up? I'm just curious.

brunswickreeves · #21 05-09-2024, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fuddjcal

Not to mention, that Hotel was probably one of the biggest dumps I have stayed in since the 1970's. Best Western PLUS, they say. Plus what? Bed Bugs? It was like camping. There are no safes in the room. The hot water took 20 minutes to warm up on the top floor. That's only if you gingerly turned it on and the handle didn't come off. The Elevators were out both nights and the tiny staff reflected all of it.

That said, I had a great time but was somewhat apprehensive traveling there with cash and cards. Obviously for good reason.

I probably had one of the best times on this trip than I've had in a long time though. Especially where baseball cards are concerned. So much so, I want to go back next year. I was waiting in the lobby when the detectives were doing follow-up interviews on SAT Afternoon, talking about a "Package" and "video". Now it all makes sense.

I really enjoyed getting to know Joe T and he helped "hard sell" me on a card at Ashish's table

before I left. Knowing that Bad MemoryLane is a local company, I bid pretty hard and won 3 great items. First and last time I'll use them. I just confirmed my lots were "not stolen" before I sent my fat check. I'm going to pick-them up in person.

Also, This is really the 2nd year I've utilized auction houses significantly. That said, I'm not overly happy with the entire experience of my losses or wins. My eyes are hurting...I CAN'T SEE giving these clowns 20% buyer premium. It is flat out gouging and not worth the service, IMHO. Get it down to 5% and I'll give them another chance.

I feel terrible for Ryan who has just a tremendous collection. At least he has faith in MemoryLane and is probably why he trusted his prized possession to them in the first place. If he's happy, I'm happy. Good luck Ryan.

Still I've made my last bid at Heretic, Bad MemoryLane and REA. cause I can't win anything @REA anyway.

Which card did you purchase from hard sell?

Fuddjcal · #22 05-09-2024, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brunswickreeves

Which card did you purchase from hard sell?

I PM'd you!

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