Rogue REA employee on eBay?

[ChiefBenderForever]

Other than a PR nightmare for REA this whole thing is very confusing.

[Leon]

This has nothing to do with the current issue but......There was a time when a board member was taking another board member's price list of cards and selling from it....and he never owned the cards at all. That wasn't cool. Doesn't sound so unlike this issue.

This gentleman made a mistake, apologized and said he won't do it again. Can't we just leave it at that? It's not some kind of murder for hire scheme or Ponzi scheme where people are defrauded of their life savings. I am not condoning what happened but can't we ever just accept an apology and move on? Whoever hasn't made a mistake please take one step backward .

[FUBAR]

I am also confused, i do not know any of these people , just an outsider.

But if his boss says he isnt doing anything, then why is he so remorseful? Why does he have his tail between his legs?

After initially reading the thread, i thought the guy had one id with tons of history, then created a new id to sell items and used his old id to bid on his items to shill the proxy bids up that other people had placed. His old id was dorment except for bidding on the new id's auctions.

One of the big reasons i have left ebay is the amount of fraud that goes on. I have personally seen shills in this form, in bid retractions- then re-bidding an amount just less then you maximum, and also in "selling to the second highest bidder" because the schill won the auction, then the seller asks for your full proxy rather then what you would have actually won the auction for.

I also got conned by Paypal scam as well on ebay where i sold an item, then the moment i confirmed i shipped the item, the buyer took his money back. Paypal gives the buyer protection, not the seller. I never sold anything on ebay again.

I now only ever buy when i do not have to use paypal, and cant find the item locally.

[FUBAR]

Leon

for some reason, my wife took one step back.... i think most wives did!

[glynparson]

Rob has come on here and explained the situation and I am satisfied. I have no problem with Dean selling cards as long as he is open and honest that it is Dean from REA and that he sells cards he owns, or is given permission to sell by the card owner. He probably should have a handle like DEANFARAGI-REA or something similar. He should also adopt the rules REA follows if he wants to sell while working there. I think he is probably sorry because he loves working there and is truly embarassed and fearful for his job. Hopefully this was just one stupid mistake in an otherwise very above board and honest operation. Now if this is shown to be a pattern of course my opinion would change, but I hope that is not the case, nor do I expect to hear any of these goings on in the future.

[Jim VB]

I've removed my previous comments because I'm now as confused as Barry. Because of that, I shouldn't be "explaining" anything, to anyone.

Are we now of the belief that hobbyguynj and smgsmg1968 are two different people?

[canjond]

Originally Posted by Jim VB

I've removed my previous comments because I'm now as confused as Barry. Because of that, I shouldn't be "explaining" anything, to anyone.

Are we now of the belief that hobbyguynj and smgsmg1968 are two different people?

Jim - I agree. Totally confused by the facts. I had thought the same person had two different IDs - guess that's not the case after all?

[Wesley]

The initial post was somewhat confusing, and at first glance, I thought the allegation was shill bidding. Now I understand this has nothing to do with shill bidding.

[Jim VB]

The links in the original post seem to show (I emphasize "seem") that a M116 Clarke and a C56 Moran were on the same PSA submission. One (Clarke) was later sold on Ebay by hobbyguynj. The other (Moran) was sold on Ebay by smgsmg1968. In this auction, is appears that hobbyguynj was the underbidder.

What am I not getting here?

[botn]

Not sure this has any reflection or should have any reflection on Rob and I also see no problem with Dean selling cards. Think that Rob does not permit him or any of his employees to do so through REA. Again, as Peter stated it is far worse and completely ignored by most here, that the owner of a grading company is selling cards and even worse when it includes expensive cards graded by his grading service.

But I am confused...

DJR claims that smgsmg1968 is Dean. eBay id hobbyguynj's identity is unknown, right? If you scan through the feedback for hobbyguynj there are 4 or 5 instances in which the person leaving feedback refers to hobbyguynj by name and the name used is Dean. smgsmg1968 and hobbyguynj have left feedback for one another.

[Jim VB]

Rob emailed me that he is 100% convinced that hobbyguynj and smgsmg1968 are different people, but have done business with each other.

If that's the case, I don't have a big problem here. I find it difficult to believe that people connected with our hobby, be it auction house employees or grading company employees, would have no interested in the hobby itself. I realize that leaves some potential for a conflict of interest, but I don't see any way around it.

If Rob is incorrect or has been lied to about these Ebay ID's, then there is an even bigger problem.

Maybe David R can jump back on here and clarify. I'm not very familiar with the Cardtarget website. Does that show definitively that those PSA numbers were on the same submission, or does it just show that they went through the system close together?

[benchod]

With all due repect to Rob Lifson this isn't an isloated event with Dean using questionable judgement. In fact I have had a personal experience involving Dean on Ebay and found him to be an underhanded, immoral, backstabbing liar. Ask me how I really feel about him.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by benchod

With all due repect to Rob Lifson this isn't an isloated event with Dean using questionable judgement. In fact I have had a personal experience involving Dean on Ebay and found him to be an underhanded, immoral, backstabbing liar. Ask me how I really feel about him.

The facts underlying these feelings?

[andybecker]

Originally Posted by FUBAR

Leon

for some reason, my wife took one step back.... i think most wives did!

that may be the best one-liner in net54 history

[oldjudge]

The bottom line is this has nothing to do with the honesty or integrity of Rob Lifson or REA. Rob still runs the best auction around, period.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

The bottom line is this has nothing to do with the honesty or integrity of Rob Lifson or REA. Rob still runs the best auction around, period.

I think this is the bottom line here. Whatever happened, happened but does not impact the integrity of REA and its auctions. If you tell me that REA is using fake names to lodge bids in its auctions in an effort to drive up prices or if Doug Allen just took a job there, well, then you'd get my attention. Otherwise, this is a tempest in a teapot.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

The bottom line is this has nothing to do with the honesty or integrity of Rob Lifson or REA. Rob still runs the best auction around, period.

I could make the counter point that the employees you hire are a reflection upon yourself and apparently Dean has done this or similar transgessions in the past.

Now I'm NOT saying there is anything wrong with Rob or REA in any way; but, if your employees are acting badly when they are on their own, then what is to stop them from doing something while working for you. After all, you don't want to be monitoring their activities on a 24/7 basis. And you have to have trust in them. I don't know if I saw this, if I could in the future trust one of my employees that did that. My next thought would be, what if he does something like that to my business to mess up the works.

Regards
Rich

[joeadcock]

Excellent point Rich

[mintacular]

Now I'm NOT saying there is anything wrong with Rob or REA in any way;--But isn't that exactly what you are doing with everything else you wrote?

[botn]

Ummmm...We still have differing OPINIONS as to who smgsmg1968 is. Rob has privately explained (to at least 1 person) how this is not Dean and David has publicly stated, without telling us the basis for his conclusion, that it is Dean.

If it is Dean than Rich has made a valid point. You cannot possibly know where someone will draw the line and shill bidding, just ask Jeff Lichtman, is a major concern in the hobby.

It wouldn't sit so comfortably with me if Rob was so quick to defend Dean if in fact it turns out both ebay ids are the same person. Sure the auctions were small potatoes but perception is everything.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by botn

If it is Dean than Rich has made a valid point. You cannot possibly know where someone will draw the line and shill bidding, just ask Jeff Lichtman, is a major concern in the hobby.

I actually am more concerned about alterations and the such. Shill bidding is bad but in the end you still get your true, unaltered card. Altering cards for profit is just plain evil.

[botn]

Hey Jeff,

Sometimes you hit the jackpot and you get both!

Greg

[DanP]

Could it be possible that Rob/REA has to believe Dean and Dean can't be fired because ??why?? Maybe there's stuff happening at REA that Dean knows about and could be exposed if he were fired?

You never know ..


Dan

[Dean Faragi]

I would like to come on the board for the first time (not my idea of a great first entrance) to explain my end of the situation. My eBay handle is hobbyguynj since 2001. My friend (smgsmg1968) is a collector who I introduced to collecting, and who has been buying cards from me for the last three years as an investment. He has recently lost interest and decided he wanted to sell them on eBay with my assistance. I was not interested in selling his cards for him on eBay but was interested in buying them back at some level, and because I sold them to him, was also happy to help him with information; smgsmg1968’s name is Scott, by the way). I have bid and won some items he has offered on eBay (which I originally submitted for grading and later sold to him). I have bid on the items he is selling for two reasons: 1) because I liked the cards I sold him (I originally owned them, I bought them because I liked them), and 2) if the current bid was less than what the card was worth (in my opinion) I was interested in buying them back at some level. With reference to DJR’s questions:

DJR writes:
“You stated, ''Dean did not do anything whatsoever relating to shill bidding''. This statement is crazy! You also state, ''It is also the first and only time Dean Faragi has done this'', however, this also happened with the Moran hockey card. Furthermore, feedback shows this type of activity has been habitual taking place going back months and years. The hobbyguynj feedback also mentions the name Dean.”

DJR, the bidding that has occurred by me on eBay or anywhere else is not shill bidding. The statement that this is “the first and only time Dean Faragi has done this” refers to this (as accurately summarized above): “What he did do, and this is not a practice condoned or tolerated at REA, is represent to a PSA registry set owner that the two A&G flag cards he was offering privately (that were actually up for auction on eBay and closing that night) were his (when in fact they were not, they were just on eBay) and soliciting an offer which he intended (and actually did) use to bid on the cards, with the intention of selling them to the PSA registry collector if his bids were successful.” I did this. It was stupid. It will never happen again. But I have never shill bid and was not shill bidding on the A&G flag cards or any other cards ever. The reason that hobbyguynj feedback mentions the name Dean is because that is my name. I can see how someone could misinterpret the information about the PSA submissions and bidding and without additional facts suspect that bids are not on the up and up, but they are totally legitimate bids on my part, and so all I can do is explain this clearly. I hope I have done that here.

Sincerely,
Dean Faragi

[bijoem]

Dean,

Thank you for taking the time to come here and explain things.

When I first heard about this.... I had a sinking feeling about you and REA. Honestly, Rob's "defense" post did not do much of anything to help the sinking feeling.

But.... you sound very sincere in your post - and personally, I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

Everyone makes mistakes.
Its nice to see someone who stands up, explains things, takes responsibility. and promises better going forward.


Again - thank you for the post.

[autograf]

wow.....that seems a stretch.....

My stretch comment is to Dan, not Dean

[DanP]

Originally Posted by autograf

wow.....that seems a stretch.....

My stretch comment is to Dan, not Dean

Stretch?? You're kidding right?


Dan

[tbob]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

I could make the counter point that the employees you hire are a reflection upon yourself and apparently Dean has done this or similar transgessions in the past.

Now I'm NOT saying there is anything wrong with Rob or REA in any way; but, if your employees are acting badly when they are on their own, then what is to stop them from doing something while working for you. After all, you don't want to be monitoring their activities on a 24/7 basis. And you have to have trust in them. I don't know if I saw this, if I could in the future trust one of my employees that did that. My next thought would be, what if he does something like that to my business to mess up the works.

Regards
Rich

I have been following this convuluted tale and must say I agree with Rich. I have never had any problems whatsoever with Rob or REA but this is disturbing.