Small Traditions LLC/SCANDAL UPDATE

[ullmandds]

I've never dealt with this guy directly to my knowledge...David Lawrence Thorn...Have you?


https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1345291

[Stonepony]

I’ve won 1 thing from one of his auctions... luckily it was a “ hand cut” card by designation anyway.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

They even tried to warn people with the company name...

EDIT: Reading the thread is so depressing. Just when you think you've come to grips with the situation it keeps getting worse.

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

They even tried to warn people with the company name...

EDIT: Reading the thread is so depressing. Just when you think you've come to grips with the situation it keeps getting worse.

it's actually right on time. There are 25-100 of these guys. We are only on #5. They will all get exposed as will PSA and the billion dollar fraud is right on schedule. Let's POP!

[Tomi]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

I’ve won 1 thing from one of his auctions... luckily it was a “ hand cut” card by designation anyway.

Same here. At least you know it was trimmed but they're supposed to be. He had an Exhibits card that was a POP 1 Mantle that I wanted and the left side was just wavy. Had to pass. Such a shame what our hobby has come to. These people need to serve time for these crimes. PSA will eventually feel it when a deep pocket collector gets screwed and goes after them.

[toppcat]

Some indictments might slow things down.

[pokerplyr80]

I believe I spoke with him briefly once after winning an auction and paying before updating my shipping address. Nothing related to these accusations. He did make the change and shipped the card out quickly. I no longer own the card.

[Johnny630]

PSA is Teflon...they will never be held accountable or liable they only offer OPINIONS

[conor912]

Wow. Trimming Lionel Carter cards? Nothing’s sacred anymore.

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

PSA is Teflon...they will never be held accountable or liable they only offer OPINIONS

We can HOPE! Just like I hope the Easter Bunny comes in April

[Fuddjcal]

PSA is as corrupt a company that there ever was and should be shut down for fraud. The constant censorship and ZERO interest in addressing an fixing their faults is nauseating. Doing nothing but catering to their fake dealer network that helped spread the scam like a Chinese Moronvirus.

Easily a 2 billion dollar fraud after some recalculation. This is the biggest scam in the history of sports cards.

Such a funny joke at the collectors expense. I wouldn't buy a thing from this horsey face dickwad or anything from PSA.

[BeanTown]

intersting PSA job description for graders. Why do they need to have good people skills when they are supposed to be unbiased and just look at cards privately?

[HRBAKER]

That's a pretty basic boilerplate job description and set of skill requirements.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by BeanTown

intersting PSA job description for graders. Why do they need to have good people skills when they are supposed to be unbiased and just look at cards privately?

You HAVE to be able to get along with your coworkers. I think that is what they mean by that.

[Rich Klein]

I agree 100 percent with Bobby. You are probably in reasonably close proximity to other graders and getting along is very important. You don't have to be best friends but you do need to be courteous and nice.

Based on the description, I suspect PSA also wants some collaborative efforts so a grader can tell other graders if they see something they don't like.

Let's not read more into this than we have to. The person who said this is a boilerplate job description is probably dead on.

Rich

[todeen]

I know there are very smart and successful people on Net54. And lots of valid points were mentioned. I don't have much to contribute by way of speculation. But....

My father worked for Marlboro cigarettes (a parent company that has gone by many names including Philip Morris, Philip Morris USA, and Altria). What I learned from decisions that were made by a mega company is that they are ruthless and willing to do anything to maintain or grow their share in their market regardless of legality. The small group of decision makers at the top of mega companies are willing to lose astonishing sums of money in lawsuits because of the POSSIBILITY of making even more money.

Sometimes no amount of speculation will ever create a plausible reason for why a mega company chooses to do what they do.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[BobC]

Originally Posted by todeen

I know there are very smart and successful people on Net54. And lots of valid points were mentioned. I don't have much to contribute by way of speculation. But....

My father worked for Marlboro cigarettes (a parent company that has gone by many names including Philip Morris, Philip Morris USA, and Altria). What I learned from decisions that were made by a mega company is that they are ruthless and willing to do anything to maintain or grow their share in their market regardless of legality. The small group of decision makers at the top of mega companies are willing to lose astonishing sums of money in lawsuits because of the POSSIBILITY of making even more money.

Sometimes no amount of speculation will ever create a plausible reason for why a mega company chooses to do what they do.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Heck, just go back to that story from a few months ago about the MA couple that were stalked, harrassed, and threatened by Ebay employees for posting things on their website that Ebay company execs didn't like. Company culture starts at the top, and works it way all the way down in an organization. If they would do that to a couple for simply postings unpopular things about them on a somewhat obscure website, what do you think Ebay would be capable of doing to one of their top sellers, generating around $300M in sales for the current year, if they suddenly wound up on Ebay's bad side?

[RL]

funny that someone keeps waffling on their opinions

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by RL

funny that someone keeps waffling on their opinions

It's called being objective. You should give it a try sometime.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by BobC

Heck, just go back to that story from a few months ago about the MA couple that were stalked, harrassed, and threatened by Ebay employees for posting things on their website that Ebay company execs didn't like. Company culture starts at the top, and works it way all the way down in an organization. If they would do that to a couple for simply postings unpopular things about them on a somewhat obscure website, what do you think Ebay would be capable of doing to one of their top sellers, generating around $300M in sales for the current year, if they suddenly wound up on Ebay's bad side?

In the mid-90s, Marlboro sponsored the Billings MT fair a couple times. Some local yokel was selling gag gifts, and one of them was a silly cigarette product in Marlboro colors and design. My dad provided a cease and desist letter for encroachment on brand identification. Another time we were in Mexico, and we saw knockoff Marlboro stuff being peddled by sellers on the beach. My dad looked at me and said, "You don't know how much time is spent trying to eliminate stuff like this."

Sometimes it seems like mega companies don't care about money, they are willing to tie up litigation in the courts for years and years instead of paying a settlement. They don't save any money and their lawyers just keep ringing up the billable hours. And then at other times, they are going after mom & pops because every dollar counts.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by todeen

In the mid-90s, Marlboro sponsored the Billings MT fair a couple times. Some local yokel was selling gag gifts, and one of them was a silly cigarette product in Marlboro colors and design. My dad provided a cease and desist letter for encroachment on brand identification. Another time we were in Mexico, and we saw knockoff Marlboro stuff being peddled by sellers on the beach. My dad looked at me and said, "You don't know how much time is spent trying to eliminate stuff like this."

Sometimes it seems like mega companies don't care about money, they are willing to tie up litigation in the courts for years and years instead of paying a settlement. They don't save any money and their lawyers just keep ringing up the billable hours. And then at other times, they are going after mom & pops because every dollar counts.

Not surprised at all, and your Dad was right about the surprising and sometimes illogical things companies will do to others to stay on top and squelch any and all competition, even if it is only perceived and not truly real. Just look at a lot of the biggest names in business out there, that people often seem to adore, emulate, and want to be. They turn out many times to be the biggest a--holes on the planet, who behind closed doors (and on some rare occasions right out in the open) are truly horrible people who will stop at nothing to advance their interests and wealth to the detriment of all others. And that kind of thinking permeates down through companies and leads to things like the harassment and threats that MA couple got from Ebay employees.

I think that sometimes businesses view spending all that time, expense, and effort as not frivilously just throwing money away, but more like paying for insurance. They go over the top against someone or some entity to send a message to everyone else out there to not even think about ever doing or saying anything to go against them. Because if they do, they'll stop at nothing to fight back and try to destroy whomever they feel posed a threat against them.

[Snowman]

A friend of mine at eBay told me that they are constantly trying to buy out their competition. Anytime a small online auction site makes a splash, eBay is there to buy them out, effectively playing whack-a-mole. They go to great lengths to ensure that not only are they the 'king of the hill', but that they have the only hill. Their business model is not particularly novel or complex. It is extremely vulnerable to competition. They fully realize this. Hence they attempt to buy out competitors before they can gain enough momentum. Just look through the list of acquisitions they've made over the years (and this list is not comprehensive. I know there are several more smaller acquisitions that aren't even listed here). They buy out other auction sites just so they can either shut them down or prevent them from growing into greater threats in the future. It is almost certainly the most important factor in keeping them in the position they're still in today. This is eBay's modus operandi. If they see you as competition, they will try to squash you or acquire you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...itions_by_eBay