I will not participate in Legendary Auctions

[bijoem]

Until Mastro consignors are paid in full, I will not consign or bid in Legendary auctions.

This thread is not meant to argue the merits of participating in Legendary auctions. And it is not my intention to persuade anyone else to refrain.

Rather, if you also intend to refrain from participating in Legendary auctions, post here. Let them know.

Maybe if the list is long enough, our friends waiting for consignment checks will get paid.

[sportscardtheory]

I try to stay away from auction houses anyway, but if I had to, I would certainly not bid or sell through them.

[slidekellyslide]

Well...I won an item from them for the first time ever in their June auction...after repeatedly being outbid for the last 5 or 6 years in every single auction my bid stood up. I was really actually very surprised, but I guess now I shouldn't be considering the amount of folks here who have said they will no longer participate in their auctions. I didn't think there was any way in heck my bid would stand up.

I guess just the fact that *I* won something from them should be a warning to all consignors that they will not get top dollar at Legendary.

[daviddbreadman]

That and the fact that you probably weren't up against shill bidding assuming the previous reports are correct.

I would never consign anything to Legendary and wouldn't trust them enough to bid on their cards and pay in advance.

[Publius]

I will not consign or bid on any Legendary/ Mastro auctions until this is all taken care of, and my friends get their consignment checks

Im not a big fish in the pond, but nickels add up to dollars.

[timn1]

I've never bid a lot in Mastro's auctions or whatever they call themselves now, but now, FWIW, I never will. The whole thing is outrageous.

Tim

[Myachelydra]

Add me to the list.

[JamesGallo]

Seriously why would anyone give stuff to them anyway. I was not impressed with that last sale and would doubt I would ever deal with them on any level.

James G

[MGHPro]

They have two of my items for the August auction. At this point, I guess I better keep my fingers crossed.
Matt

[CTDean]

My catalogue for the last auction is still in the plastic wrapper. I placed no bids in the last auction and won't be bidding in the next auction.

[illini805]

You would need your head examined if you consigned with them right now. With everything that is going on why would you want to?

[Exhibitman]

Dear Mr. Allen:

My friends have been cheated out of their consignor's proceeds on items recently sold by Mastro Auctions. I know you are aware of this situation and have in essence told them that there is nothing you can do. I am also aware that some of the items in question have been shipped to the winning bidders and that some have already been offered on Ebay for resale, even as the consignors remain unpaid.

When you began Legendary Auctions you promised that the Mastro Auctions deals would be:

"seamlessly facilitated, processed and completed through Legendary Auctions"

In advertising Legendary Auctions you have repeatedly resorted to touting sales and achievements of Mastro Auctions as selling points for Legendary Auctions. I am also aware that Legendary Auctions and Mastro Auctions both are beneficially owned and backed by the same parties and that Legendary Auctions took over the Mastro Auctions contracts to such a degree that it refused to return items to Mastro consignors who did not wish to sell their items with Legendary, despite there being no right to assign the agreements stated in the consignment contracts. In sum, I consider Legendary and Mastro to be alter egos of one another, and I hold Legendary Auctions responsible for the completion of Mastro's business, as had been touted in your press release. Therefore, I have decided to stop doing business with Legendary Auctions unless and until all consignors to Mastro Auctions are paid in full. Until that time, please remove my name from your mailing list.

Sincerely,

Adam Warshaw

[Jacklitsch]

I'm done with them. Nuf Ced.

[prewarsports]

I think we should start a "I will not send my cards to SGC" thread.

I will start.

I will not send my baseball cards to get graded by a company whose owner is engaged in acts like those surrounding Legendary and who does not pay their auction invoices which by any stardards is dishonest and depending on the facts of this case, possibly criminal. I am not defending Mastro because what they have done is wrong, but dont you guys want to know what is going on with the owner of SGC before sending anything else to them? I know I do.

[Rich Klein]

Does that add to your reasons not to submit cards anymore to SGC.

Just curious

Regards
Rich

[2dueces]

I will not consign or bid on any Legendary/ Mastro auctions until this is all taken care of, and my friends get their consignment checks

[glynparson]

I submit cards to SGC all the time. I admittedly submit many more about 10 to 1 to psa, but I still support SGC. In fact I believe Derek Grady is the finest current grader in the hobby, followed closely by Bob and Scott. PSA has done a great job the last few years but they still are not as good as SGC. PSA still sells for more which is why they get more of my cards, now that I sell them for a living. For the record I think they treated Dave's material with more scrutiny then any other submitters, and he never got the benefit if they were between grades he got the lower, and if there were any questions the card was rejected. I have nothing but praise for the individuals at SGC, they are a fine company and even finer people.
Thanks,
Glyn

edited to add current

[oldjudge]

I want to stress the fact that SGC employees and/or owners are not able to submit cards for grading. All grading decisions and policies are under the sole discretion of the Director of Grading and his senior grading team. SGC has the industry's only "real" guaranty and stands behind every single card that we've graded.

Anyone having any further questions or concerns is welcome to contact me during normal business hours.

Thank you,

Brian Dwyer
SGC
1-800-742-9212 x114



So SGC does grade Dave Forman's cards? Why is it so tough to get a straight story?

[barrysloate]

And how would SGC know they were Dave Forman's cards? Aren't submissions supposed to be anonymous?

[bijoem]

Please start another thread if you would like to discuss SGC.

This thread is about Mastro not paying consignors, and more to the point.... listing those who will not participate in Mastro / Legendary auctions until consignors are paid.

[oldjudge]

A blind man walking through this thread would think he was on Fulton Street.

[danmckee]

WOW! This is unreal stuff. I have been reading all of this stuff and am scared to death to pay my June invoice.

[barrysloate]

Sorry Joe...there are so many threads going on today that I forgot where I was.

[Rich Klein]

I have not had access to a computer all day -- so TY for answering my question.

Regards
Rich

[RobertGT]

Great thread. It's gratifying to see our fellow collectors taking a stand for what's right and doing their best to hold these companies accountable.

Lord knows there is zero leadership, or even any information, on this issue coming from other sources (Sports Collectors Digest).

Add my name to the list of collectors who will NEVER - EVER do business with Legendary/Mastro, or whatever they decide to change their name to next week. And believe me, I spend money in this hobby.

I'm pretty much down to two auction companies that I trust: Robert Edwards and Hunt Auctions.

[Wite3]

I too will skip the Legendary auctions...in the past, I have bid and rarely won. I will not bid or consign to Legendary until all consignors are paid. I will also not bid or consign until I hear that the charges of shill bidding have been dropped and their issues with the FBI are cleared up.

Joshua Levine

[GasHouseGang]

Why not bid in Legendary/Mastro auctions? Apparently you can get what you bid on and never have to pay. Seems like a sweet deal to me!

[JasonL]

This is primarily because I don't spend enough to warrant shopping this way, but after reading all the things I have here over the past 3 years, I don't think I would do business with anyone except REA and Huggins & Scott if I had the money to spend.

truly an unfortunate situation, the way so many of these businesses have developed reputation problems...

[WarHoundR69]

I'm joining the boycott list

[andybecker]

add this guppy to the list.....no legendary for me.

pay the consignors!

[camlov2]

I don't plan on bidding on the next auction, lets just say I haven't bought much lately.

It is interesting to me that this thread combines support for those who haven't gotten paid and a boycott of the auction house that owes them money.

Isn't their survival the only way these people might get paid?

[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by camlov2

I don't plan on bidding on the next auction, lets just say I haven't bought much lately.

It is interesting to me that this thread combines support for those who haven't gotten paid and a boycott of the auction house that owes them money.

Isn't their survival the only way these people might get paid?

I'm thinking that Legendary's consignors are hoping the proceeds are used to pay them.

[timn1]

camlov, the two positions are not contradictory. When I make a decision to place a bid with an auction house, I'm not doing it primarily to help their consignors. Nobody is.

Let's just say: I hope Legendary survives long enough that all the previous consignors who have so far been stiffed will get paid.

But more than that, anybody who is still consigning with Legendary after all these stories is on their own as far as I'm concerned. I'm not implying they won't be paid, but who knows what kind of action their stuff will get.

[turtleguy64]

I'm another non-paid consignor.I had a consignment ready to go to Legedary but now I am withholding it pending payment in full from that now legendary Mastro Feb. '09 auction.This is worse than dispiccable.I submitted probably 90,000.00 in consignmnets to Mastronet in the last 5 years.

[RichardSimon]

Their whole modus operandi sounds like a ponzi scheme to me. Use the proceeds from one auction to pay the consignors for the next auction. Are you sure Bernie Madoff is not one of their execs?
--

[turtleguy64]

No,Rich,but Mastro has apparently linked payments to the unpaid consgnors to Dave Forman coming up with $400,000.00 from that infamous Feb. auction.That's not going to happen.If either of us thought that some shilling had taken place to jack up our bids,well....then I can understand Forman unwillingness to fork over the dough.

[RichardSimon]

Well, good luck to all of you waiting for $$$.
My experience with Mastro is limited to when Steve Koschal and I gave depositions in the Bill Daniels case. Mastro sent out an e-mail to the hobby after our depositions. The e-mail was full of distortions, half truths and self promotion. Hardly a surprise since we were testifying against the biggest bully in the hobby.
Once again, good luck to all of you waiting for $$$.

[Misunderestimated]

Could someone please explain the SGC-Foreman angle on the "Legendary Mastro mess" (double entendre intended)?

[Jim VB]

My understanding is that Mastro has sued Forman (not SGC) claiming that he owes Mastro around $400,000. They claim he was the winning bidder in some of their auctions and has not paid. Normally, an unpaying bidder would cause minor problems. They'd just offer the lots to the underbidders and sue for the difference. Or, they would put the cards up in the next auction and sue for the difference. This time is different.

Apparently, Mastro did not hold the lots for payment, but shipped them out to Forman.

Forman has several counter claims including that he was shill bid on the lots and that Mastro has not netted out his bill against money they owe him.

Mastro also has other suits going against other non-paying bidders. They claim these lack of payments have led to their inability to pay consignors due to cash flow issues.


Again, this is my understanding only. Several on this board have more detailed knowledge of the situation. If my understanding is incorrect, please drop me an email and I will correct it.

[Jim VB]

.

[Bamacollection]

I don't believe not bidding is the correct approach, at least for me. A no-consignment list is more my style. As far as I know, they have yet to receive payment for an auction and fail to deliver the winnings. Shilled auctions are a tough pill to swallow, but we all had to pull the trigger on our "Max Bid" entries. Yeah, if and when it is proven, those of us who won items at our max will feel a little more slighted than we do now. But, consider the people who advanced their items to Legendary, such as Matt above, who can't do anything but watch and pray for the best. I don't know if I can say I would be able to not bid on something I need at a tremendous steal just because I joined a list. I feel many of you will encounter the same situation. How many of you who have stated not to bid will still brouse the auction? How many of you can honestly say you wouldn't buy a sought after item at 60%, 50%, or less of known value? If you all can do what you say, you are strong hearted people. I think Tbob said it best in another thread, "Who could pass it up at that price..." or something to that nature.

So, I will not join or say I will join a no-bid list. But, I will swear on my life never to consign anything to Legendary. This is the list I know I can stay on without falter.

Lance

[mikedenero]

I will not participate (and have not participated).