Auction Houses

[daiward]

It has been a while since I last made any comment on this Forum. The Andy Lane situation is still a serious issue but in this present day of villains getting off freely, well.... Even Kenny Noyes is going to be allowed out.
My beef on this occasion is Auction Houses and the lack of after sale service from their office administration. I recently won a considerable amount of items and paid up then to be told I had to make my own arrangements for posting from THEIR selected courier. Why could they not do that themselves? With all the hassle I had to accept a late delivery that was supposed to be a birthday surprise. Well done that Auction House and you will not be receiving anymore custom from me.

[slightfold]

Are you going to let the members know who this outfit is and so forewarn us?

[daiward]

Mullocks. Never again.

[Flaming Pie]

Thanks for posting daiward. Support you fully.

[Topbidwinsagain]

I comment on the situation that daiward has revealed,quite empathically,and the circumstances facing not only this auction house but many other auction houses
In the old days,some 20 yrs ago, you bid,won,paid,and then removed your goods and drove home. Simples.
Now, with the impact of the internet,the majority of the bidders use the online system and the arranging and sending out of the goods has become a bit more complicated. The increase in the volume of sales has meant we have had to engage a courier service to cater for the change in the market place.
The responsibility of making arrangements for the delivery of the goods still lies with the purchaser i.e as though he was there in the auction room--the purchaser has the choice of collecting the items in person or for sending his own courier, all by arrangement of course. All these matters are covered in the terms and conditions which the purchaser signs up to before bidding online.
As daiward has mentioned a deadline date has not been met, I do not know personally the details and our admin staff are currently on holiday and I am unable to make any enquiries.
We on our part have to accept the criticism and, to be fair,offer our apologies for the problems encountered even if there are mitigating circumstances.
I must make one last comment though, for us to be linked, in the statement, to a previous failed auction house and a convicted murderer is a very strange way of trying to entice sympathy.

[manchesterunitedman1]

daiward wrote:

It has been a while since I last made any comment on this Forum. The Andy Lane situation is still a serious issue but in this present day of villains getting off freely, well.... Even Kenny Noyes is going to be allowed out. My beef on this occasion is Auction Houses and the lack of after sale service from their office administration. I recently won a considerable amount of items and paid up then to be told I had to make my own arrangements for posting from THEIR selected courier. Why could they not do that themselves? With all the hassle I had to accept a late delivery that was supposed to be a birthday surprise. Well done that Auction House and you will not be receiving anymore custom from me.

Hi Gavin,

I read most of the above with some interest that appertained to collecting and can say from a similar experience with the same Auction House that at one time I felt the same way-mostly frustration of course.

However, as time moved on it is a matter of do you cut off your nose to spite your face?-because Mullock's has made a commercial decision to no longer become involved in sending out stuff in the post-that is their choice of course, but I suspect you were unaware of the changes[as I once was] & it is this that has become an annoyance to you.

Since they changed the way they operate as far as arranging the delivery, you can deal with this other company of which I have done so a few times and there have been no issues and I have not felt that I was ever over charged either.

Most of the other quality Auction Houses still offer the sending out service but you have to respect Mullock's decision and that really is that.

Forum member "Topbidwinsagain" who we all know is associated with Mullock's has made some decent points in their defence as well as being factual Gavin, so maybe if something turns up in the future that you are really interested in just consider after the auction if you have won it then it is just another phone call to sort it out.

Best Regards as Always to you
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[daiward]

Thanks Les for your views. Topwinsagain please read my post closely again and note that my initial comment was on Andy Lane alone. Touchy? If other dealers and auction houses can offer a stress free delivery why don’t you? What is so special about Mullocks? I deal with Sports Programmes, Sportingold and Sporting Memory’s auctions and receive first class stress free delivery. I should not have to make my own arrangements as you are taking a percentage of the sales as they do but not providing a proper after sales service.

[New Forest]

If you watch TV's Bargain Hunt or Flog it you will notice the number of bids taken from the Internet. If these Auction House are saying they do not want Internet bids then make it clear. It is the Auction House that needs to accommodate Internet bids not the other way round. The customer may usually be wrong but the customer is still the customer.

The Auction House I use always send out within a few days. So why not others. They charge enough to be able to secure a few 'temps' to do the packing. If it was something I just had to have then I would even make sure I was there bidding.

[gatfb]

'It is the Auction House that needs to accommodate Internet bids not the other way round'

Agree totally. For my part I no longer bid with Auction Houses that will not arrange postage.

On a positive note I have nothing but the highest praise for Sportingold and Graham Budd in regards to this issue.

[derby1884]

Can I just give Sportingold a word or two of praise in this regard - very polite on the phone, reasonable carriage charges and well packaged.
Makes me feel that I can bid on anything there without having to worry about the aftereffects.
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[RoddyN]

Without a doubt Sportingold are the best Auction house in the business.

[Dorking]

Agree, Sportingold are fab.

You shouldn't be made to feel like the auction house is doing you a favour by even just agreeing to send your item. A programme in a board backed envelope by special delivery isn't rocket science.

[TheSorter!]

I recently bought one programme from Sheffield Auction Gallery. They charged me £10 for just putting it in an envelope! Postage not included!

[manchesterunitedman1]

derby1884 wrote:

Can I just give Sportingold a word or two of praise in this regard - very polite on the phone, reasonable carriage charges and well packaged. Makes me feel that I can bid on anything there without having to worry about the aftereffects.

Steve, I could not have put it better myself.

I have even had "home" deliveries by Chris as well it has to be said also from Robert Adcock and even Mullock's by Roy on occasion and when I could not get to Bonham in Chester in the "old days" it was not an issue for me to go to see Dan Davies in Urmston who kindly brought bits back for me.

Yes there are some places you buy from who are a bit difficult but not what I would call mainstream football auction houses, as for Mullock's yes they do charge like everyone else a fair amount nowadays but at the end of the day you have 2 choices don't you.


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[paulobee]

manchesterunitedman1 wrote:

Yes there are some places you buy from who are a bit difficult but not what I would call mainstream football auction houses, as for Mullock's yes they do charge like everyone else a fair amount nowadays but at the end of the day you have 2 choices don't you.

And the choice being, as a buyer, not buying. Therefore the seller is disappointed and the auction house needs to up their percentage or postal rates to compensate. If the auction house was a open and on the ball as SportingGold, then I'm pretty sure sales would rise.

SG are brilliant. Bid and buy online. Get an invoice in the post. Call them up, payment made, only a small cost on the postal charge and we're all happy. It's not that difficult. Some auction houses are putting in obstacles where there shouldn't be.

[Flaming Pie]

All of these posts are so helpful for forum members with memorabilia that they might be looking to buy, or sell at auction houses in the future.As l said earlier, thanks to daiward for bringing this topic up. A few years back, browsing through future auctions,ll spotted a 1962 Charity Shield Spurs v Ipswich ticket at an auction house. I think it was based in the Midlands.Too far to travel to, so placed an lnternet bid. Won the item for £20. l was then charged £40 for post and packing. We are talking about one ticket here ! Had to pay up , but never bothered with them again. Thanks for the recommendations about who are the better auction houses to deal with. l have taken note for the future.

[Tynie Topics]

eBay – an online auction where you can win the item without paying commission, and where the P&P charges are known upfront. If the seller turns out to be a shyster, you get your money back. Not sure why some people knock it
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[littlewiggy]

Tynie Topics wrote:

eBay – an online auction where you can win the item without paying commission, and where the P&P charges are known upfront. If the seller turns out to be a shyster, you get your money back. Not sure why some people knock it

I agree to a point Tynie, indeed I never have and never will use an auction house because I don't care for the steep charges, but let's not pretend eBay isn't without some serious faults too.

So in that respect I think you're either mistaking genuine concerns with a flawed system for people "knocking" it, or you're simply being mischievous.
Given that you placed a wink after your comment, I tend to think it's the latter.

For all its merits, and for collectors it has a good many, eBay is still an incredibly one-sided, grossly unfair system that often treats honest people very shoddily.
And it's sheer size means that when that occurs, your chances of getting anything sorted in your favour, or even being listened to are precisely zero.

Hence there are numerous pros & cons with both, and I for one choose to go with eBay because it is slightly the lesser evil.
But only just.

Any place where a cheat can happily prosper, all safely protected by the ill-thought house rules laid down, should never be exempt from criticism.
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[Tynie Topics]

To be honest Wiggy I’ve used ebay for over 10 years both buying and selling, have 1500+ feedback (100%) and can probably count on the fingers of one hand any issues I’ve had with it. Seriously.

On the selling front, I have maybe had one or two items go missing max, and never had a complaint. On the buying front again I’ve maybe had one item not reach me, and the few issues I’ve had buying wise have been rectified without having to leave negative feedback. Maybe I’ve been lucky, but for me it’s a fantastic pain-free way to buy and sell stuff.

Yes, it does have its little annoyances, but nothing is ever perfect. I rarely buy from auction houses as I baulk at the commission and postage fees, although on those occasions I have used them I’ve not had an issue.
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[littlewiggy]

Tynie Topics wrote:

To be honest Wiggy I’ve used ebay for over 10 years both buying and selling, have 1500+ feedback (100%) and can probably count on the fingers of one hand any issues I’ve had with it. Seriously. On the selling front, I have maybe had one or two items go missing max, and never had a complaint. On the buying front again I’ve maybe had one item not reach me, and the few issues I’ve had buying wise have been rectified without having to leave negative feedback. Maybe I’ve been lucky, but for me it’s a fantastic pain-free way to buy and sell stuff. Yes, it does have its little annoyances, but nothing is ever perfect. I rarely buy from auction houses as I baulk at the commission and postage fees, although on those occasions I have used them I’ve not had an issue.

I would agree most certainly mate.
Like you, it's been good for me too. I've been on eBay since 2001, have probably been involved in 10,000 transactions (buying & selling), and have never had a negative feedback left for me. (touches wood)

It's helped me build up (& finance) some great collections, but I find it very unfair to sellers all the same.

I've had to refund buyers who have had nothing more than buyer's remorse on a few occasions, because the system allows them to lie & exploit that. That rankles with me, because I bend over backwards to be fair & honest with people.

Sadly, under their rules, honest sellers are completely at the whim of anybody who chooses to act unscrupulously, and that can never be right.
And whether that personally affects me or not is immaterial.
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