Hey Bruce, Don't sugar coat it ... tell it in plain english
allenday (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) --- Bruce Hershenson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I am not at my office right now, and won't be able > to check until Monday > morning why this specific person was placed on my > blocked bidder list, but > there are three primary reasons people are placed on > my blocked bidder list: > > 1) There is an automated process that places all > bidders on my blocked > bidder list if they have not paid four weeks after > an item closes. If they > never do pay, they stay there, even if it is over > one 99 cent item (this is > because we absolutely do not want even one bidder > who does not intend to > honor every single bid they make on our auctions). > If they pay AFTER four weeks, then they remain > on my blocked bidder > list until they discover it, which sometimes takes a > few weeks, and often a > year or more. If they then contact us directly, we > remove they from my > blocked bidder list, and tell them that if they > don't pay for future > purchases within four weeks at the very most, they > will permanently stay on > my blocked bidder list. > This may seem harsh, but I think no one should > bid on items if they > can't pay in full within four weeks. Some have > described this as > "restrictive payment terms", but I wonder if those > who can't pay within four > weeks (especially since they can pay with any credit > card, which can be paid > off over years) should be bidding at all? Maybe they > should save their money > for more pressing things, like their mortgage > payment, etc. > When auction houses give unlimited credit, with > a tiny amount down, and > endless time to pay at high interest rates, they are > in effect turning > themselves into credit card companies, and that can > cause artificially > inflated prices on collectibles, and contributes > towards creating a "Ponzi > scheme", where prices rise 20% annually, until the > inevitable crash (it > works the same in the stock market, the real estate > market, and the antiques > and art markets, but this is the first time it has > been tried in > collectibles, but I suspect the result will be the > same). > > 2) I place people on my blocked bidder list if they > post on a forum that > they will never purchase from me. This is for their > protection. I sell so > much that they may accidentally bid on one of my > items without realizing I > am the seller, and this way the blocked bidder list > serves as a wake-up to > remind them that they don't want to buy from me. > > 3) I place people on my blocked bidder list if they > post libelous or > defamatory remarks about me in any public forums. > There is one sad fellow > who several times has posted that I was fired from > Christie's in 1993, with > additional incorrect defamatory comments. It > apparently does not matter to > this fellow that I was never fired from Christie's > (I stopped doing auctions > there because they changed owners, and the new > owners would not sign the > same contract as the previous owners, one that > stipulated that I and > not Christie's publish the catalog: in fact they > offered me other incentives > in an effort to keep me there, and I turned them > down), and the very > public fact that I did my last auction with them in > 1997 also does not seem > to matter either! I can't see why I want to sell to > someone who is so far > removed from reality that they post private > whispered smears which they are > told onto public forums (without in any way > attempting to find out if they > are correct), and so this person, and others like > him, remain on my blocked > bidder list. > > I have found that by keeping these people on my > blocked bidder list, I > collect from 99%+ of the buyers, both in money > terms, and in terms of > numbers of items. I also get less than one in one > thousand items returned, > either because of condition description, or any > other inaccuracy in the > description. I am convinced that the tiny number of > people who reside on I > my blocked bidder list are responsible for a huge > percentage of the > complaints we regularly see posted about on forums, > and I have no desire to > change my strategy of selling. > I want my auctions to be 100% honest in terms > of actual bidders who > only place bids on items they intend to buy, and who > honor every single bid > they make. I strive to describe every item 100% > accurately, even if it often > makes some of my consignors cringe (I regularly get > e-mails from consignors > that say, "Did you really have to run it down THAT > much?", but in their > heart of hearts they KNOW I described it > accurately), and I know the buyers > very much appreciate that honestly. We have spent 19 > years perfecting the > best ways of wrapping movie paper, and the only > complaint I get on that > front is the "It took me an hour to open the danged > package!" I hear > regularly. > I feel certain that the above policies pay off > huge for me in terms of > the number of people who bid in my auctions > (sometimes to the exclusion of > all others) precisely because they know there is no > monkey business in the > bidding, that the items will be exactly as > described, and that they will > arrive in exactly the condition they left here in, > and I KNOW that this is > often not the case with other auctions). > > I fully recognize that there is a tiny percentage of > people who in spite of > all of the above do not want to deal with me (many > out of jealousy, in the > same way they don't want to buy from Wal-Mart) and I > can live with that. I > am content to continue to sell to the 29.000+ > collectors I have already sold > to, and leave that tiny "lunatic fringe" alone! > > Bruce > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at > www.filmfan.com > > ___________________________________________________________________ > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo > Mailing List > > Send a message addressed to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > In the BODY of your message type: > SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > The author of this message is solely responsible > for its content. > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
