Hear, hear.... I agree totally. It's risking consigning to anyone.
I also think if you're going to go through all the trouble of setting up a photo shooting situation for posters, why not list them on ebay yourself? At the same time we had sent posters to Heritage, we were selling Star Wars posters and memorabilia on ebay and got better prices than at Heritage's signature auction. ________________________________ From: Dale Dilts <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, June 5, 2012 12:28 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Rudy Franchi, Heritage, no Inventory I must be missing exactly how taking an inventory before sending would actually help? I could write up a nice long list of stuff, only send half of it, and then claim they lost it, how much sense does that make and in court who exactly is going to win that battle. Making a list and taking pictures might make you feel real safe, but sending no list at all covers you just the same. Yes it would allow you to reconcile your list against a sales list, but other than that, pretty worthless as there is no proof what actually ever enters the mail stream or once opened what is done with it. If you are going to consign anything, you simply take the risk of your property leaving your hands with potentially no return. Like it or not, trust is still a must in any business that is not done person to person. From:MoPo List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Carlos Duenas Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2012 10:55 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] Rudy Franchi, Heritage, no Inventory Hi all, I guess it would be sad to agree that "trust no one" is the best rule. I have send posters to Christies in London and took the time to make an inventory (because there were only a few items they wanted, they only took posters worth over US$250). Even sending the inventory which was very small they didn´t send the inventory of what they received and misplaced one of my posters which they found after I complained because they did not add it to their following auction. On the other hand, I have sent hundreds of posters and lobby cards to Bruce Hershenson, I asked if I needed to send an inventory; they said no, I trusted them and so far they haven´t misplaced anything (and not making inventories has saved me many hours of work). To be frank I don´t have the memory to know if everything I had sent to them has been auction or is being held for a later auction, but I trust them and if there were item that were special (valuable) I would remember them the same way Geraldine remembers her good posters that are missing. Just to add more salt to this e-mail I would like to share an experience that I find funny: the same poster I sent to Christies in London, a 1964 NM My Fair Lady(which sold for about US$800), I offered to Christies in NY and they said they didn´t want it because of its low value, nevertheless, a few days later a man from that auction wrote to me saying that he would buy the poster from me if I wanted. I also offer that same poster to Heritage a few years ago and they said the poster wasn´t good enough for their auction. I very much appreciate Geraldine sharing with everyone what happened to her, it think is fantastic and cheap learning from others´ experiences. Mainly for ethical reasons I think auctions should have standard procedure to treat all customers in the same careful and respectful manner no matter their age or origin or if they are dealers or collector but also for their reputation because there are groups of people like us (mopoers) that would share the good and the bad for the benefit of all. Best, Carlos From:"Walton, Jeffrey" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, June 4, 2012 12:51 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Rudy Franchi, Heritage, no Inventory I concur wholeheartedly….you just can’t ship a bunch of posters and claim foul when no inventory on your part was done no matter if you trust that identity or not. When shipping a bunch of poster I always make an inventory and send along a copy of the inventory as well. So when Grey or Bruce compares the list and there is a discrepancy there is at least a record. What would have happened if the parcel was lost in the mail, then try to stake a claim with the insurance? The X-files said it best – ‘Trust no one.” From:MoPo List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Richard Halegua Posters + Comic Art Sent: Monday, June 04, 2012 3:31 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] Rudy Franchi, Heritage, no Inventory Geraldine reading your posts as a outsider makes me wonder about some of the things you mention in your emails. Are you trying to get a resolution, or are you just trying to disparage Rudy Franchi and Heritage? Also, do you or do you not think that your own actions are a partial contributor to your angst?? Don't get me wrong.. I'm not attempting to disparage or attack you. I understand you have a dispute, it was not to date settled in your favor and that makes you angry. But some thing that you wrote puzzles me. Your own lack of an inventory specifically. 2 weeks ago, I consigned a large collection of my own to Profiles in History for their July auction. I have a book collection or hardcover Photoplay editions in dust jackets dating from 1913 to the 1940s with additional items up to the 1990s. I have known Joe Maddalena for a reasonably long time and we have done deals on both a personal level and via his auction house. However, regardless of my relationship with Joe, when I consigned this collection to them of 800 books and related items, there is no way I would have let these items leave my possession without an inventory. For 2 weeks prior to them leaving my warehouse, I photographed each and every item in this collection. Yes it was done in part so I could have file images of these items for my image archive, but it was also done so that in case of any disputes, I could prove to Profiles what I gave them. This is not for the protection of myself and for the protection of Profiles. How could I dispute any issues without having such an inventory in my hands?? Did I do this time consuming job for my own pleasure?? No Ma'am I had plenty of other work to do, and such a task only added to my weekly work schedule right at a time when I was actually busier than I had been in months, and anyone who knows me knows that my work schedule is always completely full and that I haven't been having lots of playtime in my wonderful city of Las Vegas. It actually left me with just one day to get ready for Cinevent, and that one day wasn't nearly enough. Joe may be my good friend and I trust him 100%, but I do not leave it up to other people to protect my own interests, as much as I would like to when I don't have any time. If I leave it up to someone else to protect my interests, I really don't feel I can blame the other party no matter how many assurances I have that I can. Furthermore, if such a situation were to land me in a lawsuit attempting to claim some sort of duress, what portion of such duress is my own fault for not protecting myself?? I do remember the days when a handshake deal was a bond, but I have also felt the betrayal of a handshake deal not being honored, making me wish I had done what was necessary to protect myself before any issues arose. Not completing such an action is no one's fault but my own. So the question becomes, "IF" your claims are true, what responsibility do you think you have in not having done what was necessary to protect yourself? Do you think this was a failure on your behalf, or do you think that you have any responsibility at all? If you were to sue Heritage, what proof would you use to prove your case? Admittedly, you made no inventory, Charlie is 82 and you are also at an age where things become less clear to the mind - through no fault of your own.. It just happens as people get older. It will happen to me as well probably. I have thought at times that something is missing and believed I had given it to someone, only to later find said item in my inventory, generally somewhere that it doesn't belong, at which point I was forced to apologize to that person who I thought screwed me. You did not do what was necessary to protect yourself, how can that be the fault of Heritage? Rich At 06:15 AM 6/4/2012, Geraldine Kudaka wrote: Rudy, this list is not just for dealers. There are a lot of people who lurk here who are interested in movie posters. They are not professional dealers in the business. Some may be non-poster business people interested in selling off collections acquired from either a lifetime of working in the industry, or inherited them from dad, who passed on. This is also a public list which non-subscribers go to for archived information on how to sell their posters.. As a noted movie poster expert, these uninformed sellers need to know that you will encourage them to send their collections "post vite" to Heritage. You will not tell them that they need to protect themselves by doing a photographic inventory and log of their posters before sending to Heritage. You will not warn them that Heritage's inventory process is suspect and their software probably some home-user Access-like database program. (Here, I'm referring to security differences between programs like Quicken and true business accounting software which do not allow you to change entries without leaving a trail.) You will not tell them that heritage will not return posters they do not sell. You will simply funnel them to Heritage -- for your commission. For this reason - among others - an esteemed seller on this list posted a wish that you were dead... Need I remind you I defended you? This was before I sat down and went though our Heritage file and discovered what was really going on. This was before I went online and found that Heritage has been accused by others for stealing items submitted for consignment. Last -- if you think you have spent "a huge amount of time" on this issue, get real. Suggesting we comply with Heritage's offer of selling without commission fees is certainly not an email that takes a lot of time to write. After Grey threatened us with legal action, we have spent far more money on attorney's fees than you have... That's a hard financial cost on top of the value of posters sent to Heritage. While I appreciate your suggestion we go bankrupt "sueing everybody involved", I will decline your advice. In the start, I said this list is not just for dealers. My emails are for the lurking public, now and in the future. From:rudy franchi <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, June 1, 2012 10:41 AM Subject: [MOPO] Reply To Geraldine It seems that I can't post to MOPO without Geraldine popping out like a cuckoo bird on a spring. This has gone beyond rational discussion. I've spent a huge amount of time on this problem and Grey has spent the equivalent of days in hour after hour of trying to reach a satisfactory conclusion. Perhaps Geraldine should just sue everyone involved. After she loses, she can appeal it all the way to the Supreme Court where it will go down in judicial history as "When I've Got A Hammer vs. Everything's A Nail." Meanwhile, I will continue to occasionally post here and just put up with the tirades. On some of the stock market discussion boards I visit, one can put a particularly annoying person on "ignore" so that their posts won't show up in your message box. Would that we could do that here. 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