BSG Auction Warning

If anyone bids on a BSG auction from Propworx - be wary!!

I participated in the live auction and part of my fee included a buyer's premium of 20%. This was disclosed so I knew what I was getting into.

Then they sent an email out to 800 people (cc'd so all these people now have my email address) stating that there will be an additional 10% fee for handling as well as shipping fees.

As you can imagine, this caused an uproar among the auction winners. Not only was our privacy violated, but the 10% fee on top of the 20% fee + additional shipping was downright extortion. They then sent us a revised handling fee of $25 per props/costumes $100 per pieces and furniture. This fee is a little more reasonable but it is just leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouth because it wasn't until people were threatening to cancel their payments that they sent out a revised handling email.

Just watch out....they said they were going to charge handling fees for ebay auctions too, though I don't believe anything is listed.

That doesn't seem fair at all. It's one thing disclose this information before an auction, totally different to do it afterwards. And the e-mail thing is really amateurish. I'd be pissed too if mine was given out without my consent.

****** bags.

somebody should slap them in the balls.

Batty said:

That doesn't seem fair at all. It's one thing disclose this information before an auction, totally different to do it afterwards. And the e-mail thing is really amateurish. I'd be pissed too if mine was given out without my consent.

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Yeah...they have pissed a lot of people off. I won't do business with them again.

Some dogtags went for a couple thousand dollars a 10% fee for handling is absolute robbery. The fact that they revised it after everyone complained doesn't take a way the feeling that this company is out to screw it's customers.

I'm wondering what my shipping fee will be.......probably a few hundred dollars.

They can't add fees after the auction's close, that is illegal. They can ammend it during the auction, but they have to give bidders the oppurtunity to retract bids if they do.

So simply put you don't have to pay, and you have them to a legal contract at that previous price. If they refuse to deliver w/o you paying the additional 10% then they are violating that contract. You and everyone else can even sue them.

Deckard said:

They can't add fees after the auction's close, that is illegal. They can ammend it during the auction, but they have to give bidders the oppurtunity to retract bids if they do.

So simply put you don't have to pay, and you have them to a legal contract at that previous price. If they refuse to deliver w/o you paying the additional 10% then they are violating that contract. You and everyone else can even sue them.

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Several hundred people did threaten to cancel the charges on their credit cards...which is when they sent out the revised handling. It's just shoddy business.

They have just been contradicting themselves. I was told all I had left to pay was a shipping fee....now it's handling and shipping.....I don't mind a $25 handling fee - that to me is fair - it just is crappy how they were going to try and milk everyone out of an additional 10%.

They did say they are losing money with shipping the ebay auctions and will be charging handling fees for them as well.....so if you bid just be prepared

Here is what the CEO of propworx wrote:

As far as eBay goes, we are instituting a handling fee there too as we lose money on the shipping right now

Jen said:

Here is what the CEO of propworx wrote:

As far as eBay goes, we are instituting a handling fee there too as we lose money on the shipping right now

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Another sign of poor business planning. They should have known ahead of time how much shipping should have been. Looking at their completed and active auctions, it looks like they charged $10 for shipping on every single item. Who would do that and not expect to lose money?

I can only imagine what their feedback is going to look like after this is done.

Batty said:

Another sign of poor business planning. They should have known ahead of time how much shipping should have been. Looking at their completed and active auctions, it looks like they charged $10 for shipping on every single item. Who would do that and not expect to lose money?

I can only imagine what their feedback is going to look like after this is done.

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No kidding... which is what a lot of us were complaining about. They were charging the eBay winners $10 and us several hundred dollars for very similar items.....

Bad, bad business. They are a relatively new company and hopefully no one will use them again.

What is BSG?

El Roranous said:

What is BSG?

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Battlestar Galactica

Yeah, that's pretty crappy, you're paying almost 50% additional to what you paid for the actual item, that sucks.

Kind wondering why they're selling everything anyways, you'd think they would try and store the small important stuff.

Jen said:

Battlestar Galactica

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Thanks Jen. There are just so many acronyms floating around on this board it's hard to keep them straight.

If you threw in a non-nerd into this pool he/she would drown or be eaten alive.

Well hopefully everything is settled now. It is the shipping company propworx is using that has created this mountain of a mess.

I still have no idea what my shipping charge will be + the special packaging required since my piece has a glass cover over the display. Alec, the CEO of propworx said that it's common for shipping/packaging to run a couple hundred dollars. I've packaged many fragile collectibles that were loose and spent no where near that amount. I'm finding out that live auctions run quite differently than something like eBay or what I am used to. Definitely will make me think twice about participating in another live auction, unless I am present to pick up the items myself.

An auction house that charges 20% buyer's premium already has a "handling fee" built in. That's what the buyer's premium is all about, so the auction house gets paid for selling this stuff. Sure the BSG auction was a little more elaborate and probably more expensive for them to put on, but they should have figured this out before the auction. Some of Starbuck's and Apollo's uniforms went for up to $8,000. Does that mean they need $800 in order to put a shirt and pants in a box? The revised price is more fair- but it still should have been covered by the buyer's premium.

Really assy move on their part... sounds like a cashgrab that once they got called out on they realized wasn't going to happen.

Darklord Dave said:

An auction house that charges 20% buyer's premium already has a "handling fee" built in. That's what the buyer's premium is all about, so the auction house gets paid for selling this stuff. Sure the BSG auction was a little more elaborate and probably more expensive for them to put on, but they should have figured this out before the auction. Some of Starbuck's and Apollo's uniforms went for up to $8,000. Does that mean they need $800 in order to put a shirt and pants in a box? The revised price is more fair- but it still should have been covered by the buyer's premium.

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Unfortunately, there was fine print that besides the buyer's premium, the buyers is responsible for shipping/handling/insurance. The CEO says it cost them over $350,000 to put the auction on and about 4 months of preparation. I still have doubts as to whether or not the shipping company really is a completely different business as it was someone from the shipping dept. that took my payment + the buyer's premium for the item and was supposed to get back to me in a few days with shipping costs. Its all kind of fishy.....but 10% was nuts. I mean what about dog tags that went for $3000+...it sure doesn't cost $300 to put them in a box. I'm just glad they revised it and I was told that they would make sure my shipping/packaging charges were cost effective. I won't know anything for probably another 2 weeks.
What's most frustrating is the lack of consistency. When I got my initial invoice I called to have it charged to a different card instead of my debit card. The shipping lady told me that I don't need to do that now and when they figure out shipping (in about a week) they will call me with a total and then I can change my card number. 2 days later my debit card was charged. Then I was told I would have my shipping quote within a week...it has now been 2 weeks and I have just been told it will be another 2 weeks before they will know anything.
I just hope it's all worth it. I'm shelling out a lot of money for some pretty knives.

Really assy move on their part... sounds like a cashgrab that once they got called out on they realized wasn't going to happen.

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I can't help feeling that too.....when they had a number of people threatening to cancel their payments we get a revised list and email saying "oops I reported the wrong handling fees earlier...." Just sounds like a load of b.s. to me.

I hope it works out for you, Jen. They sound like a bunch of morons.

Darth Waller said:

I hope it works out for you, Jen. They sound like a bunch of morons.

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Me too...I'm half tempted to cancel just because I'm in the process of buying a house right now and $2K would come in handy......but I really want those knives.

They will look great in your new home