Sloans & Kenyon Auctioneers and Appraisers

I have an organizing business & referred my client to S&KShe was downsizing & movingAfter working with her for nearly a year, she narrowed down the many items of furniture, antiques, art, collectibles, lamps & whatnots that she could not accommodate with her moveWe made arrangements, after approval of items from S&K for a p/u to go to their consignment and / or auction houseI created a numbered list and tagged every piece with a corresponding # list (and made copies)Day of p/u was 6/28/They were to arrive @ am as scheduled - after calling they finally arrived @ 12:and promptly told us that they could not take everything because they has another p/u that they need to leave room for on the truckThey promised to come back, next day @ w/o add'l chargeTo make a very long story short, they have NEVER provided my client with a complete detailed list of her items and still to this day (months later) have not resolved this issueNothing but excuses have been givenThere was a partial list with extreme vague descriptions (such as chair) and many of the items were not on the listThere is not accountability for any of the items removed and still after making another call today, nothing has been done to satisfy my clientI have spoken several times to Remy, Ellen & even the owner, Stephanie K [redacted] and they can not provide a basic inventory of itemsThis experience has been a complete disaster!!! I would NEVER trust them with any items or the ability to resolve a most basic problem of inventoryThis issue turned major DISASTER could have been taken care of very easilyWithin all of this damage was made to her walls upon the removal of a larger piece of furniture the first day, because they were rushedPLEASE do not utilize this company - I think you would be very disappointed in their lack of customer service

We've contacted the customer and provided the remedy sought.

I have an organizing business & referred my client to S&K. She was downsizing & moving. After working with her for nearly a year, she narrowed down the many items of furniture, antiques, art, collectibles, lamps & whatnots that she could not accommodate with her move. We made arrangements, after approval of items from S&K for a p/u to go to their consignment and / or auction house. I created a numbered list and tagged every piece with a corresponding # list (and made 2 copies). Day of p/u was 6/28/15. They were to arrive @ 10 am as scheduled - after calling they finally arrived @ 12:45 and promptly told us that they could not take everything because they has another p/u that they need to leave room for on the truck. They promised to come back, next day @ w/o add'l charge. To make a very long story short, they have NEVER provided my client with a complete detailed list of her items and still to this day (3 months later) have not resolved this issue. Nothing but excuses have been given. There was a partial list with extreme vague descriptions (such as chair) and many of the items were not on the list. There is not accountability for any of the items removed and still after making another call today, nothing has been done to satisfy my client. I have spoken several times to Remy, Ellen & even the owner, Stephanie K[redacted] and they can not provide a basic inventory of items. This experience has been a complete disaster!!! I would NEVER trust them with any items or the ability to resolve a most basic problem of inventory. This issue turned major DISASTER could have been taken care of very easily. Within all of this damage was made to her walls upon the removal of a larger piece of furniture the first day, because they were rushed. PLEASE do not utilize this company - I think you would be very disappointed in their lack of customer service.

Review: In January at one of the Tuesday open appraisals, I was given an estimate by [redacted] Kenyon on a dining set (table, chairs and sideboard) of several thousand dollars. Respectively, the table appraised at approximately $1200-$1500, the chairs $800-$1200, and the breakfront at $2000-$2400, totaling a minimum of $4300. **. Kenyon noted that the items would be suitable for their next auction on April 20th-21st. For the next couple of weeks, I listed the items on [redacted] in attempt to sell to private buyers for approximately that which she appraised them. The highest offer I received was $3750, so I decided to pursue committing our items to sale with S&K. I arranged for the auction house to pick up the property from my home the last week of February (noting the $125 fee for such), signed the contract which had been emailed to me (noting the commissions likely to be incurred and the $20 photography fee), but was never contacted about the specifics of pricing my items once they had arrived at their facility. This is in total violation of the terms of our agreement. Per condition 1 of the contract, I was not advised "of the method and location of the sale of the Property." In fact, I heard nothing from S&K in the interim period from late February when my items were picked up through the April auction. I also was not offered the opportunity to set a reserve per condition 8 of the agreement which notes "You may elect to establish a mutually acceptable reserve, which is the minimum price acceptable for the sale of the Property. In no event may a reserve exceed the low end of the presale estimate." This right was denied to me despite several attempts to contact S&K (three via telephone and 1 in person in mid-March). On all of these occasions, I was told that an estimate on which to base the reserve had not yet been set, but I would be contacted at least 10 days prior to the April auction to discuss such. Days and weeks passed, and no word from any representative of S&K. In the interim, we relocated across the country in late March, and the imminence of the situation fell off my radar. Thankfully, I had set a reminder on my phone to follow up regarding the outcome of the auction as of April 20th. When I contacted the auction house on the 20th, I was told that my items had gone to auction at much lower prices than had originally been estimated. The table was apparently offered at $500-$700 (approx 40% of initial appraisal), the chairs at $1000-1200 (the only item that was priced higher than the estimate), and the breakfront at $700-$900 (35% the initial appraisal), totaling (half of what I was originally estimated). Extremely dissatisfied with these numbers, I asked to speak to **. Kenyon who was not available, so I left her a message letting her know of my disappointment. I was subsequently contacted back by her and told that the discrepancy between what she estimated in January and what she priced the items at in April was due to "the demands of the market," something that I cannot fathom fluctuates so rapidly for these older pieces in such a short span of time. She was not able to update me as to the outcome of the auction, so she said that she would have [redacted] contact me as soon as that information was available. I spoke with **. [redacted] on April 23rd and was told that the breakfront was the only item that sold at auction, and that it went for $375 (less than 20% the original estimated value)!!! After commissions and fees, I am entitled to a mere $150. I was extremely upset at this as I had an opportunity months earlier to sell the entire set for 10 times that much, and I feel extremely mislead by S&K's dishonest business practices. **. [redacted] offered to return my items to me or to donate them on my behalf, rather than honor the remaining terms of their contract per condition 7 "unsold property" wherein other options for sale remain. It is noted that this option further entitles me to have influence over the pricing of my items - something that has not honored by their business practices thus far. Unfortunately, had I done my research prior, I would have seen that they are not highly regarded by previous consignors, and I may have used better judgment in the commitment of my items to sale. I am now asking for the assistance of the Revdex.com to mitigate this outcome of S&K's flawed business practices.Desired Settlement: In settlement, I am requesting for S&K to offer my items at the next quarterly auction, waiving any interim storage fees for the two unsold pieces. I also request that I am consulted regarding the price set for my items and that the terms of the original contract be honored in my allowance to set a minimum or reserve based at a minimum on the prices set for April's auction (ie: no estimating them for the next auction at a lower price to alleviate their financial responsibility to me). Alternatively, I may consider their offer to donate the items on my behalf only if the original TOTAL estimate of $4300 be provided as a write-off value to me for tax purposes as it is through no fault of mine that the one item sold was extremely underpriced. As a final alternative, I would accept free housing of my remaining unsold items until such time that I can arrange for them to be picked up to be sold by a more reputable and honest institution or for private sale. I am willing to discuss any of these options or reasonable proposals by S&K to remedy the current situation.

I have an organizing business & referred my client to S&K. She was downsizing & moving. After working with her for nearly a year, she narrowed down the many items of furniture, antiques, art, collectibles, lamps & whatnots that she could not accommodate with her move. We made arrangements, after approval of items from S&K for a p/u to go to their consignment and / or auction house. I created a numbered list and tagged every piece with a corresponding # list (and made 2 copies). Day of p/u was 6/28/15. They were to arrive @ 10 am as scheduled - after calling they finally arrived @ 12:45 and promptly told us that they could not take everything because they has another p/u that they need to leave room for on the truck. They promised to come back, next day @ w/o add'l charge. To make a very long story short, they have NEVER provided my client with a complete detailed list of her items and still to this day (3 months later) have not resolved this issue. Nothing but excuses have been given. There was a partial list with extreme vague descriptions (such as chair) and many of the items were not on the list. There is not accountability for any of the items removed and still after making another call today, nothing has been done to satisfy my client. I have spoken several times to Remy, Ellen & even the owner, Stephanie K[redacted] and they can not provide a basic inventory of items. This experience has been a complete disaster!!! I would NEVER trust them with any items or the ability to resolve a most basic problem of inventory. This issue turned major DISASTER could have been taken care of very easily. Within all of this damage was made to her walls upon the removal of a larger piece of furniture the first day, because they were rushed. PLEASE do not utilize this company - I think you would be very disappointed in their lack of customer service.