The Estate Lady

I would like to take this opportunity to respond to the complaint filed by *** *** regarding my last Estate Sale. It is important to note that I have been successfully running estate liquidations for over years. I have not survived by misrepresenting items or trying to deceive
people. In an estate sale environment, it is important for the customer to do "due diligence" in knowing what they are buying because there is always an "All Sales FINAL" policy. This is the root of ***'s complaint. He bought knowing all sales were final and was then angry that I wouldn't cave to his request to refund his money. Here is the series of events as they happened. The sale Mr*** attended had an extremely nice selection of African and American Indian items including Miwok and Apache baskets. I posted pictures of all of the baskets that were to be sold. I priced items that were known to be specifically Apache and Miwok appropriately as they carry higher values. Other baskets were priced aestheticallyThe baskets were not labeled as to origin. One must have a modicum of knowledge to buy wisely in this category. Mr*** rushed in, grabbed a bunch of baskets and put them aside to purchase. He made very quick selections and I assumed he had found what he was looking for. He paid cash for his purchase and walked out with a smile on his face.Several hours later, he returned with a bad attitude. He admitted that he had someone "check out" his purchases and that they were not baskets he could "make money on." He also admitted that he KNEW that all estate liquidators have an "All sales final" policy, but he hoped I would reconsider I explained that the reason we have the "All sales final" policy is specifically for situations such as his. When several collectors race in the door on the first day of a sale, that is our BEST and sometimes our ONLY opportunity to sell very specific collectibles. Once a customer asks a liquidator to hold an item, it is then "off the market" to the other collectors who may have been interested in purchasing them. When Mr*** bought the items and took them off the premises, the golden opportunity to sell to other collectors was gone. Therefore, refunding his money would have been a bad decision on my part as I am working to make money for my client. This is precisely why the onus is on the buyer to know what they are buying. Savvy customers know to research before purchasing. *** could've played it safe by texting pictures to his "expert" BEFORE he purchased the items. Many of my customers do this at my sales. It is the smarter way to buy, however, when I told *** that I would not refund his money, he ASSURED me that he WAS an expert who purchased more than $20,dollars of tribal items to resell each month. Why then did he not buy the American Indian baskets that were available? He should've known that they would be priced considerably MORE than the lesser baskets he purchased The bottom line is that there were no "fake" baskets at my sale. A fake item is meant to deceive. I had many baskets from different origins. Some were better than others. *** picked lesser value items and was then disappointed that he wouldn't be able to sell them for more than he had purchased them for. It is not my job to educate people, however, when asked I am glad to give my opinion on their prospective purchases. *** had the opportunity to buy better quality baskets, but he chose items with less value.I have not become a successful liquidator by ripping people off. I'm the kind of liquidator who will point out flaws in an item before a customer buys it. I want people to be happy with their purchases. But those buying for resell MUST know their market before buying. There was no misrepresentation in this transaction. I indeed had Apache and Miwok baskets at my sale. Those are not the items *** chose to purchase! A deception piece (as *** calls the baskets) is something that is meant to look like something it's not. The baskets *** bought were CLEARLY NOT American Indian. He has no basis to call them deception pieces. He simply didn't know enough about baskets to be buying them for resale As a matter of fact, this complaint is pure harassment from a man who didn't get "his way" when asking for a refund. I did offer to give him a percentage off any purchase at any other sale of mine, but he was very rude and said he would not be back. Considering he admitted to me that he knew he had not made smart purchases and simply wanted me to fix HIS mistake, I would prefer that he not attend anymore of my sales as well Thank you,*** ***Capital Estate Liquidation###-###-####

Thank you for calling this complaint to my attention A family member passed away recently and I have spent the last couple of weeks helping plan a memorial service I would now like to respond to the complaint filed by *** *** As you stated I could just send it as a
response to your email Thank you for assisting me by sending the pertinent information My response is as follows:In response to a complaint filed by *** ***; I, *** ***, would like to reference a letter I received from *** on April 7th, I immediately called *** in an effort to discuss her concerns I left a message but no response was forthcoming I tried to call *** a second time on April and again received no return callI placed a third call to *** on April 27th Again, no response Finally, on Thursday, April 28, I called *** at her number, as well as her husband *** *** at his cell number, leaving messages for both None of my calls to resolve this matter were returnedThese people are in financial dire straits and it appears that *** and Weinberg would rather take their chances in a court of law than to actually discuss and resolve this matter.I will be sending a copy of the letter I received from *** in order to validate the statements I make here in my response ***'s letter is filled with glowing reports of my company's efforts in assisting her with her liquidation as well as a statement that absolutely refutes any complaints filed with the Revdex.com The second paragraph on the second page of her letter states: "I believe you acted in good faith and with our best interests in mind."And that is exactly what I did! I try and get my clients every penny I can in a "quick sale environment." The more money I make for them, the more money I make for myself; so one can be quite sure that I am highly motivated to make the most money I can on each item at an estate saleI told *** and Weinberg long before we signed a contract that I would not inventory every item and that any item not listed would be accounted for under the line item entitled "Miscellaneous." The items *** refers to in her letter that are "unaccounted for" have been represented and accounted for on the last page of the inventory provided them after the sale There was absolutely no "undervaluing" of items Undervaluing an item would actually hurt my personal proceeds from the sale and I am in this business to make money; therefore, this is a foolish suggestion *** bought many new reproductions of items Reproductions do not hold their value Also, I am a liquidator I do not suggest to people that I will be able to get them retail prices for their items I price items to sell because we have a very short amount of time to sell off an entire household.***'s comment regarding my representatives talking to customers about the last day of the sale was also skewed If a customer complains that a price is too high during our sale, I have instructed my reps that rather than refute the customer, simply invite them back on the last day (which we refer to as "bargain day") because this is the day we drop prices significantly This is the nature of an estate sale We ask that our clients not be present during the sale so that these types of misinterpretations do not exist Finally, if *** had wanted to listen to my reasoning for pricing items as I did (as mentioned in her letter) she should have given me the common courtesy of a call back It is apparent that she and her spouse are in such a financial mess that they think they will be able to convince a judge that I did not do due diligence and therefore receive a settlement In her letter, *** proposed a settlement number in order to avoid further action I call this extortion Honestly, I can't wait to tell a judge my side of the story.Thank you, Mr***, for this opportunity to respond to these bogus accusations.Sincerely,*** *** *** ***
*** ***

Review: We contracted the company to handle an estate sale on our behalf because we needed to raise money to avoid filing for bankruptcy. During the sale, one of the company's representatives told customers to wait until the last day to buy items so that they would get the best bargains. At the end of the sale, the owner of the company provided us with an inventory of what had been sold and for what price. The list omitted items valued at more than $1,500 that are no longer in our house (presumably they were sold), and it seriously undervalued items for which we had provided documentation, resulting in a loss of more than $700 on those items. Two letters documenting our concerns, as well as a letter from our attorney, have been unanswered, and I intend to pursue a claim in small claims court to recover amounts that we are owed.Desired Settlement: We would like to be compensated for the items that were sold and unaccounted for, as well as for the discrepancy between sale price and actual value of specific items on the inventory. We are asking for $1,000, but I intend to seek restitution of $2,000 if this proceeds to small claims court.

Business

Response:

Thank you for calling this complaint to my attention. A family member passed away recently and I have spent the last couple of weeks helping plan a memorial service. I would now like to respond to the complaint filed by [redacted]. As you stated I could just send it as a response to your email. Thank you for assisting me by sending the pertinent information. My response is as follows:

Review: I went to an Estate sale hosted by The Estate Lady today November 21 2014. I went because she was advertising Native American Baskets woven by the Apache and Miwok. The owner of this business holds herself out to be a certified appraiser from The International Society of Appraisers so I went to the sale thinking that I would be purchasing authentic Native American Baskets.These baskets were not inexpensive I paid 486 dollars for 7 baskets. The baskets were about 40 percent less then full retail, about what you would expect to pay at an Estate Sale. The problem is I did not purchase authentic Native American Baskets I purchased deception pieces made in Pakistan. I would have never purchased these baskets for 486 dollars if they were being sold by someone who was not a certified appraiser. I went back to the sale after I found out the baskets were fake told her about what I found out told her that the baskets were deception pieces and that they were worth about 60 dollars I then asked her if she would be willing to refund 400 dollars because the baskets were not Native American as she had advertised but fakes. She said no. She then told me that she had priced them for their "Aesthetic Value" and I guess the fake baskets were Aesthetically pleasing when staged with a large group of authentic Native American artifacts. She then told me she never specifically said they were Native American baskets even though her ad in estatesales.net did. She also told me it was my responsibility to know what I am buying and that she was not responsible for knowing whether or not the contents of her sale were counterfeit or real. I believe that this company has knowingly defrauded me so I decided to file a complaint with the Revdex.comDesired Settlement: I would like a full refund I offered a workable solution and was flatly rejected I have the baskets and receipts which I will return to her when refunded

Business

Response:

I would like to take this opportunity to respond to the complaint filed by [redacted] regarding my last Estate Sale. It is important to note that I have been successfully running estate liquidations for over 20 years. I have not survived by misrepresenting items or trying to deceive people. In an estate sale environment, it is important for the customer to do "due diligence" in knowing what they are buying because there is always an "All Sales FINAL" policy. This is the root of [redacted]'s complaint. He bought knowing all sales were final and was then angry that I wouldn't cave to his request to refund his money. Here is the series of events as they happened.

Review: I purchased a chandelier from the business for $642.00. This was done after two trips to the shop and several inquiries as to the final price. After paying for the item and the payment withdrawn from my checking account the owner refuses to provide the chandelier and told me that it had been sold to me at a lower price than the chandelier was worth. The owner now states that the price is $1500.00. The owner stated that she could take a couple of hundred dollars off but couldn't give it to me for the price I had paid.

Product_Or_Service: [redacted] Chandalier

Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Other (requires explanation)

Delivery of the item purchased in good faith.

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

To Whom it May Concern,

After realizing that my business partner, [redacted] had made an honest mistake by quoting the wrong price on the chandelier (there are quite a few in our shop) I attempted to call the woman making this complaint. She would not listen to a word I said. She was very threatening and ugly. I offered her a sizable discount on the actual price of the chandelier. She heard nothing I said. My business attorney suggested that I void the transaction, which I did. In the state of California, if a mistake is made on the price of an item, the business has every right to cancel the transaction.

Obviously, we are not in business to upset our customers, but human beings make mistakes on occasion and this is legitimately what happened in this case.

Final Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

As stated by the person who wrote the response to my complaint, I dealt with [redacted] on the date of my purchase who was in this shop. The person who responded on this complaint identifies [redacted] as a "partner" in the business. The person who contacted me by telephone at my home was condescending and flippant. They gave me the impression that she had decided the matter and that I was left with no recourse than to accept the new price she was quoting to me. I believe that as a "partner" in the business that [redacted] has the legal authority to sell products in the store and to quote prices. Since on 8/13/2013 I paid in full, the agreed on price, which had been quoted to me on two different days, that the item purchased now belongs to me. It was only because it could not be easily removed from the business that I agreed to return to pick up my purchase. My debit card was utilized for the purchase, and payment in full was made on 8/13/2013. At that point the chandelier became my property and no longer the property of the shop. I have since seen a return of the funds to my account, but at no time did I request the return of my money by anyone at this shop. I have only asked for the store owners to abide by the words on the receipt issued to me for this purchase, "ALL SALES FINAL NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES". I have not had any previous transactions with this store and have been left with a negative impression of this store and the ownership. As for recourse I have decided to explore a small claims action, if the store does not fulfill the obligation it entered into on 8/13/2013. I would also advise that the chandelier in question is no longer the property of the store and that they should retain possession of it until the matter is resolved.

Final Business Response

In a final response to Ms. [redacted] complain, I recognize that she is constipated in her thinking. Even the experts at News 13 could not get through to her! She called them thinking she'd drag my business through the mud and was actually informed that in California, a merchant has a LEGAL right to void a transaction if a mistake has been made.

Regarding our "All Sales Final" clause on the receipt, this is common in the world of antiques. It is OUR RETURN POLICY simply stated so that people cannot return merchandise that is, in essence, used.

No matter who the customer talked with, [redacted] or myself, when we realized a mistake had been made; we both AGREED that the best way to proceed was to void the transaction. Our attorney conferred that this was indeed legal and appropriate.

I offered the customer a discount, but she refused. She only wants what she wants - to take advantage of two small business owners who are trying to eek out a living.