Michael Siewert of JudyGarland.com was kind enough to share some thoughts about his experience with Heritage Auction Galleries and other auction houses, and I felt his comments were worth highlighting by reposting them from the Reader Comments in the recent Heritage-related articles. I do not know Mr. Siewert, but thought we could open a discussion about some of the ideas and opinions he raised in his comments, in hopes of initiating a productive dialogue about not just Heritage, but experiences and opinions about auction houses in general. [Read more…]
‘It’s A Wrap!’ Star Trek Auctions: Positive Customer Reports
As reported in late September and early November, hobbyists spanning several online discussion forums (primarily The Movie Prop Forum and the Star Trek Props, Costumes & Auctions Forum) had been outspoken about a variety of customer service complaints with It’s a Wrap and their handling of the official CBS ~ Paramount Television Star Trek auctions.
In monitoring the discussion forums and talking with collectors privately, it seems as though It’s A Wrap has turned things around significantly. I have learned from many collectors that customer service has improved significantly, auction wins have been delivered quickly/timely, and there seems to be much more positive buzz about the weekly auction events. I hope for both It’s A Wrap and their customers that these trends continue. [Read more…]
Guernsey’s Pugliese Pop Culture Collection Auction: Full Catalog Online
As discussed in prior articles (”Guernsey’s Auction: “The Pugliese Collection“”, “Guernsey’s Auction: “The Pugliese Collection” – Delayed to Early Next Year“, “Guernsey’s Pugliese Pop Culture Collection Auction: Las Vegas, NV – March 15-16, 2008“), this appears to be an interesting auction event, and the full catalog is now available to view online. It appears that movie-related memorabilia will be auctioned on the first day of the event, Saturday March 15th, in two sessions, while television and all other categories will be auctioned in two sessions on Sunday March 16th.
I received an e-mail today from Guernsey’s informing me that the hard copy version of the catalogs would likely be mailed out today to those who have ordered them. [Read more…]
News Reports: Heritage Filed Suit Against L.A. Prop & Wardrobe in Dallas County District Court Wednesday
According to multiple news/media reports (The Dallas Morning News: “Dallas’ Heritage Auction sues Hollywood memorabilia dealers“; The Houston Chronicle: “Auction house files lawsuit over alleged bogus memorabilia“; The Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Dallas auction house says it was conned into selling fakes“; and story originator WFAA-TV: “Dallas auction house claims multi-million dollar reputation damaged“), Heritage Auction Galleries filed suit on Wednesday in Dallas County District Court against Mississippi-based L.A. Prop & Wardrobe Co. and its owners, John Tarter and Billie Null.
According to The Houston Chronicle, the lawsuit filed yesterday “alleges fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract”. The Chronicle story also claims that “a listing could not be found for L.A. Prop” and that “[m]essages left with the L.A. Prop officials listed in the lawsuit were not immediately returned Thursday.” [Read more…]
eBay Auction: Greatest American Hero Costume – Update
As reported in late December (see “eBay Auction: Greatest American Hero Costume“), there was an eBay listing for an “original” William Katt Greatest American Hero costume (eBay Item #220184242364) which raised concerns as to authenticity, and was determined to have been a replica by an expert on these wardrobe pieces.
As explained previously, because an original suit was purportedly copied many years ago, replica suits were introduced into the marketplace as “original”, making authentication of these suits highly problematic. [Read more…]
WFAA Television News Report Update: Heritage Auction To Sue L.A. Prop and Wardrobe
A second report was broadcast by WFAA TV’s Channel 8, based on David Schechter’s investigation into items consigned by L.A. Prop and Wardrobe Company and sold by Heritage Auction Galleries (see Heritage Auction Galleries & L.A. Prop & Wardrobe Company, WFAA Television News Report…, More on Heritage Auction Galleries, L.A. Prop & Wardrobe).
In this update, Mr. Schechter reports that Heritage Auction Galleries will “sue L.A. Prop for knowingly providing bogus items for sale and damaging the auction house’s reputation”.
Here is a link to the full video report at WFAA.com: [Read more…]
Ten Outstanding Questions About “Super Hollywood” Superman Costumes in the Marketplace
Now that Mr. Alvarez (“Super Hollywood”, super38 on eBay) has registered for the Original Prop Blog and posted a series of statements (see “Costume Junkie” Response, “Super Hollywood” Response), I would like to provide him an opportunity to address the series of questions and concerns raised in the prior articles about Superman costumes in the marketplace (see “Questions About Superman Costumes in the Marketplace: Authenticity, Sources, Quantity“, “Update“, “Update 2“, “Update 3“). [Read more…]
Questions About Superman Costumes in the Marketplace: “Super Hollywood” Response
As noted in my article yesterday (…”Costume Junkie” Response), I have been contacted by both Mr. Armando Alvarez (”Super Hollywood”, “super38“) as well as Mr. Edward Pugia (”Costume Junkie”, “costumejunkie“) in regards to my articles about Superman costumes in the marketplace (see “Questions About Superman Costumes in the Marketplace: Authenticity, Sources, Quantity“, “Update“, “Update 2“, “Update 3“).
I spoke with Mr. Alvarez on the phone at length on 1/27 and 1/28, and invited him to share on this blog as much information as he is able to, in the form of a Reader Comment, and I would quote such statements in an update article to provide him an opportunity to address outstanding questions about the Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, and Greatest American Hero costumes with “Super Hollywood” provenance/Certificates of Authenticity/Letters of Authenticity. [Read more…]