I need some ammunition. Our nonprofit organization has just been ripped royally by the iSoldit Auction Co, a franchise with an office in Wichita. We were lead to believe that it is part of eBay, but now we don't think so. It was to be our end all be all to keep us afloat this winter with utilities and taxes.
ISold it led us to believe they were "helping" us as a nonprofit to make money from our sales. And were giving us a nonprofit commission. LOL
The first two huge loads I took up they rejected almost every item except a couple. They finally told me that each item had to have a sale value of at least $40. I said I thought it was to be grouped together of like-kind to make $40."Oh no" she said—each item. Then she said nothing we brought was selling (even tho it was on the list they passed out) right now so she suggested vintage clothing and of course, we have plenty.
I took up some beautiful pieces that she eventually got around to posting (a week or more later).. I was surprised to see five fine fur coats grouped together. When each one had a value of at least $40. (and that continued to be the pattern). Strange, she had previously told me before that they couldn't do groupings. She said they had to price each auction to start at $29.95. Fine, I thought. We can live with that. We were also told we'd have to "wait awhile" for the checks.
So I kept hauling things up, 100 mile round trip. Then I saw she was suddenly starting everything for $14.95, quite a drop for $29.95 or even the next tier of $19.95. And then, they'd get ONE BID about the time the sale would close. AFTER WAITING TWO MONTHS we finally got our first two checks this past week and I was devastated... Except for a couple of things that sold in the beginning, we got only $1.30 per item that sold... All those beautiful vintage clothes (and some brand new designer dressers) earned us $1.30. Each. I nearly cried. So when I called and said this was unreal, she said "Well, we have to make money too" And that is all she would repeat, over and over, "We have to make money, too." So much for customer service.
The upshot is, I went to claim our left over stuff yesterday and she would not let me have a number of new items she had posted of really fine NEW, never worn designer items. (She took them out of sequence when we brought them in and had always said things would be posted in sequence so I thought this another odd behavior.) I know now we we will probably get only $1.30 for them, such as 5 new Chaus skirts all clumped in one lot, $1.30 for TWO Italian designer dresses worth bout $200 each, etc... You get the very fishy picture.
I did tell her I was reporting the company to the BBB and AG and she got very angry and ordered me out and told me to never come back. She said, "We have you on camera commiting too these terms." I said I wanted a copy of the film to show our Board. She said we were not allowed to have it. I said, "Well, maybe the Attorney Generals' office can get a copy." When I added "How do you think I feel selling all of these beautiful items for only $1.30 she screamed, "We have to make money too." I told her I was reporting them to the BBB and Ag and she really went into a rage. I think they are guilty of something.
What I want to know is there a way she can rig the bids? * I don't know enough about eBay to know this. But it is odd that item after item was posted for $14.95 and sells, and we get only $1.30. And she gets all the rest. And did she know that groups of the same item don't sell easily so she could "control" how it was "bought:? We don't know who the buyers are but does she have a friend she is sending the items too? Or herself? (She is a huge woman, as is one of the other women who works there, and she told me that XL and XXL items sold "really well" so I brought in plenty. And she had oooh'd and awww'd over the merchandise.)
Any clues, any advice greatly appreciated. Know anyone with a similar experience with this company?
0 comments