Summary: Premiere Props Fails To Perform, Defaults On “Legally Binding Contract”
I bid on many items during Premiere Props live auction event via eBay on July 14th.
Of the six items I won, I was shown as the winner at the end of bidding and received e-mail confirmation from eBay and Premiere Props confirming each of my six wins with the heading: “Congratulations, the item is yours”.
The Premiere Props completed auction results show me as the winner of all six lots. My eBay account “Items I’ve Won” page also verifies that fact.
I was sent an invoice a few days after the event, paid immediately via PayPal for all six lots, and received a confirmation of the lots and that payment was made and accepted.
8 days after being invoiced and having paid for my items – 11 days after the sales had ended – Premiere Props processed a refund for one of my six items through PayPal, claiming that this item – won and paid for by me as the winner – was “awarded to a phone bidder”.
I contacted Premiere Props directly – no resolution to the problem was offered. In fact, they hung up on me after asking, “what’s your problem?”
In calling back, I could not reach anyone who cared to resolve the problem or even discuss it with me. I asked to speak with the owner of Premiere Props but was told not to expect a return call.
I legitimately won an item at auction, was recorded as the winning bidder, was invoiced, and made payment.
Premiere Props refuses to ship me my item, refuses to discuss the issue, and offers no alternative resolution.
Event Background: The Hollywood Roadshow Live Auction
As reported on a little over a week ago, I participated in the “Hollywood Roadshow” auction, a partnership between Premiere Props and Super Auctions (see articles, “Hollywood Roadshow Live Auction in L.A. – Held Today” and “Upcoming Hollywood Roadshow Live Auction in L.A. – July 14, 2007“, see website Hollywood Roadshow, see eBay “ME” page for premiereprops16, see Hollywood Roadshow eBay Live Auctions Catalog Page).
Full Details, Facts, & Evidence Pertaining to Auction Win: Grindhouse Death Proof Keys
One of the six items I won at auction were the keys to the Death Proof car, from the Death Proof segment of Grindhouse (see “458: GRINDHOUSE – Stuntman Mike’s (Kurt Russell) Keys“):
Link to full archived auction: Stuntman Mike Death Proof Keys Auction Archive
I bid live, over the Internet, using eBay Live Auctions.
With this lot, I won the item for $300. I was extremely happy with this outcome, as I was prepared to bid several thousand dollars, if necessary, as this was the top piece for me in the auction.
This is the eBay listing Bid History showing me, jdebord, as winner of the auction (LINK):
Link to full archived bid history: Stuntman Mike Death Proof Keys Bid History Archive
The Bid History page is now, on July 27, 2007, the same as it was on the day of the auction, July 14, 2007, reflecting myself as winner.
I also received e-mail confirmation of my win (“Congratulations, the item is yours. Please pay now!”) from eBay/Premiere Props immediately following the end of the auction:
Link to full archived e-mail confirmation: Stuntman Mike Death Proof Keys E-Mail Notification Archive
As a winner of several of these auctions, along with all other online bidders, I was not able to pay until I was invoiced. It is my understanding that invoices were not sent to any eBay Live Auction bidders until July 17th, three days following the auction. This is the date I received my own invoice, which again confirmed the Stuntman Mike keys as an item won by me, with the payment instructions:
I immediately paid via PayPal, as evidenced by this receipt from PayPal received six minutes after being invoiced:
Premiere Props & Post Auction Result Manipulation
On July 25th – eleven days following the event, eight days following receipt of invoice and my payment – I received the following refund from PayPal, with this message from Seller:
Refund for Lot 458 (2007 Grindhouse – Stuntman Mike’s Keys). This item was awarded to a phone bidder. Please accept our apologies for this discrepancy.
I also received a voice mail from Dawn, identified to me as the Premiere Props Lead Customer Service Agent, informing me of “a situation that happened”, “more than once”, and “not just to you”, due to “confusion”, explaining that my item I won, per PayPal, had already been shipped to someone else.
I called Premiere Props after receiving the refund notice and the agent who answered the phone acknowledged she has just left me the message above at an alternate phone number.
I explained all of the facts, as outlined above.
The Premiere Props representative made the following comments during the course of our conversation:
- “It’s the auctioneer’s fault – we’re never using him again.”
- “It’s eBay Live Auctions fault – we’re never using them again.”
- “We already sent the item to the phone bidder, the morning after the auction.”
- “You have your refund, so what’s your problem?”
I asked to speak to the owner of Premiere Props, and the representative told me I could not, and that they would do nothing further, as the piece in question was one of a kind. She did note that they will have more Grindhouse items, but that I could “bid along with everyone else”. In asking another question, she abruptly hung up on me.
I immediately called back and spoke with a different Premiere Props agent, and asked to again speak with Dawn to seek resolution to this issue – he told me she was unavailable. I asked to speak with another manager, and was told there wasn’t one. I asked to speak with the owner of Premiere Props, and was told all all he could do is “pass on the message”, but indicated I should not expect a call back from the owner of Premiere Props.
The Premiere Props position is to ignore the customer and ignore the issue.
Drawing Distinctions Between A Variety of Premiere Props Auction Issues
As I noted on the day of the event, in my “Held Today” article and recap, I experienced two other issues, which I concluded were technical glitches. With one (eBay Listing # 220130140682, “236: GRINDHOUSE – Muldoon’s (BRUCE WILLIS) Beret“), I had bid and “won” the item, the lot was closed by the auctioneer, declaring me in the “Live” window as winner – it was then reopened, with further bid attempts by myself blocked. With another lot, I bid $200 and it was registered as a $350 bid, and I prevailed at that amount.
I chalked up these other two negative experiences recounted on the day of the event as unfortunate, but things happen at auctions, and they are corrected at the time of the auction. With these two examples above, neither result was in my favor, but I simply took it in stride. I “won” the item in the first example, but it was reopened for additional bids before proceeding to the next item – and even though I was blocked from advancing my bid (I pressed the bid button several times), it was clear that I did not ultimately win, once the lot was ended the second time. In the second example, the system registered a higher amount than I actually bid (the amount on the bid button at the time I clicked it), but given the favorable pricing results on other wins, I was willing to simply accept that and move on.
With the Death Proof keys, I was recorded and documented with eBay Live Auctions as the winner of the item. It states in the listing:
If you are the successful and winning bidder, you have entered into a legally binding contract to purchase the property bid on from the seller
I received e-mail confirmation from eBay and Premiere Props documenting my win. Premiere Props sent me an invoice, days later, to pay for my items. I paid for my wins and received acknowledgment of the payment.
For Premiere Props to suggest that someone else won, 11 days following the auction, is unacceptable.
Outstanding Questions
- If, according to Premiere Props, they were supposedly aware of this issue at the time of the auction, on July 14th, why did they not inform me until July 25th?
- If, according to Premiere Props, they shipped the item to the phone bidder the very next morning following an auction – an auction that ended at nearly midnight the night before – what carrier picks up on a Sunday?
- How many other items were shipped out the very next morning?
- Why were items being shipped out when most had yet to be invoiced?
- At what price did the supposed phone bidder win the piece?
- At what price was the auction supposedly closed?
- If a supposed phone bidder won, why does my bid prevail on the eBay Live Auctions listing page bid history?
- Why did it take 11 days to inform me?
- If the item was shipped to someone else “the next morning”, why did Premiere Props not inform me then?
- How was the lot recorded in the ‘book’ during the sale?
- Was the event videotaped?
- How many other lots have had manipulated or erroneous outcomes, as indicated in the Premiere Props voice mail message?
- Was it always phone and floor bidders prevailing over Internet bidders?
- What is the Premiere Props position on the language, in each eBay listing, characterizing it as a “legally binding contract”?
- Why was phone bidding, as an option, not advertised in the marketing material (printed mailings, Premiere Props website, Hollywood Roadshow website, eBay listings, or eBay Live Auctions page)?
- Is it true that phone bidding, as an option, was initiated only by Premiere Props calling selected customers?
- Were phone bids given priority over recorded Internet bids?
- Did Premiere Props employees manage the phone bidding at the event, or eBay Live Auctions employees, or was it contracted out?
- Was there any difference in fees assessed to Premiere Props by eBay or other partners/agents/contractors for phone bidder winners compared with Internet bidder winners?
- How is Premiere Props blaming the agents of Premiere Props – the auctioneer and eBay Live Auctions – appropriate?
- If Premiere Props was aware of issues, why was any product shipped out, much less the very next day, prior to resolving the issues?
- Why has Premiere Props taken no steps to rectify this situation, or offered to “make good” with replacement or substitute pieces for customers?
Immediate Next Steps
First, given information from Premiere Props themselves, it appears that I am not the only customer who has been wronged by manipulation of the results recorded by eBay Live Auctions and as evidenced through notifications, invoices, and payment solicited from and received by Premiere Props. I would encourage other hobbyists affected by this or other issues with this auction to comment in this article or contact me directly at [email protected].
I plan to file complaints with eBay, eBay Live Auctions, the studios that Premiere Props represents, and the entity that provides licensing and oversight to auctioneers in the State of California.
These events demand substantive answers, consequences, and/or appropriate resolution.
Jason De Bord