Just a word of caution when dealing with Jeff Sullivan who sells St. Louis Cardinals game used items on ebay and often post items for sale on this forum.
On February 21, 2005 I was the winning bidder of a Larry Walker Cardinals game used Louisville Slugger M-9 bat offered on ebay. I paid $300 for the bat and $12.50 for US postal priority shipping.
The Walker bat was delivered on March 4th and I sent Jeff the below e-mail message that same day:
Jeff,
I received the Larry Walker bat today. I wish you would have mentioned that their is another players number that was blacked out on the end of the knob, suggesting that that player used the bat also. When I hold the knob area up to a light you can clearly see that number 35 was written on the bat and was then blacked out with black sharpie. I measured the bat at 34 inches, so the 35 is not the length of the bat. Number 35 is pitcher Matt Morris uniform number for the 2004 season and he is a right handed batter. If you look at the bat, the majority of the ball/seam marks are concentrated on the left hitting area of the barrel and the H type crack is on the right part of the handle suggesting that this bat was cracked by a right handed batter. I went to Getty images and viewed numerous photos of Larry Walker at bat during the Cardinals season, using a M-9 maple bat, he always holds the bat with the center-brand up facing him. Walker is a left handed batter, if he were using this bat the majority of ball marks would be concentrated on the right hitting area of the barrel and the crack would have been on the left side of the handle. I paid a lot of money for this bat and had it been used by only Larry Walker, I would have like to keep it. But this bat was clearly used and cracked by someone who is a right handed hitter.
On March 6th Jeff replied with an e-mail and instructed me to send the bat back to his residence for a full refund.
I sent the bat back to Jeff via US Postal priority with delivery confirmation and checked the US postal website confirming the bat was delivered to Jeff's residence on March 11th. Not hearing from Jeff, I sent an e-mail on the 15th to see if he received the bat and asked when he could refund the money into my paypal account.
Jeff replied that same day saying that he was in Chicago and assured me that he would refund my money when he gets back home.
Jeff returned home on the May 20th and stated that the bat was not at his residence and that he would check with his mailman. He responded to me on May 23rd and claimed that his mailman left it on his front porch and that someone must have stolen the bat and that I need to file a claim.
I then e-mailed Jeff with the following message:
This whole transaction would not have happened if you noted in the ebay auction listing that this Larry Walker bat was used by another player and his number was blacked out, I simply would not have bid on the bat. You asked me to send the bat back to you and you would refund my money. You should have told me that you would be out of town and I would have held off sending the bat until you came back. I feel that I have done nothing wrong and I should have my $300 refunded thru paypal as soon as possible.
Jeff, flew off the handle after receiving my last message calling me a jerk and that he would no longer deal with this issue anymore, I tried calling his residence numerous times and his young son would always answer the phone saying his dad Jeff is not home.
Also, shortly after the auction ended on ebay Jeff Sullivan using ebay username sully53-cardinalsgamers is no longer a registered user.
Jeff, has used other ebay names in the past including sully53 and cardinalsgamers-sully53.
Just want to say that this whole transaction has been a nightmare, I'm out $300 and Jeff has been very unprofessional. I would never deal with this guy again and if you forum members do decide to deal with him, do so with extreme caution.
Jeff Sullivan-simply one of the best dealers-PERIOD!
May 16 2005, 7:32 PM
Bobby-
I have been involved in the hobby for over 20 years, and can honestly tell you Jeff Sullivan is one of the finest individuals I have ever had the honor of knowing and dealing with. Not only is he one of the most honest individuals, his Cardinal offerings are some of the best. I know of other collectors who feel the same.
Are we talking about the same Jeff Sullivan? I have NEVER heard a bad thing about the Jeff Sullivan who offers various Cards equipment.
In regard to your slander about Jeff and changing his name on Ebay, you should know your facts before slandering him. Are you aware of the reasons he changed his user name?
A real shame when a great individual like Jeff gets a poor posting.
In response to the posting from Bobby I feel it is important that people know the truth and not the half truth he wants you to believe. After dealing in Cardinals game used items for the past 25 years I can honesty say he is the first person who I wish I never would have dealt with. Now the truth.
Bobby was the high bidder on a Larry Walker bat as he stated. The listing stated #33 was on both ends of the bat as it was. It was sent by priority mail insured for the full $300.00.
I received Bobby's e-mail that he did not want the bat and I told him to send it back. After Bobby e-mailed that he did not hear from me I emailed him and stated I did not have the bat. I told him I would check with my mailman to see if he did deliver it. I was informed by the mailman that he did leave a package of that size at my door. I checked with all my neighbors and no one had the package. It appeared to be stolen by someone in my neighborhood or someone driving by.
I told Bobby this and he sent me one nasty e-mail calling me every name in the book. He did not tell you that part. Nor do I have a son as he stated. I told him not be a "jerk" in his emails (Not that you are a jerk as he states, big difference) and that I would take care of it. The very next day I went to the post office here in St. Louis and asked what could be done.
Here is another part Bobby fails to mention in his posting. The postoffice told me all priority packages are insured for $100.00. Everyone. The postoffice told me "Do not send him back the $300.00 but have him file a claim, hopefully it was insured for the full amount but if it was not at last it did it did have the $100.00 coverage" I then emailed Bobby, told him to file a claim and then I would take care of it. He "REFUSED". I emailed a second time stating he needed to file a claim and then I would take care of it. Again, he "REFUSED". I told him I could not do anything until it happens.
Bobby failed to mention this in his posting as well. Bobby filed a claim with Paypal since that is how he paid asking for his money back. Paypal froze $300.00 of my account and stated they would do their own investigation. After 4 weeks Paypal informed me they did a complete investigation and found in my favor. They returned the funds back into my account and closed the case.
This is the entire story and I'm sorry to bore everyone with it. But, if you are called out with lies the real story must be told.
Caution when dealing with Jeff Sullivan who sells Cardinals game used items!
May 17 2005, 2:25 AM
Jeff,
I never sent you an e-mail calling you every name in the book. That's not my style and what your saying is a flat out lie!
I have been very professional in dealing with this matter, and now you have the nerve to lie to the fellow readers of this forum to cover your behind! That's a real shame!
You wrote that the listing stated #33 was on both ends of the bat, but you failed to mention on the ebay listing that another uniform number was written and then blacked out. Also, there was no number(s) written on the top of the bat. Could you tell the readers of this forum that you did not mention in the ebay description that there was another player's number blacked out on the knob of the bat?
Papal sided with you, yes that is correct! They stated "That the claim does not fall under PayPal's definition of significantly not-as-described and does not qualify for a refund." Just because Papal sided with you, does not mean you are vindicated.
Like I said before, if you were accurate in the description of the Larry Walker bat and mentioned that another number was on the knob, I simply would not have bid on the bat, and we would not be involved in this discussion. The fact of the matter is that you MISLEAD me!
Also you wrote: "I received Bobby's e-mail that he did not want the bat and I told him to send it back." This is exactly what I did and you failed to mention that you would be out of town. So is it my fault for mailing the bat back to you while your out of town? Is it my fault that someone stole it from your front porch? I don't think so!
I have all the e-mail transaction's between me and Jeff to back up my claim. This is the last e-mail sent by Jeff dated: March 28, 2005
"You know what Bob, this email is B.S. This bat was used by Walker, I received it from Walker, his number was on the bat. I had two up close
photos of the bat in the listing. If you were such an expert on bats you should have never bid on it. If you want to send me emails like this
you can deal with the post office your self as this was going to cost me money. If you want to be a jerk about it you can deal with it as I'm not going out of my way. I did not have to offer a refund in the first place but was going to make it right. I'm not going to put up with this or deal with this any longer."
To the fellow members of this forum, all I can say is that the truth will come out and to you Jeff, remember "What goes around comes around."
Re: Caution when dealing with Jeff Sullivan who sells Cardinals game used items!
May 17 2005, 7:36 AM
I have dealt with Jeff before a few times and have had nothing but good results. I would agree with Bobby though that the description should have included the facts about the blacked out number, if he couldn't have seen this in the pics provided.
No one was mis lead. There was a small black bot on the end of the bat about 1/8 of an inch high. I could not see nor do I think a jersey number under that. # 33 was bold and showed wear on both ends. It was not fresh.
Since Bobby wants everything in a public forum and that is ok by me. You must file a claim with the postoffice. Hopefully you insured the package for the full amount. If not it still is insured. I will take care of any under amount. Period. That has been stated from day one.
"No one was mis lead. There was a small black bot on the end of the bat about 1/8 of an inch high. I could not see nor do I think a jersey number under that. # 33 was bold and showed wear on both ends. It was not fresh."
I took these photos of the Larry Walker bat the day before it was mailed back to you, does this look like a small black bot on the end of the knob? If you look closely you can clearly see that another number 35 was blacked out and 33 then written in on the side.
Heres the proof guys, so who's telling the truth now?
"No one was mis lead. There was a small black bot on the end of the bat about 1/8 of an inch high. I could not see nor do I think a jersey number under that. # 33 was bold and showed wear on both ends. It was not fresh."
I took these photos of the Larry Walker bat the day before it was mailed back to you, does this look like a small black bot on the end of the knob? If you look closely you can clearly see that another number 35 was blacked out and 33 then written in on the side.
Heres the proof guys, so who's telling the truth now?
From Jeff's description, the bat in the photos appears to be a different bat.
Is this indeed the bat Jeff sent? Is it possible to see the Ebay item number, allowing the forum members a chance to look it up and then put closure to this issue?
Wow, nasty situation. I hope all works out well in the end.
As an outsider reading the posts, if Bobby has a delivery confirmation from the post office, the package is now in Jeff's possission and not Bobby's responsibility anymore.
It is not Bobby's fault that the package was "stolen" after delivery. The package is offically in Jeff's possission, if he said he would give a refund, he should.
The problem is this. If the package was insured and Jeff sends a refund what is to keep the buyer from then filing an insurance claim and doubling his money? If you bought insurance you should start the process.
I'll say this, I've dealt with Jeff for almost 10 years and have never had a problem. In fact, I have never had an item I wasn't thrilled with! He has been nothing but friendly and a great guy.
I sure don't understand making something like this public. I know that the "I wanted to warn others" excuse will come out, but that's garbage. This is a prime example of why many people don't involve themselves in message boards. It's a shame also, because this is a fun forum when all the idiotic bantering doesn't get in the way.
I have purchased two game worn items from Jeff and have been nothing but happy with the purchases. Thanks, Jeff for your great deals and help in adding to my collection.
As an outsider reading the posts, if Bobby has a delivery confirmation from the post office, the package is now in Jeff's possission and not Bobby's responsibility anymore.
It is not Bobby's fault that the package was "stolen" after delivery. The package is offically in Jeff's possission, if he said he would give a refund, he should.
Just my .02 worth.
Yes, I have delivery confirmation and this is exactly what I tried to get across to Jeff, the bat was delivered back to him as he instructed and then was stolen after delivery. This takes it out of my hands. I should have been refunded the money and if Jeff would like me to file a claim after the money was refunded into my paypal, I would have gladly done so to help him recover the loss.
Here's the delivery confirmation number: 03041560000171858506
Cut and paste the delivery confirmation to the US Postal link below and see that the item was delivered on March 11, 2005
This has become one amazing post. As stated in my first response. The package was delivered. Everyone was made aware of this and it is not hidden. The post office stated the package is insured. The sender should insure it for the full amount but if not it still has $100.00 worth of insure. The sender must file the claim. The St. Louis Post office stated just as Abe stated. If the money is funded before the claim is filed he could file the claim afterwards and end up with an extra $100.00. That is why the sender has to file the claim. I stated the diference would be made up after the claim is filed.
This is a first for me after 25 years and thousands of deals. I offered to make this right but, it must be done the correct way.
Bobby, you have my email address, let's stop the he said she said as it appears we are 10 years old. Let me know after you file the claim and it will be taken care of. I do not know what else I can do.
In my experiences the post office will not leave a package at the front door that has insurance on it. They ask for a signature even without Signature Confirmation. They really arent supposed to leave a package at the door with Delivery Confirmation but they do.
Jeff has offered to refund the purchase price less the $100 which the post office will pay.
All that is necessary for Bobby to get his money back is to follow the procedure necessary to get a refund.
My question to Bobby then would be...
What's the problem? All that is neccessary to get a total resolution is for you to go through the claim procedure. It's not that difficult. Any further griping beyond this point is just sour grapes.
I really don't see what more Jeff could have done.
Re: Let's not lose sight of the crux of the matter...
May 17 2005, 6:32 PM
Owen,
I just got off the phone with my local postmaster. She stated that their is no automatic $100 insurance for items shipped US postal priority air. Only items that are shipped express are automatically insured for $100
Also, to the readers of this forum, I too apologize for dragging on with such long posts, but I felt that it was necessary that you readers know the truth and I feel that I have proven that I did nothing wrong in this transaction.
I simply wanted to return the item and get my money back and unfortunately this did not happen as planned. Hopefully me and Jeff can work this out and put this behind us and move on!
If the post office will refund $$ for an item that was delivered and then stolen, thats great. But The post office did their job. How can they be responsible for an item after it was delivered?
Was a police report filed? I will stay out after this post, but it weired that the post office will let a claim be filed for something that was stolen after delivery.
1. ALWAYS pay a little extra for the insurance. I insure everything I ship.
2. Get a PMB (Personal Mail Box - not a Post Office Box), like Mail Boxes Etc. You get an actual address that UPS, FedEx, and USPS can deliver to. You don't have to worry about packages being left out. These PMB's usually only cost $5-$10 per month.
I just returned from the main St. Louis postoffice and wanted everyone to know that Bobby was right on the insurance and I was given bad informaion from the St. Ann, MO brach. Priorty Mail does not carry any insurance unless it is bought. Express mail has $100.00 worth of coverage.
The postmaster stated to me that 98% of all packages will arrive safe but if it is an oversize package that can clearly be seen by anyone who passes by insurance should be bought. When the package can clearly be seen, that is when problems such as this happen.
He stated two things should be done on oversize packages:
1) The person who is shipping the package should have it insured.
2) Have the package sent with signature required.
Let's hope this never happens again and the information above is helpful to everyone. I did want to point out to everyone that my information was wrong on the insurance and I will state that.
As you can see this is the same Larry Walker M-9 bat that was listed on ebay and if you read the description there is no mention of another players number blacked out on the knob of the bat.
I’m not sure why anyone considers a package sitting on a doorstep as giving possession. The package should have been signed for and insured. Then and only then would the transfer of possession have been made.
Matt you stated, “It is not Bobby's fault that the package was "stolen" after delivery. The package is officially in Jeff's possession, if he said he would give a refund, he should.” I’m sorry to disagree but it is Bobby’s fault the package was stolen if he did not require a signature upon delivery, this seems fairly obvious to me. It was Bobby's obligation the get the package safely into Jeff's hands and if he doesn't have a signed receipt then he didn't fulfill his obligation.
I applaud Jeff for offering to refund the purchase price but I do think it was Bobby’s responsibility to get the bat safely back to Jeff.
Bobby and Jeff both seem like genuine guys caught up in a bad situation and I for one will remember this lesson the next time I ship a package or have one shipped to me.
Please take one more shot showing the knob and also include as much the barrel as possible that has the Louisville brand and Walkers name. There is no way to identify the knob you show as being that of the bat in question. By providing a photo with additional coverage of the bat, it will put this issue to rest.
First of all, congratulations on a new forum dedicated to collecting game used items. I’m sure this could be a real help to many new and even long-time collectors out there.
It has been brought to my attention that there is some discrepancy over a St. Louis Cardinals game bat. As one who personally works with these bats, it is my intent to present the truth as it pertains to this situation. I have no knowledge as to the inner-workings of the United States Postal Service and will not comment on the question of possession.
Now, there are several points that need to be made to set the record straight. The bat in question is a Larry Walker Louisville Slugger, natural, maple, model C235 cracked bat. According to the pictures posted earlier, this certainly appears to be the same bat. It was received from the clubhouse on October 29, 2004. The bat was processed and tagged as item #144-04. A certificate of authenticity was generated for this bat.
The numbers on the knob were somewhat unique with this bat. It had originally been numbered (33) for Larry Walker, however it was given to Matt Morris, which was confirmed by members of our clubhouse staff. (We had initial questions due to the fact that both Larry and Matt are “label up” hitters, but Larry is a lefty and Matt is a righty. The ball marks and ink transfers are consistent with those of a right-handed hitter on this bat.) Instead of blacking or marking out the entire number (33) on the knob of the bat, Matt simply marked out the second 3 and put a 5 out to the right. At first glance, this bat looked as if it had “3 1 5” on the knob. Maybe a better representation with a keyboard would make it look something like “3 & 5” (the & symbol representing a marked out 3 in the middle). Matt also did this with another Larry Walker bat that was completely split in two.
This was noted on the COA as well as the fact that the bat had been used by Matt Morris. This bat was sold from FanZone, the Cardinals team store in Busch Stadium. It was sold on January 27, 2005 for $170.00.
When this bat left the Cardinals, there was no extra 3 on the far left of the knob and the 5 was visible and not blacked out.
To give you a bit more info about our selection process and where cracked bats end up-- a Larry Walker gamer would not be sold at any of our stores as we typically give any of our better bats to Cardinals Care, our team charity.
I did notice that Mr. Sullivan claimed this bat came directly from Larry Walker in a previous e-mail to Bobby, posted earlier.
“This bat was used by Walker, I received it from Walker, his number was on the bat.”
I can assure you this bat came through the Team Store and not directly from Larry Walker. We have tracked the sell of this bat on ebay, as well as the one of the other bats purchased that day in the same transaction—a Scott Rolen Mizuno used by Woody Williams.
Ultimately, what I’d like everyone to understand is that they need to be careful when purchasing Cardinals game used items from anyone when an official Cardinals Certificate of Authenticity is not included. Our stores have strict instructions that they are always to include our COA with any game item they sell, whether or not the customer wants it. Also our charity (Cardinals Care) issues COA’s for any item they sell or auction. We have been doing this for a few years now.
It’s a shame that we tried to put a unique piece in our store for the casual fan to enjoy, but instead it’s purchased and doctored with simply to make more money. As a result we will have to more carefully consider the items we choose to make available to our fans and at what price.
Again, if you’re buying recent or current St. Louis Cardinals game used items, make sure it includes an official Cardinals certificate of authenticity.
I hope I have helped clear the air a bit with this issue.
Well my opinion of Jeff Sullivan certainly has changed & I really hope that the lousy $130 he made off this bat was worth it. Needless to say, I'll never deal with him. All of you who have purchased items in the past may want to take a second look as well at what you have as well.............
Well I think I can speak for just about everyone who reads this forum on a regular basis, thank you so much Brian for you insight into game used Cardinals items. While I'm not a Cardinal collector, just having this kind of information available to everyone is really nice to see. It is great reading about the importance of watching what you say, as you never know who might just be reading this to provide more accurate information.
Hats off to Eric for starting this forum for a frank discussion on items we happen to run across.
THE BAT BRIAN TALKS ABOUT IN HIS POST IS NOT THE SAME BAT I SOLD BOBBY. AFTER SPEAKING WITH AN ATTORNEY AND BRIAN'S BOSS WITH THE CARDINALS, BILL DEWITT, I CAN NOT COMMENT ANY FURTHER.
Could you at least comment on whether the bat that hase been posted in the pictures here is the bat that was sold on E-bay..
Those pictures were provided to show that there was a difference in between the way the bat was described vs what arrived and that was the basis of the return. That issue was never addressed after those pictures were posted on the 17th and the link to the item was posted on the 19th.
This has nothing to do with either the issue of the responsibility of postage/insurance and accountability of the item or the issue of any issue dealing with the Cardinals.
I would be more than happy to answer this question. I bought two Cardinals blank replicas jerseys from Value City, $19.99 each. Had the name and number stitched on and donated them to my nephew school fund raiser.
I will do the same this year as well as I have for the past 5 years
Just ask Dave Miedema about the "returned item" situation that he had with Jeff (that item mysteriously disappeared, too) - - - - Dave wrote about it in his monthly newsletter on game used uniforms a while back and Dave and Jeff traded negative feedbacks on Ebay over it (one of Jeff's old Ebay userids). - - - - - Dave's story sounds very similar - - - - and in the end, Dave was out the money on an item that was returned to Jeff because it was reportedly misreperesented, as well - - - - This is some shady stuff! Where are Howard's and Abe's supporting emails now? - - - And why does Jeff suddenly have a lawyer? - - - - - Unbelievable! And to think that a bunch of you jumped on the "Bash Bobby Bandwagon."
I just got in and read the exchanges. Since my whereabouts were questioned I felt I had to comment.
I will first say that I still do not believe that these forums (or any other) are the appropriate place to air these kind of disputes. I don't say that merely because I have a long relationship with Jeff, I feel that way about the entire issue and have posted the same feelings on other boards.
As for the bat, I now have a lot of questions. My stance hasn't changed in that I have dealt with Jeff for many years with no issues, but I am concerned.
Finally, my main issue in my first point was about insurance. Now that we know the bat was not returned with insurance it's also moot.
The whole thing is disappointing and a bit sad. I hope we will all find out a final verdict at some point, when the lawyers are through posturing.
You guys have got to know the story, Dave bought a Cardinals hat from me and stated he never received it. It was stolen from his apartment, also had delivery confirmation to prove it was in Chicago. Not here in St. Louis. It was not sent back to me. Not the same story.
Since I have been asked to comment on Jeff, please allow me to do so...again.
I have no idea who is at fault on the missing/bogus bat issue, however, can comment only on my dealings and knowledge of Jeff Sullivan.
As I began collecting Mark McGwire equipment, I was put in contact with Jeff. Over the last few years, Jeff has provided me not only with some of the best McGwire equipment (custom made "FEAR 25" undershirts, hats, jackets, and wristbands), but also an unbelievable database of McGwire information. Jeff has been an amazing resource for me, especially when I'm offered or see McGwire equipment in various auctions. Jeff has a keen eye on Card's equipment, and has identified various characteristics that should be found on legit items. For example, a major auction house recently had a so-called McGwire helmet, only to find out from Jeff that the numbers are not the correct style as used by the Card's during McGwire's playing days.
Likewise, it is well known that Jeff is one of, if not THE most knowledgeable individuals about game used Cards equipment. He has, and continues to provide some of the finest vintage Cards jerseys to American Memorabilia and other auction houses. He also fields calls and questions from many of the auction houses about authenticating Cards jerseys.
When I indicated that Jeff is a great individual to deal with, it was based on the experiences (and my McGwire related dealings) as outlined above. Nothing more, nothing less.
I thought it would be helpful to collectors to have the # of the Cardinals store.In the past I called to purchase a jersey.Unfortunately, I procrastinated and the jersey was sold and ended up in the secondary market.(it was offered to me for a outrageous price for a very common BP jersey).The # I have is 314-436-3357.Don't know if that is current.To fellow collectors, the Brewers have a Clubhouse store that I bought a jersey last year and the same for the Giants.I'm sure others do to.
Eric, perhaps we can post the phone #s under resources.
