I was approached by a collector asking if I was interested in a hockey card that he had. We came to an agreement that required me to send him an international money order and a card of lesser grade in return.
So I picked up the money order, addressed it to him, packaged up the card, and e-mailed the seller to tell him I was set to go to the fedex office in the morning to ship the card and money order to him (he required that I use fedex).
But then I received an e-mail that night stating that he just had a 'family emergency' and that he just can't sell the card or do anything right now. He then ignored my e-mails.
OK, things happen, so I moved on. But lo and behold, less than two weeks later, the card is now gone from his inventory and sold to another collector.
If you are going to renege on a deal, at least have the fortitude to be honest about it. He obviously got a better offer after the fact and instead of just being honest, he decided to lie about it and then hide.
So, my fellow collectors, a word of caution if you deal with Paul Sacco, because with him, a deal is not a deal until you have the card in your hand.
Some people refer to it as karma.
Some people refer to it as God never lets the guilty go unpunished.
Some people refer to it in some other way.
The fact is that this guy stooped to a level that many of
us would never care to stoop to. There are many good guys in
this hobby, and you are one of them. Keep your chin up.
Being that the card is sold, that means he got a better offer.
After the "family emergency", he should have went forth with the deal with you, or never sold the card at all.
a similar thing happen to me too. He sent me an email
asking me if i was interested by a card. I gave my reply
a few hours later showing my high interest. No answer
by the following day so I sent another email that was also
left unanswered. In the end, the card was sold to another
collector.
I must say I was first unconfortable with the situation of
being left like this. But I got over it pretty fast and
simply said to myself the whole thing was caused by a lack
of good communication and some fear to deal with a deceiving
situation. Where there is one card available for sale, the
seller contact potential buyers and a transaction is created
with one buyer. Should the other buyers ending with no cards
expect to be contacted by the seller who first opened the
discussion?
In my opinion, good karma is done by closing situations
created. But good karma is also the responsibility of others
not to build negativity on someone else ignorance. We tend
to take many things for granted and forget that good communication
reduces the risks of dealing with the negative effects of ignorance.
In the end, there are hundreds of nice high grade vintage hockey
cards on the market and thousands more to come. Being patient
greatly reduces the exposition to self inflicted wounds.
I have dealt with Paul a few times and had no problems with him.
Aside from what is going on with this thread, in my opinion Jim and Bobby who are the Creator and moderator of this forum should not allow people to post stuff for sale without a price PERIOD !!!
Why?
It causes problems as these sellers are what i call FISHING for the bigger catch which in this case is the better price.
Other forums will not allow any posts without a firm price in there Buy/Sell/Trade section.
I have sold many items on this forum with a clear price listed and a clear picture, honestly i expect the same with everyone else.
Bottom line is,lets see everyone post with a price for now on as it is much more easier to deal with than a seller saying i got this PSA 9 looking for offers? Thats FISHING !!
I have no issue with your post. But I do want to point out that this card was not listed on the BST board for sale.
This was a card that he approached me on via e-mail and asked if I was interested in it. He had not listed it anywhere (that I know of) for sale.
Since my original post yesterday, I have received a few personal e-mails from other collectors that have experienced similar problems with Paul Sacco, so it appears that my experience with him was not an isolated incident.
In any case, the purpose of my original post was just to caution other collectors when dealing with him. As some of the previous posts have stated, other people have had no issues in dealing with him.
In response to the comments in regards to "posting prices" on items for sale I have a different opinion. Which of us doesn't want to maximize the amount we get for an item we have for sale, I sure do. Given this I have several options.. if I want a quick sale or am confident that my price on an item is what I would be happy with I can offer it for sale outright..if on the other hand I'm not entirely sure what the market value is or perhaps I feel several collectors may have interest in it, I have the right to entertain offers from however many people express interest in it and sell to whoever I wish or maybe change my mind and keep it. Is this not an "auction type" or "best offer" format" ? ,business is done in this manner every day. With this said I am a firm believer that once a deal is struck it must be kept. In this world of collecting and dealing oft times all we have to go on is a handshake or ones "word" to close a deal, hence if ones "word" isn't worth anything then in my opinion neither are they. In closing we should all be grateful to the moderators of this forum that allow us to deal in whatever manner we choose to, are gracious enough to tolerate our occasional "venting" and allow us freedom of expressing our comments .. peace, Marty
This message has been edited by strongside1 on May 9, 2012 12:03 PM
the harsh truth.....I, of course, would honor any deal that I had made, verbally or by email, but I if I had a dime for every buyer said the money was on the way, or "great, just give me a week to sell something and send you the money."
I agreed to send him paypal for 50% of the purchase price and the rest in a money order. Paypal had been sent to him earlier that morning, the money order picked up later that same day, and was set to be sent the following morning.
He simply got a higher offer after he had already accepted mine. Then he tried to lie his way thru with the 'family emergency' excuse. He is a seller with no honor, in my opinion. And yes, he did refund my paypal payment that evening after the 'family emergency' e-mail.
I would like to respond to this thread by first issuing an apology to Ray. Yes, all the posts about what I did was wrong. I am VERY sorry and would like express this in a public forum.
Yes, I obtained a higher offer BUT it was out of NEED. I have been having health issues that I do not wish to discuss, thus I am in need of extra funds. So my family emergency was not a lie as for my family it is an emergency. I know it does not excuse my behavior, however, my health is important.
I am very sorry again to Ray. It was not my intention to do this.
If you're truly sorry, then go make right of all the things you've
done. Actions speak louder then words, and until you make things
right with the people you've wronged, then your apology is a little weak.
Secondly, having health issues does not give anyone the right to have
shady business practices. I've seen many people who suffer and have
little who still live with respect and honor.
I feel sorry for you sir. There is a better way to live your life, and I
hope you someday find it.
Shady business? What are you talking about Marc! I never stole money from anyone!! It is one thing to not do a deal, but it is another altogether if I stole money, and that is not the case here. I have always shipped items that I have sold and never stole money from anyone!
As for the situation between Ray and Paul, that is unfortunate to hear.
I am sorry to learn in this thread that Paul has health issues, and I wish him well for a recovery.
This really does not bear on Ray's situation, but I just wanted to say that earlier this year I did a deal with Paul on this board (off the B/S/T) for a decent amount of money (pushing $900)and it was a perfect and smooth transaction. I thought I should add this positive comment in fairness to Paul. Other than that, I haven't met Paul and don't know him.
