Store closes, my consignment gear is gone.

There is (was) a business here in L.A. that went into bankruptcy, and closed.

BCS "the BroadcastStore"
http://www.bcs.tv/

I guess they had an auction three weeks ago :? that I didn't know about.
I had two pieces of gear over there under consignment.
Now they are gone, building empty, no contact info.
I have the receipts.
I was asking $200 for the gear.
(Lexicon 1300s delay & the complete Service Manual)

I called the auction company, they are sending me a claim form, to retrieve compensation AFTER all their other creditors are paid through the bankruptcy process.....if there's any money left.

=FB=

Any advice?
Does being a "squeaky wheel" help in this case ?

I'd keep reminding them. Doesn't seem like a huge amount of money to any party involved.


I'll bet they'd just say, "It's $200. Just give it to him, and get him to leave us alone." :wink:

[quote author="Freq Band"]

Any advice?
Does being a "squeaky wheel" help in this case ?[/quote]

Depends how much you want to squeak for $200 - ie what's your time worth? Perhaps keep on top of it by calling them every few days for a while, emails are too easy to ignore. Personally I wouldn't put too much effort into recovering such a sum, it would be easier for me to earn it by doing some work in the studio but it may be different for you.

Best of luck.

Cheers,
Ruairi

$200....I make that in one day.

It's more about the principle of the matter.
You would think that someone would have opened that file drawer named "consignments", and called the owners......whether that someone was from the original company, the auction company, or the asset recovery company.
BCS is clearly known for accepting consignment goods. Their site even has a header/menu "Sell your equipment".

=FB=

That makes me angry.

See if you can find some other victims. Post some public notices looking for people with similar experiences. Might at least generate some 'hush money' for you. Play hardball; think it out clearly first, remove all emotion from your discourse, play pure business, be as concise as possible.

First, it would seem as if the auction violated the terms of existing contracts concerning property ownership. As in, your property was auctioned for the profit of another. Small claims court could be useful on principle. You want to avoid 'getting in line' as a trickle-down bankruptcy victim. You are not a vendor holding an unpaid invoice.

I had a friend once who noticed a landlord lock out a storefront tenant who was behind on rent. The store had a big fish tank full of fish near the front window. When the landlord refused access for the fish, he got animal control involved.

You would think it illegal to sell something that wasn't your's
or that you agreed to consignment yes , auction , no
or that it wasn't their asset to sieze

Call them many times for many days. Don't be a dick. At least take your 200 bucks out of their time. And if all else fails mention a lawyer and the better biz bureau

The people who sold your stuff must have known it wasn't theirs to sell, but did it anyway. They are thieves.

And there's no way you're the only person they did this to. Find other people via notices pasted to the old shopfront window, and taped up around the area on poles. Keep putting them up, as the thieves will be pulling them down when they see them.

Then get together with the others, and work together to get all your money back.

3 short phonecalls a day from 20 people would totally take someone at the company out of action from anything else.

Can you report it stolen to the police?