I have been working towards reforming this hobby/industry for a few years now. I have only been able to influence MEARS because of the great leeway, trust and confidence that Troy Kinunen and Dave Bushing have extended to me with respect to developing the internal and external policies for MEARS. Both Troy and Dave have agreed to conditions that are self-imposed and exist for the betterment of the industry as a whole. They include:
-Mandatory and Public Disclosure of Ownership.
-Use of Worksheets.
-Requirement to Purchase Reference Material.
-Requirement to Provide Educational Content for MEARS On Line.
-Disclosure of Revenues and Sales.
-MEARS Buyer Protection Program.
-Code of Conduct for Buying and Selling.
2007 was a somewhat difficult year for MEARS on an internal level because of what I saw as a problematic set of circumstances with a contract holder. I have been asked to develop a policy for the work that MEARS does with auction houses in 2008 that is designed to do a number of things:
– Offer all auction houses, regardless of previous issues, a chance to fully participate with MEARS.
– Move towards creating standards within the industry.
– Establish a framework that I am willing to be a part of.
With that being said, this is what MEARS will demand from any and all auction houses that wish to have ANY items evaluated by MEARS in 2008. One of the problems with the 2007 auction house contract is that there was very little in the way of penalties or mechanisms for assessing compliance. This will no longer be the case for 2008. The pricing structure will be left to Troy to work out with the respective auction house.
ANY auction house that fail to provide a signed agreement to the following conditions by 10 November 2007, will not be able to submit ANY items to MEARS for 2008. These conditions apply to ALL auction house work regardless of the volume or number of items an auction house wishes to submit. In years past their have been auction houses not under contract with MEARS that would submit select items at the retail rate. Once again, these provisions apply to any and all auction house work.
The concept is simple as far as MEARS is concerned…we only wish to do business with organizations who have like minded ideas with respect to what we consider acceptable business practices. These conditions are non-negotiable and serve as the basis for my agreement to work with MEARS in 2008.
The following will be listed in the MEARS contract for 2008 under the heading of Standards of Conduct and Ethical Business Practices:
1. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to disclosure ownership or financial interest in any lot that is consigned by any employee or family member as well as anyone offering an opinion on an item they or anyone they have a business relationship with consigns. This is not limited to game used items. This disclosure must be made in item description via a catalog or on-line description. This will require that bidder sheets/records for all auctions be maintained for the year. To ensure compliance, the auction house agrees to subject itself to an audit by the Policy Director of MEARS at least once a year. These will be short notice audits and the auction house will be required to provide a copy of the catalog and the consigner listings for the auction in question. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years.
2. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree that no bids will be placed on lots owned by any employee or family member by any employee or family member. No consigner will be permitted to bid on their own items. This will require that bidder sheets/records for all auctions be maintained for the year. To ensure compliance, the auction house agrees to subject itself to an audit by the Policy Director of MEARS at least once a year. These will be short notice audits and the auction house will be required to provide a copy of the catalog and the consigner listings, and the bidding history for the auction in question. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years.
3. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree that all our grades, which sometimes are low and not favorable, are printed in the lot description of their catalogs. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less 3 years. The Policy Director has the final say in determining whether or not an omission of this information was an administrative oversight or an attempt to mask problematic information.
4. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to identify within the title of the offering the phrase “Team Index Bat or Index Bat” if this is how the bat has been referenced or evaluated. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years. The Policy Director has the final say in determining whether or not an omission of this information was an administrative oversight or an attempt to mask problematic information.
5. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to identify within the auction description any and all modifications or changes made to an item that they list in their auction. This is not limited to game used items. Examples of these issues include, but are not limited to:
-Removal of autographs or other writing of any kind.
-Repairs or modifications to an item that are designed to improve the appeal of an item or return it an improved state.
– With respect to cards and similar items, trimming, pressing, or the removal of stains, glue, gum, etc… or writing that are designed to improve the appeal of an item or return it an improved state.
Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years.
6. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to provide an inventory of items to be evaluated NLT 14 days prior to any onsite work. They further agree that in the case of items that are to be mailed in, they will contact MEARS prior to sending items in and that all items will be accompanied with a submission form. Item not handled in this manner will either be returned or not subject to being evaluated. In no instance, will any item be evaluated at a show where MEARS does not have access to the proper research and reference information. Enforcement of these provisions will be at the discretion of the Operations Manager, but it is the expectation of the Policy Director that no exceptions will be made in these areas that directly impact the quality of the work that MEARS performs.
7. In all cases and with all provisions, the Policy Director for MEARS has the final say in determining whether or not he feels an omission of this information or violation of these provisions was an administrative oversight or an attempt to mask problematic information.
It must be understood and clear that MEARS expects that both the spirit and intent of these provisions be honored. If we come to suspect that auction houses are attempting to subvert these provisions by having potential consigners submit items to us directly in order to mask their involvement, MEARS is also prepared to severely curtail portions of our retail operations as well.
One of the things we will not be in a position to control is what happens with items that MEARS has previously evaluated that then come to auction. This is were we hope collectors will continue to use the information found within the archive of Letters of Opinion as well as the jersey/bat census.
I am sure there will be some who might say that this is a bit heavy handed or even Draconian. I am a realist and I don’t doubt that this will not be embraced by many auction houses. If for nothing else, there is likely to be resentment because an outside force is dictating internal operating procedures. All I can offer is that right now I know for a fact there are other “outside forces” looking into this industry in a very serious manner. My only hope this that the industry/hobby can reform itself and on its own.
Please know this is not some sort of PR stunt on the part of MEARS. If there are no signed contacts acknowledging the acceptance of these Standards of Conduct and Ethical Business Practices on hand at MEARS in Milwaukee at the close of business on 10 November 2007, then MEARS will not do any auction house work in 2008. The 10th of November is not an approximate date. MEARS will publish the list of those auction houses we will do work for in 2008 on the 11th on November.
MEARS Auth, LLC