Complaint Review: Heritage Auction Galleries / Mr. Doug Norwine - Dallas Texas

I have been thinking to consign a fairly valuable collection of coins I have collected through the years with Heritage Auction and I was searching to see the cunsumer reviews about the company. In the past I have had some dealings with the company, but, always as a bidder/buyer. Although, I don't question the sincerity of both William and Mr. Norwine, and I have no desire to take side in the matter, but, this experience tells me to be educated about the company rules and clearly understand the process before signing up with them, particularly, contracting a high value item or items. My experiences with Heritage as a buyer have all been positive. I am also aware Heritage is a sales company and the more they sell the more income they make. The company makes millions of $$ in sales per year. Obviously, for the company to manage such operations as successfully as Heritage has there has to be some solid ground rules. So, for one employee no matter how senior or even a couple in kahoots with each other to rampantly go through packages received and help themselves to their likings defies the success of the company and their positive reputation.

I have throughly read William's complaint and Heritage's response thereto. It is excruciatingly obvious that there is something seriously wrong with William's mental state. His post is nothing more than rambling, impertinent, libelous babble. William, we do not want to read your tediously boring life story nor your imagined interactions with Heritage nor anyone else. Your alleged misfortunes do not mitigate your defamation. The bottom line is that Heritage has proof of what William actually sent them - and his transaction was handled professionally and in accordance with his signed contract. I am not a fan of one of the owners of Heritage, but I do like the company itself and most of its employees. I do not want to see anyone unjustifiably tarnish the image of this outstanding corporate example of what America is supposed to stand for: successful free enterprise! 

My name is Claude P****. I have done untold millions of dollars in business with Heritage, both buying and selling, since the 1980's. I have usually dealt through agents; Heritage barely even knows who I am! A quick check reveals that I have personally placed bids with Heritage that total over $4 million since 2009, but my actual bids through representatives are well into nine figures. Neither I nor my agents have ever been cheated by Heritage. Ditto for several collector and dealer friends whom I know quite well.

I suspect that William's problem - if it is real - may have been caused by Federal Express. It is entirely possible that William's package was slit open and resealed whilst in Fed Ex's custody. You should not blame Heritage for that. Why would Heritage cheat you out of your measly consignment, knowing that it would tarnish their fabulous reputation? That is, if your complaint is even genuine and you are not lying, possibly because you are a shill for a sleazy competitor.

Heritage has sold several billion dollars worth of collectibles at auction, so it is extremely difficult to believe that they would defraud anyone, especially for such a small amount of money. Heritage currently has dealt with millions of customers, so why should anyone believe that one person was cheated and deceived by them? I shall continue to spend untold millions with Heritage and ignore unproven, libelous allegations. Actions (my actual transactions with Heritage) scream louder than words from someone I do not even know and whose story sounds like a fairy tale. 

If a large auction house treats you with little respect then take your business elsewhere. There are plenty of alternatives. Rather than deal with Texas con-men... For sports items I think very highly of Hunt Auctions, Memory Lane, Robert Edward, SCP, RR Auction, Goodwin, Mile High, Lelands, Huggins & Scott, Legendary, among others. 

I've been a buyer at Heritage for 2 years now and wanted to add to the support of their transparency, helpfulness, and my total satisfaction with them. If I've ever had a minor issue with needing another invoice or paying late they've been helpful and respectful and I usually hear back from them same day, or the next at the most when I contact them with a concern.

I also attempted to look into consigning with them. It was a single item, rather low value, which I knew going in but wanted to test consigning out. They very politely told me it wasn't high enough in value to warrant auction by itself, and totally explained in depth why, and I was glad I inquried none the less for the info. 

From buying at no fewer than 4 different major online auction houses I also know (as some consumers here have complained) why Heritage's initial item values are usually much lower than a consigner feels it should be. It's not a pawn shop, what they simply do is give you the base value of an item as is. All auction houses values are lower than most hammer sale prices, it's the way they operate. It's a practice designed to give consigners a realistic monetary value they can expected to get no matter what. Usually the prices climb during bidding, but that obviously can't be guarenteed or factored in before hand, thus why the only give their base value. 

My collection is all strictly old Hollywood based, all 1930's-1960's. And $650 for a parasol from Gone With The Wind is actually slightly higher a price than I would have expected it to sell for. Considering the item was likely used briefly and by a extra (not a primary actor or even character actor- because such people are known by collector's and always named in the auction details), and especially because there's no way to verify if it ended up in the actualy print film or not. GWTW was such a huge production there are thousands of props and costumes from it, some go to auction on almost a yearly basis, if not more often. 

Also, although I'm a frequent buyer I haven't spent more than several thousand dollars with them, a pitifully low amount compared to their millions in sales. And even me a little lowly buyer is treated like a king. They have also sent items out for me before I got around to paying before, since I'm a regular buyer and always pay on the same consistent date. They send me their huge book-sized collectible catalogs for free. And are always super quick in helping if a probelm arises. I've never been treated badly, and not just with respect, but enthusiasm that I'm a customer of theirs, even though a relatively very unimportant one. 

My best advice about any and all auction houses, things that savvy, regular collector's and sellers know: do your research on your collectibles- check other auctions hammer prices, etc., direct item to item sold comparisons (the price of gold doesn't equal how much gold coins will sell at a collector's auction). And always document every step of the consignment process and your items before sending them in photos, descriptions, even get notorized papers, and always document shipping processes and all receipts. That way if you were actually wronged by an auction house you wouldn't need to vent it online, you'd have airtight proof and would be able to follow the proper legal channels instead. 

Between Feb 2010 and Sept 2012, we submitted around 80 posters to heritage. They sold a few, but now the posters have gone missing. I went looking online to see if there were any others who had experienced the same problem....  although Heritage has a lot of people who believe in it's staff -- my opinion is that someone at Heritage stole our posters. So what the Ripoff Report suggests is true.

I am also  a customer of  Heritage and have consigned items in several collectible fields over many years.
I have never had a bad experience or transaction with the several persons I have been pleased to be acquainted
with at this firm.  I would find it difficult to believe the allegations in the complaint!

In the past five years I have sold nearly 100 items through Heritage auctions in Dallas.   These items were valued at well over $1,000,000 with one item alone bringing just under $100,000.   Heritage not only sent a schooled rep to my warehouses, but the also sent two people who helped me catalogue and carefully packed everything into a truck that they paid for and provided.  Everything was account for and I was paid quickly for what had sold and the items that did not sell where quickly returned intact, well packed and fully accounted for.  Under the circumstances, even the largest, most honest auction houses could have easily made mistakes, but Heritage shined through it all and all of their employees were courteous and professional.  This parasol guy sounds a bit unstable and in ill health and he appears to be grossly vindictive about seemingly worthless items.  If Heritage was a rip off company they could have ripped me off 100 different ways.   They did not and I would do business with Heritage again.

Several time I have sent pictures of my items to Heritage Auctions and each time they come back to me saying my items are worth far less than they actually are.  Example, I have a solid gold Spanish coin from around 1650.  According to Heritage Auctions it is only worth $1000 (which was a huge red flag considering the coin weighs almost an ounce and an ounce of gold on the market alone goes for $1100).  Luckily I found a museum the specializes in Spanish Coins and they informed me it is worth $2500.  Heritage Auctions is nothing more than an online pawn shop.  They lie, cheat, manipulate, and underbid just like every other pawn shop in the world.  Put this place out of business!

Hi, I have known Mr. Norwine and his wife for many years. I have done business with Heritage Auctions for just as long. I have never known Mr. Norwine to deceive or even embellish any product. As a matter of fact, sometimes when I ask his opinion about an item I'm interested in at his auction, he will let me know what he really thinks, with a subtle hint, such as .....welllllllll, if you really like it, lol. This man has never tried to steer me in any direction, even when I was pushing hard to get steered. I believe this shows integrity. If he's not crazy about something, he won't hide it........even when he has a customer chomping at the bit to buy it. Over the years I have sent Mr. Norwine many items, and have had some returned. Never a problem. Many times Heritage has sent me items before I've even paid for them. For example, if I want to write a check for the items I've bought, many times the items arrive before I've even sent the check. I know this comes from doing business with a company for a long time, but I feel this is an indication of honesty. Honest people believe most people are honest while crooks believe most people are crooks. I don't believe a crooked company would EVER send something without being paid first. When was the last time you ordered something and received it before paying for it? On a final note. Some of the items I collect are very expensive. I've regularly sent items worth 100K or more. If Mr. Norwine has never taken or lost any of these items.....why would he lose a few photographs? In closing, I feel sorry for the gentleman with Parkinsons.....that can't be pleasant and I hope he finds his items, but with his admissions of memory problems......and my history with Mr. Norwine and Heritage, I felt I had to write and post my experiences. Thank you.

It is obvious that anyone with an agenda can write whatever they want and place it on the internet. I believe this Rip Off Report is a valuable service, but it is unfortunate that it can be used for statements that are clearly grounds for defamation of character litigation. Ironically, the last two posters didn't even provide their names. My hope is that whoever reads the previous post will do proper research, check into the Better Business Bureau and see that Heritage has a great record. We are completely transparent and I challenge anyone to provide evidence otherwise. I stand on my reputation and the reputation of Heritage- both of which I am proud. Doug Norwine

William in Coalinga has Doug Norwine of Heritage pegged exactly right. He's a dressed up con-artist who will lie and shill his a*s off to squeeze a dollar from bidders, and who regularly slanders both major competitors in the auction field as well as individual collectors, rather than face competition in the market. He's a small man who'll surely come back with some self-serving commentary, but he's aware of his business practices and so are the several collectors who have already signed sworn affidavits to this effect. See you in Dallas Superior Court real soon, Doug!

DOUG NORWHINE can't be trusted as has no credabilty based on what I know . Mr Norwhine if my sources are accurate gave away confidential information to an outsider which is totally against HA policy that line about the biggest auction house is actually the same line that the guys at Enron and MCI used before going bankrupt and their leaders going to jail. YOU ARE A CROOK IN MY OPINION Mr. Norwhine and can't be trusted. just cause you are the biggest means squat as Enron was the largest and so was Bernie Maddoff and their leaders are in jail . Any more Commets Doug ?

I am Doug Norwine, Director of Music and Entertainment at Heritage Auction Galleries. When this report was posted on September 3, 2007, by William, it upset me. I was advised that the best policy to adhere to when someone posts a gross untruth online is to ignore it. I heeded that advice, but since this report is still very visible online two years later, I feel a need to respond. William had sent a CD with images of all the items he writes about to another category head at Heritage. Eventually the CD was passed on to me. My associate and I agreed that the only piece that could have good value was the parasol. I contacted William about it, and there was a considerable amount of time that went as William and his wife decided whether or not to consign with Heritage. We all had numerous phone calls discussing this. Finally, as my consignment deadline loomed, I urged William to send the items via Fed Ex ASAP. William sent a standard Fed Ex box to the Heritage address and to my attention. When anything arrives at my company, it first goes to the shipping department, just as William's box did. It was signed for by Mr. McClenny, who was working in shipping. Later that day, it was delivered to me, and I had to personally sign for it. I did, and when I opened the package, the total contents were the parasol, a towel it was wrapped in, and some bubble wrap. The way the parasol was packed would not have allowed for anything else to be put in that box, plus the documented Fed Ex shipping weight of the box was exactly what a parasol, towel, and additional wrap would weigh. The other memorabilia was not in that box and I never received a second box at any previous or further date. I discussed this with William and his wife telephonically several times, and I was always polite and respectful. On several occasions, I suggested he look around his house to see if he had misplaced the rest of the items. Again, I was always respectful in my tone and my manner. The write-up of the parasol was done by my catalogers, and, as is the practice at Heritage, each consignor is emailed or snail mailed the full description of each lot, much in advance of the publishing of the catalog. If William found a mistake in the description and reported it to us, we would have changed it immediately. In fact, he did not contact us about the description. My associate and I at Heritage also found that William's demeanor was not consistent during the various telephone calls we had with him. He could go from nice to angry on a dime, and this was slightly disconcerting. As William said, the parasol sold for $650. We had determined from the CD he sent that that the parasol was the item with the highest value, so I won't comment on his valuation of the rest of the memorabilia we never received. The reason Heritage sells over $550 million of collectibles per year and is the world's largest collectible auction house is because we have integrity and treat our customers with the utmost respect. When any mistake is made on our part, we make it right, and the collecting world knows this. In this case, outside of the possibility that the description of the parasol could have been changed if William had alerted us, there was no further mistake made. All we ever received from William was the parasol; we sold it, and he was paid. End of story. Doug Norwine [email protected] 214-409-1452

I am Doug Norwine, Director of Music and Entertainment at Heritage Auction Galleries. When this report was posted on September 3, 2007, by William, it upset me. I was advised that the best policy to adhere to when someone posts a gross untruth online is to ignore it. I heeded that advice, but since this report is still very visible online two years later, I feel a need to respond. William had sent a CD with images of all the items he writes about to another category head at Heritage. Eventually the CD was passed on to me. My associate and I agreed that the only piece that could have good value was the parasol. I contacted William about it, and there was a considerable amount of time that went as William and his wife decided whether or not to consign with Heritage. We all had numerous phone calls discussing this. Finally, as my consignment deadline loomed, I urged William to send the items via Fed Ex ASAP. William sent a standard Fed Ex box to the Heritage address and to my attention. When anything arrives at my company, it first goes to the shipping department, just as William's box did. It was signed for by Mr. McClenny, who was working in shipping. Later that day, it was delivered to me, and I had to personally sign for it. I did, and when I opened the package, the total contents were the parasol, a towel it was wrapped in, and some bubble wrap. The way the parasol was packed would not have allowed for anything else to be put in that box, plus the documented Fed Ex shipping weight of the box was exactly what a parasol, towel, and additional wrap would weigh. The other memorabilia was not in that box and I never received a second box at any previous or further date. I discussed this with William and his wife telephonically several times, and I was always polite and respectful. On several occasions, I suggested he look around his house to see if he had misplaced the rest of the items. Again, I was always respectful in my tone and my manner. The write-up of the parasol was done by my catalogers, and, as is the practice at Heritage, each consignor is emailed or snail mailed the full description of each lot, much in advance of the publishing of the catalog. If William found a mistake in the description and reported it to us, we would have changed it immediately. In fact, he did not contact us about the description. My associate and I at Heritage also found that William's demeanor was not consistent during the various telephone calls we had with him. He could go from nice to angry on a dime, and this was slightly disconcerting. As William said, the parasol sold for $650. We had determined from the CD he sent that that the parasol was the item with the highest value, so I won't comment on his valuation of the rest of the memorabilia we never received. The reason Heritage sells over $550 million of collectibles per year and is the world's largest collectible auction house is because we have integrity and treat our customers with the utmost respect. When any mistake is made on our part, we make it right, and the collecting world knows this. In this case, outside of the possibility that the description of the parasol could have been changed if William had alerted us, there was no further mistake made. All we ever received from William was the parasol; we sold it, and he was paid. End of story. Doug Norwine [email protected] 214-409-1452

I am Doug Norwine, Director of Music and Entertainment at Heritage Auction Galleries. When this report was posted on September 3, 2007, by William, it upset me. I was advised that the best policy to adhere to when someone posts a gross untruth online is to ignore it. I heeded that advice, but since this report is still very visible online two years later, I feel a need to respond. William had sent a CD with images of all the items he writes about to another category head at Heritage. Eventually the CD was passed on to me. My associate and I agreed that the only piece that could have good value was the parasol. I contacted William about it, and there was a considerable amount of time that went as William and his wife decided whether or not to consign with Heritage. We all had numerous phone calls discussing this. Finally, as my consignment deadline loomed, I urged William to send the items via Fed Ex ASAP. William sent a standard Fed Ex box to the Heritage address and to my attention. When anything arrives at my company, it first goes to the shipping department, just as William's box did. It was signed for by Mr. McClenny, who working in shipping. Later that day, it was delivered to me, and I had to personally sign for it. I did, and when I opened the package, the total contents were the parasol, a towel it was wrapped in, and some bubble wrap. The way the parasol was packed would not have allowed for anything else to be put in that box, plus the documented Fed Ex shipping weight of the box was exactly what a parasol, towel, and additional wrap would weigh. The other memorabilia was not in that box and I never received a second box at any previous or further date. I discussed this with William and his wife telephonically several times, and I was always polite and respectful. On several occasions, I suggested he look around his house to see if he had misplaced the rest of the items. Again, I was always respectful in my tone and my manner. The write-up of the parasol was done by my catalogers, and, as is the practice at Heritage, each consignor is emailed or snail mailed the full description of each lot, much in advance of the publishing of the catalog. If William found a mistake in the description and reported it to us, we would have changed it immediately. In fact, he did not contact us about the description. My associate and I at Heritage also found that William's demeanor was not consistent during the various telephone calls we had with him. He could go from nice to angry on a dime, and this was slightly disconcerting. As William said, the parasol sold for $650. We had determined from the CD he sent that that the parasol was the item with the highest value, so I won't comment on his valuation of the rest of the memorabilia we never received. The reason Heritage sells over $550 million of collectibles per year and is the world's largest collectible auction house is because we have integrity and treat our customers with the utmost respect. When any mistake is made on our part, we make it right, and the collecting world knows this. In this case, outside of the possibility that the description of the parasol could have been changed if William had alerted us, there was no further mistake made. All we ever received from William was the parasol; we sold it, and he was paid. End of story.