Saturday, November 23, 2013

BURNS BURNS CONSIGNORS & GETS AWAY WITH IT!

For more details, see the blog posts listed at the bottom of the page


FYI

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anglen, Robert  
Date: Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Story on camelback consign
To: Glenn Michaels  



Story is in today's paper. Your blog is mentioned prominently in the story. Thanks for all of your help. Here is a link:


http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumer/call-12-for-action/2014/09/28/missing-painting-returned-owner/16373445/


Giving Your Goods to Camelback Consign & Design is a REALLY BAD IDEA. Here's Why!

September 23, 2014: Update. 

He's still getting away with it!

Out of business? Check. 

Wait. His store is closed. But according to 
former landlord Bill Roach, Burns removed a 
lot of valuable merchandise over several weeks
 before he was finally locked out of the building. 

If your goods are really good, sell them elsewhere. Anywhere else. ESPECIALLY - PLEASE NOTE - ESPECIALLY if you don't live in Phoenix or are planning to move away.

If you just want to give them away...no worries. 

Camelback Consign and Design, LLC., located at 1030 Camelback Road in Phoenix, Arizona, looks like an upscale consignment store. Its proprietor appears to be a lovely, charming man with fascinating anecdotes of past deals done, fine art, his rich and famous friends. 


Watch out! Show up with arms full of real value, lovely somethings you need to turn into cash, and chances are you'll watch your dreams burn. In an amazing bit of reverse alchemy, Camelback Consign and Design turns your golden goods into - voila' - thin air! This startling trick has apparently proven so successful for Camelback Consign and Design that it has used it again and again. Not only on me, but any number of others. 


Don't believe me. After all, who am I to you? Just another faceless, angry mouth with a pen keyboard writing in late 2013, right?  Instead, take a quick trip to the website of the Better Business Bureau.

Here's what you'll see:



Here's how Marilyn Huffman | Dispute Resolution Consultant for the BBB explained it in an email:


When a BBB accredited business or non-accredited business is not meeting the Standards of Trust we look into why and try to help. During this period of time we put a business review on "NR" status, which just means "No Rating". It is a courtesy to the business, to give them the chance to make things right, but also lets the consumer know that we are updating/reviewing the business file. Camelback Consign & Design is an accredited business that has had some issues arise. You personally have been affected by this business. The BBB is looking into this and will shortly be making a decision about whether or not this business will be able to retain their accreditation or have it revoked. As soon as our board makes the final decision, that will reflect on the business' review.
(Bold font by the blogger.)

Mind you, I YELPed, too. But it seems YELP prefers positive to negative reviews. It squelches negative reviews that make any reference to the name of a human being. Shrieks turn into vapors. I twice tried to post a comment about Camelback Consign and Design. The first was expunged with an explanation from a YELP reviewer. The second, much revised to suit YELP's specified requirements, was also busted. 

The first time I visited YELP, it had a newly posted, negative Camelback Consign and Design review by someone else. A day later it was gone. When I finally got around to making my own complaint to the BBB, I found a copy of the complaint BANISHED by YELP.

Not surprisingly, buyers love the great bargains they find at Camelback Consign and Design. Consignors have a different perspective. Here's just the latest consignor comment I found on YELP.







Yahoo's policy is more liberal. It has allowed three consignor posts, mine and two others!





Click on the blog posts listed below for all the lurid details. Read about lovely antiques... lost, apparently forever. Lies. Skullduggery. And shame.

Shame on any legal system that makes it so easy for a business to get away with so much, so often.

For all of the juicy details the BBB has to offer, use this link.

DON'T KID YOURSELF. 
Mike Burns wasn't born yesterday. He wasn't born on the Fourth of July, either. NOPE. Mike Burns was born on 9/11 in 1952. 
He was destined. 
Don't forget to tip a hat to Ms. Indispensable, Vera Manuz, either. Where would Mike be without her?


I don't know if the truth will set you free. But fuss loud enough with a big 'nough bunch a friends and I swear folks 'll do near anything to get you to shut up. Fast as they can. 

3 comments:

  1. Every person affected by Camelback Consign and Design need to get together as a group and go to one Arizona Senate legislator. What is happening at Camelback is VERY COMMON in the consignment industry. It's similar to a Ponzi Scheme. The store gets behind on its obligations, like the store rent. When an item sells, the store owner puts the consignor's money toward paying the store rent with plans on paying the consignor at a later date. This starts off as stealing a little consignor money and balloons into massive debt. I loaned a consignment store $25,000 to help them out of a jam BEFORE I inspected their books. They owed their consignors $350,000. Needless to say, I never got repaid. Then the store went bankrupt, leaving everyone holding the bag. This was also the case in Terry's Consignment Furniture and she and her "friend" were driving Mercedes. The State of Arizona needs to regulate consignment stores and the stores need to have trust accounts just like real estate offices. I hope that many of you will get together with your State Senator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Anonymous (4/28/14)

    While I'm a little unclear exactly how such regulation might work, I am certainly in favor of getting interested parties - especially victims and consignment store representatives with integrity - together with a legislator to discuss the problem and initiate the process of creating a solution. I wonder, for example, if consignment stores shouldn't buy special licenses, the fees from which would go to policing the industry and insuring consignors and consignment stores against bad behavior from either side. Perhaps the money pays for automatic mediation services.

    While cleaning up the industry in this way has costs associated with it, there must also be significant costs to the industry as a result of the bad behavior of individual consignment store owners.By reducing that impact, I would imagine that increased trust in the industry could result in greater willingness by the public to sell and shop at consignment store locations.

    ReplyDelete

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