Dear Collector,
Grey Flannel Auctions is proud to offer in our Third Annual Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Auction, an impressive array of quality memorabilia. To those of you who have never visited our showroom in Westhampton Beach, New York, we warmly extend an invitation to visit us and inspect the incredible memorabilia presented in this catalog. We realize this is not always possible, and to those bidders who cannot visit our facility, you can rest assured that each and every lot in this auction is genuine and authentic in all respects. Our commitment to authentication for well over a decade has earned us the reputation as "The Standard of the Industry." We are the official appraisers and authenticators for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, and Sotheby's chose us to authenticate the largest and most important baseball uniform collection ever to come up for auction, the Barry Halper collection.
Except in very few instances can the provenance of game-used items and autographed items be definitely traced and attributed to an athlete or individual, even when a letter from a team is provided. The following paragraphs discuss the processes used by Grey Flannel Auctions to authenticate lots in our auction. As a result of those processes, based on the information available to Grey Flannel Auctions, we are very comfortable in stating that "in our opinion" the items in our auction are authentic. Therefore, every lot in this auction will be sold "As Is," no exceptions.
All of our jersey authenticators are under the incredibly discerning eye of Nick Coppola, who has been collecting jerseys for over 30 years and has carefully and separately looked at every game-used jersey in this auction. Our jersey authenticating team includes Richard Russek, who has been in the hobby for 20 years and T.J. Favilla who worked at Yankee Stadium for many years. We will note in the lot descriptions if other letters come in addition to ours. Every lot in this auction will come with a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame letter. As to the most controversial and vulnerable area of all, autographs, we have taken great measures to protect our clients. We have used the services of James Spence Authentication, Jimmy Spence and Larry Studebaker. In every lot featuring an item that is autographed, each expert looked at the item independently. With every autographed lot, if any one of our experts were uncomfortable with an item, we removed it from the auction. This was NOT a majority vote. Every autographed lot in this auction will come with a JSA letter. Lots containing multiple items have been reviewed by JSA, however, the possibility for secreterial and otherwise questionable signatures may be included.
Our many years of experience have led us to choose all of the above experts. We believe they are the very best that exist. There is very little science to authenticating in this hobby, mostly opinion. If you disagree, we warmly invite you to make arrangements to have your authenticator come inspect any and all items you are interested in before the auction. Once you buy the item you own it. No returns, every lot is sold "As Is."
Sincerely,
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM
CEO
Richard Russek
President
BIDDER REGISTRATION - In order to bid in this auction, you will need to have a bidder I.D.. You may obtain a bidder I.D. by calling (631) 288-7800 ext. 223 during our regular business hours and registering. You will be asked to give two hobby references at the time of your registration. If you cannot supply these references, Grey Flannel Auctions may ask you questions regarding your credit. You will need to register only once, and this will give you a permanent bidder I.D. for Grey Flannel Auctions. Please call to register before 5:00 p.m. EST September 5th, 2008. After this time, we will register no more bidders, with no exceptions, except September 6th live at the Hall of Fame. Placing a bid constitutes acceptance of Grey Flannel Auctions’ rules and Grey Flannel Auctions has the final say in interpreting all rules.
SUBMITTING BIDS - Bidding begins immediately by phone and online. We are interactive online at www.GreyFlannelAuctions.com. Please check our web site for instructions. No e-mail bids will be accepted. Lots will be closed individually starting at 12:00 p.m (EST) live September 6th, 2008 at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Lots will close in succession from beginning to end, with each lot being closed independently by the auctioneer. Please do not ask for an exception to these rules.
MINIMUM BID INCREASE - 10% minimum increase, in whole dollar amounts. Please see “Ceiling Bids.” There will be no exception to this rule prior to the auction going live at the Hall of Fame at 12 noon EST on September 6th, 2008. Once the auction goes live, all bids accepted live in the room as well as all bids accepted online will be in whole dollar amounts and in some cases in increments higher or lower than 10%. This will be at the live auctioneer’s discretion. The live bidding increments are as follows: 150 to 200: by 10s, 200 to 300: by 20s, 300 to 500: by 20, 50, 80, 500 to 1000: by 50, 1000 to 2000: by 100s, 2000 to 3000: by 200s, 3000 to 5000: by 200, 500, 800, 5000 to 10,000: by 500, 10,000 to 20,000: by 1000, 20,000 to 30,000: 2000, 30,000 to 100,000: 2000, 5000, 8000.
SHIPPING - The buyer is responsible for all shipping, packaging and insurance costs. Most lots will be shipped via Fedex. This cost will be reflected on your auction invoice. If you need expedited shipping, please call when you receive your invoice before making payment so we can make the appropriate shipping adjustments. All international orders will be processed in the full invoice amount, no exceptions. The buyer is responsible for all duty and customs charges. Grey Flannel does not ship the larger auction lots from our location. The safe arrival of your item(s) is very important to us so we use a professional packing company to prepare your item to ship. Therefore, on certain lots, there will be a shipping charge that includes a packing fee as well as the FedEx charge. The packing fee is set by our outside vendor, so you pay us what we pay him. For example, if you buy a lot of three large framed pieces, the packing fee will be approximately $125 plus the FedEx charge of approximately $50. Grey Flannel Auctions is not in business to make a profit on shipping; we would just like to recoup our costs in shipping and packaging your items as best as possible. Any item may be picked up in person at our office after funds are cleared. However, out of state residents will be required to pay New York State sales tax. Please call ahead to make arrangements. There will be no pick-ups at the auction venue, no exceptions.
BUYER'S PREMIUM - All winning bids will have a 20% buyer’s premium added to the final hammer price. Bidders using ebay live will incur an additional 5% premium (25%). All bidders must pay buyer’s premiums; no exceptions.
SALES TAX - All State of New York and Massachusetts residents must pay sales tax. Since each county is different, the appropriate tax will be included in your final invoice. New York/Massachusetts dealers: if you have a resale number, please make sure that we have it on file or you will pay sales tax.
RESERVES - Please be advised that in a few instances the actual reserve may be lower/higher than that published.
CEILING BIDS - Ceiling bids are simply the highest dollar amount that you would empower Grey Flannel to bid on your behalf for a particular lot. Grey Flannel Auctions strongly encourages you as the bidder to place ceiling bids. This is the easiest and most efficient way to ensure that you get the best possible chance to win your desired auction lot. Ceiling bids are kept in the strictest confidence. First, to place a ceiling bid, it needs to be a minimum of 21% higher than the high bid, which must be your last bid. (Example: Your new bid is $1,000, and the minimum ceiling bid that can be placed is therefore $1,210). Also, Grey Flannel Auctions reserves the right to raise your ceiling bid by a maximum of 10%. (Example: Your ceiling bid is $1,000 and the current bid is $950; we will raise your ceiling bid to $1,045). This ensures that no ceiling bidder will be outbid by less than 10%. If the same ceiling bid is placed on a lot by two or more bidders, the bidder who placed the ceiling bid first will have first priority to that bid amount.
DISCLAIMER - Grey Flannel Auctions is not responsible for computer or human error which may result in any customer dissatisfaction. We reserve the right to accept or reject any and all bids or bidders. Grey Flannel Auctions reserves the right to refuse and person from bidding live or being present at the Hall of Fame the day of the auction. The stock lots in this auction are: 24,54,69,71,102,126,128,156,157,158. The interest lots are: 34,144,148,154,159.
INVOICES/NOTIFICATION - Invoices will be mailed and emailed to all winning bidders in the days following the conclusion of the auction. Payment is expected upon receipt of the invoice date. Please do not call to see if you won a particular lot. Auction results will be posted on our web site (www.GreyFlannelAuctions.com) at the conclusion of the auction. The prices posted will include the 20% buyer’s premium.
PAYMENTS - Cashier's Cashier's check, money order, or bank transfer are the preferred methods of payment. These payment methods will allow us to process and ship your items as quickly as possible. Payment by personal or company check will be held for a minimum of 10 business days to clear—there will be zero exceptions, please do not ask. No special payment arrangements are available without previous approval by our credit department. Grey Flannel DOES NOT accept credit cards as a method of payment.
RUTURN POLICY- Cashier's Cashier's check, money order, or bank transfer are the preferred methods of payment. These payment methods will allow us to process and ship your items as quickly as possible. Payment by personal or company check will be held for a minimum of 10 business days to clear—there will be zero exceptions, please do not ask. No special payment arrangements are available without previous approval by our credit department. Grey Flannel DOES NOT accept credit cards as a method of payment.
PHONE LINE REQUEST - Grey Flannel Auctions will provide a phone line for this auction to serve bidders that cannot bid live in person or on the internet the day of the auction. In order to receive this service, you must reserve a telephone line by calling our Auction Director T.J. Favilla at (631) 288-7800 ext. 221 before September 6th, 2008. When calling, you will be asked to place a bid on each lot you are requesting a call back on. A limited number of phone lines are available per lot and are on a first come, first serve basis with no exceptions. Please have the lots you wish to bid on ready when requesting a telephone line.
PREMIER LOTS - Grey Flannel Auction’s Premier Lots for the September 6, 2008 Basketball Hall of Fame Auction are listed below and are also identified by the wording “PREMIER LOT” as well as by the logo. You must be registered in advance with our credit department before bidding on these items. Our credit department must be satisfied with the bidder’s ability to pay. Once approval to bid is granted, you may bid on any Premier Lot up to the amount of your approved line of credit.