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Post by highbrow on Mar 1, 2013 15:39:34 GMT -8
I do not wish to mention the company, person or so on I am dealing with. But I am awaiting shipping on two items from said person/place. I am curious what happens or has this happened to anyone else regarding a complete lack of communication. Both items have been in possession of party B ( other person/company) for well over 6 months, while one is a replacement the other was a purchase. I am curious what steps and how long before I should make others aware of this ( I would welcome PMs just dont wish to make it public knowledge as of yet ) I do not feel this person or place has "ripped me off" however I have emailed 20 times, called countless times and even sent text messages regarding this. I went as far as to reach out to the artist and have found out he as well has tried to communicate to this person/place with no real answers regarding my questions.
I am curious what my next step should be ?
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Post by sin on Mar 1, 2013 17:40:55 GMT -8
I presume you have paid for these items. What method of payment did you use? Is the total over 10k? Do you wish to retain the relationship for any reason?
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Post by highbrow on Mar 1, 2013 17:56:54 GMT -8
Sin, yes items have been paid for, under 10K, and currently I am up in the air regarding the relationship as it appears to be none at the time.
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Post by sin on Mar 1, 2013 18:22:17 GMT -8
Send a demand letter registered mail. If they don't respond to that file a small claims suit in their local court. I know what you are referring to and it's just bad business as the person or business is currently operating and at this point is just not able to manage expectations properly.
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Post by highbrow on Mar 1, 2013 18:41:10 GMT -8
Thank you Sin I will do that, I have also filed a compliant with the bob.org and will make sure everyone I know outside this community makes the public aware of this as well with reviews on various websites.
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Post by sin on Mar 1, 2013 19:16:43 GMT -8
Buy Facebook ad targeted to people that like them or like art in their local area. Much more effective.
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Post by waltercrunk on Mar 1, 2013 19:51:42 GMT -8
Buy Facebook ad targeted to people that like them or like art in their local area. Much more effective. Or you could ^^^
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Post by highbrow on Mar 1, 2013 20:09:32 GMT -8
Sin how does do that? can you PM me
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Post by highbrow on Mar 2, 2013 6:51:49 GMT -8
A Number of people have asked so here it is
I have been a huge fan of LeBasse Projects and spent a great deal of money with them over the years and all of late I have had items held hostage by them, not been able to get emails returned ( they have just been ignored ) and rarely have been able to get a text message replied to. Well I had a sculpture shipped to me and it arrived damaged, I mailed it back and was told even though it was a edition that no more were available. 5 months later I learn the gallery is offering one of the sculptures to a fellow client who I know. I confront the gallery about it and I am told they will make it right, Months pass and countless emails go to the gallery where I am told 1. The item will ship when the Gallery owner returns. then 2. The package is ready to ship but the gallery owner is at fairs ( why can only the owner ship not sure ). 3. Finally they even confirm my address for shipping which never happens. While this is taking place I inquire about having an artist do some hand finishing to a print which I purchased and was still at LeBasse gallery. I am told nothing can move forward till after the artist is done getting ready with his show. Well his show is completed and coming down I have emailed regarding the print and sculpture and still no response ( please keep in mind this is over a 10 plus month period ). I have sent my address, offered a fedex and UPS account number for shipping all to be ignored. I even inquired about the availability of the artists show and prints which the gallery has available as I know only half the show was sold, and still no reply regarding any of it.
This is a gallery I had a very good relationship with, when I learned of the sculpture issue I was still looking to do business, then I learn the sculpture which I was told was ready to ship, packed to ship and going to ship was offered to a customer at the most recent show opening shows me two things, one this gallery can not be trusted at least by me, and two they are not interested in taking my money so they must not be effected by the current economy.
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Post by origo on Mar 2, 2013 7:51:04 GMT -8
I know of at least one artist that had a similar problem with them, hope you get it fixed, highbrow.
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Post by sin on Mar 2, 2013 9:21:12 GMT -8
In business there are two sorts of people. People with backbone that understand everything doesn't always go as planned and they can work through it and help manage a customers expectations. Then there are people who lack character, who crumble like a cheap tent when things get off track and who forget that all business is based on relationships. Sounds like you made a great effort to facilitate the transaction. My advice, send the demand letter requesting the money and forgo the items. It's a quicker resolution. If you get no response to the demand letter file a small claims suit. When you file name everyone connected to them, their employees, owners, landlords, FedEx, and anyone else you can think of. The reason you do this is to cause extensive damage to their reputation. You can amend the complaint later to remove these people but I promise you anyone who gets a supeona will not soon forget what company caused them to get caught up in this mess. Granted I normally take this route over large business deals but the same principles hold true and while it takes you almost no effort to file and respond if they try to go toe to toe they will burn through the money you are out, in legal fees in a New York minute. Anyone have the link to the top cruise Pineapple Express video? Scorched Earth Mother Fucker!!
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Post by sin on Mar 2, 2013 9:25:47 GMT -8
Found it, enjoy
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Post by hellosir on Mar 2, 2013 10:31:01 GMT -8
Cory sorry to hear this. I had my inclination when you first started mentioning the details but had no idea it went that badly. I can't imagine how they treated you, of all people like this. I truly believe in kharma and this will definitely not come back to them kindly. Keep your head up and thanks for warning us as a community.
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Post by sleepboy on Mar 2, 2013 11:02:08 GMT -8
Surprised to hear this Cory. Never had a problem with LeBasse before personally, in fact quite the opposite. Hopefully there is a good explanation for this.
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Post by highbrow on Mar 2, 2013 11:30:22 GMT -8
Thanks Sleep, I agree previous to this I had nothing but amazing things to say about LeBasse as well, and hope this is only me dealing with this issue, however others have also sent me PMs regarding issues as well.
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Post by dotdot on Mar 2, 2013 12:11:19 GMT -8
fwiw - good luck with your 'situation'.
sin - plenty of good words there.
hb - clear head ... as i think you have - i'm sure it will work out.
as for the culprit... i do wish people would be respectful when it come to others such as us.. and not think it's ok when .... it's far far from it.
alas their rep is shot in my eyes ... (my list.. has another entry).
..
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Post by svenman on Mar 2, 2013 13:40:36 GMT -8
I had a sculpture shipped to me and it arrived damaged, I mailed it back and was told even though it was a edition that no more were available. 5 months later I learn the gallery is offering one of the sculptures to a fellow client who I know. the quote above really stood out to me. do galleries think that collectors don't talk to each other? sorry to hear all of this cory. i sincerely hope you get things sorted with the gallery. 10 months is a long time to be kept hanging.
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Post by highbrow on Mar 2, 2013 13:50:54 GMT -8
Thanks Sven I really tried to sort without going through a public display but I will not be ignored and will do everything possible from filing a compliant with the BBb to making sure everyone I know on yelp also reviews them cause sometimes one voice is not enough
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Post by sin on Mar 2, 2013 14:29:45 GMT -8
Highbrow. I picked up lebasseprojects.net. Save your email communication as jpgs if you can and we'll build a site in an HTML editor. Then you can drive traffic to that site. Once the page gets indexed it should show up pretty high in their search results. Also. Create a link to their site in these threads. When you do type in the words you want like LeBasse projects scammed me, then use the post setting to make the text larger than the normal next and bold it. Then select the link option and set the link to their domain. Their is no real competition for their search term so we should be able to show up above their own site for their search term if you really want to give them the business.
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Post by ksn on Mar 2, 2013 15:08:01 GMT -8
I can second the lack of responsiveness via email. Beau seems like a nice guy though, I hope LBP sets things right before more people start unpacking their pitchforks.
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Post by highbrow on Mar 2, 2013 15:21:58 GMT -8
As I stated also it was not just a lack of communicating regarding property they have but lack of communicating or replying when I was also contacting regarding Nates last show available works. I contacted Nate directly and he also appears to not be able 100 percent to answer what was available and not or how many prints were still available if any. I hope he begins to handle more of his career himself and find additional outlets for his amazing works. Sin I will drop u a pm to see how I can sort you for the help.
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Post by sin on Mar 2, 2013 15:24:40 GMT -8
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Post by sin on Mar 2, 2013 15:30:43 GMT -8
That shit about contacting you regarding available works when your shit isn't shorted out is BOGUS. A few galleries offer value the rest are opportunistic cocksuckers who prey upon the desire of the collector and the lack of business sense of the artist. The grow nothing produce value for no one and just take from the other two stakeholders to justify their existence.
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Post by highbrow on May 2, 2013 10:56:08 GMT -8
Here is the last email from Christine at LeBasse and of course no response since. On Apr 5, 2013, at 12:32 AM, Christine LeBasse <christine@lebasseprojects.com> wrote:
Dear Cory,
Thank you for your email. Again, I apologize if we neglected or took for granted your relationship with the gallery. I honestly can't imagine this was done maliciously or intentionally.
Just to give you a little background on our roles at the gallery, Beau curates and is Director, while I handle client relationships, operations and business affairs. Since my pregnancy, which started pretty rough, my duties were divided between our two employees and Beau. Needless to say, it's a plate full and I would say pretty overwhelming. The gallery has also been working with additional artists, exhibitions domestic and internationally, moving our Chinatown space along with other commercial projects as well. While this success, which I attribute to collectors like yourself, is a blessing, it is also a curse. This is in no way an excuse but just wanted to give you a little insight to how things fell through the cracks. We have always done our best to accommodate our clients and support our artist. This has always and still is our priority.
I could get into a long drawn out email to explain the bust and print situation but I would rather give you a call tomorrow to try to resolve this matter. I find there are a few things I'm still confused about. I think a phone call and talking this out would help. I'm sure we can come to an acceptable resolution to make it right. I will also discuss this with Beau and make sure we are all on the same page. Please let me know when's a convenient time I call and a number where I can reach you. Thank you again. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely, Christine
Christine Le Basse LeBasse Projects
Sent from my iPad
Sadly no call, no real reply to emails after that, guess with all the commercial success collectors who have spent 10+K in a gallery arent the bread and butter anymore
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