Mgnu
Well-known member
My Lista Story (or how you should be wary of govliquidation.com). Or, even better, can I get a you ****, but not for me?
I’ve been waiting to post this until some financials aspects related to the transaction got resolved. That is your first hint at things going horribly wrong, but it’s not all bad, keep reading!
I’ve wanted to re-purpose my third bay in an attached 3 bay garage into a nice shop & home office for myself. My son is getting into the terrible twos, and working from home, it’s hard to stay focused all day long with the noises he’s making as he rampages through the house. I’ve gravitated over time to clean, industrial looks. So naturally, I liked Bull’s Lista cabinet thread, Jack Olson’s Lista & Stronghold acquisitions, akdiesel’s Lista setup, and of course motorhead’s excellent FAQ/write-up. I’m hooked….
I scoured craigslist daily, and govliquidation.com weekly. Finally, a massive amount of Lista auction lots pop up for an auction in Phoenix. Jackpot! I set my budget limits in my head, and start adding items to my watch list. This auction is a Garage Journal dream come true! Listas!! Strongholds!!! Baldors!!! Clausings!!! Massive pieces of machinery that I can only guess at their created purpose! I get visions of walls absolutely COVERED in Lista blue goodness, and a second wall covered in Stronghold awesomeness. Will my concrete slab actually hold all this awesomeness I am going to WIN??
I drive my wife nuts talking about Lista for days waiting for the auction to start. I think at this point, she finally gave in and looked at what I was going to bid on and said, “I don’t get it.” Honey, you know those nice Coach purses you like? It’s like this. Imagine this is a purse like that, except it holds man stuff: it’s indestructible, fireproof, bombproof, idiot proof, made of solid steel here in ‘Merica, weighs 600 lbs, and will be passed down to our great great great grandchildren. Yeah, it’s like that. And look, it’s freaking blue! She still doesn’t get it. But bless her, she said go for it!
Oh, right. Forgot about the Strongholds. What was I saying about a budget before?
Lawson’s anyone? I think I hear the faint whimper of my credit card off in the distance. Yes, if you listen carefully, you can hear it….
Finally, after 2 days of bidding, I win two lots! Here’s what I got. That workbench picture is actually for 2 of them.
Now, I hire a rigger (super awesome and down to earth guy by the way), and wait. Apparently this auction has some strict removal conditions. So I make the appointment…. And ….. friggin….. Wait. Oh, and I nag the wife about how awesome it is that I won these items! More rolling of the eyes, but maybe that Coach analogy is starting to sink in?
So the day comes, I bring my Dad along (he’s retired and looking for adventures). We get to the warehouse, and the govliquidation rep immediately indicates something isn’t right. He can’t find my 2 Lista workbenches. What? Can’t find them? Well, they are pretty big and heavy, can’t imagine they got too far. He didn’t find that funny. Then it sinks in - this guy is serious. I won’t be getting my Listas after all. And these were really nice ones too – 60” long, ash wooden butcher-block tops, and three banks of drawers. And best part? 2 of them for $525 each! Oh the agony of defeat.
But, I did get my consolation prize: the Lista cabinet with three pull out shelves. At least my rigger will earn his keep, burn some diesel fuel, and generally piss off the tree huggers with fumes from his ¾ ton pickup…. By the way, did I tell you how awesome Adam was? If you need a rigger in Phoenix, give him a call.
So, back to the financial fiasco. I can’t say that I am happy (because I didn’t get all that Lista awesomeness). They issued me a refund for the 2 workbenches pretty much straightaway. But I was insisting they eat at least some of the cost of me hiring Adam. Back and forth, few emails here and there, I get mad, they go off and work something out with the bosses, more email, more days, and today I finally got the check in the mail and promptly cash it.
So, the damage? The consolation prize I got for $280. Not a great deal, but I can live with it. It’s a good first Lista. A bruised ego, yep, not going to have that awesome Lista setup for quite awhile now…. unless the wife sells some of those purses and I give Motorhead Extraordinaire a call. Hmmmmmm, not a bad idea actually!
I’d recommend some level of caution when dealing with govliquidation – check out the lots during a preview if you can, etc. (This particular auction, you couldn’t). And, pay with Amex. If they hadn’t been as prompt on the refunds as they were, it would have been nice to have Amex do a charge back and hassle them vs. me trying to get my money back.
Anyways, hope you all have better luck than me in your Lista hunts. Cheers!
I’ve been waiting to post this until some financials aspects related to the transaction got resolved. That is your first hint at things going horribly wrong, but it’s not all bad, keep reading!
I’ve wanted to re-purpose my third bay in an attached 3 bay garage into a nice shop & home office for myself. My son is getting into the terrible twos, and working from home, it’s hard to stay focused all day long with the noises he’s making as he rampages through the house. I’ve gravitated over time to clean, industrial looks. So naturally, I liked Bull’s Lista cabinet thread, Jack Olson’s Lista & Stronghold acquisitions, akdiesel’s Lista setup, and of course motorhead’s excellent FAQ/write-up. I’m hooked….
I scoured craigslist daily, and govliquidation.com weekly. Finally, a massive amount of Lista auction lots pop up for an auction in Phoenix. Jackpot! I set my budget limits in my head, and start adding items to my watch list. This auction is a Garage Journal dream come true! Listas!! Strongholds!!! Baldors!!! Clausings!!! Massive pieces of machinery that I can only guess at their created purpose! I get visions of walls absolutely COVERED in Lista blue goodness, and a second wall covered in Stronghold awesomeness. Will my concrete slab actually hold all this awesomeness I am going to WIN??
I drive my wife nuts talking about Lista for days waiting for the auction to start. I think at this point, she finally gave in and looked at what I was going to bid on and said, “I don’t get it.” Honey, you know those nice Coach purses you like? It’s like this. Imagine this is a purse like that, except it holds man stuff: it’s indestructible, fireproof, bombproof, idiot proof, made of solid steel here in ‘Merica, weighs 600 lbs, and will be passed down to our great great great grandchildren. Yeah, it’s like that. And look, it’s freaking blue! She still doesn’t get it. But bless her, she said go for it!
Oh, right. Forgot about the Strongholds. What was I saying about a budget before?
Lawson’s anyone? I think I hear the faint whimper of my credit card off in the distance. Yes, if you listen carefully, you can hear it….
Finally, after 2 days of bidding, I win two lots! Here’s what I got. That workbench picture is actually for 2 of them.
Now, I hire a rigger (super awesome and down to earth guy by the way), and wait. Apparently this auction has some strict removal conditions. So I make the appointment…. And ….. friggin….. Wait. Oh, and I nag the wife about how awesome it is that I won these items! More rolling of the eyes, but maybe that Coach analogy is starting to sink in?
So the day comes, I bring my Dad along (he’s retired and looking for adventures). We get to the warehouse, and the govliquidation rep immediately indicates something isn’t right. He can’t find my 2 Lista workbenches. What? Can’t find them? Well, they are pretty big and heavy, can’t imagine they got too far. He didn’t find that funny. Then it sinks in - this guy is serious. I won’t be getting my Listas after all. And these were really nice ones too – 60” long, ash wooden butcher-block tops, and three banks of drawers. And best part? 2 of them for $525 each! Oh the agony of defeat.
But, I did get my consolation prize: the Lista cabinet with three pull out shelves. At least my rigger will earn his keep, burn some diesel fuel, and generally piss off the tree huggers with fumes from his ¾ ton pickup…. By the way, did I tell you how awesome Adam was? If you need a rigger in Phoenix, give him a call.
So, back to the financial fiasco. I can’t say that I am happy (because I didn’t get all that Lista awesomeness). They issued me a refund for the 2 workbenches pretty much straightaway. But I was insisting they eat at least some of the cost of me hiring Adam. Back and forth, few emails here and there, I get mad, they go off and work something out with the bosses, more email, more days, and today I finally got the check in the mail and promptly cash it.
So, the damage? The consolation prize I got for $280. Not a great deal, but I can live with it. It’s a good first Lista. A bruised ego, yep, not going to have that awesome Lista setup for quite awhile now…. unless the wife sells some of those purses and I give Motorhead Extraordinaire a call. Hmmmmmm, not a bad idea actually!
I’d recommend some level of caution when dealing with govliquidation – check out the lots during a preview if you can, etc. (This particular auction, you couldn’t). And, pay with Amex. If they hadn’t been as prompt on the refunds as they were, it would have been nice to have Amex do a charge back and hassle them vs. me trying to get my money back.
Anyways, hope you all have better luck than me in your Lista hunts. Cheers!
