Langs timed auction post mortem

[john elder]

I wanted to add my thanks to Debbie and John for setting up and carrying off the timed auction a couple weeks ago. I think everyone had fun bidding and i was very pleased with the delivery time and costs associated with the one auction i never got outbid for! Mailing costs were very reasonable and i had the reel in the normal time window for priority mail. Thanks for the fun!

[Jonathan P. Kring]

I will second that motion.l Notice I didn't say I'll raise you by 10!!

[bettybarr]

Many thank you's to Debbie, John and Christina. The next one will be even better and the banners will be improved and up in a timely manner. Thank you, too, to all the members who bought reels on the TA.

[OCauto]

I am Happy for O.R.C.A. if the Org. Benefited. But I don't do drugs, I don't do alcohol, and I will never do Langs.

By the way, is Langs a sponsor of O.R.C.A. ?

[Midway Tommy D]

I am Happy for O.R.C.A. if the Org. Benefited. By the way, is Langs a sponsor of O.R.C.A. ?

Sure appears that way to me, Al, viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18831 but if not, a HUGE supporter, anyway! I know I sure never look a gift horse in the mouth! BTW, Thanks everyone @ LANGS!

[OCauto]

Thanks for the Link Tommy.

A portion of the sale price of every lot will be donated to ORCA

Didn't we get all of the sale price when we did it online? Didn't we enjoy out bidding each other? Didn't we get to ask questions and get answers from the sellers.

Oh well, I'll stay with Cheat-Bay and hope the Auctions come back home before I get too old to holler "YUP"

Just an old died in the wool Veterans opinion.

[Midway Tommy D]

Didn't we get all of the sale price when we did it online?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but, Al, if I'm not mistaken the reels listed in this timed auction were consigned reels, not reels that had been donated to ORCA, and Lang's was generous enough to give ORCA a cut/donation. At least, in a nutshell, that's how I understand the scenario and format.

[Jim Schottenham]

Didn't we get to ask questions and get answers from the sellers.

Al,

Questions are always welcome and answered quickly, and since I wrote the descriptions, I would likely be the person to reply to you personally.

I was proud to serve this organization as a past president, just as I am proud of the work I do for Lang's. While I am not sure why you feel the way you do:

and I will never do Langs

I will be happy to try and change your view. Let me know what I can do to help.

Jim Schottenham

[Roger Schulz]

Tommy is right on how he explained the 5 percent donation. The TA worked great bringing a lot of collectors through the ORCA website. We even ended up getting some new members as a result. Lang's has always been one of ORCA's biggest supporters. They covered the cost of printing twice our membership applications, they donated money to buy reels for some of our other sales and also the upcoming silent auction at the convention. Jim was our president for two terms and did an outstanding job. To me he is the most knowledgeable person on antique fishing reels that I know (excluding my good friend and fishing partner Phil White or Fudge).

I am glad Lang's is their for ORCA.

Roger Schulz

[Brian F.]

How's about we just say "Thank you, Langs, for being such great supporters of ORCA so that ALL of our members can benefit from this great club".

[Jonathan P. Kring]

I need to put in my 2 cents worth, here from the chicken farm. One of the first people I met from ORCA after joining in 2006, was John Ganung. It was at the convention at Dowagic. We were out on a pier by the lake at the conservation club. He introduced himself to me and said they were recent owners of Langs. He asked me if I had heard of it? At that time I had barely knew what ORCA was. At the time they were doing the printed catalogs and he told me to remind him later and he would give me one, free of charge, which he did. At the Saturday auction, I saw him donate several catalogs to raise money for ORCA. I have purchased from them a few times although my collection is not high dollar, including a couple of reels Len Sawisch convinced me to bid on in the recent ORCA auction I have seen many things which they have done for the club. My wife always says what am I going to do with all of your stuff if you die first? My standard reply is "Call Langs"!! I could say more but I won't. I recall one of my college professors and his favorite saying was, the way to be seen is to stand up. The way to be heard is to speak up, but the way to be appreciated, is to shut up. So I will shut up.

[OCauto]

Again, my apologies. I can't take it back. I should have kept my opinions to myself.

[Reel Addictive]

I should have kept my opinions to myself.

Al I disagree. This forum thrives because members share their opinions. If you are willing to step out there regularly, then inevitably you may be disagreed with from time to time. I usually stick my foot in my mouth at least once a month.

Yes Lang's Auction has done a lot for ORCA, but more than that they seem to genuinely be interested in the quality of service they provide to their customers. When I first signed up for their auction I had a problem. Jim personally contacted me to resolve the issue (you don't see that much these days).

Thanks Lang's for your continued support of ORCA. And thank you Al for all the work you have done to preserve the history of fishing reels. I encourage you to give Lang's a try.

Just my opinion,

William

[bettybarr]

William beat me to it. Al, and all ORCA members and visitors, you are welcome to say (in a polite and sensitive way), what your thoughts and feelings are. While I will chime in on the praise of Lang's, I heard you. I take note of many negatives I read; most don't demand a reply because someone else posted a better response than I could have. You have my admiration for your many contributions. I enjoy this forum. It is a tremendous resource and asset. Keep those posts coming!

[Lang's Auction]

*
Al,

You are absolutely welcome to your opinion. However, if you have a complaint, or worse yet, have had a bad experience with Lang's, we can't make it right if we don't know what it is or how you feel. We would be glad to hear from you and we will certainly try to right the issue if there was one.

We have always believed the only way to provide great customer service is to deal with both the good and the bad. We realize this sometimes means hearing a negative comment, but if we don't know there's a problem, how are we to address it or fix it?

John & Debbie Ganung

*

[OCauto]

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

My man Teddy Roosevelt.

I guess I need to get back in the arena. I will participate in the next Lang's Timed Auction. I now know that some O.R.C.A. members can help make it a better
experience. I will be calling on you if I experience the same issues as I did a few years back and before I was an O.R.C.A. member.

[Mike N]

I doubt there are many members besides Terry Ow, Dave Gaustad, Steve Vernon and perhaps a few others that have a longer history with Lang's-- even back to the days when it was Richard Oliver's auction house-- than me.

Bob Lang and I ate many a roast duck up in Marlborough, Mass. after a heady day of bidding on just about the coolest vintage tackle you can imagine. You can't buy memories of that quality.

Jim Schottenheim and owners John and Debbie are worthy successors in every way to the legacy Bob left and I am very grateful for my 25+ years of dealing with them.

Do I think the buyer's premiums have run up too much to the high side? Of course. But it's a tough business and costs will be marginalized by increased competition over time.

Thank you, Lang's, for all you do for ORCA and our hobby.

MIKE N

[Lang's Auction]

That's wonderful news Al - thank you. Honestly, if you have any issue what so ever, no matter how small or what it involves, we are here to help. And there is no such thing as a silly question, especially when you're participating in an online auction for the first time.

Please save the email addresses below as well as Sales@LangsAuction.com - and the office phone number: 315-841-4623

The auction manager's direct email: Christina@LangsAuction.com

Jim Schottenham's direct email: Jim@LangsAuction.com

John & Debbie Ganung

[Lang's Auction]

We've received quite a few emails with similar questions, so we thought it best to clarify a few things.

Because this was the first ORCA hosted timed auction, all the reels had been previously consigned to Lang's before this event was scheduled. Going forward, we are expecting future reel TA's will be a mix of Lang's consignments and ORCA member's reels.

The seller's commission for an ORCA timed auction is 10%, no matter what is consigned, one reel or hundreds. Lang's donates 5% of this commission to ORCA post-auction, the other 5% is retained by Lang's.

Consignor donations are NOT required to sell your reels in a timed auction. However, donations are welcome. If you would like to donate any portion of your sales to ORCA, or to any other non-profit organization or charity, we will make sure the recipient receives your donation within 30 days post-sale, and you will receive a receipt for the donation, which in most cases is tax deductible. No donation is too small. If you've ever wanted to give a little back to your club or help a specific charity, selling a reel or two is a great way to do so without an outlay of money.

We've discussed including non-reel items in the next timed auction, but have not made a definitive decision on this as of yet.

We hope to produce at least four ORCA hosted timed auctions each year - they will always be announced 2-3 weeks prior to the sale. The next might be as soon as July. Notification will be made by email, so if you have not yet joined Lang's mailing list, please do so. The announcement will also be added to the Home page of this site and Reel Talk header as soon as the date is set.

Please don't hesitate to call or email if you have further questions. 315-841-4623 or Sales@LangsAuction.com

John & Debbie Ganung

[Lang's Auction]

Clarification of the claification...

The seller's commission for an ORCA timed auction is 10%, no matter what is consigned, one reel or hundreds. Lang's donates 50% of this commission to ORCA post-auction (5% of the hammer price of each item sold), the other 50% is retained by Lang's (5% of the hammer price of each item sold).

John & Debbie Ganung