The Velvet Forum

i just got this response after requesting to be put on the approved bidders list...

Hello,

Thanks for your interest in our auction for the Velvet Underground Acetate. As you may be aware, we had attempted to auction this item last week, but found that the celebrity of the auction had attracted a bizarre level of bidding mischief. I had canceled over fifty bids during the auction which seemed to emanate from bidders with low feedback, and whose otherwise bidding history did not seem consistent with what was being offered in our auction. Despite this effort, as you may have seen/read/heard from various news sources, the winning bid turned out to have been a prank as well.

We are taking the following steps to ensure that the return to auction of this item does not repeat the flaws of the last one. We have made two changes: we are keeping the names of bidders private, and we are requiring reference contacts from each bidder before allowing their participation.

Please forward the following information to us if you wish to participate in this auction:

1. Full name and address as it appears on your banking statements/credit cards. If you go by a different name, please provide both names.

2. Daytime and evening phone number.

3. Your line of business or employment

4. Address and phone number of your business/employment location, and a reference contact name and phone number at that place of business.

Thank you for understanding the need for securing this information on all the prospective bidders. The information requested here will protect serious bidders from having the auction undermined by rogue bidders. Thanks for understanding that as a serious bidder, your cooperation here enables a system designed to ultimately serve your interests.

You will receive notice that you have been accepted for bidding after references have been checked.

Good luck in the auction.

Scott Wax
Saturn Records
5488 College Ave.
Oakland, Ca 94618

Yeah I got the same thing & I've sent them a strong reply.I mean they ask way too many question,if they dont know how to sell it is their problem.I told them that they dont let me bid they can stick that acetate up to their..shelf

yeah, i was pretty offended by it too. since when do you need a credit check to bid on an ebay auction?
i think they're too cheap to use a real auction house because of the fees. but i also think that with a real auction house, they'd never be able to get away with the anecdotal bullshit they're spouting about this being possibly the only copy in the world and the ambiguity of what kind of ownership and rights come with it.
i've been to saturn records a bunch of times and the place is a real nightmare. the clerks are typical over the top uber-nerds that look down their noses at whatever you are buying from THEIR store. it's also perhaps the second most expensive record store i've ever been in. imagine paying $40 for a genuine first pressing of 'whipped cream and other delights! i can't either...

Good for them, it's common sense. I don't see anything at all unreasonable in what they're doing.

I BID $155,401 ON THE NORMAN DOLPH ACETATE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT



http://cgi.ebay.com/VELVET-UNDERGROUND- ... dZViewItem

The 'I BID $155,401 ON THE NORMAN DOLPH ACETATE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT' line would've been better.

This time is gone for 25200$ HUMMMM... but I think is still available

Maybe if it appears on eBay again we should all post CD burms of the acetate to see how they react.

After all, we own the copyright to the music on the CDs no less than they own the copyright to the music on the acetate.