If you were one of the many first-time collectors reluctant to sign up for the upcoming Profiles in History Lost Auction because of their required $500 “good faith” deposit (see: ‘Good Faith’ Deposit Required to Attend Profiles in History Lost Auction), you can now move forward without concern. I’ve recently found out that PiH has decided to eliminate their request for said deposit, although their reasoning remains a bit of a mystery.
According to those at Profiles in History (via third party), no “good faith” deposits have been collected and it was initially a demand of ABC that collectors be charged…a demand that has since been relented.
Additionally, despite Joe Maddalena’s claim that all collectors attending the auction with intent to bid will be given passes to ABC’s “special event,” the current PiH registration form states the following:
2. All bidders who wish to attend the auction and bid on the floor will need to purchase a ticket to the LOST Exhibit, IN ADDITION to purchasing an auction catalog and be issued a bidding paddle and get a seat on the auction floor.
3. The FIRST 100 pre-registered bidders who have purchased a catalog will receive one free admission, per person, to the Lost Exhibit. This is on a “FIRST COME FIRST SERVE” basis as tickets and catalogs are selling fast.
Again, to clarify, this contradicts the statements made by CEO Joe Maddalena at Comic-Con.
“If you are a client of Profiles or wish to bid in the auction, you contact us and we will give you a free admission pass. Okay, so there is no charge to get in. If you plan on coming to bid we have seats reserved and it doesn’t cost you anything,” Maddalena said. “All you gotta do is call us up; call me, call Brian, call the office. Give us your name. When you get there, you’ll have a free pass. There is no charge for our clients.”
Like their catalog, Profiles has been extremely unclear with collectors to this point. Many questions remain unanswered, policies continue to change and statements by their CEO should, apparently, be taken with a grain of salt.
About Dan Benton
For all the studios out there this is how you
ruin a large event.- Let Joe Maddalena get in front of a amateur
blog writer with a handy cam . Works every time
I called PIH and asked for a free pass to bid on the floor. They said “Sorry Joe is not in, you will have to contact him directly to get on the list.” Anybody got his cell phone number?