Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/05/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Everything was great until it wasn't. I took in boxes of books, ***** ********, the owner of Once and Again Consignment Gallery, selected some for sale and I'd pick up rejects. Last year, Oct. 20, 2021, I took in 2 boxes of books. Unlike the usual practice of getting a list of accepted books/items, I had heard nothing by Jan. 2022. I went to the store on a Saturday, but ***** doesn't work on weekends. Through emails, but not till April 1 did I learn that she had mixed up my two boxes with a giant load of 40 boxes she had obtained. The mistake had already been made way back, but she made no effort to correct it on my behalf, in fact lied about the timing of events and tried to intimidate me that I had done something wrong in asking after my account. Into the summer I still thought that my books had been listed for the giant book sale, but I had never gotten a list of what she accepted for sale. I tried many times trying to get an honest answer, but she never answered. I had been truly cheated and apparently was too dumb to accept it. No apology or compensation was offered, she never answered an email, just ignored me and even said bring in more books! Why would I, having been cheated and those two boxes in particular had some expensive books that I described to her to distinguish my boxes from the 40. I had notes in my boxes to her, clearly from someone who had been doing business with her. But it didn't matter. She was disorganized, then dishonest and put up a wall of intimidation acting like I had done something terrible just for asking after my account. I am asking for $50 and that is getting by cheap for her, or else an apology for her mean, unprofessional behavior, making me feel like a victim. No one enjoys being cheated and jerked around.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/10/2023

  The policy of Once & Again is that all consignors must complete the required paperwork when bringing inventory into the store for consignment. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy. Once & Again has been in the business of consignment since 2001 and this has always been our policy. C. ************ insisted on delivering books to the store for consignment but didn't want to take the time to complete the required paperwork. If we are somehow incorrect and the required listing sheet and contract were completed in their entirety, the complainant should upload her copies of the following executed documents as evidence for her complaint; the completed listing sheet and contract, dated and signed by both the complainant and a representative of Once & Again. Completed per the policies of the store, the listing sheet would list each book brought for consignment by Title, and would be signed by both the store representative and the consignor. These policies were explained to C. ************ in detail on more than one circumstance and are also stated on the required consignment documents themselves. Once & Again does not accept responsibility for consigned inventory when the paperwork is not completed. The attached documents (which are also attached by C. ************) reflect the communication between the consignor and the business owner, however, the complainant has not provided the documents which reflect the policies of the store. It has been a year since this circumstance transpired, and the complaint misrepresents the circumstance, which is evidenced by the documents she uploaded. We are confused as to why C. ************ would send an email titled "forgiven?" to the store and then submit a complaint many months later.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/11/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As anticipated in my documents, she lied about the requirements of the time, about this listing business. I just want people to see the level of deceit she went to cover up her mistake instead of just coming clean and admitting to a goof up. Strung me along all those months. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/23/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ?In March 2021, ***** ******** & I emailed to set time for my assistant and I to meet with her at a warehouse we had stored furniture for her to look at for consignment. Dots were put on items to be picked up by O&A staff. She added several oriental rugs she looked at that day, to have ******* pick up with the furniture. March 31, 2021 I received an email from ***** that she would take them. ******* would call to schedule pick up. I was not available the day of the pick up, our assistant met with ******* for the pick up and signed for it. On April 15, I received 2 lists of consignment items and prices. The list did not include our rugs and said "additional email will be sent to you as your items are researched". I let her know I had original rug pricing if that would help. She indicated she would be back in touch with rug pricing & to look at the remaining items after the first lot had sold. I did not know any had sold as I expected to have heard from her if that were the case as I have with all of the others consignors I wOn 7/14/22, I finally contacted ***** to find out what the status of the sales, and to move forward on the next items. Sent 2 Emails & left message asking her to check in with me. I finally heard back 4/26/22. Her reply was curt. She said contract was 120 days and claimed to have sent us "multiple emails about inventory that was molded", which is not the case. She further claimed that all "details for [the] account have been moved from our server" and the process would take time but stated "I will review the notes, and the details of the account" and get back to you. I replied 4/28 I'd wait to hear from her. I emailed her again 6/16/22 asking for the account information (2 mo later) & again in July. I asked to wrap up our business by months end. I have not heard from her since her 4/26/2022 claims. She took 21 items plus 4 rugs. I have rug estimates but did not receive pricing from her prior to sale. Other items total $6,716 at consignment.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/04/2022

  On Friday, March 19th Once & Again received a message from ****** ***** with an urgent need to remove “everything from ********* by Tuesday this week.” We were asked to meet at the “warehouse”. My associate and I went to meet ****** ***** to view the items she was interested in consigning. All the inventory was wrapped in plastic sheeting, so viewing them was only possible through plastic sheeting. During that visit, I was told that the valuable inventory from ********* has already been removed to be sold by ********* Antiques. During the visit to the warehouse, I marked the items that I believed we would be able to consign. At this time, I was viewing the items with ****** ***** and had not met *****. I explained to ****** that our ability to consign the items was contingent upon their condition when unwrapped. Before leaving the warehouse, I asked ****** to complete the contract which defines the terms of consignment. ****** deferred the responsibility of the contract to *****, who completed and signed the contract except for two areas (note the asterisks on the attached). When I told ***** that the contract needed to be completed in its entirety, she said she would have to “ask ****** about those two items and get back with me” however she never did.Contracts for consignment at Once & Again are for a period of 120 days. The date the contract was signed was April 8, 2021. The expiration date of the contract was August 6, 2021. The contract expiration date appears on an emailed pricing sheet, which is sent to all consignors.
  The contract contains the following terms of consignment, which were agreed to by “*****” both by initialing the terms and signing the contract:
  ___ Consignors are to email with inquiries about sold/available items during the 120-day contract period. Once & Again does not contact consignors about items sold. Items left in the store for longer than 30 days past the expiration date without renewal of the contract are managed at the discretion of Once & Again.
  ___ With my signature below I state that I agree to the conditions/terms noted above. I have read this contract copy and understand that Once & Again will not store/hold my furniture past the contract expiration unless my contract has been renewed. I acknowledge it is my responsibility to inquire about the status of my furniture during the 120-day contract period via email (unless email is not available). 
  
  In addition to the contract, consignors complete a “listing sheet” which is a complete list of inventory being consigned. The listing sheet for ****** ***** was also completed by *****. The following disclaimer is on the Once & Again listing sheet:
  “Once & Again DOES NOT accept items with pet hair, stains, tears open seams broken parts, or from smoking environments. Your items must be cleaned, dusted, and all parts accounted for and vacuumed. Items which reach our store and do not meet the above requirements may be donated automatically. Your signature on the listing sheet acknowledges these policies and terms of Once & Again.”
  
  On April 15th, I sent ****** ***** an email letting her know we would continue to attempt to price her inventory, however observable mold on multiple pieces required that we donate those items immediately (per the disclaimer on the listing sheet). No reply from Mrs. ***** was received by Once & Again regarding this email. Additional items were found to have mold/mildew and those items would have been donated accordingly. It is important to note that items found to have mold after being brought to the sales floor, would have also been donated. Multiple emails were sent to ****** during the contract period. All emails went unanswered. On April 14, 2022, I received an email from ****** ***** acknowledging it had been a year since she communicated with me. She states that she thought she would hear from me (see above terms), although the contract terms reflect it is the consignor's responsibility to contact the store (in writing). This first communication from the consignor inquiring about her inventory, the items had been out of contract for 251 days. My response to the inquiry ****** ***** sent to me is attached here. I included a copy of the contract in my reply (also attached here). In the complaint submitted by the consignor, I am misquoted. The statement was “This process takes time if it can be uploaded back to us.” The optimum word is IF, which the consignor left out of her complaint. On June 16th, July 6th, and August 4th, I received emails from the complainant, which, in my opinion, had a taunting undertone.Based upon the contract terms, Once & Again managed the contract according to the terms. Once & Again is in the business of selling furniture. We do not have the square footage to store furniture for consignors. Due to the storage capacity of our computer system, we do not maintain records for consignors for more than 4 months past the expiration date of the contracts.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/12/2022

  I am not at all satisfied with the response to my complaint regarding Once and Again and would most certainly not want it to be reflected as if that were the case.

  
  

  Not only has ***** ******** played extremely loose with the facts, she has not even tried to reply to the request in my complaint for an accounting of what happened to the thousands of dollars HER PRICING after seeing the items. I certainly hope that you can help me with this and keep us from having to take further action. 

  
  

  In response to her claim:

  
  

  On Friday, March 19th Once & Again received a message from ****** ***** with an urgent need to remove “everything from ********* by Tuesday this week.”  If she received an urgent message from me about removing items from ********* - why did we then meet at a warehouse? We were asked to meet at the “warehouse”. My associate and I went to meet ****** ***** to view the items she was interested in consigning. All the inventory was wrapped in plastic sheeting, so viewing them was only possible through plastic sheeting. A few of the items were wrapped in plastic which was removed for viewing at the time. During that visit, I was told that the valuable inventory from ********* has already been removed to be sold by ********* Antiques. What does that have to do with anything? During the visit to the warehouse, I marked the items that I believed we would be able to consign. At this time, I was viewing the items with ****** ***** and had not met *****. I explained to ****** that our ability to consign the items was contingent upon their condition when unwrapped. That was not discussed. Before leaving the warehouse, I asked ****** to complete the contract which defines the terms of consignment. ****** deferred the responsibility of the contract to *****, who completed and signed the contract except for two areas (note the asterisks on the attached). When I told ***** that the contract needed to be completed in its entirety, she said she would have to “ask ****** about those two items and get back with me” however she never did. That is true. We did not agree to those two items in the contract. Contracts for consignment at Once & Again are for a period of 120 days. The date the contract was signed was April 8, 2021. The expiration date of the contract was August 6, 2021. The contract expiration date appears on an emailed pricing sheet, which is sent to all consignors. I want to get the name of her lawyer though ... I want to run a business where my clients do all the work and I have no obligation or responsibility for anything I do.

  The contract contains the following terms of consignment, which were agreed to by “*****” both by initialing the terms and signing the contract:
  ___ Consignors are to email with inquiries about sold/available items during the 120-day contract period. Once & Again does not contact consignors about items sold. Items left in the store for longer than 30 days past the expiration date without renewal of the contract are managed at the discretion of Once & Again.
  ___ With my signature below I state that I agree to the conditions/terms noted above. I have read this contract copy and understand that Once & Again will not store/hold my furniture past the contract expiration unless my contract has been renewed. I acknowledge it is my responsibility to inquire about the status of my furniture during the 120-day contract period via email (unless email is not available). None of that should preclude a business’s basic responsibilities to its clients or consignors.
  
  In addition to the contract, consignors complete a “listing sheet” which is a complete list of inventory being consigned. The listing sheet for ****** ***** was also completed by *****. The following disclaimer is on the Once & Again listing sheet:
  “Once & Again DOES NOT accept items with pet hair, stains, tears open seams broken parts, or from smoking environments. Your items must be cleaned, dusted, and all parts accounted for and vacuumed. Items which reach our store and do not meet the above requirements may be donated automatically. Your signature on the listing sheet acknowledges these policies and terms of Once & Again.”
  
  On March 31, 2021 ***** emailed to let ******* know he was a to pick up the additional rugs with the rest of the items. On April 15th, I sent ****** ***** an email letting her know we would continue to attempt to price her inventory, however observable mold on multiple pieces required that we donate those items immediately (per the disclaimer on the listing sheet). On April 15, 12:07pm, I received the only emails I received from ***** ******** first one that she was going to send me her listing sheet with “what we have priced so far” and informing us that she wanted us to know that there was ONE SOFA that they were not able to bring into the store as it had significant mold on it. She did keep the matching chairs and said in about an hour she would send me a listing sheet with what she had priced “so far”. She further stated that once she sent that information out she would like to consign more … as opposed to now acting like all she got was a bunch items she couldn’t use. On April 15, at 1:27pm, I received a listing e-mail stating  “this email may not reflect all items you have consigned”. After listing the items, the listing says “Additional email will be sent to you as your items are researched, priced and placed on the sales floor. We appreciate your business. Please call us with questions or comments.”. At 3:26pm I got another email with 2 more items on it and the same two statements. At 4:20pm I got a third and my final email from them with - yet again - those same two statements. May not include all pricing, additional email sent as items are priced. Therefore, I was expecting her to follow through - and there was nothing in the email that made me feel like she needed me to call her. I did offer to give her the original, oriental rug pricing that I had. I did not receive a response from her. No reply from Mrs. ***** was received by Once & Again regarding this email. Additional items were found to have mold/mildew and those items would have been donated accordingly. It is important to note that items found to have mold after being brought to the sales floor, would have also been donated. I was not informed of any additional issues - or the pricing of the additional items. Multiple emails were sent to ****** during the contract period. All emails went unanswered. THOSE WERE THE ONLY EMAILS I RECEIVED FROM HER ON THIS MATTER IN 2021. On April 14, 2022, I received an email from ****** ***** acknowledging it had been a year since she communicated with me. She states that she thought she would hear from me (see above terms), although the contract terms reflect it is the consignor's responsibility to contact the store (in writing). This first communication from the consignor inquiring about her inventory, the items had been out of contract for 251 days. My response to the inquiry ****** ***** sent to me is attached here. I included a copy of the contract in my reply (also attached here). In the complaint submitted by the consignor, I am misquoted. The statement was “This process takes time if it can be uploaded back to us.”  I did not yet realizie I needed to mistrust Ms. ********’s spinning of words.  She indicated she would try and get the information and get back to me and I trusted that she would. I did not analyze her wording. The optimum word is IF, which the consignor left out of her complaint. On April 28, I replied that I was sorry for the inconvenience, thanked her for her reply, and told here I would wait to hear from her. On June 16th, July 6th, and August 4th, I received emails from the complainant, which, in my opinion, had a taunting undertone. Absurd. I sent an email on April 21 "I thought I would have heard from her by now. Need a status update please”., I still had not heard back from her on June 16 -- 2 months later. I sent her an email that said I was sad at the tone of her last email and that I didn’t see any reason for things to get testy - let’s just go ahead and wrap them up. I heard nothing more. On July 6, I sent her an email which said  “Sorry this has been hard on you. Need a response by the end of the month please”. On August 8th I sent an email that said “Thought I’d ask one last time for you to wrap up your accounting and get back to me”. Taunting?  Based upon the contract terms, Once & Again managed the contract according to the terms. Once & Again is in the business of selling furniture. We do not have the square footage to store furniture for consignors. Due to the storage capacity of our computer system, we do not maintain records for consignors for more than 4 months past the expiration date of the contracts.  I am so sorry but that is crazy.

  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *****