Has anyone dealt with Safe and Sound Consultants LLC coin auctions?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by wxcoin, Jul 28, 2022.

  1. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    This past weekend I decided to bid on several US coins from an online auction run by Safe and Sound Consultants LLC out of Shawnee KS. I've dealt with a number of auctions listed through HiBid and never ran into any issues until now.

    Monday I received an invoice from this outfit for two coins I won. However, the invoice indicated that the credit card charge was denied. I tried to contact them by replying to their email and got no response. I tried calling the phone number listed on the invoice and immediately got a voice message indicating their voice mailbox hasn't been set up yet and to call again; several more attempts got me the same response. I called my credit card company and they told me that they have no record of the "attempted" charge being made and that there was no reason for it to be declined if it was submitted.

    Tuesday I got another invoice indicating the charge was declined. Once again I tried contacting them to no avail. I noticed from my credit card statement that there was a 78 cent charge from Live Action Group on Monday morning; obviously due to my auction activity. So that told me that the credit card number I registered with was just fine. If the auction company had the charge declined, then they most likely entered in the credit card numbers incorrectly. I suggested this in my email response but have heard nothing back.

    Today I logged into HiBid and found a different phone number for Safe and Sound Consultants LLC in Shawnee KS and called it. After ringing about 8 times I got a message indicating their voice mailbox was full and to call back during their business hours (which I did).

    So, I am assuming that all of this is going nowhere. The only thing I'm out of right now is the 78 cent charge to Live Auction Group. As a matter of principle I'm considering contacting HiBid to get a refund of my 78 cents or else I'll contact my credit card company to contest the charge.

    I'm interested in hearing from any CT members who've dealt with this company.

    Thanks in advance.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2022
    GoldFinger1969 and MIGuy like this.
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  3. Steven Shaw

    Steven Shaw Well-Known Member

    I've seen them on Proxibid. Most of their coins looked cleaned and are overpriced on the 2x2s. The writing on the 2x2s looks very similar to another auction house that was an LLC in Texas.
     
  4. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    I believe they are affilliated with the one in Texas. I did some checking on Google and several reviews suggest that they are affiliated with Dallas Gold and Gun .
     
    GoldFinger1969 likes this.
  5. Steven Shaw

    Steven Shaw Well-Known Member

    Yep, that's them. I had won a lot from them and had to pay by check, because, they didn't have a system for credit cards yet.
     
  6. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    Obviously they have a lot to learn about credit card purchases:)
     
  7. Steven Shaw

    Steven Shaw Well-Known Member

    I went through my old emails and I saw that Christian Lyche is Dallas Gold and Gun and also Gold Standard Auctions. Busy guy with 3 different auction houses.
     
    GoldFinger1969 likes this.
  8. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    Thats interesting as I recently bought some coins from Gold Standard Auctions using the same payment method. I wonder why he started another auction house in another state? Something seems a little fishy here.
     
    GoldFinger1969 likes this.
  9. tommyc03

    tommyc03 Senior Member

    Hmmm, got me wondering. Shawnee, KS is also the home of a coin dealer by the name of Thomas Waggoner. My past experience is coins listed as B.U. were cleaned but not mentioned so I stopped doing business with him. I purchased a Seated Liberty Quarter and Seated Liberty half, both in his mailed price list were listed as B.U. Later sent them to ANACS and both came back A.U. 53-Details-Cleaned. He is a fairly regular 2/3 page seller in Numismatic News and rarely lists classic coins in B.U. but they are in his mailed price lists. He also does not sell any slabbed coins, all are raw. And he uses split grading way too much to up the price. Not sure at all if he is one and the same, but I would be careful. There seems to be some red flags here, including having a L.L.C. in another state.
     
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  10. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    HiBid is great and I’ve never had a problem with them, no matter which company used them. As for the auction group you mentioned, I’ve never heard of them.
     
    GoldFinger1969 and wxcoin like this.
  11. BryceS

    BryceS Member

    I won a bust half from them this weekend, and I experienced the same issues. I ended up calling the company's 469 number, and finally, after probably a dozen attempts at reaching out, I got a hold of Safe & Sound Consultants' office. I ended up paying with my credit card over the phone with no issues. With that said, I'm not sure that I'll bid on this company's items again for two reasons: First, as already noted, I had to spend a boatload of time trying to get my payment sorted out. I probably spent hours. Second, as Steven Shaw mentioned, many of their coins appear to be cleaned. I saw a ton of coins listed as GEM BU or MS that just looked like they were AU-details (cleaned). On some of the higher-end coins, that difference in grade could be the equivalent of hundreds - or even thousands - of dollars.
     
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  12. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    I too skipped over obviously cleaned coins. I'll try again tomorrow but am not holding my breath. They had a lot of expensive gold sold. If they had this problem with everyone they may have to sell more guns.
     
  13. BryceS

    BryceS Member

    Just try to call during the middle of the day. I could never get a hold of them in the early morning or late afternoon. I ended up reaching them at 2 or 3 PM.
     
    wxcoin likes this.
  14. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    I stop doing business with any company that can't operate in a business-like manner, following the industry standards. This is one I'd stay away from.
     
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  15. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    I finally got through to them on the 469 number. I was told that the phone number on the invoice is an old one and no longer valid. In order to get the 469 number I had to search for the company info on HiBid. I was one unanswered phone call away from walking away from it. I for one will not do business again with this outfit. A customer shouldn't have to go through all of these hoops to complete a purchase. I wonder how many other customers had this happen to them.
     
    GoldFinger1969 likes this.
  16. TomLovesCoins

    TomLovesCoins New Member

    WARNING:

    I'd be happy to explain this operation to everyone.

    Enter Christian Lyche.

    Despite having a relatively successful operation on YouTube, Christian Lyche is the owner and operator of Gold Standard Auctions LLC as well as any other company associated. He has a history of marketing cleaned coins, coins slabbed in false slabs, improperly pricing coins, sending incorrect coins that were not purchased, refusing to answer customer concerns or phone calls, refusing to answer emails.

    He has a history of publically available court cases involving coins. His has a history of his store being 'burglarized', and compensated for his losses.

    He has a history of being the poster child of a coin scammer. There is not a single auction or instance I can remember where a cleaned coin was not associated.

    Be careful.
     
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