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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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Lynsioux said:
I think the company that sold for $16 million was Marketworks, an eBay processing system. I don't know all the details, but he was probably not the only beneficiary of that sale. Or maybe it was the fantasy sports business. He puts his sticky fingers in lots of pies.
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The fantasy sports website raised a few million from some private investors and then disappeared. To be fair there is a fairly long list of websites that took in millions in investor dollars only to subsequently disappear.
However, his claims of being a successful businessman are just as valid as his license to practice law.
 
Lynsioux said:
I think the company that sold for $16 million was Marketworks, an eBay processing system. I don't know all the details, but he was probably not the only beneficiary of that sale. Or maybe it was the fantasy sports business. He puts his sticky fingers in lots of pies.
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Judging by how well those businesses turned out, these must be the pies he sticks his fingers in........

grid-cell-8276-1373988582-21.jpg
 
Lynsioux said:
I think the company that sold for $16 million was Marketworks, an eBay processing system. I don't know all the details, but he was probably not the only beneficiary of that sale. Or maybe it was the fantasy sports business. He puts his sticky fingers in lots of pies.
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Marketworx aka Auctionworks - started in 1999, Alec resigned in 2005, reportedly raised $16,000,000 in venture capital. Where did all the money go?

Screaming Sports - started 2006, raised $1,250,000 in venture capital in 2007. Disappears off the web in 2008. Where did all the money go?

Propworx - raises hundreds of thousands of dollars in consignment auction sales in 2009. Bankrupt in 2012, owing 14 creditors over $400,000. Revived 2015. Currently conducting auctions. Where did all the money go?

Axanar - started in 2012, raised $1,300,000 in 2014-2015 plus an unknown amount of money outside of KS/Indiegogo. Still raising money and selling items in it's Donor Store. Released a set of unaudited books just for the KS campaigns, leaving over $500,000 unaccounted for. Seeking $250,000 - $400,000 more in investor funds to purchase the studio's assets and go private. Where has all the rest of the money gone?
 
cultcross said:
How is it he's allowed to use Paramount/CBS IP to sell the items in the auction? Does Propworx have a licence?
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As far as I understand the items being sold are all from Propworx business inventory or Alec's private collection, so he is not acting as a licensed sales agent of CBS/P.
 
Jedi_Master said:
As far as I understand the items being sold are all from Propworx business inventory or Alec's private collection, so he is not acting as a licensed sales agent of CBS/P.
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Yes he is selling the actual props, not unlicensed replicas of the props. But he sure uses Star Trek images all over his auction catalogues. Don't know if this was ever permitted by C/P.

http://www.propworx.com/auctions/
 
To both posters above... interesting.

Reviewing the catalog it would be easy to get the impression that they were working directly for CBS/P, and I couldn't find an image disclaimer in the program.
 
Admiral Cain said:
Yes he is selling the actual props, not unlicensed replicas of the props. But he sure uses Star Trek images all over his auction catalogues. Don't know if this was ever permitted by C/P.

http://www.propworx.com/auctions/
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Yeah that's what I was getting at. If he owns the props he can presumably sell them and reference Star Trek in explaining their history and significance. Even a screen cap of their use in the show might be considered fair. But using the studio's font and unrelated stills from the show to decorate the catalogue? That's just giving a false impression of an officially licenced event, in my opinion.
 
cultcross said:
Yeah that's what I was getting at. If he owns the props he can presumably sell them and reference Star Trek in explaining their history and significance. Even a screen cap of their use in the show might be considered fair. But using the studio's font and unrelated stills from the show to decorate the catalogue? That's just giving a false impression of an officially licenced event, in my opinion.
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A false impression that would have a direct impact on the enthusiasm of potential buyers, thus likely increasing the bid prices for the items that are being offered. Couple that with Alec's admitted use of proxy and shill bidding, and he stands to do fairly well.
 
Jedi_Master said:
A false impression that would have a direct impact on the enthusiasm of potential buyers, thus likely increasing the bid prices for the items that are being offered. Couple that with Alec's admitted use of proxy and shill bidding, and he stands to do fairly well.
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He's never admitted to shill bidding that I am aware of, since that would be fraud. But he has openly admitted to proxy bidding, which reputable companies like Christies don't allow. Since he's fond of comparing Propworx to Christie's, I find this amusing.
 
Proxy bidding is using a program to bid for you in set increments if you are outbid, as far as I know. It doesn't imply that you weren't genuinely trying to win the lot.
Shill bidding is bidding on your own auctions to increase the price the eventual winner pays and generate the appearance of interest.
 
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