UPDATED: Mark L. Schifter, PLEADS GUILTY to suspicion of charity fraud

[jinjuku]

I have participated in auctions both in person and online, there has been a few businesses close in the metro detroit area over the last few years

internet bidders get a 16% HIT on top of the bid price

I dont think I have ever seen this bad of a job with pictures or descriptions, come on you have a pallet of MFW's and it says aprox 14?? how hard is it to count that?

Also what you see is exactly what you get, good luck

From the the Auction Web Site:

"PLEASE NOTE: 16% BUYER’S PREMIUM WILL BE ADDED TO ALL PURCHASES. IF PAYING IN CASH, YOU WILL RECEIVE A 3% DISCOUNT. 8.025% SALES TAX IF APPLICABLE
CREDIT CARD WILL BE BILLED WITHIN 24 HOURS AFTER SALE IS COMPLETED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTIFIED BY POTENTIAL PURCHASER PRIOR TO END OF SALE."



What this auction will amount too is a local buyer showing up and buying up huge swaths. Office equipment, phone systems, pallet jacks etc...

I have no idea of what the subs w/o amps will go for but I am sure by the time the price gets bid up by some idiot that doesn't know what they are looking at, you add the 16% in, locate a local shipper. Well you guys get the point.

 

[gonk]

I didn't look at all the pictures super closely, but I didn't notice them.

I didn't see them, either.

There are a number of "mules" that we've seen pictures of, including some of the iterations of the "MLS Monitors" or "MLS SWG" concept, the LS-4 that Ruben at Fallen Enclosures built last year (the cabinet in the picture that introduced Ruben), the G2 centers that were supposed to be the final iteration of the RSC-500, and the RSL-II's that Uniaudio built several years ago. I wonder how many of those MDF constructs are still sitting in cabinet shops because they were never paid for?

Looks like an 850, a 760, some ELT subs, some sort of on wall or in wall creation, an ERT, and I'm not sure what's in the middle, maybe a ref 1.5.

I'm pretty sure the thing in the middle is an X-SLS.

I dont think I have ever seen this bad of a job with pictures or descriptions, come on you have a pallet of MFW's and it says aprox 14?? how hard is it to count that?

I noticed that, too. There were a bunch of "approximate" numbers. I could see that for a stack of 500 tweeters or 75 loose transformers. A pallet of sub enclosures, though? Their entire staff (what was left of it) spent a week doing the inventory for this, and they couldn't double-check their counts on a dozen cabinets that are each the size of a small table?

 

[majorloser]

That's what I figure. Somebody local is going to come in at the last minute and make a ridiculously low offer for the whole lot. In a week from now you'll see some of those cabinets on E-bay.

 

[rotorooter]

Thanks!
Wonder if anyone can identify what these speakers were meant to be....
https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=385&aid=31403&lid=8586486#topoflot

They were from a future line called the non-Xistant. Apologies if I've co-opted the name.

 

[skeeter99]

Dang there are a lot of amps here!

I wonder how many work

Is this a Genesis speaker they're calling a Mini or a prototype Mini? I wasn't around when the Mini's were being developed ... I also like how the MTM's have the wrong tweeter. Its an X-ELT-MTM I guess

 

[Jed M]

I look at these two and I figure the two mismatched colors must subliminally mean something. Was it supposed to represent his checkered past or perhaps the roulette wheel lifestyle he was living? We may never know.

https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=385&aid=31403&lid=8586353#topoflot

 

[skeeter99]

I look at these two and I figure the two mismatched colors must subliminally mean something. Was it supposed to represent his checkered past or perhaps the roulette wheel lifestyle he was living? We may never know.

https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=385&aid=31403&lid=8586353#topoflot

I saw those! No idea what they are ...

But check this out, its the famed Stereo X-Amp! There actually are two sets of binding posts if you look closely:

They really did bet the bank on the MFW though. There are just tons of those cabinets!

 

[Jed M]

Dang there are a lot of amps here!

I wonder how many work

You know, there are a lot of things I think AV123 could have done over the last 18 months to maybe show themselves in a better light, like apologize for starters, but to see all of these amps and know that they closed up shop knowing people had sent in their only amps and were left with a big hole in their subs kind of disappoints me even further, and I didn't think that was possible. I don't really care if those amps work, just don't leave people with an enormous hole in their product. At least send them back the one the sent in so they can block off the hole and get an external amp. Now, if those amps actually work and they were making people send in their amps knowing what the deal was, ie they would never be getting one back because they had already commited to selling off the good ones instead of "giving them away" for warranty work, then I will just shake my head one more time in disgust at the deceptive, dishonest, criminal, and unethical operation going on up in Longmont. To think anybody feels bad that one of these (rotten) apples lost their jobs...

EDIT: I realize some of these may not be MFW-15 amps, but they still told people to send in their broken amps knowing they wouldn't get a replacement. For what? Just to buy some more time to clear out more garbage. But like I said, if there are actually MFW-15 amps there that work, shame on them big time (as if they needed anymore).

 

[gonk]

But check this out, its the famed Stereo X-Amp! There actually are two sets of binding posts if you look closely:

That's an excellent find, skeeter. I wonder how well it works?

They really did bet the bank on the MFW though. There are just tons of those cabinets!

I wonder what condition they are in? There were a ton of subs that were damaged in shipping - especially the Rosewood ones - and a seemingly endless supply of B-stock from Cali.

 

[mziegler]

But just think...

You could be the new owner of the executive desk and chair where Shifty plotted world domination.

I just ate breakfast...thanks for nothing...I don't need any images of where he plopped his "butt."

Queasily,
mziegler

 

[majorloser]

I just ate breakfast...thanks for nothing...I don't need any images of where he plopped his "butt."

Queasily,
mziegler

Hey, so the chair might need a little Febreze before you bring into the house.

 

[NicolasKL]

where kimono is mentioned figuratively.

I always found the kimono opening references mildly repulsive. Who wants a mental image of a fat old guy exposing himself? Av123 customers, that's who!

 

[mziegler]

I always found the kimono opening references mildly repulsive. Who wants a mental image of a fat old guy exposing himself? Av123 customers, that's who!

Definitely an unpleasant image. Perhaps the origins are in role playing with a certain Russian.

 

[dane]

I wonder what the MFW-15 in Ebony (without amp) would go for.. Wouldn't mind snagging that guy up to play with.. Not worth the hassle of looking for shipping/etc, but if I were local I'd try to get that one.

..dane

 

[skeeter99]

That's an excellent find, skeeter. I wonder how well it works?

Exactly, does it have the awesome hiss that all three of mine I got had?? Looked forward to those for so long and they showed up looking cool but hissing like a snake looking for prey ...

I wonder what condition they are in? There were a ton of subs that were damaged in shipping - especially the Rosewood ones - and a seemingly endless supply of B-stock from Cali.

Some looked pretty beat, especially the Rosewood ones. A lot of them were listed as "unfinished" as well so I wonder if that means they were just raw veneered or just didn't have the driver/amps??

 

[skeeter99]

I wonder what the MFW-15 in Ebony (without amp) would go for.. Wouldn't mind snagging that guy up to play with.. Not worth the hassle of looking for shipping/etc, but if I were local I'd try to get that one.

..dane

Where was the Ebony one?? I didn't see that. I LOVE ebony although a lot of it seemed to get fissures over time.

 

[Chu Gai]

I always found the kimono opening references mildly repulsive. Who wants a mental image of a fat old guy exposing himself? Av123 customers, that's who!

We'll have to ask his bunk buddy, Bubba.

 

[gonk]

I wonder what the MFW-15 in Ebony (without amp) would go for.. Wouldn't mind snagging that guy up to play with.. Not worth the hassle of looking for shipping/etc, but if I were local I'd try to get that one.

I didn't notice an ebony MFW15, but wasn't paying much attention - the few MFW15 pics I paused to look at had some obvious damage. A rare finish like that left sitting in the warehouse at this stage is likely to have some really obvious defects - there were too many folks with ebony-veneered AV123 speakers who would have jumped at a sub like that in even reasonably good condition for it to be left laying around.

 

[Stereodude]

Kevin / Sandbagger can help you out if you really want an Ebony subwoofer. He's got an UFW-12 in ebony that he can either sell as an amp only fixed version or BBK it to a 15".

 

[Stereodude]

and a seemingly endless supply of B-stock from Cali.

That's about all they made because they didn't know what they were doing and finished the speakers in the wrong environment.