Last summer I found myself in serious financial shape--so much so that my electricity had been cut off leaving me with no A/C, no refrigeration, no hot water and no way to cook. I decided the only way out of my situation was to sell some of my best furniture and I thought an auction would be the best way. Was I ever wrong!! Mike Brandly told me that he had a great way to publicize his auctions and that he always had great turn-outs for his auctions. He also told me that he was going to auction my items on that Wednesday, which was just 2 days after they were picked up. When I expressed my doubt that there would not be enough time to advertise, he pushed my question aside and told me not to worry--he had everything under control. The 17 items he took to sell included 2 beautiful Victorian-period beds, one walnut and one cherry in perfect shape, Victorian bed stands, an antique trunk, a Victorian dresser w/mirror,a sofa, lamps, rugs and miscellaneous household item--all in great shape. His own men told me how beautiful my things were! Well, the auction took place and I was anxious to get my electricity back on and eat again. When I got my check it was for $376.00!!! For everything!!! He tried to tell me that both the beds had been altered in such a way as to be almost valueless. Completely untrue!! As a matter of fact, one of the beds had been appraised at $1300 over 25 years ago! It was then that I learned that his "big crowd" had consisted of just 15 people and HE had bought the Victorian dresser himself!! For $25.00! I was flabbergasted and asked him what kind of advertising he had done, he insisted that he had done plenty to get the word out about my things, but when I asked to see the photos that he had supposedly put on his website, he told me that they had been deleted. When I offered to recover them, he refused. When I offered to show his assistant how to recover them, he again refused. My big mistake was letting Mr. Brandy know how desperate I was for cash. But, even so I had told him I would be willing to wait a week or two to have the auction if it would mean more people would turn out that were interested in Victorian antiques. When he smelled desperation, he decided to take big advantage of me. As a certified appraiser, he knew exactly what he had and he ripped me off. When I cried and told him that the money wasn't even enough to get my electricity back on he laughed and said "not my problem". He also assumed that a person like myself, in financial trouble, wouldn't have the money to sue him. WRONG!! BEWARE OF MIKE BRANDLY AUCTIONS IN COLUMBUS!! Anyone else have a story like mine?