Centurion Services Group--The Pain Continues?

Listen to this video and the secret conversation between Centurion Vice President Erik Wilensky and myself.

Learning Lessons Is Painful

A friend of mine, just broke up with his girlfriend and he is going through a lot of pain.  He keeps imagining the single life and how it will affect him in the future.  He is also imagining what his girlfriend will be doing as a single woman; both scenarios have there drawbacks.

However, on the other side of this, once the healing begins, there can be healthy recognition of new truths and learning experiences from this pain.  The trick is to get on the other side fast.  

Most of you know that I am not a big fan of Centurion Services Group, Eric Wilensky and Erik Tivin both have treated me almost like a one night stand.  They took my money, with no hesitation and delivered crappy equipment, and didn't even say thank you, mostly it was F-you.

I have to admit, the thrill of dealing with them in the beginning seemed exhilarating.   But, looking for a one night stand with someone is not how I approach business or my life for that matter, but, Erik Wilensky and/or Eric Tivin have a completely different attitude in my opinion.

They don't seem to mind one night stands and leaving you on the porch doing the walk of shame.
This is an interesting analogy, because the emotions I felt from dealing with these two, is like shame.  I feel lonely and depressed and from what WebMd says about being duped, it is a general and consistent emotion that most people feel after being taken advantage of.

This isn't about being stupid and naive that is already established, this is about dealing with the pain of being taken advantage of by someone and learning from it.

There is a book called, "Will get fooled again: Emotionally intelligent people are easily duped by high-stakes deceivers," at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2044-8333.2012.02054.x/abstract

This book title says it all.  Whether you are smart or dumb, in love or breaking up; the emotional pain of getting duped is still there.  The images that linger can cause bad feelings for a lifetime, unless you are capable of dealing with this pain constructively.

My goal isn't to rehash the bad feelings I have towards Centurion Services Group and their entire company.  This isn't the employee's fault they are just mirroring what the top of the food chain is doing.  When the person at the top is a certain way, then it only makes sense that the trickle down affect will infect the entire company.  

Even the way the pictures are placed on their website is hilarious.  Today, I am going to get into the now and start to fix the problems rather than dwell on it.

I spoke with my friend James Burns at Endoscopy Support Services and he is going to evaluate the scopes I purchased at Centurion Services Group; I am sending them to him today.  He has the ability to fix flexible endoscopes back to manufacture specs and that is awesome; James Burns is awesome.

Also, I have set up a quick form to the right of this posting, that can serve anyone who needs equipment repaired or is looking to purchase equipment.  It is an easy way to connect with over 5000 medical equipment buyers and sellers.

The bottom line is that dealing with Centurion Services Group has been painful but what I have learned and the new people I have met is totally encouraging.  I am looking forward to putting this in the past and moving into the future with more experience and zeal.  I am proud that over 170 new dealers from around the world have emailed me and offered help, assistance and equipment solutions. This has enabled me to get equipment fixed, sold and back on the road to success.  Now that I have more experience and resolve to overcoming some of the big problems that life can throw at you, like the inability to purchase and gifts for Christmas and still come out healthier for it on the other side; It is a lesson everyone can learn from; without actually having to go through the pain.

Wishing you the best,

Chad Avakian

Ps Below is the pictures of the top brass at Centurion Services Group and MedMart auction,

"THIS IS AN AS IS, BUY WHERE IS, AUCTION CHAD, DIDN'T YOU READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS?"
--Eric Wilensky

Erik Tivin Chairman and CEO

	Eric Wilensky Vice President of Business Operations			Angela Cummings Vice President of Finance
	Jon Picus Global Sales Director			Julie Ball Vice President of Sales

Was I on the Naughty List? Lessons learned the hard way

I have to admit, I made a really bad decision before Christmas.

I sell medical equipment and from time to time I get requests for equipment where I don't have a current supplier.  I Google searched the item I was trying to source and for some reason Centurion Auction Services popped up.  They were offering some of the equipment I sold.  I immediately thought, "wow this could be a good deal for us. We could potentially pick up equipment and sell it fairly easily in the market."  

I contacted Centurion Services and spoke with Kylen Cieslak and found out about how to bid and what I needed to do; she forwarded me the information as was very helpful.

When I got everything set up, I studied the list of items that were up for auction for two days; writing down model numbers and prices we could pay; while still making a profit.  I talked my best friend into loaning me the extra money I needed to purchase this extra equipment.

I told him,  "I've never seen anything like this.  I knew that auctions existed but I had only seen auctions where beds and bio-med stuff were being sold...nothing I was ever really familiar with."

He agreed to the loan and I put up some money of my own; off we went.  The first mistake I made is to assume that this equipment could be purchase with visually seeing and touching it.  I live in California and the Auction is in Chicago, so I made the choice to bid based on the pictures given to me and the auctioneer experience with selling; which as it turns out was a bad financial decision. 

The auction started fast; early in the morning, like 6:00 am west coast time.  Erik Wilensky began by doing his usual bit and then launched into the auction.  Since the first 300-400 items were beds and over tables and stuff like that I sat and listened, "One and two and one and two," Wilensky stammered, over and over.  Finally they came to the stuff I wanted.  

I was pumped.

"And here we go, this one is going to go...Watch it climb," Wilensky said.

I have to admit, while I was watching my screen and pushing the button on the panel of my computer, listening to the rhythmic pulse of Wilensky voice; pushing the price of each item higher and higher; I got caught up in the excitement.  I could feel my heart racing; my pulse quickening; I wanted the item!

And then, "woo hoo," I got it.  This went on for 10 hours until very late in the night.  I would bid and sometimes win and other times not.  It was fun and it felt exhilarating.  When the auction finally ended I was exhausted and slept like a baby that night.  

Fast forward two days. The invoice comes and it is around $52,000.  Then as we scan the bill we see a charge of 17% buyer’s premium. “Wow,” I’m thinking.  “Tag on another $9,000.00?”

My stomach started to feel nauseous. 

Now I take full responsibility for this entire thing, it just totally caught me off guard.  So I called Kylen Cieslak to see what was going on.

"Didn't you read the terms and conditions," she said matter of fact. "It clearly states 17%."

I was upset and I wanted her to change her mind, but she didn't want to or couldn't budge, so we paid the additional amount.  That’s when it all started to unravel. 

I called the shipping guys over at Chicago Industrial Services and they were fantastic.  Val and Jim took really good care of me and the equipment.  It was bubble wrapped and package beautifully.  I couldn't have been happier; and to make things even sweeter they were ultra-fair on their prices.  

However, when the equipment came and I inspected it, that's when the sinking feeling in my stomach overcame me.  I wanted to vomit.  The high priced items like the flexible scopes were unusable in the present condition; most if not all of them were going to need more work than they were worth.  It was a disaster.

I immediately listed all of the discrepancies; everything that was missing or broken.  I sent an email to Erik Wilenski and Kylen Cieslak and again they wouldn't budge, except on two items that were the totally wrong items.  They did agree to refund us that amount, so that was good.  

However, the worst part of the whole thing wasn't the terrible equipment or the damage scopes it was that I was going to have to tell my best friend I totally screwed up.

I didn't want to break the news to him, mostly because I didn't know what to do.  So I sat in my living room quietly just thinking.  I stared out my sliding glass window and couldn't help feeling remorseful.  

"How could I be so stupid?"   I kept thinking.  "Why didn't you go and look at this stuff?" 

The self beating kept coming and coming.  I felt desperate and alone.  And I immediately wanted Centurion Services group to make this right, but Erik Wilensky and Kylen Cieslak, were both adamant about not budging on policy, "Where is As is," they both said.

Ultimately, I gave up. I resigned to the fact that this is just one of those deals that didn't go my way.  My friend Sid said, "Hey you can keep harping on this failure or learn from it and spend your energy on making the next one work."

His speech didn't cheer me up much, since I had to tell Brent we were about to lose most if not all of our money.  And I didn't have any more money to pay him back. I had sunk every last penny I had into this bet.  

I have been reading this book called the “Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson, he says, "do the little that you don't feel like doing over and over every day and your life will change for the better… using the law of compound effort, big results will arise."

For some reason this little catch phrase has kept me going.  Last night, I went shopping for my kids and family and I stopped by the bank to see how much I could spend on their gifts.  I had $295.00 left.  

In the past I would have went ballistic and totally broken down.  But this year I felt lucky.  Ya, I'm not going to be able to buy everybody a present, but my girlfriend Allison baked cookies and made handmade gifts for me to give to my brothers, mom and dad.  There was enough left in my checking to get my son Taylor a gift card and to send some trinkets to my two children in Arizona. 

But I’m not going to let this set back ruin my Christmas, in fact, this is going to be the best Christmas I have ever had.  I am humbled by this experience and I can sit quietly knowing I have people in my life who love me.  It's definitely not about giving gifts this year; that will have to wait, but it is about giving me; and that is ultimately what I have needed to do for years.    

I don't recommend losing it all to realize this, but the real gifts are the people you love and who love you back; thank you to everyone who loves me and I love you too. 

AS IS WHERE IS MEDICAL AUCTION COULD BE BAD EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE FOR GOOD

There is a big used medical equipment sale coming up in Hawaii at St. Francis Healthcare system, Eric Wilensky and Erik Tivin owners of Centurion Services Group have landed this deal; which should bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for their company.  Benefiting from the auction is Queens Health System the largest hospital system in Hawaii according to Pacific Business News.

Centurion Services Group sells thousands of pieces of medical equipment a month, according to vice president Erik Wilensky.  The Hawaii sale will add hundreds if not thousands more pieces of unchecked and un-sanitized equipment into the market.  

The terms of sale at Centurion Services are AS-IS WHERE-IS, this means that equipment sold at their auction, if contaminated, will go undetected and into the world.  There is no policy that takes into consideration the danger of selling uncleaned medical equipment at auctions.  

According to Erik Wilensky, "We don't do anything.  We bring it in and sell it...We don't plug it in or check it or anything...This is an as-is where-is auction."  

But the problem with selling equipment like this is that the owner of the equipment could be inadvertently putting themselves at risk of a lawsuit.  If Centurion Services Group does not specify to buyers, that this equipment could be contaminated and special handling may be needed to transport this type of contaminated equipment, then the risk of a liability lawsuit is elevated, according to the legal definitions in the law library on liability.  

If any of the equipment is found to be contaminated, then the big question is-who is responsible?

Is the buyer responsible?  Is Centurion Services Group? Or is the hospital?  Since anyone is allowed to purchase equipment at Centurion Services Group auctions and Med Mart Auctions, un-informed buyers can inadvertently buy a contaminated piece of equipment and bring it home to their loved ones thinking it is safe or worse use it on a patient, if it is purchased by a doctor. 

If you feel like you have purchased equipment that is contaminated or you feel that the equipment you purchased may have been mis-represented by auctioneers there are several sources who you can talk to in order to determine if you have a liability case.  Some attorneys in business law are exclusively tort attorneys in liability cases.  You can find a list here, http://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/practice/products-liability-law

The bottom line is that without proper education and knowledge, hospitals, auction houses, and buyers of used medical equipment can be in danger of a liability suit if contaminated equipment leaves their facility.

"The responsibility of a manufacturer or vendor of goods to compensate for injury caused by defective merchandise that it has provided for sale.

When individuals are harmed by an unsafe product, they may have a Cause of Action against the persons who designed, manufactured, sold, or furnished that product. In the United States, some consumers have hailed the rapid growth of product liability litigation as an effective tool for Consumer Protection. The law has changed from caveat emptor ("let the buyer beware") to Strict Liability for manufacturing defects that make a product unreasonably dangerous. Manufacturers and others who distribute and sell goods argue that product liability verdicts have enriched plaintiffs' attorneys and added to the cost of goods sold. Businesses have sought tort reform from state legislatures and Congress in hopes of reducing damage awards that sometimes reach millions of dollars.

Source--http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Product+Liability

Are Hospitals spreading infections through companies like Centurion Service and Auction Mart

The policies of used equipment auctioneer at Centurion Services Group are clear, the items sold are as is and where is, which means that you get what you get the way you get it, but is this safe?  Are hospitals at risk of spreading infection inadvertently?

Centurion Services Group and Auction-mart are well known in the medical industry as one of the heavy hitters of selling used medical equipment.  They sell 1000's of pieces of medical equipment each month on their website www.centurionservice.com to anybody who sets up an account with customer service representative Kylen Cieslak.

Ebay makes medical equipment sellers post a disclaimer, "The sale of this item may be subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state and local regulatory agencies. If so, do not bid on this item unless you are an authorized purchaser. If the item is subject to FDA regulation, I will verify your status as an authorized purchaser of this item before shipping of the item."

There are no disclaimers on Centurions Services or Auction Mart's website like on other auction sites like ebay: basically anyone can purchase equipment from Centurion Services.

But the problem is not the purchaser but the seller.  How is the equipment handled at the auction house?  Who is cleaning this equipment?  Who is ultimately responsible for infections or contaminated equipment getting out to the rest of the world.

Erik Wilensky, who is the main auctioneer and Vice President at Centurion says, "We don't do anything to this equipment, we bring it in from the hospital and sell it...We don't plug it in, examine it or anything...This is an as-is auction."

"The problem with selling used equipment like that is cause for concern," say some industry experts, "There is no checks and balances...the hospital has to get rid of blood born pathogen infected items using a 'red bag' system, which is treated as medical waste,  however, when it comes to equipment like ventilators for example, they can just be sold through auction to anyone."  

The problem, some experts have said is that there are highly infectious strains of bacterial which are very aggressive, and that without proper policies in place many of these can go undetected.  These strains can end up on equipment and at auction houses like Centurion Services Group inadvertently.

What maybe more disturbing is that this equipment is often times sold online with no one inspecting it at all, until it reaches the customer and by that time it may be too late; the bacteria or virus is already in another place; making containment a major issue.

When an authorized seller has equipment, it is usually tested and cleaned, generally refurbished.  This ensures the equipment is properly cleaned and tested.  Centurion Services could be sending deadly viruses, without knowing it, because they do not do anything to the equipment.  Unless the hospital is doing the cleaning, then no one is.

The biggest issue is that Erik Wilensky and Erik Tivin owners of Centurion Services don't have a policy describing the potential hazards to buyers.  Since anyone can buy, this means people not experienced in handling this equipment can be in danger.

Some of Wilensky and Tivin's customers are from other parts of the world, these countries are not being told that they are potentially importing viruses on unchecked equipment.

According to the policies at Centurion services and AuctionMart, they will sell to anyone, it doesn't matter if they are authorized are not, moreover,  they only sell equipment as is where is and all of their items are straight out of facilities with no policies of their own outlining the proper disposal of used equipment.

Hospitals like Health South, St. Francis Healthcare System, Sault Ste Marie, and Silver Cross Hospital, who all let Centurion Services and Auction mart dispose of their equipment, could be selling medical equipment that is infected and no would know any different.

Centurion Auction and Buyer Beware what does that mean

Buyer beware is legal speak meaning there is no returns of auctioned goods; what you buy is what you get.  There are different interpretations of the wording depending on which auction house you are dealing with: for example, if you purchase with paypal or from an ebay auction seller, the use of this word would make little difference to a buyer, because the seller would still have to accurately describe the item they were selling.  

This is not the case for other auctions houses, such as Centurion Services or Auction Mart, which are two medical equipment auctions.  Their policy is "Where is As is," which can be confusing for people who are not familiar with this type of sale.

"The issue is more ethical, than anything else," says an industry expert. "We know ex employee's who have witnessed the owner of Centurion (Erik Tivin) and Auction Mart using Ghost bidding to bid up junk equipment."

Another Medical Equipment buyer Ian Kinnebrew knows Erik Tivin and has purchased at Centurion Services,"You better know going in that this is an auction," says Kinnebrew.  "Unless you are there to inspect it, you might as well bid on it like it was junk."

Kinnnebrew noted that, "Erik Tivin is loaded with money...he is the king of used medical equipment purchasing from hospitals.  Centurion is his third company."

Tivin was on a plane to india and wasn't available to comment.

But flying on planes seems to be what Tivin does a lot, especially between his chicago location and the one in Las Vegas.  If making money is what Tiviin does best, customer service and the general well being of his customers isn't what his company touts.

Kinnebrew admits that buying used medical equipment is a risky bet, "you might as well just roll the dice when you are buying at Centurion."

Medical equipment buyer and refurbisher Monte Mountain has had dealing with Centurion and both owners Eric Wilensky and Erik Tivin, "I purchased nearly twenty thousand dollars worth of equipment there and one item in particular came to me without any internal parts, it was just a shell."

If you are in the used equipment business and you want to see what buying at an auction is like Centurion Services or Medmart is like, you can roll the dice at www.centurionservice.com and contact Kylen Cieslak to get an account set up.

But buyer beware, not only is Centurion Services auction AS-IS It is where is too.  There is virtually no recourse.

Centurion Services Group Medical Equipment Auction

Centurion Services Group is a Medical Auction Company owned by Eric Wilensky and Erik Tivin located at 1400 N. 25th Ave, Melrose Park, IL 60160.  They sell used medical equipment at there auction,  WHERE IS AS IS- BUYER BEWARE.

The upside to this type of sale is you can buy equipment at wholesale pricing.  However, there is incredible downsides to this type of purchase as well.  For instance, one medical buyer who wishes to remain anonymous, refurbishes and completely restores medical equipment to original manufacture specs, recently purchased equipment at Centurion Services, "I bought two defibrillators there which were pictured as the equipment I wanted, then when I received it," the deal stated. "The items were in  french and even spoke french in the menu."

The anonymous dealer has close to $20K in bogus or mis-represented equipment that he purchased from Centurion Auction Services.

"When I confronted them about it," he said. "They basically told me that's too bad."

The general attitude at Centurion Services is very matter of fact from the front desk help to one of there main customer service reps Kylen Cieslak.

"They don't care what you say," said the dealer. "I have an ongoing battle with them for misrepresenting equipment."

Erik Wilensky, co-owner of company said, "This is an AS-IS auction...it is up to the buyer to completely check out the equipment."

The problem with that answer is that customers are not allowed to even turn on the equipment and if you are bidding on a computer or online you are completely at the mercy of the pictures and descriptions they provide.

This is probably why you don't see Centurion Auction Group selling on ebay or other reputable sites.  They wouldn't be able to stay in business.  No person is allowed to place ads on eBay misrepresenting their products.  This is part of the eBay listing policy.

So why would anybody buy at Centurion Auction Services?  There are deals that can be had for the discerning buyer, but even those carry a huge risk.  If the item doesn't work, or there are no parts inside, then the entire purchase is lost.

"You take a huge risk purchasing there," says an anonymous source "Everything I have ever bought there is generally worthless...I maybe able to use some of the things for parts...but I've lost a lot (of money) there."