Double Bass Kolsteins has moved from original location.

[Masher]

Looks like kolsteins has shut the original spot 795 Foxhurst, I think Barry Kolstein owned the buildings that housed the store and storage, and have moved up the road to the storefront that previously was Koch realty, corner of Sunrise and Grand Ave.
The new store looks nice, from the outside driving by. The old kolsteins looks ready for sale.

 

[rogerbmiller]

Barrie Kolstein had sued the new owner (Manny Alvarez) for multiple alleged contract breaches. Last year, Kolstein the company declared bankruptcy, and through that process Barrie and Manny settled. As part of that settlement, Manny had until this spring to move out of the old location, which Barrie owns. Barrie is pretty much retired so it makes sense that he would be selling the old building.

 

[bassically_eli]

It’s just wild to me that it’s still called “Kolstein’s” after the falling out. I suppose that’s short for “Kolstein’s Archnemesis” now.

 

[DaveMFM]

It’s just wild to me that it’s still called “Kolstein’s” after the falling out. I suppose that’s short for “Kolstein’s Archnemesis” now.

The court papers are funny this way. Every legal entity is called Kolstein's something or other and they all sued each other.

 

[coyote1]

That’s unfortunate. It was something of an icon in that location, with its spacious big room where they even had jam sessions.

 

[Ryan in PDX]

I'm a bit confused. Last I checked, we were all supposed to be staunchly anti-Kolstein... Do I no longer have to hide my beloved Wiedoeft rosin for fear of being marked as supporting literal Crimes Against Bassists?

Or is this just about the building and its history?

 

[rogerbmiller]

I'm a bit confused. Last I checked, we were all supposed to be staunchly anti-Kolstein... Do I no longer have to hide my beloved Wiedoeft rosin for fear of being marked as supporting literal Crimes Against Bassists?

Or is this just about the building and its history?

The issue is the new owner. Barrie Kolstein handed the reins down to a former employee who ended up engaging in all kinds of really shady business practices and inevitably stiffed a lot of consignment customers after selling their basses. He then declared bankruptcy and named the customers who never got paid as creditors so that he only has to pay them pennies on the dollar now.

Barrie also filed criminal charges against the new owner for essentially stealing inventory that legally belonged to Barrie and was supposed to remain in the Baldwin shop. It was relocated to Florida. Barry was one of the "creditors" in the bankruptcy and ultimately settled with a new owner. The settlement was essentially to drop criminal charges let him keep everything he allegedly stole except for a few things and among other terms also in there favorable to Barrie, he had to vacate the premises which Barrie owns and was renting to him. The property is now for sale.

This is all publicly available information and if you want any of it send me a p.m. and I can gladly share the court documents with you.

 

[Masher]

I'm a bit confused. Last I checked, we were all supposed to be staunchly anti-Kolstein... Do I no longer have to hide my beloved Wiedoeft rosin for fear of being marked as supporting literal Crimes Against Bassists?

Or is this just about the building and its history?

I was just driving by one day, and saw all these basses and on the way back snapped a picture, then the following day I wanted to see what was happening at old location, while driving by I snapped that picture.
I think they are probably renting at this new location, which didn't go well for the Manhattan location, there was non payment issues if I remember correctly.
Hopefully they can redeem themselves, long Island needs a bass shop.

 

[DaveMFM]

I was just driving by one day, and saw all these basses and on the way back snapped a picture, then the following day I wanted to see what was happening at old location, while driving by I snapped that picture.
I think they are probably renting at this new location, which didn't go well for the Manhattan location, there was non payment issues if I remember correctly.
Hopefully they can redeem themselves, long Island needs a bass shop.

They did get evicted from that location. Manny owes the owner just under 200k, along with all the money he owes the people whose instruments he sold without payment.

 

[Don Hergert]

I'm a bit confused. Last I checked, we were all supposed to be staunchly anti-Kolstein... Do I no longer have to hide my beloved Wiedoeft rosin for fear of being marked as supporting literal Crimes Against Bassists?

Or is this just about the building and its history?

This has been well answered but the rosin decisions are up to you...

Just in general be very very careful about who you consign your instruments to for repairs or re-selling. Some folks have learned that the hard way.

There are lots of threads here in TB/DB about this particular circumstance, plenty of interesting reading -- you can find them by searching for the store's name.

 

[bassically_eli]

So are there still uncompensated victims? If so, then perhaps it would be worthwhile to create and maintain a list of everyone scammed in order to warn potential future customers. That is what was done for Dr. Bass, the bass cabinet maker/scam artist. There is an entire thread dedicated just to that topic. Will the mods weigh in on this?

 

[DaveMFM]

So are there still uncompensated victims? If so, then perhaps it would be worthwhile to create and maintain a list of everyone scammed in order to warn potential future customers. That is what was done for Dr. Bass, the bass cabinet maker/scam artist. There is an entire thread dedicated just to that topic. Will the mods weigh in on this?

The legal paperwork (which is all on PACER) has a list of creditors, but I don't thing posting that in public helps warn people. It's enough to know it's a long list, and that some of the claims are quite large, well into the six figures. EDIT: I took a screenshot of the amounts owed, cropping out names. This doesn't include two people who made deals on the side.

 

[rogerbmiller]

The legal paperwork (which is all on PACER) has a list of creditors, but I don't thing posting that in public helps warn people. It's enough to know it's a long list, and that some of the claims are quite large, well into the six figures. EDIT: I took a screenshot of the amounts owed, cropping out names. This doesn't include two people who made deals on the side.

View attachment 7474129

It should be noted that this also doesn't cover what was allegedly owed to Barrie Kolstein in terms of unpaid rent, non-payment on the note for the company, non-payment on consignments, etc. That amount was over $2MM, as I recall per court documents.

Lastly, I should note I did some quick tallying from that the same court documents that @DaveMFM excerpts above. Of the 51 "creditors" listed, 47 of them still have unresolved claims totaling $901,992.50. The amount is staggering but more so, the number of consignment customers who were never paid.

 

[rogerbmiller]

So are there still uncompensated victims? If so, then perhaps it would be worthwhile to create and maintain a list of everyone scammed in order to warn potential future customers. That is what was done for Dr. Bass, the bass cabinet maker/scam artist. There is an entire thread dedicated just to that topic. Will the mods weigh in on this?

There is a sticky thread but it was closed for further posting. At one point the new owner came on to the thread rage posting at us. Eventually, it was closed as the situation was ongoing at the time and there was a lot of speculating. That said, when you have 45 minutes, it is a good and worthwhile read. Also, practically all of the "speculation" ended up happening.

 

[DaveMFM]

It should be noted that this also doesn't cover what was allegedly owed to Barrie Kolstein in terms of unpaid rent, non-payment on the note for the company, non-payment on consignments, etc. That amount was over $2MM, as I recall per court documents.

Lastly, I should note I did some quick tallying from that the same court documents that @DaveMFM excerpts above. Of the 51 "creditors" listed, 47 of them still have unresolved claims totaling $901,992.50. The amount is staggering but more so, the number of consignment customers who were never paid.

Oh, and the Manhattan landlord. I'm actually not sure how that case relates to the bankruptcy, as I didn't see them on the list.

 

[rogerbmiller]

Oh, and the Manhattan landlord. I'm actually not sure how that case relates to the bankruptcy, as I didn't see them on the list.

And he was also evicted from the first Orlando shop though I don't remember seeing them in the bankruptcy documents.