NORTH FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — People who thought they had won pieces of the Washington Crown Center Mall in a pre-demolition auction say they were blindsided when the sale was suddenly canceled after their payments were withdrawn.
The mall is preparing for a massive redevelopment following its sale in September. Before demolition begins, an online auction offered items from inside the mall, ranging from storefront doors to light poles.
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Winners were instructed to pick up their items within 48 hours, which meant many had already rented trucks, hired movers, or arranged for help. But instead of collecting their items, bidders received a text message saying the auction was canceled because “the seller no longer had access to the facility.”
“I was informed via text message the auction was cancelled,” said bidder Tom Gourley, who had won more than 40 tables, several doors, and the entire contents of Bedillion Deals. “If they were going to end it, they should have ended it before they took money out of people’s bank accounts.”
Nicole Doss said people had already rearranged schedules and made plans to remove their items. “You had two days to get everything you bid on out of the mall,” she said.
Social media filled with confusion and frustration. One woman posted that she won the mall’s large entryway rug with its logo; another commenter claimed it was “already long gone.”
Channel 11 reached out to the mall’s new ownership, who said the auction “was not authorized by the property’s ownership and is no longer active.”
Everyone who spoke with Channel 11 said they have since been refunded. It remains unclear who organized the auction and when the new ownership learned about it before shutting it down.
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