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Josh K.Dennis - With all due respect, you are wrong. Sure, he can change his mind, but in so doing, he breaches an oral agreement. Contracts do not have to be in writing. I would also guess that there was plenty of email correspondence to support the deal ("I will give you X for the cards" followed by "ok, send payment to me at . . ."). This would actually make it a written contract and would provide all the documentation necessary to "prove" a deal was made. The fact that one party may get the better of the deal is completely irrelevent absent some sort of fraud or coercion.
Adam - while I certainly see your point and recognize the difficulty in proving such a case, I disagree with your conclusion. This would be one person's word (the buyer) against another's (the seller). A jury would have to judge each person's credibility and the likelihood that they are being truthful. I dont believe that it is too far-fetched to believe that a jury could conclude that the seller is lying. This isnt a criminal prosecution, so there is no need to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury need only believe the buyer's story slightly more than the seller's explaination for it to render a verdict in favor of the buyer.
I should also point out again that despite the position I am taking on the merits of a case, it does not mean that I believe it to be an attractive or worthwhile case to pursue (unless the card at issue was extremely valuable).
Joann - good luck with law school. Its difficult enough going full time when there are no real distractions (other than those you make for yourself). Taking classes at night while working during the day has got to be rough.