Posted By:
Dan MathewsonI figured I would alert other board members of this seller, as he severely lacks integrity and goes back on his written promise.
In July, I bid on the following reserve auction, listed by eBay seller: bocotton
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewItem&item=1843930164
I was the winning bidder, but it did not meet or exceed the reserve. The seller then contacted me through the eBay system, stating this:
HELLO --- YOU BID $152 ON MY 40 PLAY BALL MATHEWSON CARD ITEM #1843930164 --- I WILL TAKE $275 FOR IT INCLUDING INSURED SHIPPING --- PLMK IF STILL INTERESTED --- THANKS --- xxx (I won't print his name here)
This being an ungraded card, I was not too quick to jump all over it, even though $275 is roughly "market" for a grade 7 of this card. So, I sent him a message asking him this:
ARE ALL FOUR CORNERS SHARP AND UNFEATHERED? -dan
He replied with this, and his guarantee, in writing:
HI DAN
YES --- THE CORNERS ARE SHARP AND UNFEATHERED ---- IF THIS CARD DOES NOT GRADE A MINIMUM NRMT 7 ---- I WILL LET YOU RETURN THE CARD FOR A FULL REFUND. THAT'S HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE I HAVE IN IT !!!
THANKS --- xxx
So, guess what. I agreed to buy the card, and paid via PayPal. (Thankfully I used PayPal and didn't just send a check.)
Immediately upon receiving it, I sent the card to PSA for grading. PSA is a grader which this seller stated he has used before. The card came back ungradeable, evidence of being TRIMMED.
So, I simply sent the seller an e-mail requesting to enact his refund guarantee, since the card did not grade as he guaranteed it would. Makes sense, right? This is the message which I sent:
xxx-
I just got the Mathewson card back from PSA.
They rejected it for evidence of being trimmed, so I guess I’ll have to return the card for a refund. Is there an address where you’d prefer to have this returned?
-dan mathewson
(It was not a nasty, demanding message. It was simply a kind request to do the refund thing since the card was rejected).
And, here is his lame reply which completely lacks any honor or integrity:
HI DAN
PSA IS FULL OF CRAP !!!! THE CARD I SENT YOU WAS LAST GRADED A PSA 7 BY PSA A FEW YEARS AGO. I WAS GOING TO RESUBMIT IT TO SGC TO TRY TO GET AN UPGRADE ( MAYBE A NRMT + OR EVEN AN 8 ) BUT I NEVER DID. THAT JUST PROVES MY POINT THAT THEY ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THEIR GRADING. I WOULD HAVE GLADLY GIVEN YOU A REFUND IF THEY EVEN GRADED IT A PSA 6 ---- BUT TO SAY THERE IS EVIDENCE OF TRIMMING WHEN IT HAD BEEN GRADED A PSA 7 BY THEM IN THE PAST --- I'M SORRY BUT I CAN'T BUY THAT. YOU CAN LOOK AT THE CARD AND MEASURE THE CARD AND SEE THAT IT HAS NOT BEEN TRIMMED. THE REASON I MADE YOU THE GUARANTEE WAS THAT I KNEW IT WOULD GRADE AT LEAST A 7 BECAUSE IT WAS GRADED A PSA 7 IN THE PAST. I KNOW I DID NOT ALTER OR TAMPER WITH THE CARD I SENT YOU AND JUST BECAUSE ONE OF THEIR GRADERS SAYS IT HAS BEEN TRIMMED ---- WELL THAT AGAIN SHOWS ME HOW INCONSISTENT THEY REALLY ARE. I SENT YOU A CARD IN GOOD FAITH THAT I KNOW WAS A GRADEABLE CARD BECAUSE OF ITS GRADED HISTORY THEREFORE I DO NOT FEEL I SHOULD HAVE TO GIVE YOU A REFUND BASED ON ONE GRADERS OPINION THAT IT IS NOT GRADEABLE WHEN I IN FACT KNOW DIFFERENTLY. IF THE CARD I SENT YOU HAS BEEN ALTERED OR TRIMMED IN ANY WAY BETWEEN THE TIME I SENT IT TO YOU AND NOW ---- THEN SOMEONE ELSE HAS DONE IT.
THANKS --- xxx
Of course, in his disturbed, twisted logic, he has somehow determined that now his guarantee is void, even thought it could not have been more clearly stated... "IF THIS CARD DOES NOT GRADE A MINIMUM NRMT 7 ---- I WILL LET YOU RETURN THE CARD FOR A FULL REFUND. THAT'S HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE I HAVE IN IT !!!"
Also, in reading his last letter, I start to see the holes in what he said. First, he says the card was PSA 7 already a few years ago. He said he intended to send it to SGC for an upgrade but never did. So, I guess he broke it out of the PSA 7 holder to sell it? His auction says he has had the card for 20 years, and he says in this e-mail he sent it to PSA just a few years ago for the Grade 7. Am I to believe that he broke it from the holder at some later time, not even to upgrade it, or merely to sell it? Yeah, right. Ther is no reason to break it from the holder at all. PSA shows only 17 of these at Grade 7, 11 at Grade 8, none higher. Why break it from a holder which gives the card a minimum $275 market value? Pure BS.
I wasn't even trying to get a sweet deal, I actually thought I was getting something at a market price. But, I should have stuck to my rules, and never bought an ungraded card on eBay, but I thought (for some reason) that this person actually had integrity. This guy does NOT understand what "fidelity to principle" means, regardless of his track-record or feedback on eBay. Apparently, he might use the "outside of auction" playing field to exact such dishonorable trading onto other people.
Nevertheless, I felt that given what has transpired, I would warn the other board members of what happened. The e-mails above are cut-and-pasted from actual e-mail and I have not altered one letter that he typed and sent me. They are exact.
Since I don't want this to befall any of my friends on the board, with whom I have enjoyed a great many good, positive trades, I felt it absolutely necessary that I warn you of this particular seller before you become similarly ripped-off. Do not trade with bocotton on eBay, lest you have extra dollars to throw carelessly into the wind.
I guess I'll finally see how well PayPal lives up to its "buyer protections". A complaint has been filed there...
-dan
08-21-2002, 12:59 PM
WARNING: a VERY dishonorable eBay transaction
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