So I’m kind of annoyed and I’m just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience to me. So I ordered ~10 different NM cards from Collector’s Cache via TCGPlayer. 8 of the 10 are acceptable, but 2 are damaged (one has actual water damage and one has a crease). Not a big deal, mistakes happen, and it was only $6 in cards. Still, because I believe in accountability, I messaged them and very kindly told them that two of the cards they sent me weren’t NM.
They told to me send them pics, which I did. Then they tell me that they can’t offer a partial refund because, quote: “Checking the prices of these two cards against the market it looks like you got them at about half price, incredible deal!” Even if this were true, it would be terrible business practice. When a seller sells someone something, the seller enters into a contractual relationship with the buyer to deliver that to item to the buyer. Even if the item, in the interim, increases in market value, that should have zero bearing on the original contract and the fact that one party failed to uphold its end of it.
But what makes me even more annoyed about this is that Collector’s Cache still, as of my writing this, has copies of the exact same cards I purchased, in the exact same condition I purchased mine in, for the exact same price. So clearly I didn’t get the cards at “half price.”
Anyway, it’s an effectively irrelevant amount of money, but the principle of it annoys me. When I’m sent cards that weren’t as described, I message the seller and tell them. Not out of anger or ill-will, but because there has to be some semblance of accountability for sellers. If everyone just allowed sellers to get away with misgrading cards, the practice of grading would lose all purpose. And mind you, I’m not an overly strict grader – not in the least. I just don’t think cards with water damage or creases should be sent as ‘NM.’
And, again, it wouldn’t be an issue if it were just a mistake that Collector’s Cache offered to fix – it’s understandable that misgraded cards fall through the cracks. But their response to the situation really left a sour taste in my mouth, and was very surprising coming from a larger vendor. Has anyone else had similar experiences with Collector’s Cache? Or is this just a one-off? Hopefully I’m not alone in thinking their response is very inappropriate and unprofessional. It’s bizarre, in my mind, for a vendor to refuse to correct it’s mistake because the cards were purchased at “half-price” – especiallywhen that vendor still has those exact same cards in stock for the price they were purchased for.