Hi guys, I need a third party, unbiased opinion on what I should do about a recent lot purchase. I am protected by Paypal G&S so I could obviously get a refund, and I already reached out to the guy and he said he’d be down for a partial refund, so these are both already options but I want to make sure I’m not just being a bad buyer too. As some people here might know, I have very limited exposure to played cards. I exclusively collect PSA10’s and mint raws.
So keeping this short, I saw a listing on reddit (please don’t derail the thread about why you hate reddit), and the listing said the cards were played and had some wear and tear/were from his childhood. The seller definitely said that he wouldn’t suggest buying the lot if it was for grading. That said, the lot was listed at $400 shipped + 12 for G&S and the photo listed was just a batch photo of all the cards together, both front and back. I saw a shadowless charizard, 1st edition chansey, 1st edition shadowless machamp, and 1st edition magneton amongst the cards (the other cards in the lot were all shadowless). I figured even with normal wear and tear if the cards were in “excellent”/psa5 condition from whitening, scuffs, and scratches, it was still a pretty good deal.
Today the cards arrived and out of the 19 cards, 11 of them have creases of some form. To ME, that qualifies as DAMAGED rather than just normal wear and tear. I want to know if you guys feel the same way, or if this counts as “as advertised” and I should have expected creases. Linked is a photo album of the cards that I had an issue with beyond regular scratches/whitening which I didn’t bother to photograph since I don’t mind that. Should I just return for a full refund? Should I meet him half way with a partial refund (if yes to that, what do you guys think this lot is worth since I’ll prob just try to resell and get my money back that way).
Thanks for your help and for keeping me honest. I would never want to burn someone over buyers remorse. To me, creases feel like damage, wheras whitening and scratches are simply wear and tear. Would love the opinion of serious collectors as well as buyers/sellers that can tell me what I should list this as if I just eat the costs or accept a partial. I may link the guy to this thread also so he can weigh in or at least read so he can make sure I represented his side properly as well.
We had a similar thread before and to be fair if they were listed as played you have to expect some form of creasing or scratching, indent, etc…
This is very subjective though. In the other thread there was maybe 2-3 people that had the same opinion as you, but the majority thought played cards will have some creasing or some form of damage. You can have a totally presentable card that has a binder dent or a crease and it would still get a 5-6. That’s why I don’t agree that creasing = damage unless the card has been literally folded in 2 or 4.
Do you feel like you did alright with your purchase? I mean you have a Shadowless Zard that is probably worth $100 in played condition and 18 other cards that can range anywhere from $10-50 depending on condition… I don’t think the seller is at fault here.
Also, you said you expected PSA 5s. I’d say the average is probably 4 on the lot you bought. The price difference is so minimal at this point. I also want to point out he listed them as played and you expected LP/Excellent… Maybe your expectations were a little high, don’t you think?
I honestly don’t know what I expected. I just assumed “played” meant something like a psa5 condition, which I assume is a card with scratches and whitening. Like I said, if you guys think $412 is fair and as advertised, I will just eat the purchase and not even accept his offered partial refund. If you think the price difference is minimal, does this mean you think the lot is worth around what I paid? If so, I’ll just relist and dump them. Keep in mind, I didn’t take photos of all the scratches and whitening as it’s what I assumed I’d be getting. It’s not like these cards were mint outside of the creases I took photos of.
Just throwing a random number here, but it’s probably worth $300 or so. To be fair, SOME cards really do look bad. If he’s offering a partial refund, you should take it.
While the price difference is small per card, it adds up. $5-10 on 15 cards is still $75-150.
Next time ask at least 1-2 close ups and you’ll have a better idea of what you’re getting I guess?
I agree with almost everything @poken00b88 said. You didn’t get scammed, but $412 may have been just a little too much. However I do think it’s possible to get over $400 for it with patients. I’ve seen many lots similar to this sell for way more than they should.
If I were you, I’d take the partial refund and try to sell the lot for $450.
When you buy a lot like this you are taking a gamble and some times you come out as the loser. Next time I would get close ups of the cards or ask about creasing and other damage if you’re going to spend 400.
The thing about purchases like this where you see multiple 1st ed cards and a shadowless zard in the lot is that they are “1st come first served” when on a wts reddit post. Usually you buy fast so you win the cards and so a bidding war doesnt start. Again, the premise for my decision was that regardless of the scratches and whitening that might be present, I would come out ahead. Nothing in the post mentioned creases. Anyhow I think ive given enough context. I dont think ill return for full refund via g&s. Its just a matter of if I should accept the offer of the partial refund or not since I need to resell these and dont want to incur a big loss.
My thoughts exactly. It is a gamble. I am surprised hes even offering a partial refund.
This has happened to me in the past, and i just count my losses and take it as a learning experience. Always ask for pics if you need them, the more pics the less of a gamble it is for you. If the seller wants to make a sale they will accommodate to the buyer and send you the pics you are requesting. Good-luck brother, let us know how it pans out.
Totally your own fault for purchasing instantly without asking for additional pictures / info. The cards were advertised as played, and that is what you received. I wouldn’t ask for any kind of refund / return etc. since it’s not the sellers fault.
Based on the feedback I’m seeing here, not only will I not hit up G&S for a full refund, but I will tell this guy to not worry about a partial refund and I will eat it. Thanks for weighing in guys.
I’d agree with what has previously been said. I think creases do qualify as played, I’d describe cards as damaged when there was a tear, material missing, heavily crushed/rounded corners, or heavy creases.
It sucks to get cards in worse condition than you expected, but I think it’s a risk you take. You’re making the right decision by not pursuing this for a refund, even if you could get one.
Yeah he appreciated me not going with a partial refund or G&S full refund. In the end, I think I won’t take too much of a hit and it’s a good learning experience for me. I just haven’t bought many used cards so seeing a crease was like “oh this card may as well be lit on fire”. I have created an album for the lot and I’ll just toss it back up on reddit and see what I can get for it.
I might be interested in the Venusaur. I have a LP/P Shadowless holo set just missing that one card. Depends what shape it’s in. I’m in Canada so I don’t know how much shipping would be. Feel free to PM me to discuss. Cheers.
I couldn’t bring up your pic but I can volunteer two things. Played cards are of less than PSA 5/6 quality. Secondly, the value would depend on whether the valuable cards you mentioned were amongst the ones creased.
Lastly, I honestly don’t see what the seller did wrong?
Edit: I finished the comments and see you did the probable right thing. Congrats;)
There were just tiny lil creases in the cards I was most interested in when buying the collection. I took down the album and just re-photographed all the cards listing any damage on the cards with damage since I plan on just putting it back on reddit in an attempt to get my money back. You can see the album here: imgur.com/a/C8SVIaB Btw great video you guys just put out! Have fun in Vegas. Hopefully I’ll get to film yall myself one of these times.
I’ve never really dealt with cards that weren’t near mint to mint before, so when I bought these and he said they were played, I expected some scratches and whitening. I didn’t think that creases counted since to me creases are like… REAL damage compared to a scratch or whitening which is less significant in my opinion. Anyhow yeah the guy was pretty appreciative and even re-offered the partial refund to which I turned him down and thanked him for his patience.
Damn Chris B, you and I are both of the same camp that really dislike creases on their cards.
I share your sorrows in the fact that getting cards with creases, even if I never planned on grading them, sucks really bad because I really don’t like creases as it really ruins the aesthetics of the card for me.
Typically what I do when I am buying something that has questionable pictures or says anything outside of NM/Mint is that I let them know beforehand that I can pay immediately as long as there is no creases on the card. Usually then, the seller would let me know about the conditions of the card, and keep their goodwill in regards of letting me have first dibs on the card. Of course, I pay back this honor by immediately sending payment. Of course, sometimes the seller just ignores this and sells to someone who really is “first come first serve”, but usually those types of sellers are hiding something in their listing anyways. Of course I may miss out on good deals from time to time, but I prefer to miss out on a good deal then to be stuck with some cards I don’t like!
I sold that set within 10 minutes of listing. Guess I had nothing to worry about and other people dont mind creases. Ppl were ready to pay more but I just wanted to do first come first serve
Good job! Very surprised with the outcome tbh. I just don’t see $450 there, but I guess people are willing to pay a premium for the convenience of not paying shipping buying singles.