Possible PSA Graded Inked 1st Ed Charizard, Need Advice.

Hello everyone here’s the situation I’m in. I sold a PSA 7 1st ed charizard (base set) on eBay last year. I personally graded the card back in September of 2017. I purchased the card a few prior online, then eventually sent it to PSA for grading. Fast forward to when I sold it last year. I sold it on eBay, everything went smooth, buyer paid, sent the card on it’s way. I get a message from the buyer a month or so later (he’s over seas) stating that he cracked the case and that the case had been tampered with and said there was a “glue like residue” on the inside and he wanted a refund. Now being that I personally graded the card I know this wasn’t an accurate statement. Long story short, he opened a case on eBay, eventually it was dropped. He said he was going to grade it with BGS and that was the end of it.

Fast forward to today. He messages me saying he graded it with three companies (BGS, CGC, PSA) and they all came back saying it was inked. Now he’s claiming it’s my fault and wants me to take responsibility for it. Again, I did grade the card myself, so I’m 100% positive the case was not tampered with when it came back from PSA. I asked him for photos of the card currently and he said it’s on it’s way back from CGC. So in my mind there is 1 of 3 options.

  1. They all misgraded the card as inked when it wasn’t (very unlikely)

  2. He inked the card after breaking it out of the case and now is trying to pass blame onto me now that no company will grade it.

  3. PSA graded a inked card back in 2017 when I graded it. Now the cert number is 27789587, is this possible? I know PSA had some issues with grading fake 1st edition stamps around this time frame.

Is there anything I can do to help him? He is demanding I refund him immediately. I suggested we submit all the evidence to PSA and see what they say. I was going to send them the video he provided, all the photos, and photos of the card before and after it was broken out. He didn’t like that I suggested this and doesn’t want to do this option. He’s saying I’m dragging it out but doesn’t this seem like the logical next step? He’s now getting pretty aggressive asking for my address so I can sign “Documents” and saying his transaction was with me not PSA, so I should be responsible.

Part of me thinks it’s option 2, he inked the card, got caught, and is trying to scare me into refunding him. If it is option 3, and giving him the benefit of the doubt, I do want to help him. So does anyone know of any steps to take to try and resolve this? This is stressing me out, and I do want to help him out if he’s being truthful. I’m just not sure with how aggressive he’s been getting he is telling the truth.

Below is a link to the video he sent me of him cracking the card, also some of the photos of the “glue” he sent me.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WKGpBMH_-iI_Us8GxDSgtK6pBBKdBPff?usp=sharing

Sorry for bringing this drama into here but I’m feeling overwhelmed. I know there are a lot of smart people in this hobby and maybe someone has had a similar situation. I appreciate any advice you might have.

Again, thank you.

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Do not refund him.

You sold a PSA 7 1st Ed Base Charizard and he received it. Any problems he has should go straight to PSA. This sounds to me like he had buyer’s remorse, then decided to crack the card out to resub, and then was caught inking it.

I’d tell him to go pound sand.

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A buyer asking for a refund from a sale over a year ago on eBay? That’s a big fat “no”

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Sounds like a pretty stressful situation; I’m sorry you’re going through this and I know how a bad experience with a buyer can kind of fog up your entire day or week when dealing with an issue of this magnitude.

The good part is, you really don’t have to worry about anything. From the details you’ve provided, the transaction is well out of the window of opportunity for this buyer to open another case through ebay, and they failed to inspect the card thoroughly enough before purchasing and as soon as they got it in their possession. Don’t stress. I know it can be frustrating, but it really is out of your control. You don’t own the card anymore, and since it’s been cracked by the buyer it is also no longer in the condition you sold it in, therefore not your problem anymore. Whether or not the card was inked before PSA graded it, it’s not your issue to fix and it isn’t worth the stress this situation is causing you right now.

Personal opinion shouldn’t really matter, but to me it sounds like a classic scam and you should just stop responding. You initial instinct is most often correct, and I also agree it sounds like Option 2 you’ve spelled out above. Definitely don’t sign anything - There are no “documents” that could possibly be pertinent to the situation and that just screams scam to me.

Try not to stress and just move on - Sadly, it is kind people like yourself that scummy buyers try to take advantage of. Keep being awesome

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Just block the guy and move on. Sounds like he is trying to scam you. I dont think anything good will come from continued talk with the buyer, just more stress on your end.

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Absolutely do not give him your address. Even if the card is inked, he should take it up with PSA and not the person that sold him the card last year.

This seems like someone who is either (a) trying to intentionally scam you, or (b) thinks they overpaid and are trying to get their money back. In either case, you’re in no way responsible and inn my opinion should immediately block and forget about it.

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I agree with what’s been posted above. Your involvement in this ended when he decided to crack the case. There are risks that come with that and he should have known this. The fact that you’re willing to work with him on this shows you’re a goodhearted person, and I admire that, but I don’t think there’s anything you can or should do for him at this point.

Don’t give this guy the time of day. Block him and move on with your life.

He gave a BS reason when you sold the card initially, and then came back 6 months later with another bs story. You sold him a PSA card with a cert number. He cracked and resubbed, therefore it’s no longer the item you sold and is ineligible for a refund.

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Yeah you guys are probably right. He also threatened lawsuits over this, another reason I was stressed out about it. It’s just, part of me wants to help the guy all I can if he is telling the truth because I know it’s a lot of money and would suck if it happened the other way around. I just want to be able to say I tried to help if he goes and tries to smear my name saying I scammed him or something. I know imagine is important in this community so I want to be able to say I tried but if he’s not going to help me help him I guess it is what it is. Maybe moving on and ignore him will be the best option if he continues to be uncooperative. Also, I don’t plan on ever giving him my address, I even told him that. Thank you guys for the suggestions, it’s helped calm me down some haha. :blush:

Can you share the name of the buyer? Or provide proof to the admin and have them add his/her ebay username to the ebay garbage of this forum. I would like to block this buyer for the future.

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My first instinct is that his story is inconsistent and he bought it while the price was high and is salty that the value has dropped / he hasn’t been able to sell it for a profit.

Having a bio that says “A flipper in collectors clothing” basically confirms it.

If his story is true then it sucks for him but I still believe the onus is on him for cracking the case and spending so much on a card without fully understanding the grading process. Cracking a case is a big risk, usually to try and make extra profit.

You delivered a PSA graded card to him and upon receiving it he didn’t notice any anomalies that would cause him to return it immediately. There’s so many things that could have happened since then like if it’s even the same card or he has inked it that it’s nothing to do with you as a seller any more. This is completely different to a resealed box or fake card scam

This guy sounds like a gem in the community let me block him for his troubles.

The second he cracked it out of the case, all your liability went out the door.

Block him and cease all forms of future communication

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Don’t let someone like that cause you any unnecessary stress… life is too good for that. Block and move on!

I had the exact same situation as a seller. Sold a PSA7 1st Ed Shining Charizard (2xxxxx cert) to a well known collector in my local community. He cracked it and sent to BGS which refused to grade it because of ink.
Upon closer inspection of pics from when it was PSA encased, the card was actually inked from the get go and yet passed at PSA.
Even in a situation like this, where I was certain the buyer had not inked the card, I still could not do anything. The moment he cracks the case the entire purpose and insurance of PSA ceases to exist.
Their entire business model sits on that money back guarantee and the upcharges they request when grading higher value item. They justify said upcharge with the claim that they will take financial responsibility for every and each card they grade AND missgrade.
In that instance if you take PSA’s liability on your shoulders you open yourself to always be abused by any buyer. Imagine the infinite cases of subjective “missgraded” cards, where do you draw the line there and why even grade cards in the first place then?

I tried to be reasonable and help anyway I could. As everyone has said once it was cracked there was nothing I could really do. I tried providing him with some solutions but it got to the point where he was starting to harass me, so I have blocked him and will be moving on from this hopefully. Sorry for bringing drama in here everyone, I appreciate your suggestions and support.

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You’ve convenientlyu left quite a few details out of your smear campaign.

I contacted you 10 minutes after cracking it and opened a case against you, you convinced me to get it graded again to prove its authenticity, i thought this was odd and i was worried about the return window closing and asked you to assure me if it fishy you’d help me out and conveniently now its a completely different story.

You’ve blocked me but I have the receipts, the messages, you steerting the interaction to shift any sort of blame along the way. You never once mentioned to me in 7 months that you think its the stamp that could be the issue. You block me less than 24 hours after saying theres an issue with physical proof the card looks excactly the same and has been refused from PSA CGC and BGS.

Not only have you masterfully swindled me you’ve taken to the internet to tarnish my name.

You convinced me to drop the case so you wouldn’t be liable anymore. You promised you wouldn’t leave me up the creek without a paddle and blocked me in less than 24 hours.

Guys the biggest problem here is only you 2 really know whats gone on. If both are innocent parties its easy to sort out. How about simply starting over… fresh start from now. One thing at a time. Is the issue the 1st edition stamp?

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