Strange situation regarding 1st edition Base pack

So about a year ago I bought a 1st edition Base set booster pack with a Blastoise for the pack art on Ebay, I paid $400 Aussie dollars after using a coupon. I received the pack and a year went past, today I get a message from the Ebay seller that says this;

**'Hi there,

I think I may have sold you a pack a while ago -

1st edition shadowless base pack - I opened 3 packs last week and come to find that they were unlimited and I believe fake cards.

I sold 3 of them and have contacted each buyer. My apologises for any inconvenience this may cause but thought I would do the right thingā€¦ I am also contacting the original seller whom I purchase them from.

Kind regards,ā€™**

Now after seeing a fellow member open a resealed 1st ed Base pack recently, I was pretty sad to get this message, but his next message is what made me weary, I reply ā€™
oh wowā€¦ thats crazyā€™, he replies

**'Yeah I am sorry about that.

I am offering a refund to those who purchased them and offering a free unlimited booster as compensation.

Iā€™m sending back the packs to the seller.

You can contact me on Facebook search (name removed) or sms (phone number removed)

Kind regards,ā€™**So what I took from this message was; heā€™s trying to dupe me into selling the pack back to him for $400, seeing as the 1st edition Base set box is going for $50k USD+, I replied ā€˜did you happen to record opening the packs?ā€™, he replies;

**'Unfortunately not. Iā€™ve never filmed Pack openings, wish I did though. The seller is reputable, and a collector in the US. Iā€™ve purchased from them dozen times before so he thinks itā€™s possibly the person before him who sold it to himā€¦ itā€™s a damn shame too, Iā€™ve never opened packs that expensive and now Iā€™m fairly annoyedā€¦ thought I could spare pain of anybody who brought from me.

I brought 6 total. 3 to keep, now opened and sold the rest. 2 sold over Facebook, and one eBay.

Anyways feel free to call or message if you wanted to chat about itā€¦ otherwise all I can do is offer refund.

Regardsā€™**

Now I donā€™t know if he remembers or not, but at the time of purchasing he told me he bought the pack from collectors cache, i reply; ā€˜jeez, is the seller on ebay? i bought another pack a while before i bought yours, would like to know if it came from the same sourceā€™ he replies;

'Seller starts with C ends with T on eBay. Nothing listed at moment, Iā€™m talking to him on Facebook though. So doubt you brought from him. Send you photos tomorrow.

Let me know if you want refund -'

this is collectors cacheā€™s ebay www.ebay.com/usr/collectorscache, it starts with a C but ends with an E

So the reason Iā€™ve posted this here is for opinions, on whether he is the nicest guy in the world, or he is pulling an elaborate attempt to get his base 1st ed pack back for cheap after the recent price hike, here are some pictures of the pack for anyone experienced in identifying resealed packs, I like to think Iā€™m pretty good and it shows no signs of tampering, no glue residue and the seal looks perfect, I have another 1st edition base set pack as previously mentioned that i purchased 2 years prior and it came from a very reliable seller, so Iā€™ve been able to cross reference and both packs look identical.


(bottom seal on the first picture looks smooth in one spot, but its just the light reflection)

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I doubt someone would offer a refund one year after selling especially since they are not liable for a return. If it truly is a reseal, it would be best for you to keep this pack and for them to send you the refund money. Especially since it is only unlimited base set cards inside a 1st wrapper :wink:. If they are telling you the truth they will say yes to this proposition if not they be scammin

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Well the condition is that I send the pack to him because he wants to send it back to the original seller, so that adds to the extreme shadiness , I would like to mention that I will not be sending the pack to him either way

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You could tell them you just opened the pack and they were all first edition and put them on the spot. Itā€™s possible you will get a confession. Also possible that you could lose the chance to return the pack if it is fake (Iā€™m really skeptical about their claim).

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This is a pretty tough situation, sorry for your misfortune one way or the other.

If they are truly sorry they would not ask for the pack back, shady levels over 9000

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I agree that the level of shadiness is too damn high, so I think itā€™s wise of you to gamble and keep the pack. There a lot of kind people within this community, however in this case it seems to be too good to be trueā€¦
As far as specific arguments go, Shizzlemetimbers added up the shady points very well :blush:

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Seems like a scam to get the packs back cheap and resell, could try and call his bluff and say youā€™ll only take the refund if you can send the pack back opened and film yourself doing it to confirm itā€™s unlimited. Heā€™s not gonna want it opened if heā€™s scamming to get it back for resale.

Edit: I donā€™t mean actually do this either (opening the pack), just curious what he would say to you suggesting it.

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Make him offer at least some evidence that the packs are fake. If this guy is a fraud the least he can do is get a fake pack and then make a video of himself opening it.

He probably wonā€™t give you any evidence, though.

He sounds like a scam artist who got sour grapes about selling a product that has risen significantly in value since he sold it to you.

I mean, maybe heā€™s telling the truth, but it sounds unlikely.

Itā€™s a bad situation but I would advise you to stand pat unless he offers you some convincing evidence to do otherwise.

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Send him your PayPal addy and ask for the payment then youā€™ll send him the pack. Plus, instead of a free pack ask him to simply add 50.00 to the 400.00. You trusted him so he can trust you lol.

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That pack looks good to me,

The timing is to convenient in regards to the 1st Ed Base Box auction,

Also why would they only now be opening a pack considering the price hike,

Donā€™t know about you, but if a $400 pack is now worth (for argumentā€™s sake) $1000, why would they go ahead and open it!

Quite a funny way of trying to get the packs for cheaper though,

I would say they would look to re sell them later and pocket the profit,

Very ballsy, I would not believe this seller, especially if they came from the reputable collectorscache,

My two cents! :grin:

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I asked for a picture of the opened packs so I can compare them to my booster pack, he replies;

Pack looks perfect, itā€™s definitely been repacked. Itā€™s not a fake pack, the cards werenā€™t in the right order at all. Thinking the cards are real, I did a rip test to check for ink and it was there.

Apologies I am currently battling the seller - heā€™s denying repacking but I so annoyed considering the money I paid for themā€¦

so thats him pretty much declining to show opened packs, which im quite positive he doesnā€™t have any opened packs to show me lol

Itā€™s 1st edition base set, theres currently a sealed box on auction and its already at 50k USD

Cause it was worth 400.00;)

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The oneā€™s youā€™re seeing for 75 euro would be unlimited, they do not have the 1st edition symbol

would be foreign base 1st edition then, if by some miracle theyā€™re selling the real deal for 75 euro, buy them

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I would tell him that I opened the pack to see if heā€™s lying or not then tell him he was right and type a paragraph thanking him for being such an honest seller.

If he still wants to send you a refund and doesnā€™t tell you some BS then that would be a sign that heā€™s being truthful. If thereā€™s still doubt you can just send an empty wrapper with unlimited cards.

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he may pull the ā€˜show me the opened 1st edition base set booster packā€™ trick on me and i dont have one to show hehe

send him a pic of a 1st ed base psa 10 charizard that you pulled from the pack you didnā€™t open lol. thatā€™s make him cry :joy:

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Well there you go, imo that would confirm that he knows youā€™re on to him. No reason for him to be suspicious over a pack that he has ā€œconfirmedā€ to be fake unless heā€™s lying.

Also, if it is necessary, you could ask some1 to hook you up with pics of a wrapper with unlimited cards. Maybe that guy with the fake PSA graded pack from a few days ago could help.

1 Like