[Fred]

Just my opinion -

* The seller indicates NO RETURNS ACCEPTED.
* The card was professionally (and I use that term loosely) graded by GAI.
* The card is no longer in a TPG holder with a HIGH numerical grade.

Because it was in a TPG holder I would almost assume that the no returns is based on the fact that it was "passed" by a TPG.

I see many sellers using this same ploy/tactic - "hey, if it's in a slab then it's gotta be good". I think we all kind of know that's bull $hit.

A good seller would refund the money (if it was still in the TPG slab - which this isn't). Because the card is removed from the TPG slab I don't think the seller has any obligation to buy it back.

A knowledgable collector would know that a GAI graded card is somewhere between PRO and SGC/PSA. I wouldn't touch GAI cards unless there is a nice discount associated with it because I'm always suspicious of GAI cards (with numerical grades) possibly being trimmed. This isn't to say that SGC and PSA haven't let their share of trimmed cards be given a numerical grade, this is just my opinion that GAI has provided numerical grades to a larger percentage of trimmed cards - and that is what I consider "common knowledge" to advanced collectors.

It's a sad situation because it really makes it difficult to appreciate the hobby when something like this comes up.

Unfortunately, this is our hobby - today. People rely on TPG and swear by it when assigning a value to a card.