How would you handle this?
 

Looking for some advice from the board. Ok, back around 2003 I picked up a raw Green Cobb T206 portrait in what appeared to be a high end Ex condition (likely equivalent to an SGC 70) from a well known, and still highly active, dealer at a Cleveland National. This was before grading was a "must" for high end items. I paid around $1200 for it. Since most of my cards were raw, at the time I didnt have any second thoughts about it. Recently, the card was submitted to SGC as a contingency to complete a deal and it came back altered. Actually, it was described as a "frankencard" and upon closer examination, i have no doubts that it was expertly rebacked. Question I have is what should I do? Am I just SOL due to the time frame? Should I approach the seller in person? Should I try and get it in an SGC "A" holder? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks,

Eric

You may as well ask about it. There are a lot of factors. It was nearly ten years ago. If he isn't a dealer you do business with regularly, I wouldn't expect much. He is likely not to remember the card or the transaction. I don't think given the time that has elapsed you have a lot of ground to do anything more than appeal to his sense of fairness. If you are a good customer, it's a different situation.

FWIW, I have a frankencobb green myself...I think it was a skin that was rebacked. It looks good and I only paid about $350 for it, so we're in different situations.

Eric
 

interested to know what back. I am thinking it just had back damage and just got a reback from a common not a rare back?

probably just best to keep this card in your collection and write reback in sharpie on the back so if it ever leaves your collection someone else does not get a 3 to 5k hit as a green in that shape is much more valuable today.

hard lesson

Another circumstance where it pays to only buy graded cards. You can always break them out later. 9 years is way too long to go back in my opinion.

Almost a decade later
 

I do tend to think you're SOL, Eric. Sorry. Seems as if your close examination confirms the reback, and that could have been done a long time ago.

Unless there is a very specific advertising back or unique characteristic to the card (or an ongoing relationship with the dealer over the past nine years), I think any recompense would be an uphill battle, at best.

Agreed.


So people can feel sorry for us? :D