Posted By:
Judge Dred (Fred)"...our current auction information states 7 days as the time alloted for possible returns for refund, but I do admit it was not in there at the time of this sale."
I think 7 days is insufficient time for a return because in most cases it will take longer than that for a turn around to a grading service unless you use an overnight which costs much more than the standard service. Could you try 30 days? You are kind of caught up in this because you have consigners that want to be paid ASAP (probably). I wish I had an answer for that but I don't.
To answer your question - 110 days is a really long time. There's a few things to consider here:
1) You have a good reputation and sometimes it's just good business to bite the bullet.
2) This isn't a $50 or even a $100 item. Thank goodness it's not in the thousands of $$.
Suggestions:
You could bite the bullet (buy it back minus the shipping and ebay costs) and see if passes one of the grading services (which will pretty much reinforce everyones feelings about these services if it grades ok) or you could see if one of the services will give it the AUTHENTIC designation and sell it for about 1/2 of what it sold for initially and defray the cost of a loss. This would confirm your stature as a more than reputable seller and probably keep this person as an active bidder in your auctions. I have a feeling that this may not be a regular bidder, just a guess.
Lose the client by telling the person that 110 days is a bit much and that it's not a reasonable time frame. Also get ready for the person to possibly trash you. At least they can't leave a negative on ebay for you. You save the money (probably, rightfully so) but you also create a possible headache which will hopefully not damage your good reputation.