Graded cards in eBay auctions -- should they be returnable or not?

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Posted By: warshawlaw

I kicked this issue around a lot before I decided on a no returns policy. I will share my reasoning with you.

I have my doubts when it comes to the grading services. That being said, I have much more bile reserved for dealers who "regrade" a graded card to try to sell it AND buyers who buy a "7" but expect an "8" and get indignant when they get a "7" or even a "7.5". I found that I was getting some returns on graded cards not because I had done anything wrong or because the card was inaccurately graded but because the buyer was bottom fishing. I then was faced with a loss on the deal, since every one of these clowns threatened negative feedback unless I refunded their shipping as well as their purchase price. This had to stop.

I also considered one fact that even I have to admit when it comes to the grading services (and which I admitted in my article): SGC and PSA do prevent the gross condition inflation that I think is the absolute worst part of buying by mail.

I also considered my experiences on the purchasing end of things. I found that when I purchased graded cards from the big two by mail that I never had occasion to say that the card was so badly overgraded to justify a return, provided that I asked questions and asked for and received detailed scans before I bid. In fact, when I see a card I want and the scan is hazy or hard to read (unless the card is a 3 anyway; let's be real, how good can a 3 be?), I ask for a clear scan and ask questions. If I ask a question or seek a scan on a graded card and the seller does not respond, I don't bid.

I wanted to be fair to myself and to the buyer. I decided that the happy medium was to offer a graded card "as is" but with full disclosure; I don't embellish on the grade given, I answer all questions posed as accurately as I can, and I send additional scans to the potential buyer if requested to do so. The buyer can choose to trust their eyes and those of the third party, or not. This seems to work in real estate, so it should work here. Mind you, I am not talking about misrepresentations (which is what I think these "should have been an 8" guys are doing) or faked or manipulated scans, like the one I got burned on recently. To me, that's fraud and isn't to be tolerated in any context. If I got a faked scan or a lie in response to an inquiry I would return the item no matter what the return policy stated was. It is called rescission for fraud.

I do not refuse refunds with ungraded cards; I recognize that there is some level of random subjectivity at work there, no matter how careful I am about it.

I don't have a good answer to this situation. Has anyone got any ideas for a comfortable medium?