When a hobby turns into a sick obsession

[Archive]

Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Tim, here's a quick story about how I turned from being one of those in the ungraded camp to the PSA registry set: I was finishing putting together a 1956 Topps ungraded set in Near Mint or better variety when I received a Mantle card that I paid over $800 for ungraded. It was the only card of the set that I decided to send to PSA for grading and it came back as trimmed. This is nothing I could have figured out by a scan, looking back. I asked the seller for a refund and he refused telling me that there is no way the card was short. The ahole said everything he could in refusing me a refund - even a partial refund - other than telling me that his grandfather was Joe Topps and he was there when the card was printed. I measured it, of course, and it was clearly short. After months of dealing with Amex and Paypal, I finally got my money back but I refused to ever buy another expensive ungraded card again. Even if by chance a graded card I purchased was trimmed at least the card would be saleable and liquid - plus, I'd have PSA's backing that the card was not trimmed. Think the putz that sold me that Mantle was any better than the guy that is the topic of this thread?