Probstein F'd me again!

[55koufax]

Over the years I have had problems with eBay purchases from Rick Probstein. The latest takes the cake. Apparently he has either figured out an eBay policy loophole or he "inadvertently" fell into one. This will blow your mind. I recently won three cards from his auctions to the tune of approx. $1,400. The key card was a Reggie Jax for $1,100. I rec'd a USPS Priority Flat Rate signature req'd box in a timely manner and signed for it as it appeared to be in perfect order. Upon opening it, only two of three cards were inside. Of course, the key Reggie card, was not. It only gets better (worse)....I immediately eBay message Probstein. He does not respond for 24 hours. I message him again. He does not respond for another 24 hours. I contact eBay Concierge who understands the situation and they open an Item Not Received case. They tell me I have wait 7 days so the seller, Probstein, has an opportunity to respond. Of course he does not and the week expires. I contact eBay Conceirge again thinking I would then be refunded.......That is simply not possible I am told, after speaking to three reps in "Sportscards" at eBay, including Team Leader Heather. She stated I would not be eligible for a refund because I signed for the pkg and there is tracking on eBay confirming it. That is all that mattered to her. She did not care that Probstein ignored any/all communication requests for 10 days. She did not care that the pkg was short packed and missing an item. She did not care that I am out $1,100 because of this. I tried a few times following up with other eBay Conceirge reps and got nothing but a run-around. Multiple reps thought they could resolve this by trying to do a return item case instead of an item not rec'd. At the end of several days and attempts, that will not work either - again, I am told because of the tracking and me signing for it and accepting it in good order. Well, could this mean that any package that comes signature required should be opened in front of the carrier? Of course not, but eBay has no answer to that insane proposal. What it does mean, is eBay is either protecting their biggest sports card client (now that PWCC was given the boot) or they have a loophole. I will be taking advantage of this loophole to recapture my $1,100. I (or you, or anyone) can just sell multiple items to a single buyer on eBay. Short pack a USPS Priority Flat Rate box intentionally, and require a signature. Then just ignore any/all communication from the outraged buyer, then ignore eBay communication for the one week period and be done with it. No consequences whatsoever. That said, I am honest as the day is long, but I refuse to be F'd out of $1,100. They and Probstein leave me no choice. If anyone has any experience or recommendation for a better resolution, I am all ears, and I thank you for suggestion. PS - Tried calling Probstein and the same old "Mail Box Full" recording comes on.....

[jason.1969]

That sucks. I personally avoid any Probstein listings,
just as I avoided all PWCC while they were still around. When you buy from sellers with no integrity, bad things tend to happen.

Jason Schwartz


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Johnny630]

I'm so sorry buddy. This does not sound like Rick Probstein at all. I do not think he would do this purposely, maybe he didn't get the message. Nah no way, he would'nt.

Have you tried calling him or emailing him??? Not through ebay but directly? You have to find a way to get a hold of him, not his assistants working for him.

or maybe cc charge back as last resort. Idk very sad. I hope this get resolved.

[Snapolit1]

Have heard many stories about Rick but has always been totally on the up and up in my dealings. I even went to his warehouse once and picked up a nice photo in person. Hope this works out.

[Snowman]

He's not trying to scam you. Just email him. He will fix it. I guarantee it. His email is: rickprobstein1@gmail.com

[uniship]

Story does not surprise me one bit. Probstein is horrible and he doesn’t care.

[SteveS]

If you paid by credit card, file a dispute with the credit card issuer. If you paid with PayPal, file a dispute with them. Signing indicates only that you have received the package, not that you have inspected what's inside.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by 55koufax

Over the years I have had problems with eBay purchases from Rick Probstein. The latest takes the cake. Apparently he has either figured out an eBay policy loophole or he "inadvertently" fell into one. This will blow your mind. I recently won three cards from his auctions to the tune of approx. $1,400. The key card was a Reggie Jax for $1,100. I rec'd a USPS Priority Flat Rate signature req'd box in a timely manner and signed for it as it appeared to be in perfect order. Upon opening it, only two of three cards were inside. Of course, the key Reggie card, was not. It only gets better (worse)....I immediately eBay message Probstein. He does not respond for 24 hours. I message him again. He does not respond for another 24 hours. I contact eBay Concierge who understands the situation and they open an Item Not Received case. They tell me I have wait 7 days so the seller, Probstein, has an opportunity to respond. Of course he does not and the week expires. I contact eBay Conceirge again thinking I would then be refunded.......That is simply not possible I am told, after speaking to three reps in "Sportscards" at eBay, including Team Leader Heather. She stated I would not be eligible for a refund because I signed for the pkg and there is tracking on eBay confirming it. That is all that mattered to her. She did not care that Probstein ignored any/all communication requests for 10 days. She did not care that the pkg was short packed and missing an item. She did not care that I am out $1,100 because of this. I tried a few times following up with other eBay Conceirge reps and got nothing but a run-around. Multiple reps thought they could resolve this by trying to do a return item case instead of an item not rec'd. At the end of several days and attempts, that will not work either - again, I am told because of the tracking and me signing for it and accepting it in good order. Well, could this mean that any package that comes signature required should be opened in front of the carrier? Of course not, but eBay has no answer to that insane proposal. What it does mean, is eBay is either protecting their biggest sports card client (now that PWCC was given the boot) or they have a loophole. I will be taking advantage of this loophole to recapture my $1,100. I (or you, or anyone) can just sell multiple items to a single buyer on eBay. Short pack a USPS Priority Flat Rate box intentionally, and require a signature. Then just ignore any/all communication from the outraged buyer, then ignore eBay communication for the one week period and be done with it. No consequences whatsoever. That said, I am honest as the day is long, but I refuse to be F'd out of $1,100. They and Probstein leave me no choice. If anyone has any experience or recommendation for a better resolution, I am all ears, and I thank you for suggestion. PS - Tried calling Probstein and the same old "Mail Box Full" recording comes on.....

Quoted. Glad to know that's your next step.

[Carter08]

What is your eBay seller name? Asking for a friend. Just kidding, I hope it works out. For what it’s worth (not much) I’ve had good experiences with Probstein. Similar to pwcc, I’d rather avoid the big guns and support smaller operators but sometimes the cards call to me.

[Popcorn]

Originally Posted by Snowman

He's not trying to scam you. Just email him. He will fix it. I guarantee it. His email is: rickprobstein1@gmail.com

Yeah don’t try and rip someone off man. Bad karma.

If this happens again always go item not as described, the not received route is always a headache.

[mrreality68]

I would go the chargeback route.

Contact your credit card company and dispute the charge.

Let them be your advocate

[Mozzie22]

Your very first sentence was, "Over the years I have had problems with eBay purchases from Rick Probstein."

Why in God's name would you keep buying from him? Seriously, be better than that.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Quoted. Glad to know that's your next step.

Have to agree with John here, I get that you're angry but don't take it out on the good people in the hobby. Bad form.

[NYYFan63]

Email him directly or call him. If that doesn’t work, call him out on IG. He has a big presence on IG and I’m sure he doesn’t want negative publicity.

Full transparency - I have not had any issues with Rick with buying or selling cards.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tinkertoeverstochance]

.

[UKCardGuy]

That sucks. I hope it works out for you.

I think your issue from an ebay perspective is that you should have filed a claim for "item not as described" claim rather than a "item not recieved" claim.

Item not received means that the package didn't arrive. (Clearly it did as you signed for it). Whereas item not as described means you received the package but the contents are different to what you purchased.

You may want to contact eBay and open an item not as described case.

As a general rule, when buying on eBay (esp for more expensive items) I use PayPal to pay. That leaves me a second avenue to try in cases like this.
______________
Gary Goldberg

[Directly]

If worse comes to worse I would try to file a claim with your Sports cards insurance policy--

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Directly

If worse comes to worse I would try to file a claim with your Sports cards insurance policy--

I'm not sure how you would expect an insurance policy to cover this if the card was never received. Would you claim it was stolen in transit, but even then, if you never actually had it, wouldn't it be the insurance policy of the sender that would be responsible for covering the loss?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Mozzie22

Your very first sentence was, "Over the years I have had problems with eBay purchases from Rick Probstein."

Why in God's name would you keep buying from him? Seriously, be better than that.

LOL, all I can do is laugh. Its like how many times do you have to hit yourself with a hammer before you figure out it hurts. It is a perfect example of what is wrong with our hobby. People getting screwed just repeat and them some would say that a complete scumbag is a great guy because they haven't got screwed by them YET.

[Johnny630]

And a message board makes them feel better.

[chriskim]

wow.. this is new! most of the time sellers get screwed, but I guess Probstein is a diff type of seller on eBay. They are well protected by eBay.

[buymycards]

Open an "item not as described case". You will be able to return the whole works and he will have to refund you. Make sure you send it back as "signature required". He will open it and find that a card is missing, but he will have to prove it, but like you, he will have signed for it and he will have to refund you.

[tribefan]

Originally Posted by Snowman

He's not trying to scam you. Just email him. He will fix it. I guarantee it. His email is: rickprobstein1@gmail.com

Not intentionally, but his poor inventory practices allowed this to happen.

I have had the same situation twice with this seller. The first time they found the missing card and it was sent to me. The second time they could not find it, and said it must have been sent, so they let ebay close the case since it had been scanned as delivered.

Anyone who chooses to deal with this seller needs to understand the risk involved.

Why not use a packing slip? That could help solve some issues.

[icurnmedic]

First, this is not a new scam , happened to me with a Gretzky rookie in 2006.
Second, I can't imagine Probstein would risk any negative publicity or legal action over $1100. Just isn't logical.
Continue to contact, they are Sloooowwww , and usually the response is less than stellar, but it is likely an innocent mistake, imho.
Good Luck. Thomas

[forceplay sport]

I feel the real problem here is that Ebay will NOT help resolve the problem.

They have become part of this problem and THEY need to help you fix it.

[uniship]

Uh. The problem is PROBSTEIN. This thread continues (and all other efforts been) and no relief from Him nor response. And people are blaming ebay and his inventory and the buyer etc. it’s unbelievable.

Probstein is THE WORST.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by uniship

Uh. The problem is PROBSTEIN. This thread continues (and all other efforts been) and no relief from Him nor response. And people are blaming ebay and his inventory and the buyer etc. it’s unbelievable.

Probstein is THE WORST.

I'm just amazed that he is as big as he is. He can't even be bothered to give a back scan on cards.

[egri]

Originally Posted by icurnmedic

Second, I can't imagine Probstein would risk any negative publicity or legal action over $1100. Just isn't logical.

Eh, Kevin Mize was willing to get banned from here (and Blowout) over $1,000, so I could see it happening.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by egri

Eh, Kevin Mize was willing to get banned from here (and Blowout) over $1,000, so I could see it happening.

apples to oranges...I also feel this is a mistake...no way rick would risk negative publicity over something so miniscule seeming.

[uniship]

Don’t underestimate his brazen incompetence, apathy and lack of caring. He’s extraordinary in these areas.

[3-2-count]

Originally Posted by uniship

Don’t underestimate his brazen incompetence, apathy and lack of caring. He’s extraordinary in these areas.

This ^^^^^

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by egri

Eh, Kevin Mize was willing to get banned from here (and Blowout) over $1,000, so I could see it happening.

Can't see the similarity, Probstein is center-stage in the hobby while Mize was off-center.

[parkplace33]

For every one person who hates on Probstein, there are 10 more who want to use/buy him. He is the biggest card seller on Ebay now that PWCC is gone.

Not condoning what happen to the member, just giving perspective.

[egri]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

Can't see the similarity, Probstein is center-stage in the hobby while Mize was off-center.

[packs]

Tough situation.

[RL]

file a chargeback

[55koufax]

1. Probstein's zero response. Including two days of direct requests thru eBay's protocol (not mine or any one person on N 54) and 7 days of eBay's protocol.

2. The fact that you cannot contact him, or any company rep, via phone. You cannot even leave a voice message. During the pandemic this has become the protocol for a lot of businesses and it is wrong on so many levels. They are quick to grab your $$$$, but hide behind a pandemic to ill serve their clients.

3. eBay. Wrong protocol and decisions on so many levels. I followed their exact protocol 100% without deviation. Did specifically what Concierge in their Sports Card division said to do. I have been told here on a few fronts that I did it incorrectly. I shoulda done this or that. Next time I should not contact eBay Concierge Sports Cards, but N 54..........

4. eBay. Specifically a Team Leader (one of just a few I am told in Sports Cards) named Heather who made the ultimate decision NOT to allow a refund or any other means of pursuit. She shut it down specifically because there is full tracking on their site and USPS shows delivery with signature. NOTHING ELSE MATTERED FOR CERTAIN to her in her decision making process. She told me this, as did others.

So I repeat, eBay has a loophole. They know it. They do not care.

Probstein is not a seller who can be trusted. Yes, I had problems with him over the past 20 years. Yes, as suggested, probably should not utilize him.

That said, if one is competing on the PSA Set Registry with 50 sets, he is one of the few tools for finding obscure higher grade commons in a lot of POST WWII sets, that is for certain.

Also, I know PWCC is back with their own 40,000+ card auction, so that is again an option for Registry collectors like me, thank goodness. I am not a fan of Brent either, but that said, I have only experienced one issue with Brent over 20 years, as opposed to 4 or 5 with Probstein.

I thank most of you for some seemingly worthy advice, including asking AMEX to step in, as I paid via Paypal with AMEX. I have asked Paypal once before to assist with a card issue and they did not. I think AMEX will have my back, but not certain.

I did reach out to USPS which does have Special Agents and like an Internal Affairs section. They move slowwwwwly, I can already tell. Doubtful they can help, but nonetheless, they should know what happened.

Lastly, it seems certain that anybody who wants to scam eBay buyers can by short packing signature required tracked packages. I even explained this to Team Leader Heather who was deaf by choice to my disclosure. She could care less.

Bottom line is I am out $1,100 for doing nothing wrong except trying to add an important multi point Reggie card to improve one of my sets. It just ain't right.

[Leon]

Everyone in this thread needs to have their full name in their post or obtainable from it. Otherwise, please edit out your comments. This is in keeping with the rule in bold letters at the top of every page. I am sure many members haven't noticed it so here it is ...

If you write anything concerning a person or company your full name needs to be in your post or obtainable from it.

thanks
mgmt


.

[uniship]

Guess what. Probstein will read all of this. And he will do nothing. That’s WHO. HE. IS.

[RL]

besides a chargeback, also file a stolen mail report with the suspect believed to be a usps employee.

and file a mail fraud complaint against probstein

[Johnny630]

The Personal Accusations on this guy are horrible. I don't like it, who personally really knows him??

What happened is not cool, he isn't shipping, he isn't packing, I'm sure once you actually get to him he will make it right.

[rjackson44]

Terrible stick to the bst here leon runs a tight ship.Honest folks ,,stay away from that guy you will continue to have headaches good luck octavio ..

[Shoeless Moe]

Dammit!!!! I thought the title of this thread was a new Brittney Spears song.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

Can't see the similarity, Probstein is center-stage in the hobby while Mize was off-center.

POTY Nominee 2021

[55koufax]

Leon. My name is James Nahigian. My son Paul and I have been enjoying father-son collecting for almost 20 years now, since he was a little kid. We have nothing to hide. He was the actual victim as the Probstein purchases and eBay situation described were on his account. I have stepped in to assist. Only trying to get suggestions to resolve so we are not out of $1,100. To some that may be a trivial amount. To us (him in particular) it is not. Also, wanted to disclose this negativity re eBay and their seller. It is 1000% factual.

ps - I believe my name is atop the thread....I further believe it is my duty to protect my son. I have nothing to hide.

[Carter08]

Can this community help out somehow? Anyone have any thoughts?

[Fred]

I've had a few auction winnings with Probstein and all went well.

The assumption is that this is a graded card. Make sure you have the picture of the card, the auction item description and cert number.

Keep an eye out for the card being sold on ebay or an auction.

A few possibilities:
1 - The item was not shipped and is still at Probstein's. In this case you can only hope the item is located and shipped to you with a huge apology.

2 - The item was accidentally shipped in the wrong package and the recipient wasn't honest enough to contact Probstein. If the person that possesses the card is stupid enough to sell it on ebay, you'll see it and you'll have something to start working on with Probstein (like was the current seller of the card a recipient of a recent Probstein auction winning).
3 - Shipping department associate pocketed the card and will keep it or try to sell it.


I would have to believe that it wasn't intentional on Probstein's part because a big seller wouldn't want something like this hanging over their head. Did you research how many other claims are similar to yours for Probstein? If it is a one-off event then it'll be hard to prove any wrong doing by Probstein. If it is a common occurrence then all you can do is hope ebay sees this and Probstein launches their own internal investigation into this.

This really sucks because if the card doesn't show up, YOU get screwed, royally.

I sure hope it's still at Probstein's and they locate it.

Good luck!

[iwantitiwinit]

I would think you could get through to him if you call and pretend to have a large collection for sale.

[glynparson]

I buy a lot from him never had an issue not receiving what I purchased and honestly when he describes as high end I usually agree with that assessment so my experiences in no way echo yours. Sorry you had this happen but it hasn’t been my experience with Rick.I also recently noticed his emails were going right to spam because I did have a question and sent him an email and when he didn’t respond checked my spam and there it was. Did you check your spam folder?

[toledo_mudhen]

Originally Posted by glynparson

I buy a lot from him never had an issue not receiving what I purchased and honestly when he describes as high end I usually agree with that assessment so my experiences in no way echo yours. Sorry you had this happen but it hasn’t been my experience with Rick.I also recently noticed his emails were going right to spam because I did have a question and sent him an email and when he didn’t respond checked my spam and there it was. Did you check your spam folder?

I have also done many purchases with Rick - Never a problem