Such a shame! Card damaged during shipping
PNWcollector
Posts: 311 ✭✭✭✭
I was fortunate enough to win an auction for a 1956 Sandy Koufax that looked like it was in great shape (except for some centering issues): https://www.ebay.com/itm/1956-Topps-Sandy-Koufax-VG-/164034398897?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&nma=true&si=kaVGzPL99%2BWDBnHVA3nCaOiMsiQ%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc
Received the card today. It was shipped in a card saver inside a standard envelope. No rigid protection. Here is what it looked like upon delivery (the card saver was also bent to match the card):
A gorgeous card damaged due to negligence. I am bummed out.
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Comments
The seller is an idiot. There's no sense in shipping a card like that without protection. I've had to deal with stuff like this before, and unfortunately it's one of the headaches of this hobby. I'm sorry you have to go through this.
return to sender for a refund. no excuse to ship a card like that.
So you bought a card advertised as VG (paying a premium over a graded VG) and received a card that's arguably still VG? Yes, the seller is an idiot for shipping like that, but when you swing for the fences and gamble on a seller with a whopping three selling feedback, you have to expect some SOs. Ebay still has you covered on the return, so you end up with a BB. Get over it, take your refund, and move on ;shrug emoji; (that's desperately needed here).
There is no excuse for this.
What a bummer.
Thanks for the lecture. Your point of the card (after damage) matching the condition in the listing (where the card was clearly undamaged) seems very myopic.
Great job totally ignoring the rest of it where I disparaged the seller in the next few words. Ebay has you covered, and it's always a gamble buying from a new seller that likely has no experience. What are you expecting from venting here?
I had that happen with a T206 that was in a PSA 4 slab.
The seller didn't put any protection around the card; they just put it into one of the yellow soft bubble mailers and gave it to the USPS. When I got it, the holder (and card) were both snapped in half across the middle. It was like the mailer was dumped into a bin at a 45-or so-degree angle, and then something heavy was dropped on top of it, snapping it in half.
I contacted the seller, and he agreed to refund my money, with me returning the card to him.
Steve
Similar thing just happened to me. I spent over $500 on two graded cards. They were carelessly placed in a bubble mailer. No cardboard protection, not even rubber banded together. Luckily, they arrived safely. I did not leave the seller a positive feedback but instead I sent him a very worded message voicing my displeasure. If they were cracked or damaged I would have been pissed off. I probably would have sent them in to get reholdered and pray that the cards were not damaged and returned in the same grade as purchased. Still, that is still an unnecessary inconvenience for me (grading expenses and grading time). How hard is it for sellers to add a little more protection to the cards before shipping?
I think victim shaming is the wrong look here. Buyer did nothing wrong and deserves a refund. As far as what he is looking for by "venting," is that not what a message board is for? discussing things?
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Well said Craig. I’d be bummed too if I received that card in the mail. OP just wanted to voice his frustration, as I’m sure most of us would. Keep us posted. Would like to know that the seller and/or eBay takes care of you on this.
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Gross negligence..... punishable by the wrath of a Tommy Lasorda eternal disgust.
No way a card with a crease like that is still VG.
Ouch. I feel your pain. Soothe your hurt by getting a refund and immediately buying another great card.
"You've gotta be a man to play this game...but you'd better have a lot of little boy in you, too"--Roy Campanella
I wouldn't go so far as to call it "victim shaming". That seems like a complete over reaction. Message boards ARE for discussing things, but you might get a response or two you don't like.
Looks to me like the response was good advice. Be realistic. New sellers might need to learn to get better, mail can get damaged even when properly packaged. If you see that the seller is new, you might want to send him/her a quick email inquiring on how they package their items.
I have learned that along with cardboard backers, to always write "Please do not crush" on my packages, hoping that they then do not go through a "sorter" that may damage the card. So far, it has worked, also a good idea to put items in a plastic bag of some sort in case it's raining on delivery day.
All that being said, it looks like you might have gotten the bargain of a lifetime and it turned out very badly.
Sorry this has happened to you.
The seller expressed his disappointment and he agreed to a partial refund since I would still like to keep the card. I am flattening it out to try to straighten the bend and hoping it still keeps the eye appeal. I love 56s and this card will have a good home.
VERY GOOD!
The OP has every right to be upset. Your post was completely unnecessary.
Yes, I agree. Disagreeing or pointing out opposing viewpoints are BAD!
Let's not turn this into a nasty thread. The differing points of view are fine. The counter could have been presented a bit more smoothly, but it sounds like all turned out for everyone in the end, with the possible exception of Mr. Koufax himself.
;-)
I too HATED when a seller would do a piss poor job (as Bruce Willis once said) shipping a set I ordered (on a couple of occassions the seller just wrapped the set box in brown paper)...I had to all but plead sellers to ship the set with plenty of protection because I really look forward to getting these sorts of things and in some cases it may be a super rare set I might only get one chance in YEARS.
And what made it even worse at the time (about early to mid 2000s; this was back when you didn't have very many good online places outside of Ebay to get sets of cards) this was in the dark ages when sellers could try to pull that whole "if it got damaged in the mail and you didn't pay extra for the insurance, sorry" stunt.
Thus I once again was almost paranoid at the time about making sure to have the insurance...even though if the set arrived damaged/ruined it was probably the seller's fault. 
So yes OP, that really was beyond stupid of your seller to send you a card that's was a least a few hundred dollars(?) and is now pretty much ruined by the seller's flagrant carelessness. So for the sellers here who sometimes complain about buyers usually winning Paypal claims or no longer being able to neg buyers...the above examples and what happened to the OP are perfect examples of why that is so.
D's: 54S,53P,50P,49S,45D+S,44S,43D,41S,40D+S,39D+S,38D+S,37D+S,36S,35D+S,all 16-34's
Q's: 52S,47S,46S,40S,39S,38S,37D+S,36D+S,35D,34D,32D+S
74T: 37,38,47,151,193,241,435,570,610,654,655 97 Finest silver: 115,135,139,145,310
73T:31,55,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,80,152,165,189,213,235,237,257,341,344,377,379,390,422,433,453,480,497,545,554,563,580,606,613,630
95 Ultra GM Sets: Golden Prospects,HR Kings,On-Base Leaders,Power Plus,RBI Kings,Rising Stars
I dealt with that once
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Panama
speaking of Tommy Lasorda, i finally found the rare Tommy Lasorda 1959 Okeefee lol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Panama
"know what i mean Vern !!!"
My dad would say that EVERYDAY !!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Panama
Oh and OP, refund or not, NEG the SOB!! So no one else has to go through what you went through and the seller will in the future learn to ship things the right way.
D's: 54S,53P,50P,49S,45D+S,44S,43D,41S,40D+S,39D+S,38D+S,37D+S,36S,35D+S,all 16-34's
Q's: 52S,47S,46S,40S,39S,38S,37D+S,36D+S,35D,34D,32D+S
74T: 37,38,47,151,193,241,435,570,610,654,655 97 Finest silver: 115,135,139,145,310
73T:31,55,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,80,152,165,189,213,235,237,257,341,344,377,379,390,422,433,453,480,497,545,554,563,580,606,613,630
95 Ultra GM Sets: Golden Prospects,HR Kings,On-Base Leaders,Power Plus,RBI Kings,Rising Stars
I have yet to have a problem shipping in a PWE with Card Saver I
That said, I wouldn't be shipping THAT card in that way.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
I once had a seller ship a PSA card to me in a Priority box with no padding whatsoever. Just the PSA card rattling around in the box. I was stunned.
I've had PSA cards shipped that way to me several times, also, sometimes in rather comically large boxes. Considering it's just the one PSA card inside, and the fact that the actual shipping cost turned out to be almost equal to the entire purchase price, I just shake my head. Couldn't be bothered to just go get a bubble mailer, I guess?
I've had a guy ship me a card in nothing but a plain white envelope. He just stuck it in there without any protection, like he was mailing a letter. When I saw what was inside the envelope....
You really have to wonder. This has happened to me too often to be a coincidence. People are selling fragile paper items that are collectible, more so in top condition. It's either stupidity, laziness, cheapness or a combo of all three, especially when they have to take a refund and get their card back in worse shape.
Fantasy world here, but a standard shipping expectation for collectibles would be nice to have on ebay and any online selling place as well.
It's interesting to see this, as on another board, a thread popped back up where a buyer received a porcelain card from a seller and it was shattered. Yes, those are much more fragile than a paper card, but that much extra care in shipping should apply so this can't or shouldn't happen unless the PO is blatantly irresponsible with the package.
I usually leave the same feedback responses for both positive and negative:
Positive - Everything is perfect! Super fast shipping! Thank you so much!
Negative - Ridiculous! A garbage effort! Steer clear of this seller!
I don't like having to issue negative feedbacks, but sometimes there is no choice. If a seller wants to know how to package a card properly, there is plenty of information available on youtube and other sites, if the seller will take ten minutes to research it.
At a minimum, all this guy had to do was use something slightly stiffer than a Card Saver (such as a top loader) and this would have been prevented.
Disgusting.
A bummer indeed. I always place cardboard along each side of the card saver to ensure stuff like this doesn't happen. I learned to do things by being on the boards and learning from others mistakes. Perhaps the seller wasn't aware that he can add more protection because he's never experienced anything like this. Either OP, know that you have the option for a full refund since its the sellers job to get the card to you in the condition that you purchased at. Seems you still want the card and are satisfied with a partial refund and if your happy with that, then I don't see why anyone should have a problem with that. Heck, I just purchased a card for $90 off eBay and the card just arrived last night and the case is all scuffed up in the front so I'm returning it. I also realize you were just showing your frustration with the way some sellers ship their items and I agree, it sucks but perhaps someone here learned how not to ship a semi-expensive item
That’s a darn right horrible way to send any card.I would never send a card out without a rigid holder even a penny card.
You were right. This card was included in a sub that just popped last week. The card received a 1.5 grade. I'll post pictures when I have it in hand.
Same here. I bought a LeBron Fleer Retro Autograph a few years back. Around $400. Seller ships in a soft sleeve inside one of the big priority mail cardboard envelopes. No a top load, a soft sleeve. It looked about like that Koufax when it arrived. Seller refunded me without hesitation.
I hate when I'm right.
I also collect beer cans. I once had a seller send me a beer can stuffed inside a Pringles can. Of course it was dented when I received it.
My recycle bin collects beer cans too!
Last year I bought a factory sealed "wax" box from early 2000's. The seller literally used a brown paper shopping bag to wrap around the wax box. Wrote my address on it and mailed it just like that. To my surprise, the box did not have a single dent!!! The original shrink wrap is perfect. I couldn't believe it. Must be 1,000-to-1 long shot to make it through the mail chain without a single dent. I did not leave feedback, but messaged the seller that a little more care in the packaging could prevent damage while in transit. He agreed and said he would do so in the future...
The “counter” post comes from someone who often takes a rude tone to express his position. That’s the actual problem, not the people who are calling it out....not at all. Not great moderating to act like there’s any problem other than that.
In this case... so do I!
Sandy’s had a rough year. Abused by the USPS and held hostage at PSA for 8 months. But he’s home safe now.
I quit drinking... Toss me the Pringles?