am I in the wrong here? ebay slabs question

gut check w this community:
I bid on, won and paid for an ebay auction advertising 5 of the same pretty common ASEs in ms69 er holders with consecutive cert #s -- nowhere in the auction item details did it say anything like 'photos are representative but not exactly what you'll receive', implying what was shown is what was being auctioned
yesterday I received the auction contents, but only received the last 4 in the 5 cert sequence, and the seller had sent another random ms69 er w a cert # that was completely different than the missing 5th cert
I have attempted to resolve w seller, but - until moments ago - they've refused to make right on their side of the auction and send me the missing 5th cert in sequence, saying 'what I sent you is exactly the same coin'
even now, they only say 'I'll see if it's still available' ...
guidance?
Comments
Welcome to the new World order, lie until you get caught and then tell another lie to get out of it
Sometimes I think that animals are smarter than humans, animals would never allow the dumbest one to lead the pack
yeah - v frustrating - have never had such a bad experience on the buyer side - my only thought is to flame-review seller and report to ebay, but trying to make that last resort
I'd file a SNAD and out the deadbeat, I have no use for crooks.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
how many collect sequential certs? I don't think it's that many, and it would seem less of a factor in 69 and in common.
however, this is also about what was pictured. I'd guess that they either sold the other or don't want to pay for mailing things around. Perhaps, they don't want to deal with it at all.
if the only reason you bought those 5 was to get the sequential, perhaps you can both work something out to break the deal.
ah, this is v helpful - thank you
>
that's what I'm trying to do, but seeming more over past 24 hrs like this seller will be digging in their heels
If you bought it, at least in part, because of the consecutive serial numbers and the seller specifically stated the lot was of consecutive holders, then you certainly have a rightful claim that you did not receive what you paid for.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
thank you - this helps to hear - thats the way I feel as well, so good to know I'm not off my rocker
I've made this clear multiple times to seller as well and they finally relented to 'seeing if they could find' the missing cert in question ...
It's bullion. Unless the cert numbers were special, like all 8s or all7s or 12345678, etc. who cares. Be thankful you got 5 MS69s, leave appropriate feedback, don't buy from them again and move on. To many important things to worry about these days. Just my two cents worth.
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
thanks for chiming in @tommy44
I realize to some folks your quandary will be trivial while to others it will be much more important. That doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things because what matters here is how it affects you; not me and not someone else. If the listing had no mention of stock photo or random certs and only showed the five consecutive certs then you have every expectation of receiving what was in the image. Failure to ship what was in the image, in this instance, is a failure to follow through on the sale. If it bothers you then a return via SNAD is absolutely appropriate. Good luck!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
thanks, @TomB - I understood as I was drafting this there would be people in the community who'd be like wtf dude? and I understand they - and many, prob - wouldntve bid on this auction for the same reasons I did, but yeah - for better or worse - the sequence was why I made my bidding decisions, and not seeking out affirmations on my decisions up to that point, but advice on how to deal w the specific situation of not receiving what I bid on, won and paid for - appreciate the reinforcement of SNAD; had never heard of that until this thread and sounds like it will be helpful if needed
I’d probably let it go, but wouldn’t buy from that seller anymore if they switched coins on me. A similar, but worse thing happened to me recently. Only they didn’t switch the coin, they misrepresented it in the auction. It was for a cheap toned 64 D Washington quarter. I liked the color and bought it, but the seller said it was PCGS 65 but when I received it it was a PCGS 64, not a 65. At first I was mad, but then I realized I only bought it for how it looks and it looks the same whether or not it is 64 or 65. The auction picture just had a True View but no picture of the slab. It was this coin, and I’m actually happy with it cause it looks cool


Mr_Spud
Hopefully the seller is able to locate the correct cert number for you, this would be the easiest way to solve the problem.
If not file a SNAD and return them. No need to take a partial refund or do something else you are not happy with.
If the seller makes things right I would not leave bad feedback....mistakes happen.
man.. there's something just on principle that really irks me about that stuff, @Mr_Spud, but appreciate how you dealt with it; focusing on how you originally wanted it for its appearance and not necessarily the grade --- why can't people just be straight w each other?! 😖
edit: nice qtr!
agreed - want to give them every opportunity to make situation right, and have told them such - should know tomorrow
I don’t know if the seller did it by accident, or on purpose. There’s not much difference in price between a 64 or 65, so I think it might have been a mistake

Here’s what it said in the auction
But it’s actually a MS64. I’m not leaving any feedback, because I like the coin but not sure if the seller is a con artist or just made an error
Mr_Spud
The guy sells toned coins. Most likely, he copied a previous listing of his and neglected to revise the grade.
@Mr_Spud I could see that; a missed clack on the keyboard, esp w little price dif between the grades - hope you got a nice price 😎
just got a message that they located the slab they should've sent in the first place and that they'll message me tomorrow to arrange return of incorrect slab and sending correct slab - relieved
appreciate the advice everyone sent in
woo-hoo
I’m glad it seems to be ending well. As for mine, I got a good price on it and the coin is simply stunning in hand. I wasn’t even looking for Washington quarters. It came up in a search I was doing for AU58s for my slabbed Circulated type set. I liked the looks of it so much I put it in my watch list. Then, when I was at work, I looked at eBay on my phone because I had made an offer on another coin and the seller had made me an offer well below what he had been asking for it and I bought it because I liked the way it looked. But both this and another coin I recently bought that has verdigris on it that I didn’t notice on the eBay auction picture (even though it was plainly visible) have made me more careful on ebay and now I look up each coins certificate number before bidding. I even figured out how to look up true views and I have bought a really nice coin for cheap that had a horrible picture on eBay but the True View showed it looked great. Now I have a new trick where I am seeking out PCGS slabbed coins with horrible eBay pictures that are newer holders likely to have a True View the seller doesn’t know about so I can get coins cheaper because no one else wants to bid on them because of the horrible pictures but I know what they really look like cause of the true views 🌞
Mr_Spud
Hard to be a con artist if you show the (correct) cert number in your auction.
On ebay if you sell a slabbed coin, you are supposed to show the whole slab and both sides. For that matter, if you have an unslabbed coin you are supposed to show both sides of the coin.
Or he just has fat fingers. The 4 is right next to the 5. I've done it before. Of course, that's why I also include a full slab shot.
Do we know that they didn't?
Edited to add: Never mind, I found the original listing.
For the OP's issue, did the auction listing specifically say the 5 slabs would be in numerical order, or did they simply appear in the photos that way?
If not mentioned in the description, the seller is probably wondering what the heck is going on.
Either way, does not excuse an inaccurate listing.
I agree with this. And it is really a customer service issue. If your customer is unhappy, for whatever reason, you need to fix it.
On the other hand, I'm not sure why anyone is using the term "crook" for the seller. That way overstates the seller's failure here.
It is not mentioned in the description. And the picture in the listing isn't detailed enough that it would be possible to distinguish one bright white MS69 from another, so the seller most likely listed them with the idea that they were generic. He shouldn't have done that, but it's not like he was trying to cheat anybody out of anything.
In all honesty, in that scenario I'd let the seller know he should be more careful/accurate in his listings, but I'd just keep the coins and move on.
In the eyes of the seller they presumably were sold as generic slabbed bulllion. I understand the disappointment if the OP cared about receiving 5 sequential slabs, but I dont see any financial loss, or any malice on the part of the seller.
I think it is okay for the buyer to be upset when his request is ignored. Poor customer service is poor customer service. But, I don't think it is anything more than that.
Sometimes I want to file this away, wait a year, and have someone post the scenario (not me!) from the other person's perspective and see what the comments are then.
People making up stuff and forcing others to live with it must stop.
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
My Jefferson Nickel Collection
like this idea, Mr 🥔 - smart
did not know that - thanks - all these tips help to make me a more observant buyer
the photo showed the 5 in-sequence cert slabs - they sent me 4 of the same 5 cert slabs and not the 5th
Honestly, it has to be a shipping mistake. He obviously had them all.
I’ve typo’d grades multiple times in my listings and my heart sinks when I don’t catch it in time and then have to deal with figuring out a way to make it right. Especially if there isn’t a big change in value or something else that looks nefarious, I’d guess the seller just made a mistake. You’re talking about two keys that sit next to each other, and if you type out grades enough, you’re bound to screw one up.
These are my sentiments. I’m torn because I couldn’t care less about serial numbers, but I also hate stock images that aren’t called out. So if the seller did that, then he has to deal with the consequences. Heck, the issue could be the coin is spotted but the one in the photo isn’t and it comes down to the same principle. Now, if the only difference were random serials—nothing special in the photo, and all coins of equal quality, then I’d say don’t bother. But you have a reason, and while it doesn’t get me excited, it’s legitimate in light of the seller making a listing faux pas.
yeah - in addition to being perplexed that I wanted what was advertised in the auction photos [as some others have assumed they would be], they said they have slabs all over the place, and - after searching for it - have found the missing cert from the advertised sequence and will contact me tomorrow to work out the details of exchange
it was a mistake on their part and I'm happy it seems like they're working to resolve