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Help! Need Advice.

What should I do? I've started cleaning out my closet and listing the stuff I can do w/o on Ebay. I've sold right at 100 lots in the past month and have another 20 currently listed and out of these I have acquired one big headache from a buyer. I collect the 1986-87 Fleer basketball set in BGS 9(don't give me a hard time because I also collect PSA sets) and was selling some dupes both raw and graded. I listed a Jordan RC that is very nice except it has a few surface scratches. I personally pulled this card from a pack more than 10 years ago at a show in Dallas so I know its not a fake, been doctored,....etc. Anyways, the guy who won the auction has been giving me a hard time about this card ever since he won it. Right after the auction ended he started making accusations that it was fake, then he paid with Paypal and somehow Paypal pulled the money back. Then he sent me check and I received it 15 days after the auction ended. Within 8 days I mailed the card out and on the 12th day he received it BUT before he received it, on the 7th day he told me he was contacting the sheriff because I was trying to take his money. Finally, I just revceived this email from him:

i sent the jordan to beckett and it is on its way back already. they will not grade it because it has been altered by cutting the edges and using a marker to color the corners. unless i hear from you within the next 48 hrs that a full refund via money order is on the way i will have no choice but to pursue this through the sheriffs dept. this is considered fraud in the same way as selling counterfiets. i hope this can be resolved with your full cooperation but if not you will wish you had.

When he received the card I was still nice and asked him if he was happy and he was. He even left me positive feedback and sounded excited about the card. Should I just give him his money back or tell him to leave me alone? This guy is REALLY hard to get along with.
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Collecting Vintage Boxing Cards

Comments

  • Jordan RC

    Here is the auction in question.
    Collecting Vintage Boxing Cards
  • wolfbearwolfbear Posts: 2,759 ✭✭✭

    I'd tell him to mail the card back if he doesn't want it,
    and you'll send him a refund once you get it. You can sell it again, and just be out the fees.

    You know what the card looked like when you sent it to him, and you may even still have a scan of it,
    so tell him if he tries to send back a different card, or the original one altered, you'll know.

    When you're in the right, you should have nothing to fear from crooks' threats.

    Pix of 'My Kids'

    "How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
  • kobykoby Posts: 1,699 ✭✭
    Let me get this straight.....


    1) You pulled the card from a pack yourself.


    2) Beckett says the card has been altered.


    Unless you want a second opinion from PSA, you should just refund the guy his money. (But not before he sends you the card back. If you checked the card out and everything is fine, I would worry about him trying to switch cards on you.)








  • Koby

    Yes to both of your questions.

    I feel like just ignoring this guy but I've always tried to do the right thing in this hobby so I'll offer to give him a refund as long as I get the same card I sent him back first. The scratches this card has are in the gloss only so it would be hard to duplicate and who would want to unless they were using a fake Jordan.

    Collecting Vintage Boxing Cards
  • i agree with wolfbear. be careful and make sure that the buyer isn't baiting and switching you. that is a pretty high profile card to go from the seller to buyer, buyer to bgs, bgs back to buyer, and buyer back to you. that is a lot of traveling for an unslabbed (unprotected?) card. hopefully if he does send the correct one back, he also took enough care to package it properly. good luck!
  • schr1stschr1st Posts: 1,677 ✭✭
    After looking at the buyer's feedback, I'd be careful. It seems like he was bidding on 3 other Jordan rookies besides yours and he tried saying that all of them were fakes. He could have a stack of the fakes and be trying to "upgrade".
    Who is Rober Maris?
  • yup, good scenario. and quite possible. there was a thread on here awhile back about how to spot fake jordan rc's. if you don't know, i would look and try to find it.
  • pandrewspandrews Posts: 7,598 ✭✭✭


    << <i>After looking at the buyer's feedback, I'd be careful. It seems like he was bidding on 3 other Jordan rookies besides yours and he tried saying that all of them were fakes. He could have a stack of the fakes and be trying to "upgrade". >>



    thats exactly what I think he's doing..

    edited to say I wish dudes like this would live in my area.. I would let 'em bid on a beat-down.. i can tell this one needs a beat-down just by reading his response to the neg feedbacks he's received.. I would be interested in seeing what the sellers of the other Jordan RCs say.. did they get their cards back? was it the same card?
    ·p_A·
  • joestalinjoestalin Posts: 12,473 ✭✭
    Tell the crook to go F himself! He was happy when he got the card and you have proof in the
    feedback he gave you. There isn't a sheriff in the country who wants to take on a card case and
    try to tell the difference between a fake and a real card. I have learned the hard way that no one
    in law enforcement knows or even cares about baseball cards! You have done everything right and
    once he left you feedback the transaction was over.

    Crooks like this need to be taken out. He tried to doctor it and got caught and now he wants you
    to pay for it! Be strong and keep us posted...we have your back!

    JS
  • NickMNickM Posts: 4,895 ✭✭✭
    Butcher - to protect yourself, print out copies of his auction history, including the feedback and the item pages for all the completed auctions he won. There is nothing like "That wasn't the Jordan he bought from me. That could have been one of the Jordans he bought from one of these people." to make any law enforcement official who was taking an interest in his case drop it as not worth pursuing.

    Nick
    image
    Reap the whirlwind.

    Need to buy something for the wife or girlfriend? Check out Vintage Designer Clothing.
  • pandrewspandrews Posts: 7,598 ✭✭✭
    tell him straight up that you know he's a crook.. this whole message board thinks he's a crook..
    ·p_A·
  • Just to keep you entertained, I replied back and said I will reimburse him as soon as he returns the card and I verify that it is the card I sent him. Here is his reply:

    nice try bud. card goes nowhere until refund is in my hands. i am treating this the same as a fake. this is the only proof i have that you sent me a doctored rc and the only ones i will turn it over to are an investigator.

    He also sent this right after the last reply:

    you have until friday to have the refund in my hands. if not i will press on with it. by then the card will be back here from bgs and it will have a sticker over the top loader explaining why it was not graded and i will send that entire thing to you intact. i am tired of being ripped off whether it be an honest mistake or intentional. doesn't really matter when the result is the same.

    I told him to press on because my money is staying in Dallas until I receive the original card I sent him and it had to be returned in the semi rigid holder with the BGS grading sticker still on it. That was about 4 hours ago and I haven't gotton a reply back. Maybe he's out hiring a bounty hunter to track me down. image
    Collecting Vintage Boxing Cards
  • pandrewspandrews Posts: 7,598 ✭✭✭
    hahah! he thinks he's a tough guy.. i'm glad you told him to "press on".. he has nothing to go on..
    who cares if he sends back a card that Beckett refused to grade? That doesnt mean its the same card you sold him.. what area of the country is this dude in?
    ·p_A·
  • Madison, WI
    Collecting Vintage Boxing Cards
  • I hope everybody has remembered to add this bidder to their blocked bidder lists.

    This guy is definately trying to scam you. Don't send him a cent until you have your card back. Make sure you keep copies of all his e-mails as well.

    good luck

    matt





    UK based collector.
  • Update:

    Latest email reads:

    i will contact the sheriff tomorrow and have charges pressed then. no sweat off my sack. little thing called restitution and drop a fine on top of that you'll change your tune.

    And here is my reply:

    Do you what you have to do. Make sure and tell the Sheriff about my offer because I'm sure they'll think its more than fair.
    Collecting Vintage Boxing Cards
  • kobykoby Posts: 1,699 ✭✭
    Your offer is more than fair.

    No sherriff with believe this guy. He is trying to rip you off. I am sure the two other guys that he tried this with will corroberate this.

    At this point I would just ignore him.
  • I sent him one more email that you guys might like. Here is what he sent:

    more than fair?? that's funny. see brent run, see johnny run faster.

    And then here is my final email to him:

    I offered you your money back once I got my card back. You have a warped sense of humor and an unrealistic grasp on life! Have fun in your fantasy world where everything is suppose to go your way. So what am I the 4th or 5th Ebay seller you've accused of having ripped you off with a fake Jordan RC? I'm sure there has been more but that's all I can gather from your feedback. By the way, who is Amber? I want to make sure I recognize the name when I'm being served.
    Collecting Vintage Boxing Cards
  • Hey Butcher-

    You can file a small claims at your local court house. cost about $50. depending on the city you live.

    I believe the sheriff won't do anything, all they can do is take notes and just hear your side of the story, and possibly have a complaint on file.

    I have already filed several times at my local court house for small claims, most ALL of the time I've been given a refund of my money w/ extra fees covering my expenses, because most people would rather give a refund, then have to fly out to your home state and show up for court. Also it's a good point that your card might be switched by the buyer, and he's trying to pass a counterfeit to you saying you sold him this. In this case, when he's not aware of the situation.

    File a small claims on him, this will get his attention. The court system will notify him and send him a letter to appear in court in your home state. Remember to keep all e-mails, print them out for references, Also it would be advised to print out the Michael Jordan cards he's been buying on ebay as well and contact the other sellers to see if he's been harrassing them. Just make sure you still have his current address, not a PO Box, as well as his phone number which you can easily find on ebay.

    After filing, send the guy an email stating what you've done, print out a copy for yourself. This way, in court if he does appear, he might say he never recieved that e-mail, and you'll need proof because the actual date will appear on the e-mail. The chances are very good that the guy won't show up. and the court will find favor in your case and you win. If the guy doesn't appeal, he will have one big aweful mess, a possible record will be added to his personal file.

    I usually just drop the case, after recieving my payment back or item. Most people will appoligise and try covering it up with a lie saying they didn't know, it was their childrens fault, they are just minors and it won't happen again. But it will happen again, they were just unlucky with you.

    This goes for everyone on the Board, if you think your being cheated, someone doesn't pay or doesn't send an item and it's been over a month and still no item, file small claims, chances are this seller still has the item and your money. Also if you recieve a Negative feedback without just cause. Notify ebay that you have taken the buyer or seller to small claims court for fraud and that the negative that was recieved was unjust. Also keep court records and request ebay to remove the negative.

    Happy Hunting!
    Jery
    Jery's T206 set: Looking for PSA 6's & 7's!
  • Good advice Jery. I filed on a seller once that wouldn't ship the card and it certainly gets the attention if nothing else. I received the card within a week. It lets everyone know you're serious.

    butcher - has he provided you with copies of documentation from becketts? 99.9% certain this guy is trying to switch cards on you and making threats just to scare you. By paying he's accepted the deal and the way he handled that sounds fishy to me. If he's taking you to court he has the burden of proof that this is the same card you sent him and I have my doubts he would be able to do that. It'll never get that far by the sounds.

    If you're right you're right and will all work out in the end.

    Best of Luck!
    Wanted:
    1961 Topps FB PSA 8
    1970 Topps FB PSA 9
  • CWCW Posts: 1,214 ✭✭✭
    I don't know if I'd mess with this guy. If the sheriff he's
    talking about is Roscoe P. Coltrane or Sheriff Lobo, you're
    in big trouble.

    Kidding aside, you're doing the right thing, and you're going above
    and beyond to satisfy this guy. You know that the card was pulled
    from a pack & he's already left a positive. You might want to put
    a note in your future auctions about return policies, too, although
    a "no return on graded cards" policy might drive off legit bidders.
    BTW, judging from the scan, that's a really nice raw Jordan rookie --
    had you submitted it to PSA you might've had a PSA 9 on your hands.
  • joestalinjoestalin Posts: 12,473 ✭✭
    Please PM me this crooks home address.

    Thanks
    JS
  • Butcher, have the buyer scan actual photos of the card w/ rejected sticker. I know when I get cards rejected by PSA or PSA/DNA, they return a card sleeve with a printed psa rejected sticker. Don't know about BGS, because I have never gotten a card rejected by them. Also, if you can have him scan the copy of the submission form with the serial number of the submission form. That way I'd e-mail Beckett grading and see if the card did actually got rejected and for what reason. Good luck! He sounds like a con artist to me.
  • I appreciate the offer Stalin but I'm just going to ignore this guy.

    If he happens to try and file a suit against me in WI I will buy a plane ticket to show up just to see the look on this guys face. Can you countersue for a plane ticket, rental car and 1 days worth of lost wages?
    Collecting Vintage Boxing Cards
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