The Ethics of Mechanical Errors

PaulMaul

I saw this auction this morning:

Ebay Auction

Let's say the seller is aware of the error. Is it unethical to auction the card in this manner? The seller could argue that it is PSA's error, not his.

mariotown

I would say someone who knows enough to send in cards for PSA grading is probably aware of the error. I think cards that are mechanical errors should be sent back to PSA and not listed. If they are listed, it should be disclosed there is a mechanical error and that PSA will correct the error for free. Anything short of that is dishonest.

LarkinCollector

On the seller side, yes it's unethical to auction a mech error as a rarer version when you know it's not. I've purchased mech errors where the listing very clearly stated the card was not the rarer version listed on the PSA label and I don't see any ethical issues. I've also purchased mech errors where the submitter and PSA didn't properly label it as the rarer version and this one is more gray to me on the ethics question.

On the flip side, as always in this hobby, caveat emptor.

BaltimoreYankee

It's possible the seller is not aware of the error. I've been collecting cards for a long time and I don't know about this error and could not tell you if PSA is right or not.

gemint

I'd call it unethical. There are also 1969 YL versions that are labeled as white letter which is a huge value differential. If it's not obscure, the seller should know it's an error. It's obvious to anyone looking at this card that there is no green under the 'C' and 'S'.

scashaggy

Does he have a raincoat on under his jersey?

hammered

I can't imagine a buyer would be fooled. The only buyers interested would be those putting the set together and I'm certain they know what to look for if they are in the market for variations.


I see mech errors like these often on '73 manager cards, sometimes it is hard to distinguish between the brown and orange backgrounds

vandweller

I bought a card from this seller and he seemed pretty solid. I get the impression that the cards he has on offer were all acquisitions, not cards he submitted. If he acquired it this way in the first place, he may not be aware of the problem. If you're interested in the card, you may want to PM him and ask about it.

LarkinCollector

For those who aren't familiar, here's an example of what a 'Green under C & S' should look like: Link

ETA: and it's a large price difference, the last 9 of 'Yellow under C&S' sold for about $15.