What Would You Do: Buyer Wants to Return All Coins

[bsshog40]

I would say this depends on what your morals as a seller would be. If they paid to ship them back to you, then you would both be even on the shipping. If it was me, and I didn't spend the money already , then I would accept back what they wanted to ship, preferably just the 9 coins, and then I would send them back to NGC for appearance and review. Hopefully by the time you got them back from NGC, you could still make your original money back on them. JMO

[rbrown4]

Perhaps it would be worth a call to NGC from you to explain what has happened and to inquire as to whether they have experienced this same problem before. See if they would consider correcting the problem at no cost to anyone.

 

Rey

[gmarguli]

FYI, I have about 300 slabbed examples still here and do not see spots on any I have looked at.

[James_OldeTowne]

The tone of their eMail sounds a bit more reasonable. I have noticed that on some NGC slabs, the clear outer shell can come in contact with the insert, and the resultant touching area does result in what might appear as a "spot". I can think of a couple of instances where I discovered that the contact areas were actually the result of moisture, and I could see where this might lead to spotting. I think the appropriate course might be to explain to them that the issue is with NGC, not with you, and that they should approach NGC about rectifying the issue. Then, in good faith, offer to pay half the reslabbing fees.

[Count_Erfit]

Were I in your shoes, I would let them keep the coins and refund the money, too.

 

Man, am I glad I am in my own shoes.

 

After all, they are RETIRED. As a retiree, I am hanging on your decision and if you follow my advice, I will be ordering a whole bunch from you.

 

 

[jesbroken]

The only thing that would change for me is that I would not be so apt to feel they were doing this out of malice or value degradation. I would still offer to have them return them to the seller(you) who would contact NGC on their behalf for any that were found to have the 'spotting' in question. I would explain that as there was no damage(as the buyer said to the coin itself) this would be standard procedure by any seller. The problem, if any, is with the holder which is warranted by NGC.

Again, good luck Greg.

[bsshog40]

The tone of their eMail sounds a bit more reasonable. I have noticed that on some NGC slabs, the clear outer shell can come in contact with the insert, and the resultant touching area does result in what might appear as a "spot". I can think of a couple of instances where I discovered that the contact areas were actually the result of moisture, and I could see where this might lead to spotting. I think the appropriate course might be to explain to them that the issue is with NGC, not with you, and that they should approach NGC about rectifying the issue. Then, in good faith, offer to pay half the reslabbing fees.

 

I have sent in coins for "Appearance and Review. There is no re-slabbing charges. The only thing you should have to pay for is the registered mail both ways.

[JamminJ]

The "retired" comment would make me more likely to give them mess.

[michael]

keep your word and return the money to this buyer

 

and stop selling crapola

 

next time change your return policy if you do not want any returns

 

you say full return less shipping and handling

 

then do it.................................

 

 

 

 

[MarkFeld]

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I'm actually a little surprised as a couple of people I was sure would say one thing ended up saying the opposite (both pro & con refund).

 

I asked the buyer for clarification and received the following response:

 

NGC surrounds coins with a white area (it appears to be a spongy plastic type material) under the plastic holder. Its the same material that comes to the four points that support the coin so you are able to see the edge of the coin. These areas have developed black spotting. Its not all of the coins, right now 9 are affected. Last year I purchased some state silver quarters from another ebayer, and some of the quarters he sent us had these same black spots. At the time I reported this issue to him, he told me it was not serious and it would "go away". Not only did the black not "go away" the spots got worse and other coins later became affected. We also noticed the coins that had these black spots tarnished very quickly. I am not a super picky person, and I know this is a large sale for you, but my husband and I just can't accept these coins as they are, especially with our previous experience with this. We ended up practically giving away the last coins like this (and lost a considerable amount of money).This is retirement income for the both of us, and cannot afford to have this happen again.

 

 

Does the above change anyones opinion or if you were on the fence before, does it help make up your opinion.

 

Do I take them all back? 9 of them back? None of them back?

It sure changes my opinion - I'd allow them to return all of them. The explanation sounds credible and reasonable and I think that if anyone is to take it up with NGC, better it be you than an unhappy buyer.

[TomB]

The parameters of your auction rules have not changed as a result of their latest message to you. Additionally, their actions have not gone beyond the bounds you established for returns. Therefore, refund the money, which is essentially the same response I gave previously.

[Hoot]

I'd be morbidly curious about the spots. Sounds like a new psychological disorder. Anyhow, I'd refund their money and put them on my blocked bidder's list. Sell the coins singly in true auctions, although it's a lot more work, and do better than blowing them out in a dutch auction or in a bulk lot. Change the return policy to exclue reasons that involve the holder since that's the TPG's fault and not yours.

 

Hoot.

[just-john]

5000 auctions with only 3 returns 3 returns in 5000 auctions one return every 1666 auctions

and you ask ? GUESS their's a little dealer in everyone .Refund the guys money when the product is returned.Then start counting down from 1666 again

[jgrinz]

I have noticed that on some NGC slabs, the clear outer shell can come in contact with the insert, and the resultant touching area does result in what might appear as a "spot". I can think of a couple of instances where I discovered that the contact areas were actually the result of moisture, and I could see where this might lead to spotting. I think the appropriate course might be to explain to them that the issue is with NGC, not with you, and that they should approach NGC about rectifying the issue. Then, in good faith, offer to pay half the reslabbing fees.

 

James -

You just jogged my memory on reslab I had redone ... It was on a expensive coin - 1/1 - in the registry. I determined it looked like moisture in the holder and did get onto the surface of the coin. They reholdered and conserved the coin BUT said it was contact mark from the white inner lining. It made no sense to me. I think it WAS moisture and started to decay in the holder and On the coin.

They did this for nothing under thier warranty.

 

IF THESE COINS ARE CONCURRENT SERIAL NUMBERS I THINK I WOULD ALSO BE SKEPTICAL OF THE WHOLE BATCH. PERHAPS A BAD RUN OF LININGS ?

 

Are they concurrent serial numbers from the same batch

 

[cpm9ball]

Yes, their response may change my opinion, but there is one thing that is slightly confusing to me. In their response to you, are they implying that they are using their retirement income (or nest egg) to buy these for resale to improve their financial position? If that were the case, then I think I may be a little more considerate of their request. Or, are they using their current income to invest in these for their future retirement? If this is the case, then I think they invested their money foolishly, and the probability that it was a case of buyer's remorse still rings true.

 

Any way you look at it, Greg, you are still going to lose something, somewhere along the line. It's a tough call to make.

 

Chris

[ziggy29]

IMO, if you didn't add qualifiers to the return policy, I think it's presumed to be unconditional and you should probably honor it. Having said that, yeah, I would agree there's a chance this buyer is jerking you around. But unless your return policy is conditional, I think you need to honor it and consider adding some additional qualification to your return policy, at least on certain items like volatile new releases and bullion.

 

[Revenant]

I've seen what they're talking about but for a return this seems kinda infantile. See the lincoln cent below to see what I think they're describing.

[MarkFeld]

I've seen what they're talking about but for a return this seems kinda infantile. See the lincoln cent below to see what I think they're describing.

Based upon the buyers comments, I do not think he/she is talking about the same thing which is showing in your image.

[gmarguli]

I've seen what they're talking about but for a return this seems kinda infantile. See the lincoln cent below to see what I think they're describing.

Based upon the buyers comments, I do not think he/she is talking about the same thing which is showing in your image.

 

Based on they buyers comments, I'm honestly not sure they are seeing anything. Odd that 9 of 30 they could find spots, but I found no spots with a sampling of the 300 ones I still have.

 

Even more odd is that they would buy these coins if they knew of this "spotting problem" from past experience with NGC slabs.

[IrishMike]

I guess I am either too old, too kranky or been loaning money for too long. I asked myself why would people on fixed incomes be buying this product in the first place. I'd also be asking myself how I missed the spots and how they could have gotten those spots so quickly. The whole thing sounds fishy to me. Having said that I would suggest you do what you think is right. You might ask them to return one of the examples to you so you can see what they are really talking about or inquire as to whether on not they can email you a photo of them.

[James_OldeTowne]

I asked the buyer for clarification and received the following response:

 

...This is retirement income for the both of us, and cannot afford to have this happen again.

Greg, on another note, they claim it is "retirement income". For you, isn't this how you make a living, that is, isn't this your living income right now? The more I think about it, the more it just isn't right. They don't want to impact their "retirement income", but don't mind damaging your "living income".

 

Maybe I'm getting too cynical.

[MikeInFL]

No, none of the new info changes my mind. You should ask how many of the coins they feel are misrepresented and allow them to be returned, and consider changing your return terms so they are more clear...Mike

[pendragon1998]

If you still have a ton of the coins left, have you considered just exchanging the 9 coins for some you have? While the letter of your return policy might be interpreted to cover those 9, I don't think that the policy covers the remainder of the 30, in any case. You'd be out shipping, but that's not so much in the long run.

 

If they whine that they're afraid the other 21 will turn, you should tell them that what might or might not happen in the future isn't covered by your return policy.

 

Odds are, they'll push for all 30 to be returned. I still suspect this is buyer's remorse.

 

You ought to mention to these people that there are a number of much safer ways to invest money for retirement which offer them much more protection and security for their money. Investing in coins really isn't something most people should do, in my opinion, particularly non-experts. I could probably be persuaded to invest a small portion of my overall savings in coins that I've researched, but I would never put in money that I absolutely had to have there in X years (like retirement savings).

[Houston Investor]

There is nothing wrong with the 1957-D coin - this is the normal appearance of many NGC slabs. I know there are a lot of screw ball buyers on ebay but these guys take the cake. FIGHT THEM ON THIS - DO NOT TAKE A RETURN.

 

On second thought - refuse the return and instead refer them to NGC with a statement "sorry but I am not in the coin business to fund buyer's remorse, there is nothing wrong with these holders". I think you should consider posting a neg on them also. If this is already beyond the return period your home free.

 

Do not refund any of the shipping cost if you do refund this. They probably don't have the patience to package it and stand in line at the post office anyhow. Do not reimburse them any shipping cost!

 

If they neg you - neg these clods on all 30 items.

 

Please understand this happens to all of us - I would think about every 500 transactions there is going to be some nut where you exchange negs. Where a lot of these people are so stupid is that if you have ebay FB of 1000 and he has only 100 - your neg will do 10 times the damage to him based on how the feedback score is calculated. STAND UP FOR YOURSELF AND FIGHT THEM!

 

 

[gmarguli]

I asked the buyer for clarification and received the following response:

 

...This is retirement income for the both of us, and cannot afford to have this happen again.

Greg, on another note, they claim it is "retirement income". For you, isn't this how you make a living, that is, isn't this your living income right now? The more I think about it, the more it just isn't right. They don't want to impact their "retirement income", but don't mind damaging your "living income".

 

Maybe I'm getting too cynical.

 

I do have a real job outside of coins, but coin dealing on the side does provide for some very decent extra income.

 

I've noticed that the buyer has sold many items in the past. I wonder why they don't just resell these coins.

 

I have sent the buyer an email with my decision which I believe is very fair. I'll see what their response is and let the forum members know of the outcome. I honestly appreciate the opinions I received.