Ebay Grading Fiasco - Any Advice?

[Coin Collector]

I am sorry to bother you all with this but I find myself in a difficult
position and was wondering if any of the more experienced collectors and
dealers on this chat group might be able to offer any advice.

Anyhow, I sold a small collection of "old holder" ANACS graded coins on
consignment from an older gentleman about 4 months ago. The transactions all
went fine and I transferred payment to the consignor afterwards.

Fast forward to this past week - One of the buyers of one of the coins
apparently "broke out" the coin he purchased from the ANACS holder and sent
it to PCGS to grade - they apparently called the coin "Cleaned" when ANACS
had rated it MS64 originally. Again I am frankly no expert grader - the coin
looked very nice to me and I did not see any cleaning but I suppose you
never know what a different company will say.

So this buyer sends me a hostile email laced with profanity, claiming that
the coin was "misrepresented" and is a "fraud." He demands a full refund or
will "call the police" and file a report for "mail fraud." I frankly am
simply stunned at this point. I don't even know how to respond. Have any of
you ever experienced anything like this or have any advice on what to do
here? I'm tempted to simply take the huge loss myself and just refund the
buyer out of my own pocket -As I said the consignor has already received the
funds over 3 months ago. The drama here is simply absurd.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Frank Galikanokus]

When the coin was broken out of the original holder any right of return
was lost. The buyer may have cleaned the coin.

Save all documentation regarding the sale.

Inform the buyer the he is out of luck.

JAM

[oepepper]

First of all, he broke the coin out of the holder. That would void any right
to return the coin. Second, if he has a claim against anybody, it would be
against ANACS. Third, way too much time has passed and since the coin was
removed from the original holder you would have no way to know if it was
cleaned after that. I wouldn't worry too much about threats and profanity,
that is irrelevant. Of course, if you think you might loose future business
with this guy, then it would be up to your judgement if it would be wise to
accept a return, but from the sound of your post, this may be a person you
would wish to avoid doing business with in the future any way.
It sounds like he was playing the crackout game and lost and now he wants
you to pay for his mistake. Maybe you should ask him if it came back MS65 or
better, was he planning on sending you more money?
"Coin Collector" <coll...@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:jac1dm$cfs$1...@speranza.aioe.org...

[Some Guy]

"Coin Collector" <coll...@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:jac1dm$cfs$1...@speranza.aioe.org...

Tell him to go fuck himself.
You sold him a MS64 ANACS certified coin and that's what he got.
How do you know he didn't clean the coin himself after he cracked it out of the
ANACS holder?
How can you be sure it's even the same coin?

[dlhii]

When I had a online business, refunds were 30 day if the product was
returned in unaltered condition. Your purchaser would of been SOL on 2
counts for a refund.
Yes I went through complaint letters to the state attorney general, on
those grounds. The attorney general final told the buyer he had no
grounds for further actions.

[Frank Provasek]

Once a coin is broken out of a certified holder, there is no right of
return.

----
Frank Provasek Rare Coins www.frankcoins.com
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/frankcoins Texas Auction License
11259, Board member of Texas Coin Dealers Association,
Member TNA, ANA, PCGS, NGC, ICTA - Full Time Since 1991

[Daku]

Do you perhaps still have the images from the coin sale
? That way at least you could show the "was" and "is"
state should the matter ever come to court.