EBay Dispute rights AFTER I have raw book graded? 1 1

[UncleAnwar]

I'm debating buying a high dollar ASM1 on ebay, and have a question about my rights if I choose to have it graded after I receive it.  As we all know,  the comic could have restoration (glue on spine, light color touch etc) on it that is very had to detect with the naked eye, and the seller is unaware of... or knows of and is choosing not to admit. 

So if the seller lists the item, says nothing about restoration either way, and I buy it and it looks good to the naked eye...but I then have it graded by CGC, and it comes back purple label, would I still be able to dispute it through ebay if it's within 30 days?

Anyone have any experience with this situation?  I would think this falls under 'SOL' because I chose to have it graded and he made no guarantees it wasn't restored.   But on the other hand I could also possibly see it falling under 'not as described' since it's restored and I didn't knowingly purchase a restored comic.

I appreciate any feedback and would love to know if anyone has come across this situation before and what Ebay's stance would be.  Thanks!!

[shadroch]

Buy it from a reputable dealer and they will accept it if it comes back restored.  Buy it off ebay and it's a shoot.  An established seller may take it back but is under no obligation. 

Ask yourself why the seller left money on the table by not slabbing it himself?

[UncleAnwar]

Right I agree, but the fear of course is that he wouldn't take it back.  Lots of 'reputable dealers' seem to become 'unreputable' once you want to take money out of their hands. But yeah you're right, it's a crapshoot either way. 

I called ebay to ask the hypothetical, and the rep claimed yes it would be 100% protected and refundable.  But i have very little faith in the answers I get when calling their overseas call center, I feel like they just give their best guess to get you off the phone. 

[SeniorSurfer]

Since it's such a high-ticket item it might be best to ask the question of the seller directly before purchasing and see his response.  If positive, you'll still probably be out the actual slabbing costs as well as any shipping.  Also:  eBay gives you a 30 day window for such disputes, so it could be tough to receive the book, send it for slabbing, wait for the grading, then receive it again in that time frame.  If using PayPal on the other hand, I believe the window is 180 days to resolve issues that involve items not "as described."

I bought two raw Famous Funnies books on eBay from a fairly reputable seller (over 400 positives), but not a dealer.  When I received them three months later, one had a slight color touch on the cover and the other had the bottom trimmed.  I contacted the seller, showed him the results and reasoned that he probably was not aware of these defects and would not knowingly (judging by his positive feedback) have sold them.  He agreed, was apologetic, and returned about 1/4 - 1/3 of the purchase price as satisfaction though under no obligation.  I re-sold them since they were not in the condition I was looking to keep in my permanent collection and wound up losing more shipping plus about 1/3 of what was left from the original cost.  

[telerites]

16 hours ago, MrBosco said:

 

So if the seller lists the item, says nothing about restoration either way, and I buy it and it looks good to the naked eye...but I then have it graded by CGC, and it comes back purple label, would I still be able to dispute it through ebay if it's within 30 days?

 

Have you asked the seller if there is any restoration/conservation?  I also ask the seller to count the pages (I only buy GA books so missing CFs are possible.  You should give the seller a chance plus it sets you in a better position if the seller says no and it comes back.  Also why not ask if the seller does say no resto/conser what is the return policy if some is discovered?

Remember the seller could always say it wasn't there when they sent the book so ask for more pictures if necessary especially inside the covers to possibly note CT and around the staples too.

 

[Wall-Crawler]

...Or save yourself the hassle and just buy it graded already...

[James J Johnson]

5 hours ago, SeniorSurfer said:

When I received them three months later....  

It took three months for the seller to send you the two books after being paid?

[SeniorSurfer]

2 hours ago, James J Johnson said:

It took three months for the seller to send you the two books after being paid?

Sorry!   I actually got them immediately.  What I should have said:  When I received them three months later after CGC grading...

[chrisco37]

I would be extremely wary of buying such a big dollar book off eBay (unless I knew the seller personally).   Buy it from a dealer and let them know you plan on grading it.  Any reputable dealer will allow a return if it comes back restored (grading costs & return shipping are on YOU!).  As grading is subjective, I doubt they'd allow a return if it didn't get the grade you want/expect.  But they should if it comes back restored.  

I made that "deal" when I bought my FF5 years ago.  It came back unrestored, so no problem.  I bought it from A1.  

I had bought an FF17 from Superworld that did come back restored.  Ted took the book back without question and refunded my money (less slabbing costs...I wouldn't even think to ask for those as it was my decision to grade it).  

Both are top notch, reputable dealers. 

[Bomber-Bob]

On 2/15/2018 at 3:04 PM, MrBosco said:

I'm debating buying a high dollar ASM1 on ebay, and have a question about my rights if I choose to have it graded after I receive it.  As we all know,  the comic could have restoration (glue on spine, light color touch etc) on it that is very had to detect with the naked eye, and the seller is unaware of... or knows of and is choosing not to admit. 

So if the seller lists the item, says nothing about restoration either way, and I buy it and it looks good to the naked eye...but I then have it graded by CGC, and it comes back purple label, would I still be able to dispute it through ebay if it's within 30 days?

Anyone have any experience with this situation?  I would think this falls under 'SOL' because I chose to have it graded and he made no guarantees it wasn't restored.   But on the other hand I could also possibly see it falling under 'not as described' since it's restored and I didn't knowingly purchase a restored comic.

I appreciate any feedback and would love to know if anyone has come across this situation before and what Ebay's stance would be.  Thanks!!

Restoration is only part of your worries. It could come back incomplete, detached staple somewhere, staples that were replaced. To say nothing about the actual grade itself. The chances of a raw E-Bay item coming back from CGC with the advertised grade is slim to none. Save yourself the aggravation, don't buy it.