Need some advice on a trade situation

[Zetterchuk]

Hello gang,

Well, I won't bore everyone with the play-by-play that has led up to this over the past couple of months, but long story short...

-I agree to a trade with a fellow overseas for 2 cards @ just over $400 bv.
-I wait nearly 2 months for cards to arrive.
-The cheaper of the 2 cards looks great, and I'm very pleased with it.
-The pricier of the 2 cards (over $300 bv) however...not so much. :|


Here is the pic of the carnage (creases extending from 2 corners of the swatch window)...


03/04 ITG-Used Signature Series Vintage Memorabilia Bourque 2clr jsy/auto /25

Now at this point, the trade partner has been very understanding, and is willing to work with me on a resolution. In fact, he has already offered to replace the card with something else of equal value, which would be great, however...at this point, I see nothing else within his collection that fits the bill.


So here are a few options that we've discussed...


1. I return the Bourque, and we determine a suitable cash refund (which would seem like the easiest option, however, the funds would have to be paid to a 3rd-party Paypal account, which could further complicate things).

2. I return the Bourque, and take back a majority of the cards that I had traded to him.

3. I keep the Bourque as/is (hoping to be able to trade it at a discounted rate), and pick out a few additional cards from his collection to compensate for the damage.

4. I hold onto the Bourque until a comparable replacement is found.


Any way we cut it, we're going to run the risk of further shipping delays/issues (although option #1 would only require shipping from my end), so I guess I'm just looking to see what everyone else would do in this situation.


Thanks for your time and any input,
Joshua

 

[suitman19]

Sorry to hear Josh,

In my past experience - it is better to bag the deal period, unless the Bourque was to be a PC piece. Tomorrow or a month from now, sooner or later it seems that you look at it and realize you can't get past the damage.A refund is nice - but how do you come up with a fair value??? I realize you probably do not want the trade cards back - but the Bourque will not even fetch half value with the damage.

bruce

 

[KING]

That looks to be a common ITG problem from that year. I had a few ITG cards that where like in my Vokoun collection and it is just the swatch is to thick and made the corner crease. With that being said! The trader should have noted the creases before the trade! I would keep if it was me. Just my $.02! I hope you get it worked out.
Brian

 

[smekm]

How was it shipped ?

 

[MGiuseffi1969]

Joshua, I do not have an easy answer to fix the problem but I will give this piece of advice.... Whatever you and your trade partner decide to do, make sure both parties are 100% comfortable with the solution. Otherwise I just say scrap the whole deal and wash your hands of the whole situation. Also, waiting two months for a damaged card to arrive?! I would not be pleased. Mike

 

[gratzi]

Had that happen to me off ebay once. The seller was polite and understanding, gave me a nice refund and I kept the card. After a while though I regretted my decision as the damaged bothered me, and it was a PC item. I would pull the deal back.

 

[bto3105]

Everyone is different .Determining value is very hard as alot of people would not put any on it.My buddy collects Bourques and if it was a him ,I'd gaurentee that the card would be sent back and the deal reversed.

Whatever you decide,be comfortable in your decision

Good Luck

 

[JohnnyDrama]

Rough to hear, Josh.

I, personally, would hold it until a suitable replacement could be found but it all depends just how bad you want the card. Hopefully, you guys get it resolved so that everyone is happy.

Good luck!

 

[hextall27]

Reverse the entire deal, shipping delays or not...

 

[Zetterchuk]

Thanks for the posts, guys...I appreciate the input!

To answer smekm's question: The cards were supposed to me mailed via Registered Airmail (from Russia). However, when the envelope arrived (yes, basically a rubberized version of a white envelope :foottap, there was indeed a Registered sticker on it, however, it was missing the "par avion" (by air) sticker, which leads me to believe that it was sent via ground rather than air. As for packaging, the cards were sent in penny sleeves and taped toploads., which I don't believe had any bearing on the type of damage on the Bourque.


It appears that the majority of you would simply reverse the trade. And Bruce, yeah, you're right...I'm really not too excited about taking the cards back that I traded. Although the Bourque was intended to be a trader, rather than a PC piece for me, this was one of those rare occasions whereas I was able to trade "up" at a rate of about 6 or 7:1.

I have however been contacted by another member here who happens to have another copy of the same Bourque available, so perhaps there's an option to coordinate something there, too...


Thanks again, guys!
Joshua