The buyer won several auctions, adding up to over $700.00. Before paying for those auction wins, they contacted me stating, not asking, they wanted a coin from a newly posted auction and would pay $5.00 over the starting bid, in which case I would be losing money. I felt pressured since it was a demand not a question, and the fact they conveniently had not yet paid for the large purchase. In the time it took me to figure out what I should do and reply, a bid came in from another buyer, and then another, and all at once, it was clear I would not be able to stop the auction and give them the coin. Although they had undoubtedly made me feel uncomfortable, I felt bad and paid for shipping, which was over $30.00 with signature and extra insurance. Days later, I noticed a comment on my feedback that simply said "nice coin." That sounds like no big deal, but compared to all other feedback, it stood out. It gave me the vibe that they were upset and by leaving this flat short apathetic comment was their passive-aggressive way of letting me know , and it just so happened to be from the buyer I had unintentionally let down. Immediately, I wished I hadn't followed through with the large sale. I sensed trouble was coming my way. The next day, my fears were confirmed. The buyer messaged stating that one of the 1/10 ounce American Gold Eagle NGC-rated coin slabs was cracked. The buyer provided one cropped-in close-up of what looked like a scratch, I have attached the actual photo sent to me by the byer. It showed no indication that it was the coin slab I sold them. NGC slabs are pretty durable, and I don't know if a "crack" that small would be possible. They stated that it couldn't have happened on the way to them because it was so well-packaged, insinuating I had intentionally sent them a damaged item. How foolish would I be to do such a thing, knowing it would jeopardize my business? Furthermore, I have had damaged items before and made it clear in the description; they always sold with no problems. When they claimed it was already damaged prior to my sending it, is when I knew they were lying because I packaged the coins and inspected them myself. I even polished the outside of the three slabs to make sure they would arrive nice and clean. The buyer was brazen enough to accuse me of using a fake photo in my description, which I proved wasn't the case by showing the original timestamped photos from the shoot the same day the auction was uploaded to eBay. After all of these false accusations and claims, the buyer never asked for a refund. As perplexing as it was, they didn't ask for anything. It seemed like a strange If all this was true, that would make me a con artist, so why are they reaching out to tell me this and not reaching out to warn eBay? Why is there no sense of them being upset in the message? I would have been super upset if someone did to me what they claimed I did to them, and I wouldn't even message me; I would be yelling out to eBay to have them shut me down. They did, however, end the message by saying, "I thought you should know before I left my feedback." they still have never left their feedback. Was this meant to scare me into offering them something, definitely meant to inspire fear. It felt like extortion. Once again, I felt pressured or bullied into doing something, just like I had felt when they demanded I end the auction and practically gift them the gold coin. Even though my policy says no returns accepted, I replied letting them know I would be happy to do a refund once I received my gold coin. Who wouldn't? The price of gold was soaring, and the coin was worth more than what they initially paid for it, I am sure they were aware of this since they are obvious collectors of precious metals, which raised more red flags. The slab was supposedly cracked, but the coin was unharmed, besides you could easily send it off to NGC and they will replace the encasement. I am new to this, but it feels to me like there is some scheming going on, and I can't put my finger on it. Perhaps one of you seasoned sellers with all your experience is able to figure out what this is really about. Weeks passed and nothing, then out of nowhere, without ever replying to my offer of a full refund, they opened a case against me. Since I paid USPS for the extra insurance and new that I dropped off an undamaged item I opened a case with them, I provided my side of the story along with the close up shot which is what I received from them. I am assuming USPS would be getting in touch with them and was curious what they would say. I reached out to them and ask them for more photos of the package and the original label which were being required by the post office and never received a reply. At the very least, this will serve to further document their odd and uncooperative behavior. It will also show that I have not simply given up on my end and pursuing different ways of investigating the issue. Hopefully, placing doubt in their minds, making them think twice in case they do have nefarious intentions. Unfortunately, I know that the odds are stacked up against me and eBay will most likely side with them and refund the money, and they will come up with more lies that eBay will be more than happy to accept allowing them to keep my gold coin as well. They have until May 3rd to send the coin back. Am I being paranoid here, or am I correct in saying there are multiple red flags flapping in the wind? I appreciate you guys taking the time to read my story. I will happily accept any referrals, suggestions or bits of information that could possibly help me out. Or if you have a similar story to share , I would love to hear it and what the outcome was. Thank you all very much.
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