I recently sold a 2005 proof set via E-bay and the buyer said he opened the set and found carbon spotting on the coins. Does this happen to such a new set? I never open the sets to check for problems, so does that obligate me to replace the item? Thanks in advance for your help and comments.
It is not unusual for sets from the mint to exhibit spotting. That does not however, mean that it is acceptable. If the set was unopened you are not obligated to replace it, but were it my customer, I would consider doing so. I would offer to take the set back and take it up with the mint, shipping the customer another set and trying to get a replacement from the mint.
Can you see the spots on the set...can he prove that it is the same set you sent? I think I would return it...but would have to make sure he wasn't mixing sets... Speedy
Thats what im concerned about the most. Is this a form of cherrypicking? The guy has a 100% feedback rating of over 500, so I would hope he wasn't playing games with me. I think I will replace the set and take it up with the mint.
Tough call. Is it a form of cherry picking? Well, I suppose in a way it is. Given that it is not unusual for mint sets to have the spots, once can expect that if they are purchasing unopened sets there is at least a possiblity that they may be getting some with spots. For this reason, when I purchase collections I ALWAYS open the sets and give then a quick glance. The problem I have is that the sets should not have spots coming from the mint. As such, a collector should not have to accept them. If I go to a computer store to purchase a laptop I expect the screen not to have dead pixels. If it has dead pixels, I am going to bring the laptop back. Now it so happens that most computer companies produces a certain percentage of laptops with dead pixels and they feel that maybe three or four or less are acceptable. But are they? I don't think so, and if I purchased a new one with the problem, like I stated, I would bring it back. If I purchased an unopened laptop from a private seller and it had the problem, I would expect them to take it back and to take it up with the manufacturer. It's a tough call. My personal opinion is that the problem should not occur in the first place and that the mint has put you in a bit of a spot. I would take the set back and take it up with them. It is a quality control problem that they need to overcome.
The problem is that if you return the set due to dissatisfaction, there is no guarantee that the mint will have anymore in stock. David
