Speaking as a buyer & seller on eBay this transaction is clearly a misunderstanding and no more. I see no intent on the sellers part to mislead anyone, and I also can see where a chip collector may get the wrong idea from the description. (ahhh, thank goodness for pictures) eBay even states that most problems are due to a lack of communication between the buyer and seller, and this is exactly that. Before I bid I certainly would have asked for a picture if there was none, or at the least a detailed description.

As for feedback........If I left anything it would be a positive. Why on earth would anyone want, or risk getting their own, negative feedback over what is so obviously nothing more than a misunderstanding?

I would contact the seller and see if he agrees to respond with some sort of mutual positive feedback. Otherwise just let it go at that.

As for the seller getting his money back from eBay.........where is there a problem with that? He should get the fees returned, that's exactly why eBay lets you apply for a refund. Remember that everyone is not an expert on everything and that people do make mistakes from time to time. You may find fault in a persons abuse of the 'rules' from time to time but let's not fault the system for allowing flexure in certain instances.

We have about 40 chips auctions on eBay right now and every one has a scan of the actual chip that is offered, that is about the only way to be relatively assured that the bidder knows exactly what he will receive upon completion.

My opinion is the same as most others.........eating the postage is a cheap lesson. It could have been much worse! The 'rake' is not an expected nor required return.

In fact, I'll bet some of us could give a few great examples of how much it can cost if we bid on something that we really didn't ask enough questions about BEFORE we bid............anyone care to offer???