Has anyone had any dealings with poolsharky_05@yahoo.com (Justin Manning)

[Gyro123]

I apologize in advance for clogging up the boards with a post such as this, but I was wondering if anyone here on the forum had any past dealings with or had conducted any transactions with a gentleman by the name of Justin Manning. I am not certain if this indivdual is a member here but I was hoping for some feedback. I had recently purchased an Adam Dunn Reds Gamer from Justin that was purported to be uncracked. Upon receipt of the bat I must say I was glad to see that the bat is most definately hammered with use it is quite clear that the bat is indeed slightly cracked. Being that I only purchase and collect uncracked gamers I immediately notified Justin of my findings and filed a dispute with both Paypal and my credit card. I did receive a reply from Justin denying my request for a refund as he stated that the bat "was solid as I swung it many times myself to check and see" prior to shipping. I am quite confused by this reasoning ,as I am certain that unless a bat is completely broken in two pieces we can all "swing it" crack or no crack. The seller continues to insist that the item was damaged in the shipping process. Having handled several hundred bats over the years I just do not see how this is possible. This slight crack to me stems from game use and is not the product of carrier mishandling in the shipping process. I do not know if this seller is purposefully being deceptive or if he simply does not have an understanding of what makes a bat uncracked vs. cracked. It is for this reason I am looking to the forum for guidance. In fact, should this seller be a member of this forum, I would not be opposed to sending the bat to a mutually agreeable third-party member of this community/forum for review. I apologize for the legnthy post but can any members offer any further insight as to both this eller and any other possible remedies to resolve this unfortunate situation? Thank you for your time. - George Richardson (Gyro123@aol.com)

[bigtruck260]

George,

This has happened to me - but I don't mind cracks, so it wasn't as big of a deal.

Did you get a good deal on the bat? If so, why not just flip it and start over. Post it in the Collector to Collector forum...that's if you really don't want it.

It's pretty obvious you will get nothing from the seller based on his emails to you. At this point, sending the bat back to the seller and waiting for a refund seems almost like a gamble.

It sounds to me like he is either a very new collector - or someone who knows little about the hobby. If he did, he most certainly would have mentioned the crack. I have shipped and been shipped hundreds of bats, and though the packaging has been destroyed (to the point of the bat being exposed for all to see) and never have I had one crack from shipping. If the crack was long and hairline - MAYBE shipping could have facilitated a larger crack - but unlikely.

Unless you really want this model Dunn bat, you should just sell it to someone who wants it. In the feedback comments, make sure you mention his description - and ding him on his ITEM AS DESCRIBED stars.

Otherwise, you are taking a chance at stressing over a guy who's bats are pretty common - and probably has more than a few uncracked gamers floating out there.

You probably knew most of this, but figured I'd give you my take. Good luck.

[AWA85]

Probably not the answer you want to hear, but there is somebody on the Items Wanted board who was looking for a Dunn bat. Could try and sell it there and just pick up a new one. Dunn bats are always on ebay, so shouldn't be too hard finding another.

[justinlm24]

At first I wan't going to even respond to this guys thread, but in light of his recent e-mail I am compelled to let everyone know the TRUTH. First off, this bat was NOT cracked at time of shipment. I even contacted the previous owner from which I bought it from who stated the bat was not cracked when he had it either. The truth is GYRO had a youkilis bat for sale, which I expresed interest in. I tried to send him the payment for the bat but my paypal account needed my bank account verified. Which I am still in the process of doing. Then all of a sudden I start getting e-mails from GYRO hassling me about the payment. I explained to him the situation, and told him to go ahead sell it elsewhere if he didn't want to wait since I was having issues. He did not repond to that very well. Needless to say two days later he gets his dunn bat, and now all of this. Seems a bit of a coincidence. Now I get an e-mail today telling me how he is some hotshot lawyer and is threatening me to get his refund. something about e-commerce laws or something ridiculous. If he is some hotshot lawyer why is a $200 bat such a big deal? So GYRO, next time you want to come on here and try to make me look foolish, maybe you should try telling the WHOLE story.

What do you guys think? I do not have a problem with a refund, but this bat was not cracked when I shipped it to him. Am I obligated "by law" to give him a refund for shipping damge? Which is exactly what we have here. Not to mention I never said to him I check bats for cracks "by swinging them". That is just absurd. I have been collecting for 10 years. I know a thing or two about bat cracks and how to locate them. Just wondering what you guys think......

[Vintagedeputy]

I guess it all depends....

I prefer a slightly cracked bat as it shows that it was used. To me, that's a selling point.

If a bat was damaged in shipping, that lends to the fact that it was not packaged correctly. I'd have to see how it arrived to be sure. If the out packaging is destroyed, then it happened in shipping. If the outer packaging is fine, then it was more than likely shipped cracked.

[ndevlin]

Lets see some pics from both parties. We'll see where the crack wasnt, and then where the crack is now.

[shoremen44]

it's awefully hard to crack a baseball bat... the only way I would see it happening in shipping is if it is crushed...

a crushed bat and a cracked bat will look very very different

I agree... pics would decide it

[justinlm24]

Here is a link to the auction I won on e-bay for the dunn bat. It even says clearly uncracked.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190300323995&viewitem=&salenotsupported

I have erased the pics off my pc, but here is a link to MY ebay listing which bought.....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250427843036

It's hard to see the handles, but the chances of two owners not seeing a crack which he claims he noticed immediately upon seeing the bat are pretty slim....wouldn't you think???

[Gyro123]

As mentioned in my initial post I am more then happy to send the bat to a third party authenticator who I feel will unequivocally state that the bat is not only cracked but cracked in a manner that is consistant with Major League Game Use. Should a cost be involved I would gladly eat the cost should the authenticator not agree. As many posters have alluded to bats tend not to crack in the shipping process and when they do they do not slightly crack along a handle. Once again, I am more then happy to avail myself to an reputable and noted third parties opinion.

[justinlm24]

"eat the cost if he does not agree" certainly you are not implying that I will pay the fee? George, I am more than willing to work with you on the problem as I have stated in my e-mails. Seriously, a $200 adam dunn bat. It's not like this was a high end collectible, so why is all of this even necessary......honestly.....But if you want to continue to try and make it look like I misled you I will stop at nothing to prove to you that wasn't the case.......

[ndevlin]

You should post a photo of the crack when you get a chance.


Is there any chance at all that the bat originally had a very small crack that wasnt seen unless examined very closely. And during shipping, the box was dropped/flipped to where it expanded and made the crack larger and much easier to see?

[Gyro123]

Justin- I am in no way implying bat was sent knowingly with a crack. However, I have handled enough bats to know that this bat was not cracked in shipping but rather from game use. It is the slightest of cracks but is definately visable upon close inspection and quite evident when you tap bat knob end on ground. I am absolutely certain that any authenticator would be in total agreement with my claim that this bat was cracked from MLB use and not in this shipping process. This why I offered that to you as a proposed solution. Should an authenticator not agree I would be more than happy to eat the cost of the bat and any fee and authenticator may charge, but yes should an authenticator agree I would expect you to refund my money in full and pay any fee an authenticator would charge.

[Gyro123]

Let me say that the crack is very small and is only noticable upon close inspection. It is quite obvious though that the bat is cracked once you tap knob end gently on a hard surface. It is for these reasons and the ones stated by sevral members here that I do not believe the bat was damaged in the shipping process.

[justinlm24]

It is your right to send the bat to whomever you desire. I have not once told you you can or can't. If that's what you want to do, by all means go for it. However I am not instructing you, nor advising you to do so. Therefore if you decide to send it somewhere you will pay the fees, not me. Nowhere in my auction or any e-mail did I agree to pay any fees associated with any type of authentication process or anything of that nature. You can't just make up terms on your own then expect that I am going to abide by them just because you say so. Are you being serious here...?? Seriously??? Really????

[sportscentury]

Is there any chance at all that the bat originally had a very small crack that wasnt seen unless examined very closely. And during shipping, the box was dropped/flipped to where it expanded and made the crack larger and much easier to see?

This seems very reasonable. There may have been a slight crack or vulnerability to a crack. I've see various shippers treat some packages with harshness and complete disregard ... honestly, I'm surprised that more packages don't show up damaged with the way some shippers treat them. Not on anyone's side here ... just wanted to add my 2 cents to Nate's valid question. I hope you guys can work it out to your satisfaction.

As an aside, I'm not collecting baseball much these days... but many of you know that I have owned hundreds of game used bats over the years. I remember when I talked with Art Jaffe in the 1990s and I told him that I only collected uncracked bats. He told me to give it time, that I would come to collect cracked bats after I had been in the hobby long enough. Sure enough, Art was right. In my later years of collecting, I have much preferred cracked bats. You can avoid a lot of bad bats by focusing on cracked gamers.

[both-teams-played-hard]

You can avoid a lot of bad bats by focusing on cracked gamers.
This is my first post ever on the subject of bats, although I own several. A hairline break has to be the hardest use to contrive. If you went to a batting cage to add use to a game issued bat, I'd think you'd give up before being able to add a slight handle crack.

[sportscentury]

This is my first post ever on the subject of bats, although I own several. A hairline break has to be the hardest use to contrive. If you went to a batting cage to add use to a game issued bat, I'd think you'd give up before being able to add a slight handle crack.

Exactly.

[skipcarayislegend]

should an authenticator agree I would expect you to refund my money in full and pay any fee an authenticator would charge.

This is an unreasonable request, imo. In fact it looks more like a demand from my perspective. No way I would ever agree to such a thing were it ever proposed by a buyer. Looks like a nice bat. Why not just sell it and rid yourself and the seller of this headache?

[justinlm24]

This is an unreasonable request, imo. In fact it looks more like a demand from my perspective. No way I would ever agree to such a thing were it ever proposed by a buyer. Looks like a nice bat. Why not just sell it and rid yourself and the seller of this headache?
I have been trying to explain this to the buyer. But he seems more fixated on trying to prove a point rather than trying to resolve the issue. I am a bit confused by that. I just don't understand some people......

[jnot]

And, to top it off, looks like u took a loss on the bat...Why did u sell so quickly?
I am one of those who now accept cracked bats in my collection

[Mr.3000]

Why not send the bat back to the seller for a full refund and be done with the situation. You are apparently not happy with what you received.


Sorry if this has been covered, I am jumping in late.

[Vintagedeputy]

If we all chipped in for airfare, would you two be willing to slug it out and let us video the thing for YouTube?

:)

[justinlm24]

Not to bring up old posts, but me and the buye finally reached an agreement to complete this deal. Both sides are now satisfied.....YAAAAY:D