[all day baby]

If you're willing to spend $200 on a card that you can't see clearly in a case, ask for some scans out of the case!

Again, I'm not siding with the seller, it obviously sounds like he's not the nicest/most straight-up guy in the world.

But it sounds like the buyer got a little too aggressive too early on as far as trying to get his money back or the issue resolved.

Too many people rely too heavily on a descriptive label (NM-MT, MT, etc.), rather than looking at it with their own eyes.

Case in point, the whole stupid grading thing, which I've never understood — in BGS terms, a "mint" card is actually the third-best grade you can receive, behind "gem mint" (huh?) and "pristine."

If you actually read what Beckett declares to be a "mint" card in its price guide — again, wouldn't "mint" be better than NM-MT? — it still allows for some flaws.

Essentially, the seller was being very liberal with his interpretation of NM-MT, and the buyer didn't look closely enough AND didn't ask for additional scans.

As far as your point of taking care of the cards, I've pulled hundreds of cards straight out of packs that have chipping or surface wear, especially on the backs of cards (especially with Panini, especially with dark borders, etc.)

This whole thing was handled poorly on both sides, and it sounds like it eventually worked out for the OP.

Well, I guess you know better than all of us longterm eBay buyers and Beckett members then. You spotted the damage without needing any extra pictures.