Cracked glass in frame set: what to do?

So I'm curious what others would do in this situation.

Recently I came across one of my HOLY GRAILS on ebay...


Pin 24523: WDW - Journey Through Time Pin Event 2003 (A Dream Is A Wish) Framed Pin Set

I asked the seller to post photos of the actual item, and she did. They looked good, and the price seemed good, so I bought it.

It arrived today! I'm so excited! I unwrapped it, and it's so beautiful! It's amazing! It's...

It's cracked.

There's a small crack in the glass, maybe half an inch long, vertically just over the left edge of Cinderella-as-a-little-girl's face. It looks like it might have happened in shipping, since it wasn't visible in the seller's photos, but it was pretty well wrapped in bubble wrap, so I'm not sure. It also looks like it *could* have happened when someone tried to clean the glass and pressed a little too hard.

Part of me thinks as a good consumer I shouldn't accept it, but... it's otherwise SO GORGEOUS, and it's the ONLY pin in existence of Cinderella as a little girl, as far as I know (in the dress that we do see her in at the beginning of the movie), and it's LE75 so god only knows if I'll ever have the chance again. I certainly do not intend to take the pins out of the set; this was going to go on my wall next to the shadowbox that Lost-Sun-Princess made me for my Alice gallery set.

Of course, I could also just have the glass replaced. A frame shop could do that. Except that the artist, Ralph Kent, has autographed the glass in gold pen. I've never cared all THAT much about autographs, and his autograph is also on the certificate of authenticity that's in a pouch on the back, so there's that.

So my options... as far as the seller goes, I could return it for a refund (but I REALLY don't want to), keep it and try to get a partial refund, or keep it and do nothing. As far as the set itself goes, I could hang it with the crack in the glass but the autograph intact, or get the glass replaced and no longer have the autograph on the front.

Decisions, decisions! What would you do?

Personally, if you love the set... I'd say ask for a partial refund. Hopefully enough to cover the cost of replacing the glass. And I would absolutely replace the glass if you don't care about the autograph- it would bug the heck out of me to have a crack right next to one of the pins!

I would replace the glass. If you leave it cracked there is a chance it could damage the pin or the print the pins are on.

I would also contact the seller and see if they will give you a partial refund. They probably won't, but it never hurts to ask.

Omg! Yay I'm glad you got it! I saw one a few months ago (don't remember how long ago) in brand new condition for $50......I didn't get it because I don't collect Cinderella, grr! Had I known I would have gotten it for you! If you paid more than $50 tho....you should probably just ask for a partial refund and keep it. It might be months and months before you find another one and if it's just the glass just replace it, unless you plan on getting rid of it in the future then the value is definitely lost in the frame. In which case you should probably send it back and hold out for another one! :3 Either way, congrats! They are pretty pins regardless!

Since you love the pin and chances are you wont come across it again, I recommend keeping it. You could get the glass replaced but if you just hang the frame up, I cannot see the crack getting bigger. I'm not sure how much it will be but you may be able to fix the crack itself on the glass (I swear I have seen commercials for this). I would ask for a partial refund but like everyone said, that doesn't mean you will get one.

Oh no! What a conundrum. I was going to suggest you simply get the glass replaced, but then I read that the artist signed the glass... I'm really not sure what I would do in this situation, but I just wanted to post to wish you good luck in getting it fixed!

Replace the glass.

See if a glass cutter can cut out the artist's autograph (the glass portion where it is) and maybe you can have that displayed underneath (framed of course)

I'd find out how much it will cost to replace the glass and then ask for that much in a partial refund. If we assume that it broke during transit the seller can reclaim whatever she paid for it's insured value from the PO.

Given that it's an LE75, a grail pin, and was a decent price, I would absolutely not return it for a full refund. With a 1/75 the odds of getting it again AND for a good price are so slim.

So excited you got the framed set you were happy about in Pinter, but sorry to hear about the cracked glass If I were in your position, I would let the seller know and see if they'd be willing to work out a partial refund. In my experience, most sellers will offer a partial refund to make sure the customer is completely satisfied, especially if the fault rested on them for not being secure in shipping.

Hope you can find a resolution you are happy with!!

Just read about the autograph, my suggestion still stands about replacing the glass, however regardless of what you do the value of having the autograph is lost because it's either broken with an autograph or it's mint and without the autograph. If this is always going to stay in your collection then I would still have the glass replaced and just cut out the piece with the autograph and keep it in a special place or even display it in a shadow box underneath the pin set. If you're going to have the glass professionally replaced, then they should be able to cut the autographed piece out with a stained glass scorer for no extra charge. If they do want to charge you for something so simple then take it to a stained glass store and they will do it for free.

OMG I just saw how much it was @.@ that's.... definitely more than what it went for in December! Good grief! I would definitely show them the damage and ask for a partial refund and then replace the glass as the signature seems to be one of a kind (;-; painful thought) and not originally part of the frame. Meaning if you ever "had" to get rid of it, no one would ever know the difference!

This is a tough situation, but I agree with the general consensus. I'd certainly keep it - so hard to find! I'd also look for a partial refund and see if the seller is willing. If not, in my mind, it's not worth returning such a unique item! Best of luck!

Nekov said:

OMG I just saw how much it was @.@ that's.... definitely more than what it went for in December!

Click to expand...

Yeah, I wish I'd seen the listing you saw back then! But it was worth it to me. Or at least it was if it had been in perfect shape!

I think you all are right, and I'll ask the seller for a partial refund, maybe after I ask my local frame store what they'd charge to replace the glass.

It's odd though, in the bright white fluorescent light at my office, the crack was really noticeable, but in the dimmer, warmer light of my house, it doesn't show as much. (One of my housemates generally likes softer lighting.) Not that that necessarily means I shouldn't try to get some compensation.

replace the glass, have them cut out the siggy and frame it for you with the COA, and ask for a partial refund.

I just thought of something that might help you. Once we had a "ding" in our windshield of our truck. This guy was promoting this gel glue stuff that their shop used on windshields and offered to "fix" our windshield. This was years ago and if you didn't know exactly where to look you would never know there had been a ding there to this day! Check with an auto glass shop and see if maybe they could "fix" it!

So, just an update in case anyone was curious!

I contacted the seller. I said I did not want to return the item (I don't) but explained about the crack, and offered photos. They replied that they didn't know about or see the crack when they shipped it, but that they could not offer a discount because the price I paid was already under Disney's original retail price. (Which it was; I hadn't noticed before.) I don't feel like arguing about it any further; there's no way for me to tell (or prove) whether it was cracked before or during shipping. I didn't feel like it was enough of a problem to give a negative feedback on ebay (maybe I'm a softie) so I gave an overall positive feedback, but lower stars in the "item was as described" section and a comment explaining about the crack.

I hung it on my wall as it is, and the lighting in our house is much softer in most rooms than the bright fluorescents in my office; you actually can't see the crack at all unless your nose is practically right against the glass (please don't press your nose against the glass if you come over. ) So for now I'm leaving it the way it is.

I don't ever intend to trade or sell it, but if I did I would probably replace the glass at that point, for fear of the crack getting worse or the glass breaking and damaging the print. (Also if we ever move, that'll be an issue in packing and transporting it. We own our house now though so it's my fondest hope never to have to move again.)

I'd go the partial refund route, I love that set too would only dream to own it, your luckey to have snagged yourself one, and at a good price, but I would ask for a partial refund, let them know how much you love it but are disapointed, I just went through this, I didn't even get to the point of asking for a partial refund, I bought a grail pin and when it arrived in the mail it had tiny dings all over it and scratches on the back lets just say I would never give it away or trade it so he offered me a partial refund right off the bat without even asking, so I thanked him and put it in my pin bag it's still beautiful to look at, and I will enjoy it.