Caveat emptor - Buyer beware

Caveat emptor: It a Latin term and means "Let the buyer beware" (from caveat, "may he beware", the subjunctive of cavere, "to beware" + emptor, "buyer")
The coin collecting hobby has its own ups and downs, more so in India. It is always difficult for a new collector to build his collection. He is often taken for a ride by the Dealers and Auction Houses. Hence it is very essential to find good dealers. Alas there is no source of such information where dealers are graded or rated. It is often done one on one. There are no guarantee that large Auction houses would be more just.

Take the case of Oswal Auctions, a leading auction house. I had bid and purchased a Bose Collectors pack and paid promptly. I was very excited to receive the set. Opened and it looked fine.

However when I opened the Acrylic set, I had the shock of my life.

Like other good dealers and Auction houses that I have dealt with I though Mr Girish Veera of Oswal Auctions would be happy to replace the set. Alas this never happened. The broken set was promptly returned by me to Mr Girish Veera of Oswal Auctions. However the refund is far from visible to me.

1. Well it could be that the set was broken when sold and Oswal did not realize when it purchased from Buyer. 
2. It could be damaged in transit.
3. It would be damaged by me on receipt

I definitely know it's not 3 as do most collectors. The time they invest in waiting and un-packing the set is quite a bit and breaking something like this even by mistake is quite unlikely. And if broken putting this on other is not what a honest collector would do.

If it is item 1 or item 2, both are mistakes of the Auction houses. The packaging can't be a simple envelope. The deliveries I have received from other have proper hard cardboard support with additional layer of a bubble pack.

In that sense I would stick to few known dealers and some auction houses like Classical Numismatic Gallery.