Buying used puzzles is a risk, because there is no real guarantee of completeness.
25-30% of the used puzzles that go through our hands are incomplete, despite the fact that the original owner “guaranteed” it was complete. In some cases, it is just one missing piece; in other cases, two or three; in some vary rare occasions, many more.
Every used puzzle is verified before it is listed at Rare Puzzles. If the puzzle is not complete, or it has more pieces than it should have, or have a very damaged piece, or a fabricated one… it is stated and listed as incomplete.
The pieces are verified using a grid with 125 squares. The pieces are placed on the grid, one piece per square, facing up, so that damaged pieces can be detected. Then, they are placed in zip bags (4 grids = 500 pieces).
Due to the method used, errors in counting are very unlikely. Foreign pieces are normally detected as well. However, it is possible that a damaged or a foreign piece might go undetected. If that happens, throw us an email at [email protected] and we will work it out.
(Photograph by KatieThebeau).