165 "Appears Mint" But Likely Removed Pen Cancel

This 165 sold on eBay today described as "Nice margins, silver shade, appears Mint. Scott $1,300 for MNG". It looked like it might have a removed pen cancel so I ran it through the amazing postmark-reveal.com and it highlighted possibly two thick brush strokes. Otherwise a pretty stamp. Fortunately it sold for less than 10% of NG cat (and slightly less than used cat). Reminder to pay attention out there.

Yup, removed cancels often look like your first image (light yellowish) and should have been easily spotted by anyone who was bidding on this as a 'appears mint'.

To his credit, the seller mentions this in his description but in my opinion his title was misleading.
Don

Edit: the person who won has only 84 eBay transactions and had several additional bids beyond the winning $109. Hopefully they made an informed buying decision.

It is still an attractive stamp. It would fit in an collection nicely. Due to what the stamp final hammer price was. The imperfections and cancellation being removed played a roll. Maybe the title could have been a bit more clear I agree. It is always best to read the description. In some cases those snipping at the end of an auction will not read or have time to read the description. This is a problem often encountered by snappers. I guess that is the cost of doing business. I personally have played the snapping game on an enpluse buy in the past. Most of the time it works to my advantage. In the few times it did not I chucked it up. At the end we are all responsible to yourselves to be informed. The seller may have cut a corner but did not misrepresent the item sold in my opinion.