My casual viewing of the afternoon classifieds two cents...
I can't say for sure who these came from... I can guess though. Most likely where these came from as well? Yes these were sold to me as "mint".
Are they mint? Nah. Sharpish? Flat? Yes. Are they far enough from mint for me to raise hell at the seller? Again, nah. Part of that definitely comes from the fact that these are going in play. They'll be splashed and thrown and shuffled and splashed again. So, it was my choice to shoulder shrug it when they arrived.
The more true issue, as some have pointed out is (well two really)...
1: A seller selling a product as one condition, when it really isn't.
2: Someone buying it, who doesn't know the difference, or enough of a difference to call them anything else.
As someone who has been through years of store bought vs. grey market watch sales - some sellers use some terms a lot more loosely than others. "Brand new in box" should be fairly self explanatory, but the amount of "dealers" that would sell pieces to newer collectors with minor scratches and dings (because thus been wearing them for a month) was higher than it had any right to be. The buyer's? That hadn't held enough truly new things in their hands to know any different.
On gear has been a stand up dude, I don't think anyone around here questions that. He wrote they were what a seller told him they were. That's it. His pictures are there, and a buyer and properly judge the condition for themselves.
. GLWS and personally I'd say these chips look pretty minty.
