My payment went to eBay for holding until the authentication process is complete. The seller did not receive it.

I understand you're just being a sarcastic smartass, but if you think this is going to go smoothly you are mistaken. You do what you want with your cards but I will not be sending my already graded cards to someone else to be authenticated a second time. Sure this is a free service in the beginning; but it will turn into another way for eBay to nickel and dime sellers before it's over. It will end up being much easier to just send everything to an AH and be done with it.

It might be mind boggling to many on here. In reality several full time dealers have been scammed with fake slabs recently. There are also countless very obviously altered/fake cards in slabs. This is a GREAT thing for 99% of the hobby and I can't figure out all the hate for such a great free to buyers program.

The only bad part is the extra wait. My last experience(sneakers) was 16 days from purchase to receiving in the mail.

Ben,

I understand where you're coming from but what makes this grader any better than PSA or SGC? And sure the service is free in the beginning, but it won't be forever. When has eBay ever implemented a change that benefits collectors without also benefiting their bottom line? No hate here, just not something I'm going to participate in. if others wish to more power to them. And to me cards can't be compared to shoes or handbags because you don't already have millions of slabbed/graded/authenticated shoes or handbags on the market already certified by established graders/authenticators.
Just my opinion.

Not to mention the additional time it will take for the buyer to receive the card despite what eBay is saying about a quick turnaround time. That’s BS of the highest degree. For a company highlighting the explosive growth in cards, they are doing a great job forcing buyers and sellers off their site due to their stupid policies.

I've been on eBay since 1997 and have over 4000 completed purchases. Of these, about 50 were lost in the mail or received but not as described. In most cases I was able to work it out directly with the seller or through eBay's resolution process to get a refund. That's about 1.5% of my purchases where I was not satisfied, which was higher than I thought but probably about as expected. Granted I don't play in the $750+ zone, but is this really that much of an issue where this was required? Seems to me the fakes are fairly obvious, and where they are not they sometimes fool the grading companies which makes the CGC/CSG part a moot point. It's not like this process would have picked up on Logan Paul's fake Pokémon case, the fake authenticated Messi signatures, or the Chrome wiped and re-signed cards that have been in the news recently.

Oh wait ... "Not only is the new card packaging secure and stylish, but it was also designed to be folded into a stand—perfect for showing your cards off." I changed my mind, this is the best thing ever!!! :)

What may seem obvious to Net54 members often passes right under the nose of other collectors. Quite a large percentage of them hadn't even started participating in the hobby until 2020. I believe that's where eBay might have been coming from with this program; to make things more secure for newbies.

In theory, it sounds similar to what PSA/SGC/Beckett have been doing for years...offering peace of mind to people without the experience to properly evaluate their own cards.

I see. Worried about how to sell all your GMA cards now?

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If I sell a card for over $750, I will now have to get it authenticated by eBay. Instead of arriving in 3 - 4 days at the buyers residence, it will now arrive in a week or two.

What happens if I have an impatient buyer who now blames me for the delay in receiving his card? What prevents him from leaving Negative feedback because it took too long for the card to arrive from eBay's authentication process? Will eBay still allow buyers to leave a negative due to the delay in receiving their card?

I'm sure Ebay will remove that negative, they removed tons of slow shipping negatives during the pandemic.

LOL. You must be a miserable individual with nothing to do.
Have a good day and try to relax.

Definitely not my experience pre pandemic. One of several reasons I quit selling on eBay.
Post Pandemic, maybe, but definitely not pre.
Thomas

If I’m reading the policy right, since the seller doesn’t accept returns, if someone buys this Cobb, they are still stuck w the card. It gets sent to be authenticated, they say “yep it’s a fake. Here’s the fake card you bought that can’t be returned.” Did I miss something?

I guess I'm a little surprised that the overwhelming majority of collectors on this thread are viewing this so negatively.

I agree there are definite negatives...mostly the delay in paying for a card and then receiving it. Depending on how backed up they get, the delay might be significant. And they definitely need "authenticators" that know their stuff...especially on rare vintage.

However, there is also a lot of upside. Hopefully eBay scammers will start to think twice now about listing their fakes because they know they have to go through an extra layer of authentication, and can't count on the fact they can just scam a new collector that may not know what to look for in identifying fakes. I'm hoping to see a lot less "found this card in my uncle's attic" Babe Ruth listings now.

I for one have NEVER spent more than $200 on a raw card for fear of fakes...even though I prefer raw cards in binders, I have relied on SGC and PSA slabs for those expensive cards because of the extra protection (I know, I know, they have slabbed fakes....but it is NOT common and you are much less likely to get a fake slabbed card from one of the major graders as opposed to buying raw).

I still may not buy raw cards over $200...however, hopefully I start hearing good things from fellow Net54 members who have gone through this new service and have positive feedback about it protecting them from fake cards. If this service does what's advertised, it opens up a new collecting avenue....which is higher dollar RAW cards in my collection...which I honestly prefer. And on top of that, maybe this will keep prices lower on some of those cards because sellers won't feel the need to grade and then recoup the currently outrageous grading fees for these cards when they put them up for sale.

So after thinking through it, I'll go on record as saying I'm cautiously optimistic. We'll see!

Interesting angle
 

The process will give CSG "access" to people buying a lot of expensive cards - likely will have an opportunity to advertise/market/collect contact information to them in the process!

I imagine the shipping issues will be similar to the global shipping: you are responsible to get the card to CSG, while CSG/eBay are responsible for final shipping.

The interesting thing will be not as described claims after this goes into effect: does the buyer get three days after the item has gone through CSG to then make a claim? Does the CSG thing void the return claims window?

Part of it is also schoolyard rules: punch out a bully or two and the rest go away. eBay has so much fraud and so many item not as described claims that it is trying to send a message to fraudsters: go elsewhere. If it can stop the dozens of fake Wagners, etc., that are causing these claims it will save money in the long run, even if it doesn't end up making this 'free for now' service a 'fee forever' service later. My prediction: a policy where a seller who accumulates a certain # of CSG denials will be banned from the site.

That said, authenticating slabs is over the top. A bit of:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...ey-d5p4bx1.jpg

Paul is spot-on: if eBay raises fees or passes through this cost directly to sellers, a lot of them are going to say the hell with it and consign to AHs instead.

Well that is the point. They DO have a lot of fake items, and it is unreasonable to expect them to authenticate every item listed, remotely, in real time. So by adding a layer post sale, they can protect themselves (from chargeback / return risk), the buyer, and the seller.

Great move IMO.

Correct, and when those unsuspecting buyers return the cards, the seller has closed their DDA and eBay has to make the buyer whole. Or, the buyer finds out 2 years down the road the card is fake and will never buy from eBay again. I have to imagine eBay's losses in the collectables segment are huge.

I think that is what most are missing, the financial and reputational risk that is at stake for eBay with high value cards, and the never ending scams taking place in the hobby.

Personally I think this is a good move. And as a new collector, I would have felt this was a great move.

scammers will price at $749 to avoid authentication

During the pandemic, mail was incredibly slow because of lack of employees. Thats why Ebay removed negatives when sellers asked.

Why would Ebay remove negatives for slow shipping, before the pandemic? There were some delays as always, but it was not the system wide problem that it later became.

Hopefully, that would buyers suspicious and stay away.

Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but one potential positive of this new authentication service is that it at least requires that an actual physical card is being sold in the first place. Some of the fraudulent ebay listings that have been posted on Net54 recently have been for cards that were not even in the possession of the scammer. For example: https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=313780

One has to think that at the very least, even if ebay is not great at detecting a fake, that these types of listings go away completely.

Hahaha. I love it. Grading is such a shit show that now we have 4th party graders. I've been saying it for years....slabs for your slabs are coming.

They already have stickers, that is just as silly as a slab for a slab.

That's not correct.

That's from the FAQ on here:

https://pages.ebay.com/authenticity-...-tradingcards/

I left a comment for a YouTube content creator; The Personal Finance Dad. I was pointing out the potential pitfalls of the eBay authentication service. To my amazement, eBay replied to my comment.

EDITED TO ADD: "...Authenticators will check to see if a card is altered..."

So, there we have it.

If it fails authentication, the sale is automatically cancelled and the buyer gets their money back with the card returned to the seller.

Thought I heard/read that eBay was destroying fakes...

I heard this too but found it too crazy to believe.

I find it comical that eBay will quickly respond to that but won’t pick up a customer service line within 30 minutes.

There must be some sort of a “trusted seller” exception - I’m seeing the same blue check mark with “Direct from Greg Morris” and “Direct from Dean’s Cards” on their listings.

Ok, thanks for the clarification.

3 of these in the mail already. Hope it works out for the better

Or $689.99 which will be less obvious :D

https://www.ebay.com/itm/37391285403...UAAOSwH8Bh-jtS

Well, that didn't take long. I bet there was some $$ involved in that special treatment.

Ya think?

That honestly doesn't bother me. It's pretty obvious this new service was NOT put in place to protect buyers from being deceived by big sellers like Greg Morris and Dean's.

It's to stop the scammers. So having "trusted sellers" just prevents unnecessary headaches when buying from them.

GM sells 30.000 cards a month on ebay. I am guessing they already get special treatment.

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I am sure this was probably brought up before but tonight is the first I have seen of this next to a listing..

Shop with confidence
Authenticity Guarantee
This item is verified by an authenticator before delivery. Free for a limited time. Final sale may apply.
Learn more

We knew it was always about money. It always is.

**it looks like this service is for raw cards valued over 750....for a tiny fee I can see that not being too bad. I don't need it but I could see it, if I have to...

.

The seller made it home from Hawaii. I received an email from eBay this evening stating the seller mailed the card to the authenticator and I would be notified “…as soon as the authenticator finishes their inspection.” So, the clock has officially begun.

The card I purchased with this new authentication requirement reached the authentication service in about a week and was inspected in one day and now shows a new tracking # has been assigned so it should be in my possession in 4 days or less. The whole process is going to be about two weeks from date of purchase to delivery. Much better than I expected.

You don't think it will be fun buying Mantle's and Ruth's from estate sale finds and grandpas attic all day for $750.00, hunting for a real one?

It's what you make of it, I guess. I still try to have fun with it even though it disgusts me most of the time. If I was you and having those imbeciles at PSA make you piss blood for a year and lose 1000's of dollars worth of your cards on top of it, I would not find that fun or funny.

Happy Hunting! and of course popping.

Better time frame than a few nimrod sellers now. How will Comc do it?

Has comc ever sold a card for more than $750?

Well, I've been reading some posts on Blowout from some modern collectors that have received their "authenticated" cards already.

There are some alarming pictures of how the cards are being shipped in a pretty non-secure manner.

In particular there is a rare Griffey that supposedly sold for $30,000+ and it arrived partially hanging out of a card saver that had been elastic banded to a cardboard holder.

If that's real, it's pretty disappointing. Guess I better stick to buying any expensive cards already graded for now.

Who could have possibly predicted that this whole thing would be a disaster? It's not like ebay has a track record of making terrible decisions regarding this hobby or anything...

On forums we will hear about the few problems and never hear about the thousands of success stories that have already happened.

Yes, that's true. Often times outliers get a lot of attention. Which is why I was hoping to keep a positive spin on this new service, because I think it can (and will) help clean up fraudulent listings on eBay.

But even one or two instances of negligent packaging could sway public opinion and doom the service. Certain things can't be helped (slow postal service, unexpected back log, etc.). But professional, secure packaging on a $30,000 item is something that should be a given.

Of course, anyone can post anything on a message board. It's possible it's not even true (maybe it's just a board eBay hater with nothing better to do). Also, who in the world buys a raw $30,000 card on eBay? That's a world I don't live in.

My experience with the new service. Bought this card on 1/30, shipped to authentication service on 1/31. Arrived at hub on 2/3, authenticated on 2/4, and in my hands on 2/7.

Card was presented in an ebay box with elastic straps. It was in a screwdown holder, which is how it was pictured in the original listing. It came in a bag, sealed with a tamper-evident seal, and a QR code that takes you to the listing.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a1ed62c253.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...e7e21f61ad.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...863c4a8f44.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1fac8e8bb5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...297faa7d19.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f8eba1370e.jpg

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Wait, so you mean someone on Blowhard was lying about their "$30k raw Griffey dangling from a piece of cardboard"? I'm shocked.

It is like plane crashes. The press makes sure everyone hears about the plane that crashed and killed 250 people. However, not once do you hear them speak of the THOUSANDS of planes that landed safely that very same day, or any other day. I would guess the person on Blowhole is insignificant and wanted to get some attention by fanning the flames of mass hysteria.

Isn't that actually a 1935 Diamond Stars Hank "Greenburg" (Greenberg) rather than a 1951 as ebay has indicated? Awesome card by the way. Been looking for one myself.

I guess ebay is just listing what the seller listed, which was 1951: https://www.ebay.com/itm/13400690492...p2047675.l2557

But they have been doing such a great job with sneakers.

Incorrect. It has been certified by eBay and CSG that it was printed in 1951.

Add: But that leads to an interesting question. Since it was described improperly, should they have returned it to the seller for a full refund of the buyer's purchase price?

Sorry, but how does ebay/CSG know it was printed in 1951? It says the copyright is 1935 on the back of the card. Wasn't it just an incorrect description in the ebay listing that was then repeated during the Authentication process when they simply showed the original listing title?

That's just the listing title, which is why i was able to get it for a dedent price. It does raise some questions, but I'm just thankful I got the card!



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Wow, that's actually pretty cool. Maybe I'll wait a bit to pass judgment on this new service.

Yeah, nice find! So its not like ebay is authenticating the listing description, which was incorrect, they are just saying the card itself is authentic.

I'm skilled enough to tell a fake card from a picture. I know not everyone is like that.

Doesn't this really beg the question of what is it ebay is authenticating? If it doesn't, it should. Ebay is just mimicking what was in the title, so what did they actually "authenticate"? I get that mistakes happen, but this isn't even close.

Your sarcasm detector isn't working.

I just want to know where to apply for this job. Christ, eBay is stepping into authentication and soon grading services.

Exactly. Did the "authenticator" even look at the card? If CSG is the authenticator, this is a terrible look for them, too.

I'm beyond annoyed that Ebay is doing this, but to be fair, I believe the spirit of the service is that they are authenticating that the card is actually what it is supposed to be. Pictures are there, we know what the card is SUPPOSED to be.

I don't think anybody wants Ebay/CSG to cancel the transaction and send the card back to the seller because there was a typo in the title/description. :confused:

Unless you want Ebay to start charging "research" fees like other "authentication" companies, I think they are fine to stick with the title given. No need to complicate things further. It doesn't add any value to the card, like a traditional TPG service would.

From my perspective (as the person who bought the card), the authenticator didn't make a mistake. The person who listed the item title (which is the only thing that shows up on eBay) made an error. The "authenticator" verified that the card is, indeed, "authentic," meaning that it isn't a forgery. That's all I would expect out of the service, that I admittedly don't really want.

-Justin (Burl) Burleson

The story nobody is discussing:

A card in a screwdown holder listed on eBay was actually authenitic.

It is an interesting (and odd) test case, with the seller saying it is from 1951. What happens if the seller instead said 1915 or 1885? The seller describes it as being 1951 four times, so it's questionable that it's a typo. It appears the seller may have really believed it is from 1951.

It appears the authenticator is identifying if the card is original or reprint, which is a reasonable and good service that I like. It also appears to be working under the assumption that "anyone who's a collector knows the Diamond Stars are from the 1930s, not the 1950s," which is largely but not entirely true. However, authentic means the item matches the description and "1951" is way off. Technically speaking, a reprint is authentic if it's described as a reprint.

It can be argued both ways, but I think authentication should correct such blatant description errors. A buyer may be a newbie who assumes that it's from 1951. It's also such an unusual, odd case that it may not be worth debating too much.

“…check to see if a card is altered”
 

This response from eBay is very interesting — but I’d like further clarification/confirmation from the company regarding the authentication process. Does it really mean that, in addition to determining whether or not a raw card is an outright fake – the review process also determines whether the card has been trimmed, recolored, or in other ways doctored? If the process covers all of the above, then the concept might have wings.

Also, if the authentication service eventually drops down to include lesser value cards (see post #55 - interview with eBay’s Director of Trading Cards), I think it might be good news for the “raw card” segment of eBay buyers and sellers. Many collectors are not interested in slabbed cards. They just want to know that a raw eBay card – that they can’t hold and inspect – is not fake or doctored. For raw cards, it seems like this authentication review service would evoke more confidence in buyers – and stimulate more transactions for sellers.

I realize there are a lot of “ifs” involved here.:)

But then technically isn't the card "Not As Described" in the Ebay listing, and also not an authentic ""1951" Diamond Star card? I understand about a listing error/typo by the seller, but come on!!!!

And also, if you specifically bought the card raw so you could put it in a binder with the rest of set, how does that work with the screwdown holder and the guarantee seal/tape they put on the holder? So if you remove the card from the sealed holder the guarantee is gone? That really kind of sucks. But I guess for now it's no big deal as no one's paying for the authentication service..............yet!

As far as I know, removing the card from its sealed holder would void any guarantee it might have had before removal. It's analogous to cracking a PSA/SGC card out of its case.

I mostly agree with this stance; however, I'm hopeful they'll make exceptions for cards sent (still sealed, of course) to third party graders.

Perhaps a cottage industry will spring forth wherein a bulk submitter will examine the eBay seal - before inspecting the card for authenticity - before removing the seal - before submitting the card to PSA. (nothing could possibly go wrong with that, right?)

Hi Eric,

I understand about breaking something out of a holder would void a guarantee and so on. I was thinking more of the person that wants to put the raw card in a binder, or do something else with it. Also, wasn't that card being listed by the seller in that same screwdown holder on Ebay? So does that mean you get your card locked into whatever holder the seller sends it to the authentication company with? So what if the holder has scratches or glue/tape on it, or it's not in a rigid holder? You as the buyer apparently have no say/choice in the matter of how you then want to protect and display the card, unless you're willing to throw away the authenticity guarantee. My point is for now it may be okay because you're not paying for the authentication service, but once someone does have to start paying for it, I would think they may want to be able to retain that authenticity guarantee they are paying for, and also use/display the raw card they're also paying for, as they wish. Or is it possibly a calculated and well thought out move on the part of Ebay to make it so most buyers will want to break/remove the authenticity guarantee tape/seals, and thereby let Ebay off the guarantee going forward? They offer the service for free now, to test it out and then hopefully build up acceptance and desire by everyone to want it. And then later on start charging for it, thereby creating another Ebay revenue stream, but knowing at the same time that a very large portion of those using the service will most likely void the guarantee upon receipt of the card(s) by the buyer, and their breaking the card(s) out of whatever holder the seller originally put it/them in.

As opposed to what? A forgery from the '1952' set? Seriously. How can they authenticate it is not a forgery if they can't even identify correctly what the non-forgery card is? It certainly isn't an "authentic 1951 Diamond Star".

Regardless, I am sincerely glad though that you were able to a good deal based off an inaccurate description. Since it's registered, I'm wondering what would happen with ebay if you tried to sell it as an authentic 1935 Diamond Star without voiding the seal.

Yeah, and in looking at the packaging that was involved, I seriously doubt it's going to be free for long. Someone's going to have to pay somehow at some time.

Proof that miracles do happen.

I cannot believe anyone is defending this. This is what eBay's "Director of Trading Cards " says about the service:

MEANS: If it doesn’t pass our authentication — which basically means the card that was actually shipped was not, in our authenticator’s opinion, the card that was listed — it gets returned to the seller, and it’s a done deal.

MEANS: We want buyers to get what they thought they were getting, we want sellers to feel confident that the buyer’s going to be happy with their purchase. At its simplest, it’s making sure that when someone buys a Kobe Bryant, they get a Kobe Bryant and they don’t accidentally get a LeBron. It prevents mistakes from happening, too, which are always frustrating.

So, let's see: The card shipped is not the card listed, and the buyer who thinks they're buying a 1951 card gets a 1935 card instead.

They can't even meet the most base level expectations of the service. What a joke.

Source: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/...914xlepioy0s5v

So in your opinion, Ebay should have returned the card to the seller and refunded the buyer?

You can just ask the buyer in this thread, if they actually thought they were getting a 1951 card.

I HATE that I'm defending Ebay here but.............

I think the spirit of the policy was fulfilled.

I still think it's a stupid service that will eventually just turn into another cash grab for Ebay.

My point is that, according to their director's description of the service, this card should not have passed their authentication process as a 1951 Diamond Stars, which it did.

I'm happy you got a fake 51'. That is retarded. it's clearly a fake 35. Fake.

Don’t have an opinion on the service as I haven’t used it yet. Normally that’s how I treat my opinions on services. Except car washes. They are dumb. Wash your own car.... When I finally use the service I’ll provide an opinion if it’s warranted. If it’s not crazy awesome or crazy bad I probably won’t because the opinions of neutral people are boring.

The one opinion I can provide is that the fact there are near two full pages of responses of people calling the service a sham because a seller fat fingered his keyboard and mislabeled a card is idiotic. That’s my opinion. It was a legit card mislabeled. It was authentic, evidentially. Is it a cash grab? Yeah I don’t know. Will it fail spectacularly? Yes or no - one of those two or possibly maybe. Did it fail because it shipped a buyer an authentic card from a seller who has Arabic numeral dyslexia? No, that’s dumb.

So what should have happened? The authenticator should have identified it as a 1934-36 Diamond Stars card, entered that into their database, and then contacted the buyer to see if that's what they wanted when they purchased the item. To declare it to be an authentic 1951 card, which it clearly is not, is against the mission of the authenticator. And they are making the assumption that the item is what the buyer intended to buy, by sending it through automatically. Because once it gets to the buyer, he cannot return it for not being authentic.

Another question is whether or not they removed it from the screwdown holder. Because the card may actually be skinned and both parts are shown. Without removing the card from the original holder, they can't readily make that determination, right? Maybe they can? But I doubt it.