Warning about EBAY Authenticity Program
 

I sold a signed 72 Clemente thru EBAY. It was purchased years ago but not slabbed. Spence had looked at it and liked it so I bought it. Its been in my collection for years. Authenticity guarantee looked at it and sent it on as authentic. Of course they are not autograph experts. The buyer decided to return it as he could not get it through PSA in less than 30 days. I agree to take it back. Here is where the fun starts. He sends it back to EBAY authenticity and they send it back to me. They send it back with signature confirmation via Priority mail, so far so good. An issue arises when it arrives in NJ and the post office discovers they only put $5.96 postage on it. The true postage was $14.75 but their electronic label was short. Thus the postal service creates a delivery exception and sends it back to EBAY in Florida. For some reason the Florida post office gets it back and sends it thru to NJ again who again returns it to Florida for insufficient postage. It is now floating somewhere between NJ and Florida with "delivery exceptions". In the meantime EBAY has charged me back $3200 for the return. I am contesting it with my bank as I have yet to receive the card. The EBAY rep tells me they are not responsible if the post office loses it. I said with the high dollar program anything returned should be insured. He said they dont do that. They rely on signature confirmation and thats it. Needless to say this is a huge headache and I just want the signed 1972 Clemente back.

Jeez, what an absolute hassle. Sorry you’re going through this.

Actually, once Ebay changed the process and put themselves as the middleman between seller and buyer, because of their new authenticity program, they are fully responsible and accountable until each party receives their money/item!

Why would an autograph card go through Ebay's authenticity program. They do not have an autograph guarantee. Unless the card was just listed as a 1972 Topps card it should not have gone through the process. I cannot find the sold item on Ebay.

Once it was returned by the buyer to EBay’s authenticity program they pulled the listing offline. Any card signed or not more than I believe 300 or so gets sent to their middleman for authentication. It passed. The buyer wanted to get it slabbed and found that PSA could not do it within 30 days and this they elected to return under my 30 day return policy.

I’m surprised that’s a justifiable reason for a buyer to return a card. I thought something had to be wrong with the item or not as described in the auction. Definitely not fair to the seller. Boy, how things have changed.

Thats only if the seller does not offer returns. If the seller offers returns, buyers can return for almost any reason.

Copy and thanks!

I offer returns because if you dont they can still return saying "Item not as described" and EBAY makes you take it back. its a joke.

Yes they allow guys like LockemupBob and Samosobo to run wild and do nothing. Truly mindblowing.

I would re-read their policy closely. It has always been held that the person sending am item is responsible for delivering the item regardless of how it's getting to the receiver. Ebay itself always held the shipper liable for delivery even if the po lost it This is why postal insurance was always more to protect the seller not the buyer. IMO, it's ebays responsibility to get the item back to you safely, especially if they forcefully put themselves in the middle of the transaction.

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Im contesting the chargeback with my bank and may win there at the expense of getting thrown off ebay.

If it still shows in the USPS system, you will eventually get it. Then what. You get the card and the money. You should have waited for a reasonable time before potentially doubling up. Even you said it still showed in the system. I had an item delivered to a member on here 5 weeks after it was shipped. I had already refunded after two weeks but he paid again when he got the card. It stayed in one postal location for almost 5 weeks before it moved. It happens.

I agree with Randy that the mail system sometimes is real slow. I have had stuff come to my area and then get sent to Florida before coming back and eventually getting to my home. Sometimes they will test your patience.

The troubling part, IMO, was ebays response to you. Them saying that they aren't responsible if the Post Office loses it, is flat out wrong imo.

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I went to my post office this morning. They said it is lost in the system and they are trying to locate it. I guess I could have just let EBay keep the money and if the card never shows up I am out both. I told eBay I never received it and I appealed their chargeback asking them to wait until I received the card. They told me as far as they are concerned once they mail it out it’s not their issue and thus they initiate the chargeback. I have an item that went missing three years ago in Los Angeles between the distribution site and was never delivered. eBay charged me back. It was never delivered back to me. They told me to make a claim thru insurance because I mailed it. The post office declined to pay stating that the price something sells for on ebay was not proof of its value. I lost several signed diamond kings in that transaction. I really have no faith in the postal service and usually use UPS or FedEx for anything of significant value generally.

You can do a help request online at USPS.com https://www.usps.com/help/missing-ma...Dk5MzcuMC4wLjA. The next step is a missing mail search, it talks about how to do that on the same page. Sometimes if your problem gets to the right desk it gets fixed,

Unfortunately, this is true. I had a similar situation and was told the same thing. What proof could be better than what the exact item sold for?

USPS insurance is a scam, they denied a claim for an item that was sent signature required, it was never scanned as delivered or signed for, they denied the claim because the carrier "clearly remembered delivering it"

He remembered delivering it alright. Probably delivered it to himself.

This is a good reason NOT to sell that value of an item on eBay.

Consider a small claims lawsuit.

At this point my bank is holding the chargeback from EBAY. They are asking EBAY to provide proof of delivery. They cannot at this point. I am sure at some point (assuming the card does not show up) EBAY comes after me when the bank refuses to pay. Its absurd that they will hurt legit selers but lockemupbob and samosobo can go wild, among others.

I called my credit card against TicketsWest when I couldn't get a hold of a physical person. Neither could my CC. So they issued some sort of negative review against TicketsWest.

Your Bank will toe the line! They are all about working for you. Good luck in your fight against the Empire.

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Wow! just crazy - hope all goes well and keep that hold until the deliver

Jimmy