eBay seems to have commenced a process designed to reduce or minimize fraud from sellers misrepresenting sports cards. Examples would be reprints, altered cards, or altered TPG holders.
So how many items are there on which eBay pay out refunds? If a seller knows that the item he's selling isn't genuine, that's fraud. If he's mistaken as to what the item is, that could create a civil liability, but maybe not criminal liability.
So, what is it eBay is trying to fix? Are they trying to minimize criminal fraud? Are they trying to reduce civil liability? Are they trying to protect buyers? Are they trying to retain buyers rather than have a buyer leave eBay rather than continuing to get burned?? Are they trying to minimize their own potential civil or criminal liability from providing a platform for problematic sellers to market their items to the unaware?
I think this move is geared toward protecting themselves from problems one day when law enforcement commences an inquiry or investigation about the selling of reprinted or altered cards or TPG slabs. Part of the problem with TPG is that people buy stuff not knowing what they're buying. Maybe like buying a diamond... you need to know and trust your jeweler. Most of us here aren't idiots, but how many of us can distinguish diamonds from other stuff with certainty? Most of us are better at spotting a reprint T206 or an altered T206 in amongst some real T206s. But there are lots of people out there who lack that discerning eye that most of us have.
Reckon the day law enforcement takes action is coming soon? Maybe eBay thinks it is.
|