No Authentification on eBay for Old Ty

[JJ McGraw]

So recently I purchased a 1960 Sports Pix Premium of Ty Cobb on eBay. Before buying, I did my homework online as I was unfamiliar with them . I learned they came in two sizes , and with Cobb, it is t just two sizes, but two different images as well. As you will see below, mine is the earlier smaller image, produced in 1960, or early 1960’s. I purchase it, the seller worked with me on price and I was happy to get it for a Cobb display I’m working on.
It was sent to eBay authenticators( even though it was below the $250 minimum…I guess that’s optional now as well) . Anyway, all good. A few days ago I get the email that eBay is sending it back, but could not authenticate it, even though it is already slabbed by Beckett.( read below) It was miscategorized by the seller and they say they will reach out and advise them of what they did wrong, I’m assuming , with the description( which, again, just guessing now…..is saying it was from “1968-73”)
I’m curious if they did contact the seller, so today, I’m going to message him and see.
First, got no beef with the seller, he worked with me on the price. He didn’t maybe do the homework I did, but ok……and again, eBay is not specific as to what is wrong with the description….I’m just guessing.
I was an early critic of the Authenticity guarantee, but have long ago been ok with it. I find it fanscinating that a legitimate slabbed item by Beckett ( yes, I know , some here don’t like them, etc), is rejected by eBay because the seller made a listing error…..not because it’s fake. Plus, it still has not arrived ( no hope today because of old Christopher) , but I’m sure I’ll see it this week.
The above is not a rant or angry post by any stretch, but if you are going to reroute items to be authenticated, unless they are fake…..authenticate them.
If not, it seems like a big waste of time getting your item….thats all.
Note: I also add some images of both types of Ty Cobb Pix Premiums , small and large.

[OhioLawyerF5]

The authentication process not only is designed to guarantee the authenticity of the item, but to verify the item is as described. Remember, this program is not just to protect buyers from fake items, but to reduce the number of INAD ("item not as described") returns. Which both protects sellers, and reduces costs for ebay. The program would be useless if they only did one of these two things. Only verifying the item is real would be useless if they also didn't verify it was the item purchased by the buyer.

But to address your concern, yes, ebay will notify the seller what was wrong with the listing so they can fix it.

[doug.goodman]

There should be an "I understand, but I'll take it anyway" option for the buyer.

[raulus]

This is exactly the same issue that Peter posted about earlier today.

Large, blank-backed issues often don't qualify for the AG program simply because eBay doesn’t consider them to be sports cards.

Except that sometimes they wave them right on through.

[swarmee]

Yep, a photograph is not a trading card. Ebay will say they put it in the wrong category.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by JJ McGraw

So recently I purchased a 1960 Sports Pix Premium of Ty Cobb on eBay. Before buying, I did my homework online as I was unfamiliar with them . I learned they came in two sizes , and with Cobb, it is t just two sizes, but two different images as well. As you will see below, mine is the earlier smaller image, produced in 1960, or early 1960’s. I purchase it, the seller worked with me on price and I was happy to get it for a Cobb display I’m working on.
It was sent to eBay authenticators( even though it was below the $250 minimum…I guess that’s optional now as well) . Anyway, all good. A few days ago I get the email that eBay is sending it back, but could not authenticate it, even though it is already slabbed by Beckett.( read below) It was miscategorized by the seller and they say they will reach out and advise them of what they did wrong, I’m assuming , with the description( which, again, just guessing now…..is saying it was from “1968-73”)
I’m curious if they did contact the seller, so today, I’m going to message him and see.
First, got no beef with the seller, he worked with me on the price. He didn’t maybe do the homework I did, but ok……and again, eBay is not specific as to what is wrong with the description….I’m just guessing.
I was an early critic of the Authenticity guarantee, but have long ago been ok with it. I find it fanscinating that a legitimate slabbed item by Beckett ( yes, I know , some here don’t like them, etc), is rejected by eBay because the seller made a listing error…..not because it’s fake. Plus, it still has not arrived ( no hope today because of old Christopher) , but I’m sure I’ll see it this week.
The above is not a rant or angry post by any stretch, but if you are going to reroute items to be authenticated, unless they are fake…..authenticate them.
If not, it seems like a big waste of time getting your item….thats all.
Note: I also add some images of both types of Ty Cobb Pix Premiums , small and large.

I think it went through the authentication process because the original listed price was > $250 even if you ended up paying less than that.

[JJ McGraw]

Originally Posted by jayshum

I think it went through the authentication process because the original listed price was > $250 even if you ended up paying less than that.

You may be correct, it’s been so long, I don’t even remember, but it’s possible and certainly an answer that makes sense.

[JJ McGraw]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

The authentication process not only is designed to guarantee the authenticity of the item, but to verify the item is as described. Remember, this program is not just to protect buyers from fake items, but to reduce the number of INAD ("item not as described") returns. Which both protects sellers, and reduces costs for ebay. The program would be useless if they only did one of these two things. Only verifying the item is real would be useless if they also didn't verify it was the item purchased by the buyer.

But to address your concern, yes, ebay will notify the seller what was wrong with the listing so they can fix it.

Actually I did ask the seller, here is what he said….seems to me , eBay should be a little more specific. So, for my money , they told him no more than they told me. I feel it’s his dating of the item in the listing title “ 1968-1973” , but that is a guess. And, he has a 1960 Sports Pix Premium Babe Ruth listed right now with the exact same title , text etc
Anything learned or changed…I think not.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by JJ McGraw

Actually I did ask the seller, here is what he said….seems to me , eBay should be a little more specific. So, for my money , they told him no more than they told me. I feel it’s his dating of the item in the listing title “ 1968-1973” , but that is a guess. And, he has a 1960 Sports Pix Premium Babe Ruth listed right now with the exact same title , text etc
Anything learned or changed…I think not.

If he wasn't clear, he could have asked. They literally open the lines of communication with the seller. But even based on that, it doesn't appear the date is the issue. If it was they would have said there was an issue with the description. They said "miscategorized" which means he listed it in the wrong category (in their opinion). This is the same issue as the other thread. It was likely listed as a sports card and ebay doesn't consider it a card.

[JJ McGraw]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

If he wasn't clear, he could have asked. They literally open the lines of communication with the seller. But even based on that, it doesn't appear the date is the issue. If it was they would have said there was an issue with the description. They said "miscategorized" which means he listed it in the wrong category (in their opinion). This is the same issue as the other thread. It was likely listed as a sports card and ebay doesn't consider it a card.

Ok, wrong category, makes sense, but what doesn’t make sense is the following. Literally at 1:49 this afternoon, I got an email from eBay that my 1949 Leaf Premium of Christy Mathewson was authenticated and would be heading to me soon( I hope , since I bought it on Oct 2). I guess I never paid attention to the category as I’m just searching on eBay for certain players, teams etc, but since you brought it up that the Cobb premium may be in the wrong category and hence a possible reason for it’s rejection, I wanted to see what category my 1949 Leaf premium , which isn’t a card , no number, thin paper , etc etc…..it was in the exact category as the Cobb premium……Sports Trading Cards>Single Cards( see below).
So, at best, it’s arbitrary, at the mercy or whim of whoever or whatever is dealing with the particular item.If someone buys my former sellers Babe Ruth, shown below, to me, based on this, has a 50-50 chance of it being authenticated….or not.
And finally, as a collector of baseball cards and memorabilia for more decades than I’d like to admit, even though folks may not consider these different premiums as cards, I , at least , collect them as such. Many, like the Sports Pix and the 1949 Leaf Premiums , have a check list , some, like the great collector Orlando (A Collector’s Dream on you tube), collect all of the set ( citing his many videos on Leaf Premiums which are outstanding to watch and to learn from)
So, on this one , I’m going with there is no set rule, or if there is, it definitely is arbitrary.
Am I upset , belching the fumes of hatred towards the eBay Authentification system, wanting the authenticator that rejected mine put on the rack per the days of the Spanish Inquisition…..no, far from it. I just think we have to be honest about systems that entities have, like eBay, that still are flawed. Maybe they do need to recognize premiums as cards. At the end of the day, Ty is slowly making his way to home plate and I’ll be happy to greet him when he gets there.
It will be interesting to know what happens when he sells the Babe Premium.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by JJ McGraw

Ok, wrong category, makes sense, but what doesn’t make sense is the following. Literally at 1:49 this afternoon, I got an email from eBay that my 1949 Leaf Premium of Christy Mathewson was authenticated and would be heading to me soon( I hope , since I bought it on Oct 2). I guess I never paid attention to the category as I’m just searching on eBay for certain players, teams etc, but since you brought it up that the Cobb premium may be in the wrong category and hence a possible reason for it’s rejection, I wanted to see what category my 1949 Leaf premium , which isn’t a card , no number, thin paper , etc etc…..it was in the exact category as the Cobb premium……Sports Trading Cards>Single Cards( see below).

So, at best, it’s arbitrary, at the mercy or whim of whoever or whatever is dealing with the particular item.If someone buys my former sellers Babe Ruth, shown below, to me, based on this, has a 50-50 chance of it being authenticated….or not.

And finally, as a collector of baseball cards and memorabilia for more decades than I’d like to admit, even though folks may not consider these different premiums as cards, I , at least , collect them as such. Many, like the Sports Pix and the 1949 Leaf Premiums , have a check list , some, like the great collector Orlando (A Collector’s Dream on you tube), collect all of the set ( citing his many videos on Leaf Premiums which are outstanding to watch and to learn from)

So, on this one , I’m going with there is no set rule, or if there is, it definitely is arbitrary.

Am I upset , belching the fumes of hatred towards the eBay Authentification system, wanting the authenticator that rejected mine put on the rack per the days of the Spanish Inquisition…..no, far from it. I just think we have to be honest about systems that entities have, like eBay, that still are flawed. Maybe they do need to recognize premiums as cards. At the end of the day, Ty is slowly making his way to home plate and I’ll be happy to greet him when he gets there.

It will be interesting to know what happens when he sells the Babe Premium.

One thing to remember is that I'm just guessing if it is the sports card category that was the problem. Far more often, when I see a "miscategorized" rejection it is because an actual error by the seller. There are several categories the seller must include in a listing from the drop down menus, such as graded/raw, which sport, etc... And a simple misclick in any one of those can result in authentication failure. We can't know that without seeing the full listing. But I've probably seen a dozen threads like this in the past year where once the poster shares the listing, we find out where the error was right away.

Edit: it appears you posted the listing. I couldn't see it on my phone. So I'm not sure what the error was, but hopefully someone can figure it out.

[JJ McGraw]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

One thing to remember is that I'm just guessing if it is the sports card category that was the problem. Far more often, when I see a "miscategorized" rejection it is because an actual error by the seller. There are several categories the seller must include in a listing from the drop down menus, such as graded/raw, which sport, etc... And a simple misclick in any one of those can result in authentication failure. We can't know that without seeing the full listing. But I've probably seen a dozen threads like this in the past year where once the poster shares the listing, we find out where the error was right away.

Edit: it appears you posted the listing. I couldn't see it on my phone. So I'm not sure what the error was, but hopefully someone can figure it out.

Well, I’m sticking with the arbitrary idea, they are exactly listed the same, one got authenticated, the other didn’t. It’s simple. Again, a good fix would be consider premiums as cards in your eBay Authenticating system and maybe that will eliminate some of this random nonsense. But that would require thinking outside the box…..hopefully they can do that.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by JJ McGraw

Well, I’m sticking with the arbitrary idea, they are exactly listed the same, one got authenticated, the other didn’t. It’s simple. Again, a good fix would be consider premiums as cards in your eBay Authenticating system and maybe that will eliminate some of this random nonsense. But that would require thinking outside the box…..hopefully they can do that.

I agree with your conclusion that the authentication program is a bit capricious at times in terms of what is and what isn't a sports card.

[notfast]

You’re still going to get the item.

It just wont be “authenticated” by the ebay service.

[JJ McGraw]

Originally Posted by notfast

You’re still going to get the item.

It just wont be “authenticated” by the ebay service.

Of course I am, I’m just pointing out an obvious flaw in the ebay system they could easily correct…consider premiums as cards.
It’s in a Beckett slab ( which I trust) , so I didn’t need the authentication anyway. All that happened to me was I had to wait longer for something that didn’t happen anyway. And I certainly don’t fault the seller, he did what the Leaf Premium seller did, listed it EXACTLY the same.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by JJ McGraw

Of course I am, I’m just pointing out an obvious flaw in the ebay system they could easily correct…consider premiums as cards.

It’s in a Beckett slab ( which I trust) , so I didn’t need the authentication anyway. All that happened to me was I had to wait longer for something that didn’t happen anyway. And I certainly don’t fault the seller, he did what the Leaf Premium seller did, listed it EXACTLY the same.

Or they could just not consider them cards and that would offer the same "fix" to your "problem". :coffee:

[JJ McGraw]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Or they could just not consider them cards and that would offer the same "fix" to your "problem". :coffee:

Really not “my problem” , more like their problem. But whatever “they” come up with, I , and many, consider premiums as cards….and I think the tenure of the thread is basically….hey eBay…..be consistent.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by JJ McGraw

Really not “my problem” , more like their problem. But whatever “they” come up with, I , and many, consider premiums as cards….and I think the tenure of the thread is basically….hey eBay…..be consistent.

Oh, it's your "problem." If it's not a card, they just send it on since it doesn't qualify for authentication. So there is literally no harm. The only "problem" is people who need to complain.