My Experience With eBay's Authentication Service

[Buythatcard]

Back in February, I sold a raw Ted Williams 1939 Play Ball card on eBay for over $1,700. The card was in Excellent condition with no creases or any surface flaws. There was one issue. The card was slightly trimmed. In my description of the card, I said that the card appears to be trimmed, cards displays beautifully. Overall condition of card is Excellent. I have sold over 1,000 1939 Play Balls over the years and felt that this card was authentic.
Buyer paid for the card and eBay sent card off to their authenticator. This was my first card to be sent off to be authenticated by eBay.
A week later, I received message from eBay saying that card was rejected. They gave no reason. I read that if they reject your card, it means that it’s not authentic. I immediately appealed the decision and asked them why they rejected the card.
Two weeks later, they responded by saying that they could not reach me because my phone number on my account was invalid. I have been using the same phone number for 19 years so that made no sense to me.
In the meantime, I explained to my buyer what has happened. He said that he was still interested in the card and asked whether he could send it off to SGC for their opinion. I told them that I have no problem with that and offered a full refund if SGC thought the card was not authentic. I told him that I would send the card off to him when eBay returns it to me.
When eBay finally returned the card, there was a little note included saying that once I update the description of the card, I can relist it. I said what are they talking about? First they reject it without giving me a reason and now they say I can relist it if I fix the description. Fix what?
So, at this point I sent the card off to my buyer who now bought the card from me outside of eBay. He sent it off to SGC. It came back from SGC as Authentic but Altered due to the trimming.
He was happy with the decision and kept the card.
I was pissed off with eBay for their poor responses and with the authenticator’s poor job.
Is this what we have to look forward to with eBay’s sucky authentication service?

[Hxcmilkshake]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

Back in February, I sold a raw Ted Williams 1939 Play Ball card on eBay for over $1,700. The card was in Excellent condition with no creases or any surface flaws. There was one issue. The card was slightly trimmed. In my description of the card, I said that the card appears to be trimmed, cards displays beautifully. Overall condition of card is Excellent. I have sold over 1,000 1939 Play Balls over the years and felt that this card was authentic.

Buyer paid for the card and eBay sent card off to their authenticator. This was my first card to be sent off to be authenticated by eBay.

A week later, I received message from eBay saying that card was rejected. They gave no reason. I read that if they reject your card, it means that it’s not authentic. I immediately appealed the decision and asked them why they rejected the card.

Two weeks later, they responded by saying that they could not reach me because my phone number on my account was invalid. I have been using the same phone number for 19 years so that made no sense to me.

In the meantime, I explained to my buyer what has happened. He said that he was still interested in the card and asked whether he could send it off to SGC for their opinion. I told them that I have no problem with that and offered a full refund if SGC thought the card was not authentic. I told him that I would send the card off to him when eBay returns it to me.

When eBay finally returned the card, there was a little note included saying that once I update the description of the card, I can relist it. I said what are they talking about? First they reject it without giving me a reason and now they say I can relist it if I fix the description. Fix what?

So, at this point I sent the card off to my buyer who now bought the card from me outside of eBay. He sent it off to SGC. It came back from SGC as Authentic but Altered due to the trimming.

He was happy with the decision and kept the card.

I was pissed off with eBay for their poor responses and with the authenticator’s poor job.

Is this what we have to look forward to with eBay’s sucky authentication service?

Based on others feedback, you have to have your listing details exactly correct or it will not pass. Not sure of that was your issue or not but its happening

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

[oldeboo]

I suppose the issue might have been if the card was described as both excellent and trimmed, if I'm understanding correctly. A card that would grade as excellent(5) would not be trimmed. Could that have been the issue?

[Buythatcard]

It might be the issue that I said Excellent and trimmed in the same description. But it would have been nice for them to say exactly what the issue was so that I wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

[Fred]

Howard, if fleabay is going to force this service on people, then they need to provide greater details regarding any issues they have with a card that is "rejected".

I haven't been following this too closely. Is ebay forcing the use of the fleabay authentication? If so, the assumption is that it is for cards of a certain value. Is that correct?

[Luke]

I bought a nice looking GD+ / VG card that was listed as EX on the title. It got rejected for the stated grade being too high. As an informed buyer, I'm annoyed to have to wait another week or two and buy the card again. But this is a good thing overall. It's been the wild west where sellers can say a card is EX and then you look at it and its fair or gd. I have always wondered if a buyer is going to get screwed when I see those listings. This new program will make those old school dealers quit calling fair card vgex and ex, and that's a good thing.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Luke

I bought a nice looking GD+ / VG card that was listed as EX on the title. It got rejected for the stated grade being too high. As an informed buyer, I'm annoyed to have to wait another week or two and buy the card again. But this is a good thing overall. It's been the wild west where sellers can say a card is EX and then you look at it and its fair or gd. I have always wondered if a buyer is going to get screwed when I see those listings. This new program will make those old school dealers quit calling fair card vgex and ex, and that's a good thing.

I agree but ebay needs to communicate better.
It does seem the op's listing might have confused them. My guess is if the "excellent" part wasn't in the description it would not have gotten rejected. Of course I am not sure..
.

[oldeboo]

Originally Posted by Luke

I bought a nice looking GD+ / VG card that was listed as EX on the title. It got rejected for the stated grade being too high. As an informed buyer, I'm annoyed to have to wait another week or two and buy the card again. But this is a good thing overall. It's been the wild west where sellers can say a card is EX and then you look at it and its fair or gd. I have always wondered if a buyer is going to get screwed when I see those listings. This new program will make those old school dealers quit calling fair card vgex and ex, and that's a good thing.

No doubt. There is a long list of dealers that describe every single card as NM/MT as well. How is a card with a wrinkle, 90/10 centering, and smashed corners considered NM/MT? The anything goes era existed for a long time. According to the terms and conditions of the program, an item gets rejected when it is "significantly not as described." To Howard's point, sellers certainly deserve clarification on what issues are in a listing.

[Yoda]

I suppose this is why collectors whose collections are solely comprised of raw cards sleep better at night.

[Buythatcard]

I can live with the fact that I might have not described the card to eBays standards. I was under the assumption that eBay thought the card was not authentic. It was never explained to me. Atleast tell me exactly what I did wrong.

At the time of the listing, I was not even aware of this new service that was forced upon us. When I finally looked it up, it said that any card valued over $500 would automatically be submitted to their authenticators.

Two nights ago, I sold a card for $472 and saw that it was getting sent to the authenticator. I thought to myself why is it getting sent if the value is below $500? When I researched for the answer, I saw that they now automatically authenticate the card if value is $375 or higher.

There is no reason for me to be confused about how this works. eBay made no effort to relay that info to me. I can't speak for other Sellers. I have done a fair amount of business on eBay over the past 19 years and would think that they would treat me as a valued Seller and let me know about these changes.

[bobbyw8469]

This just reinforces my idea that I don't want to sell high dollar cards on Ebay. Lee?? Scott? Are you paying attention??

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

This just reinforces my idea that I don't want to sell high dollar cards on Ebay. Lee?? Scott? Are you paying attention??

+1. I rarely list cards on eBay that I think will sell for more than $100-$125. I give cards worth more than this to certain, very-reputable auction houses.

[D. Bergin]

Just a heads up. Sold a Boxing Cabinet Card on Ebay. I listed it in the Trading Card section, because I thought that was the best audience for it.

I was happy with the result.

It went for high enough of a price, it had to be shipped to the Authentication program, before going to the buyer.

I figured they could authenticate a simple Cabinet card.

Just got this message back from them:

We wanted to let you know that your item is on the way to your buyer, but unfortunately we can’t provide our Authenticity Guarantee. The item was miscategorized in your listing and isn’t eligible for this service. This may be disappointing for your buyer, so we recommend you check the item category on any of your other listings to help make sure this doesn’t happen again.

In the meantime, we’ll notify your buyer and let them know their order is on the way. If you have any questions or concerns, just get in touch. We’re here to help.

Thanks for being part of the eBay community.

They are sending it on anyways, so not a big deal...just a heads up they are not "Authenticating" Cabinet cards...but if you list in the Trading cards section it will still have to go through that extra layer of service to get where it's going.

I know technically I could have listed in the "Memorabilia - Photographs" section, but thought that would be counter-intuitive to getting a strong price and reaching the right bidders.

This is assuming, I'm guessing at the exact reason they rejected it from their program. Could be something else for all I know. Ebay's not known for being the most transparent company in the world.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Just a heads up. Sold a Boxing Cabinet Card on Ebay. I listed it in the Trading Card section, because I thought that was the best audience for it.

I was happy with the result.

It went for high enough of a price, it had to be shipped to the Authentication program, before going to the buyer.

I figured they could authenticate a simple Cabinet card.

Just got this message back from them:



They are sending it on anyways, so not a big deal...just a heads up they are not "Authenticating" Cabinet cards...but if you list in the Trading cards section it will still have to go through that extra layer of service to get where it's going.

I know technically I could have listed in the "Memorabilia - Photographs" section, but thought that would be counter-intuitive to getting a strong price and reaching the right bidders.

This is assuming, I'm guessing at the exact reason they rejected it from their program. Could be something else for all I know. Ebay's not known for being the most transparent company in the world.

That's the Choynski cabinet, I assume. The buyer of the other one of the two that were up last week reached out to me for reassurance that the one Gary was selling was OK. It was. Yours looks great too; I actually wanted to bid but my snipe didn't go off since it had already exceeded my ceiling. Happy to vouch for you if it is an issue.

[JustinD]

I believe that CGC is neither skilled enough or prepared to the meet the needs of what they agreed to for this service. I have serious doubts as to it’s usefulness.

[painthistorian]

as of 4-20-2022- RE: E BAY
The required authentication threshold now is $250, any raw card that sells over $250 , even if the buyer won 4 other cards under $250 and one over $250, and wants all 5 in combined shipping, there is no more combined shipping on that level. The card must be shipped alone to CSG even if the buyer is in your state, it goes to Florida and at an additional shipping fee to the buyer that the seller is responsible for that fee if CSG does not agree on grade specifics, not just authenticity as the program was introduced to do.

If the buyer wants to opt out or lives in same state, it does not matter, e bay wants you to bypass customer wishes, and its unfair and ridiculous even if the card is blatantly not a reprint or fake. If an item does not pass inspection, and card is original and stated as numerically gradeable but they do not agree about the stated grade opinion, due to a wax stain, centering or reverse discoloration, or even a hidden wrinkle, now it does not matter, they are now rejecting any card they deem differently without letting buyer or seller know why specifically unless you call them. Unfortunately, its implied to novice or even veteran buyers that the card is NOT AUTHENTIC which is not true.

E bay is now dictating how your card business can be conducted even if you give customers a fair and complete return policy(we give 35 days, unconditional), quality products and great service. Raw card collectors will see extended delays and less vendors that wish to endure this hassle and that is unfortunate.

[Flintboy]

How are the set breakers going to deal with this? It has to be a monumental headache for the bigger breakers like Morris.

[chriskim]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

Back in February, I sold a raw Ted Williams 1939 Play Ball card on eBay for over $1,700. The card was in Excellent condition with no creases or any surface flaws. There was one issue. The card was slightly trimmed. In my description of the card, I said that the card appears to be trimmed, cards displays beautifully. Overall condition of card is Excellent. I have sold over 1,000 1939 Play Balls over the years and felt that this card was authentic.
Buyer paid for the card and eBay sent card off to their authenticator. This was my first card to be sent off to be authenticated by eBay.
A week later, I received message from eBay saying that card was rejected. They gave no reason. I read that if they reject your card, it means that it’s not authentic. I immediately appealed the decision and asked them why they rejected the card.
Two weeks later, they responded by saying that they could not reach me because my phone number on my account was invalid. I have been using the same phone number for 19 years so that made no sense to me.
In the meantime, I explained to my buyer what has happened. He said that he was still interested in the card and asked whether he could send it off to SGC for their opinion. I told them that I have no problem with that and offered a full refund if SGC thought the card was not authentic. I told him that I would send the card off to him when eBay returns it to me.
When eBay finally returned the card, there was a little note included saying that once I update the description of the card, I can relist it. I said what are they talking about? First they reject it without giving me a reason and now they say I can relist it if I fix the description. Fix what?
So, at this point I sent the card off to my buyer who now bought the card from me outside of eBay. He sent it off to SGC. It came back from SGC as Authentic but Altered due to the trimming.
He was happy with the decision and kept the card.
I was pissed off with eBay for their poor responses and with the authenticator’s poor job.
Is this what we have to look forward to with eBay’s sucky authentication service?

Howard, thx for sharing your experience. In your case, your card still eventually got sold and the buyer expected to receive the card as-is. Does it mean eBay lose out on the commission? or eBay still kept the listing fee and some part of the authenticating fees?

[bobbyw8469]

This sounds like a nightmare. It makes me not want to ever sell a high valued card on Ebay ever again. I bet Great Lakes and Battlefield and even PWCC think to themselves "WOW - We sure are glad we got off Ebay".

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

This sounds like a nightmare. It makes me not want to ever sell a high valued card on Ebay ever again. I bet Great Lakes and Battlefield and even PWCC think to themselves "WOW - We sure are glad we got off Ebay".

you mean "we are so glad we got banned from ebay due to criminal behavior?" There's a difference!

[Buythatcard]

Originally Posted by chriskim

Howard, thx for sharing your experience. In your case, your card still eventually got sold and the buyer expected to receive the card as-is. Does it mean eBay lose out on the commission? or eBay still kept the listing fee and some part of the authenticating fees?

Yes, I sold it outside of eBay and they lost the commission. As far as the initial transaction, that's a good question. I never checked to see if I was reimbursed for any listing fees. Have you every tried looking back to see what eBay charged you for a specific transaction? Not worth the time and effort.
As of now, they are not charging to authenticate the cards but that will soon change, I bet.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

you mean "we are so glad we got banned from ebay due to criminal behavior?" There's a difference!

Did all 3 of those get banned due to criminal behavior?

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

you mean "we are so glad we got banned from ebay due to criminal behavior?" There's a difference!

And when you say "criminal" behavior, that makes me think someone is in jail. As far as I know, that is not the case. PWCC has actually started their own platform.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

And when you say "criminal" behavior, that makes me think someone is in jail. As far as I know, that is not the case. PWCC has actually started their own platform.

we all know that not all criminals are in jail.

[jayshum]

Overall the authentication process went smoothly for me. My only complaint was that I purchased 2 cards from the same seller that were separate lots ending a few minutes apart, but since they had to be shipped separately to the authenticator, I could not get a combined shipping savings. Other than that, there were no issues with the process.

[NATCARD]

Sold this card last night at auction and off to an authenticator who more than likely has 40 years fewer in experience than I. Can not wait to see the outcome. Oh What FUN!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/125271144474
Jeff W (National Card Investors)

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

That's the Choynski cabinet, I assume. The buyer of the other one of the two that were up last week reached out to me for reassurance that the one Gary was selling was OK. It was. Yours looks great too; I actually wanted to bid but my snipe didn't go off since it had already exceeded my ceiling. Happy to vouch for you if it is an issue.

Thanks Adam, that's the one. I didn't know Gary had a Choynski up to.

Don't think it will be an issue. The winner was a long-time collector and already contacted me about what a pain in the "A", Ebay was being about this.

[Exhibitman]

I am going to have my first go with this off an N184 I sold.