Potential issues for some purchasers under Ebay's new certification program

[brianp-beme]

I recently made a purchase on Ebay that qualified for the new certification service they now provide for non-graded cards. As Ebay states in their overview of this service, the seller ships the card to an authenticator, and if the card checks out as authentic, this authenticator then ships to the buyer.

When looking more closely into the details of this service after the fact, I discovered that if you have a PO box (or an Armed Forces postal address) as your shipping address in the Ebay system, the card will not go through the certification process.

Fortunately I was confident that the card I purchased was legit, and when I received it directly from the seller, its obvious authenticity was reconfirmed.

Just something for PO Boxers to consider, especially if you have some questions about the legitimacy of a card that qualifies for this certification service. If you do have a PO Box, you should probably make sure to change your shipping address to a physical, non-PO Box address in the Ebay system (at least temporarily) before purchasing, so as to prevent the card from bypassing the trip to the authenticating company.

Brian

[Stampsfan]

They also won't certify authenticity if the customer is outside the US. We Canadians cannot get our purchases authenticated, even if the item is shipped by Fedex, UPS, USPS, or any number if shipping methods that run across the border.

[EddieP]

They also won’t authenticate if the seller lives outside the USA.

[swarmee]

They also won't if the card is part of a lot, is autographed, or has "box" or "case" or other words signifying a group of cards in the title. Sketch cards sometimes are sent to the authenticator and then automatically passed because CSG is not verifying sketch cards are authentic, but eBay doesn't seem to disqualify them from getting sent to CSG unless they have AUTO in the title.

[nwobhm]

What difference does a PO Box shipping address make?

Does the buyer retain the ability to file an NAD claim since it didn't go through authentication?

[Clutch-Hitter]

CSG not only authenticates but also confirms it’s as described. However, ebay still allows NAD returns. I sold a Fro Joy #6 Ruth, CSG confirmed authenticity and that it was as described, then mailed it to the buyer in their custom packaging. The buyer removed it from their packaging and sent it to CSG for grading but because CSG doesn’t yet have tall boy holders, it received ‘service unavailable’ (SU). The buyer next filed claim the card was not as described, ebay approved the buyer’s claim, resulting in the buyer sending it to CSG (this is 3 times they received it) so they can say it’s in the same condition. They then returned to me WITHOUT the fancy packaging in which they originally sent to buyer.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by nwobhm

What difference does a PO Box shipping address make?

Does the buyer retain the ability to file an NAD claim since it didn't go through authentication?

Higher percentage of lost mail claims that ebay would now have to reimburse?
Can't require signature on a PO Box? No useful GPS delivery location for a PO Box?
Probably a liability issue eBay's not willing to underwrite.

[EddieP]

Originally Posted by nwobhm

What difference does a PO Box shipping address make?

Does the buyer retain the ability to file an NAD claim since it didn't go through authentication?

You have to sign for the card.