Ebay guarantee authenticity program

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

I'm not sure why a buyer would turn down a free authentication review. But I can think of one big reason why a seller would be against it.

I've bought my share of trimmed cards on ebay. There are many sellers on ebay that are unscrupulous. I know many of the big time collectors here can see issues with a glance at a scan, but most ebay buyers are not that good at spotting alterations or fakes.

I know I should have more sympathy for all the card doctors who are getting impacted by ebay's new procedures, and less for all the collectors being duped. Still, I think it's good that ebay is working to clean up its marketplace.



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That's an understandable but not necessarily accurate assessment, especiall the assumption that the glance and return will actually ferret out trimmed cards. I doubt that is the case. The issue is four-fold:

--CSG is authenticating raw cards it doesn't actually grade.
--PSA is authenticating other TPG holders.
--There is a risk of false positives. I know several professional, reputable sellers who've had cards rejected, killing deals. I know these dealers are good enough to spot fakes and alterations. Mistakes cost money.
--The program is not voluntary. If I buy a card from a professional seller I've dealt with for years I don't need some jackhole at eBay mandating that I have to send the card to CSG. If I want to do that, I can do it myself.

It is inevitable that this mandatory program will end up as a 'wonderful new service for a modest fee' for sellers at some point. Meaning the buyer ends up paying for it in the end. Worst case scenario, it is a % charge like a service fee, which will give eBay a windfall profit on expensive cards. Just another profit center.