Question about PSA/JSA "Guarantees"

[markf31]

I am not a seller but I am a buyer and I have had numerous exchanges with sellers regarding this topic. I am by no means an expert and I rarely trust my own eye to know if a particular autograph is authentic or not for the simple fact I just don't have the knowledge or experience.

My only pience of advice is be ware of offering buyers a refund if an item fails authentication. There are many stories out there of a buyer claming an item fails authentication because they'll switch your genuine item/autograph for a known fake. The buyer then submits the fake, it fails authentication, and they ask for their money back while sending you the fake back and keeping your original authentic item.

In my mind it comes down to the difference in the final sale price that can be realized by having an item authenticated. If your selling a $50 autograph, its not worth having authenticated. If you're selling one that can be valued at several hundred dollars, then it could pay to spend $50-$75 to have it authenticated and realize the gain in a higher final sale price.

[MooseDog]

DO NOT offer to refund fees unless you can somehow limit the exposure. If you have business insurance you might be able to do something there but probably not worth the cost.

I have two cases where PSA and JSA deemed "not genuine" high $ signatures that I obtained in person and witnessed the signing myself.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by MooseDog

I have two cases where PSA and JSA deemed "not genuine" high $ signatures that I obtained in person and witnessed the signing myself.

There are so many people in the hobby who tell these stories.
It is just a shame.

[Lordstan]

I haven't sold a lot on ebay in a while, but when I did, I handled it this way.
I offered a 2wk money back guarantee for any reason and a lifetime one on authenticity. I used to put a link in my auction to the quick opinion service for buyers to use if they wanted. I sent a clear receipt with my name, address, and phone. That's it.
I would not offer to cover anyone's authentication costs as the decision to send it someone for their opinion is their's, not yours.

[cjedmonton]

Decisions, decisions...

I really don't want to offer a "lifetime" guarantee; not because I don't believe in the item, but because I am not a business owner and not a professional autograph dealer. Long after the lot is liquidated and I am out of the vintage autograph selling "business", I don't want to be on the hook for a refund. It seems like way too many things can go wrong months/years down the road.

I almost want to sell the items strictly "as is" with excellent photos and will make it abundantly clear that I cannot be 100% certain of any autograph.

I may take the advice to PM Richard Simon and see what he might charge to review the items.

Many thanks to all. Very glad to be a member of this community.

Chris

[Plinvestments]

How about offering the Ebay buyer the option to get a quick opinion from PSA? It costs only $7.49 no matter how much the full authentication costs. I use the service a lot myself on personal purchases. The beauty is, the turnaround time is usually no more than a day, and you will get the result before the buyer pays and before you ship. It saves a lot of hassle either way. On high dollar items, I would pay for it myself and post the quick opinion in the listing. Its a cheap way to get a PSA cert without the official one.

Some of my best pickups were using PSA quick opinion. The auction prices are depressed for items without an official cert and there are a lot of bargains from individual personal collections.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Plinvestments

How about offering the Ebay buyer the option to get a quick opinion from PSA? It costs only $7.49 no matter how much the full authentication costs. I use the service a lot myself on personal purchases. The beauty is, the turnaround time is usually no more than a day, and you will get the result before the buyer pays and before you ship. It saves a lot of hassle either way. On high dollar items, I would pay for it myself and post the quick opinion in the listing. Its a cheap way to get a PSA cert without the official one.

Some of my best pickups were using PSA quick opinion. The auction prices are depressed for items without an official cert and there are a lot of bargains from individual personal collections.

And your guess is as good as mine as to know who is looking at the quick opinion items.
For $7.49 it is not their most visible authenticators, those authenticators cannot even keep up with the items that need a real cert.

[Lordstan]

Chris,
I totally understand what you are saying about lifetime guarantee.
You certainly can sell them without it, but you might have to set your sights lower regarding end sale amounts. The more reassured the buyers are, the higher they will bid.

When I am looking at buying an autograph, this is how I evaluate it.
1) The sellers refund policy. Do they stand behind their own knowledge?
2) My own knowledge and comfort level with the signer, item, history.
3) The reputation of the seller. Not just feedback, but are they well known and reputable.
4) Any paperwork/certification that comes with the item.

Any autograph that I am looking to bid on, that has an "as-is" seller policy will get either no bid or a much lower bid from me. This is a real red flag of something being wrong.

Why I feel this way is that everyone can be fooled. Even an honest, hard working, and experienced seller can make a mistake. What I want is the comfort of knowing that I will be made whole by the seller, in that event, because he/she wants me to be satisfied.
When I purchased the HOF yrbk I listed in the July pick up thread, I did so without seeing it. I asked Jim Stinson to scan the sigs so i could see them. He replied that it would take him forever to do so and not to worry because I could always return it if I was unhappy. This was exactly what I wanted to hear.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do.

Best,
Mark

[drc]

That's true. You can tell the visitors that they can get a PSA quick opinion if they wish. Just saying that will instill some confidence and it points out that the are able to get a second opinion if they chose.