New Ebay Authentication service

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by thatkidfromjerrymaguire

Well, I've been reading some posts on Blowout from some modern collectors that have received their "authenticated" cards already.

There are some alarming pictures of how the cards are being shipped in a pretty non-secure manner.

In particular there is a rare Griffey that supposedly sold for $30,000+ and it arrived partially hanging out of a card saver that had been elastic banded to a cardboard holder.

If that's real, it's pretty disappointing. Guess I better stick to buying any expensive cards already graded for now.

On forums we will hear about the few problems and never hear about the thousands of success stories that have already happened.

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

Originally Posted by bnorth

On forums we will hear about the few problems and never hear about the thousands of success stories that have already happened.

Yes, that's true. Often times outliers get a lot of attention. Which is why I was hoping to keep a positive spin on this new service, because I think it can (and will) help clean up fraudulent listings on eBay.

But even one or two instances of negligent packaging could sway public opinion and doom the service. Certain things can't be helped (slow postal service, unexpected back log, etc.). But professional, secure packaging on a $30,000 item is something that should be a given.

Of course, anyone can post anything on a message board. It's possible it's not even true (maybe it's just a board eBay hater with nothing better to do). Also, who in the world buys a raw $30,000 card on eBay? That's a world I don't live in.