EBay Authenticity guarantee
mexpo75
Posts: 1,931 ✭✭✭✭
Don't know if this has been asked before. If you purchase something from ebay and they say it is authentic and you send into PSA and they say it is not, can you get a refund? Thanks.
PackManInNC
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Your money gets automatically refunded.
Edited to add;
My answer is incorrect. Once your card passes the ebay authentication and is in hand if you send it to a TPG company and it gets rejected, it's probably way to late to get a refund unless the seller is willing.
I apologize for my original response.
From whom? I thought the purpose of the ebay guarantee was to assure authenticity and finalize the sale? I know PSA is one of the two authenticators also along with SGC, or at least that's how it was set up at one point.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
I assume the seller, but not sure.
I bought a raw card (1962 Venezeulan) a couple of months ago that failed authentication.
My money was refunded.
Which authentication did your card fail? It sounds like you’re referring to the baked in auth as part of the ebay delivery, but I think the OP is asking about sending the card in afterwards to get it slabbed by PSA - it passed the eBay auth process, but wasn’t deemed authentic by PSA.
I thought PSA’s piece of the eBay auth was only to review their own sold slabs to ensure they’re legit… I didn’t know they were doing full authentications on raw cards (without slabbing them) during the sales process.
Jim
You are correct, I didn't read carefully.
Yes, exactly. That was the way I read the OP also.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
PSA auth's ALL grading companies' slabs, not just PSA. CGC auth's raw cards, not PSA....
Yes, I was referring to buying an ungraded card which Ebay said was authentic and then PSA came back and said it was not. Would I get a refund if that happened?
I would guess probably not. From what I've experienced and read about once it passes authentication, graded or raw, by PSA or CGC respectively, it is a done deal. Although, if a raw card is submitted to PSA in the CGC tamper proof holder and deemed no good by PSA, you may have a pretty strong case with ebay to get your money back from ebay, and then they will have to look at PSA or CGC for restitution.
I'll try answering again;
I think the card (assuming a raw card) gets authenticated by PSA, (or another grading company?) and not ebay, so it shouldn't come back from PSA a second time and be judged not good.
If it were to happen, I would certainly contact ebay and make a claim, arguing that you got an item that they had authenticated come back as not authentic.
I would assume this isn't going to happen very often, but it seems to me that ebay forces you to have certain items authenticated, so it's a "guarantee".
Good question.
Raw cards go to CGC.
Graded cards go to PSA.
If you leave the raw card in the tamper proof case from CGC and send it to PSA to get graded and it comes back no good I don't know who has the liability in that case. I guess there would be stipulations in the contract between the authentication companies and Ebay. In this case the liability would either be on CGC or Ebay, most likely CGC.
Just purchased a 1977 GEorge BRett sgc 9.5 for $529. sent it to ebay authentication. I thought it was anything $750 and over.
$250 or over either raw or graded go to authentication
oh ok thanks.
I just got off the phone with Alejandro (he was very helpful) at ebay customer service;
If you get a raw card that was judged authentic by ebay (CGC), and then send it to PSA for grading and it fails authenticity, you need to find out within the 30 day return period in order to return the card for a refund.
There is no appeal process. If you get a card that you don't think is authentic, you better return it immediately or hope you can get it to PSA and back quickly.
Joe, Thanks for the answer. Not any room for error. 30 days sending to PSA with getting an answer, that would be tough.
Mike
That answer is completely unfair to the buyer. PSA takes longer than 30 days to authenticate anything at a reasonable service level. You should have forever - but if they limit it, it should be enough time to get the card graded.
I feel that statement is incorrect as most sales have no return policy and if it authenticates, then it def does not have a return window UNLESS the seller accepts returns, which is a 30 day window. So 99/100 times, you'd still wouldn't be able to do a return on an "authenticated" card. As well, there is no proof that you send the card that passed eBay authentication to PSA which then failed authent
If you receive a card with auth guarantee and you believe it’s not authentic and want to return it. Assuming the listing didn’t state the card was a reprint or custom you have 3 days from receipt to request a return. Whether most people can tell upon receipt is another topic.
I would agree with anyone who thinks that whoever performs the authentication should stand behind it while the cards is in the authenticated sleeve with the highly secure sticker lock.
Overall the auth guarantee program seems like a good thing to me, but it’s not perfect.
All I can tell you is that the ebay representative said that if you can prove the item you bought that passed ebay's "Authenticity Guarantee" failed to get authenticated by PSA, you would have to do so within 30 days.
Seems to me that there's really no guarantee here at all. They either reject your item and void the sale or accept it, allow the sale and if they are wrong, you basically don't have any recourse. Here's one definition of the word "guarantee";
One rather obvious solution would be to have the option (that's a laugh, the buyer having something to say about it) to have the "authenticated" card shipped to PSA for grading and if it failed, you would get a refund. If you knew you were going to get it graded from the start, you could even have it sent directly to PSA for grading, skip the CGC authentication step, and again, if card fails, you get your money back.
I have no familiarity with CGC, they might be very good, but I'm sure they get fooled on occasion.
You seem to be an educated person. I am (obviously) not.
Where's the guarantee?
If the authenticator "catches" a bad item, it's probably a good thing, but there seems to me to be no "guarantee" here at all.
It bothers me when people set themselves up as experts, force you to use their service and then if they're wrong say "too bad, you're out of luck, the guarantee expired"
Here's a question. They just authenticated the 1977 brett sgc 9.5 and they are sending it to me now. SO let's say I relist it for $1,000 and sell it. Does it have to go back through authentication since the card has already been authenticated?
I am assuming yes.............but who knows for sure?
Yes
Items on eBay auth guarantee are eligible for the eBay money back guarantee.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy
I don’t remember which option it’s under. Item not as described I think.
As you say, this seems like a hole in the system which provides the buyer with less coverage than they might naturally assume based on how the program is and has been promoted.
I have not had any issues yet with the program. No items which were not authenticated and no items which, after being authenticated, were deemed inauthentic.
Yeah in effect if the authenticors error buyer is out of luck. Now that PSA has deal with ebay perhaps an option can be added to ship from Authenticator to psa for grading
If it fails at psa then customer is covered
Of course it does, as you may ship a George Kittle instead. Or you many crack the case and put in a crappy card! It's not just authentication in the sense it is real, it is authentication in that what was purchased is what was shipped.
As may have been mentioned part of the function is vaguely along lines of an escrow service.
eBay was getting hammered having to deal with scams from Buyers and Sellers . Likely started to threaten their bottom line.
I'm sure that this has eliminated a huge % of those scams, but probably also inspired new scams, again from both Buyers and Sellers.
eBay will never have it as paid service with onus on the buyer, when not if, part or all of the cost is levied it will be on the seller. Fair or not, buyers have more power on the platform.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)