eBay will soon provide an authentication service

[pjcdn2005]

I don't know exactly when this will be available or if it will be available for Canadian buyers or sellers but here is some info.

http://pages.ebay.com/authentication/?rmvSB=true

[kitschnvintage]

brought to you by the wonderful people at pitney bowes ??? lol

[rose-dee]

Thanks for posting this link.  I see a fee will be involved (of course), but that the amount of the fee is still to be announced.  

This begs the question of exactly how eBay will authenticate its "professional authenticators" to give a level of reassurance to sellers and buyers alike.  I would hope the qualifications and maybe even the identities of eBay's authenticators would be made available openly.  It's not clear to me how someone -- even an expert -- can properly authenticate an item without actually inspecting it.  The devil will be in the details in this programme. 

I have to wonder if the site specializing in re-selling designer handbags in particular (advertised on TV lately) is giving eBay a run for its money.  They pay the original handbag owner cash, who sends the bag, which presumably can then be authenticated and re-sold at a higher price.  There must be a huge and eager market for pre-owned designer bags. 

The other question this raises is whether this programme will apply only to modern name brands (in handbags or otherwise), or also older vintage and antique items that may not carry a logo or tag.  I think in most cases the latter two categories really require a hands-on inspection to verify authenticity.  

One problem I can foresee is that the greater the number of sellers who opt to use this service, the more all sellers of similar branded items will feel obligated to use it simply to compete, eventually creating a more or less necessary add-on fee on every such item, above and beyond FVFs.  This may be good for buyers (as long as sellers don't increase prices to cover the extra fees), but will clearly be very good for eBay's cash flow.  I find it hard to imagine that as many buyers as sellers would want to pay for authentication -- it's easy enough for a buyer to shop around and avoid the extra fee entirely. 

As an aside -- this seems tantamount to an acknowledgement that fraud is still rife in these categories on eBay, despite the VeRO programme and seller policies regarding authenticity.  Those must not have been very effective, or eBay wouldn't be offering a paid verification service.  Or perhaps it's just eBay looking for another source of revenue?

[Anonymous]

Of course, another way for eBay to make more $$$$$$$ !!

[dutchman48]

It will be sent to the authenticator who will in turn send it to the buyer if authenticared

Very similar to auction sites for stamps, coins, etc where buyers are allowed time for certification, or it is even done in advance of the sale.

[dutchman48]

I certainly hope they are independent certification specialists and not Ebay staff or on Ebay's payroll.

Who is going to pay for all the shipping costs and is it only for the US, or worldwide for sales?

Far too many unanswered questions to make any decisions.

[momcqueen]

Interesting. I collected designer handbags until I collected children. I may have some to unload in the future. 

Purses, I mean. Of course. Haw haw.

[rose-dee]

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@dutchman48 wrote:

I certainly hope they are independent certification specialists and not Ebay staff or on Ebay's payroll.

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That was exactly what I meant.  Both sellers and buyers would have to be able to have confidence in the qualifications, abilities, and neutrality of the "authenticators" to make this idea work.  Which means (to me at least), that eBay would need to openly display the identities and backgrounds of their "authenticators". 

As I said, I think the details are going to cause the difficulties.  That is, if we can even believe this is meant to be a benefit to sellers and buyers as eBay claims, or just another clever means of scraping up more cash from site users. 

[dutchman48]

We all know Ebay only does what is best for Ebay and their pockets. That they say they care about buyers and sellers is just so much fluff

[momcqueen]

At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader, if ebay can provide a forum by which things can be authenticated that is trusted by both parties, then everyone wins: the buyer and the seller and ebay because everyone is happy it works,

If it works. 

I don't think ebay ventures into these water with the intent of floundering in an embarrassing manner. 

[dutchman48]

Maybe Ebay is having to refund a lot of FVF for fakes being sold which they have known are being sold constantly.

If they were so concerned about fakes, they would get rid of a very large % of Chinese sellers.

Ebay used to have an expert panel for, I believe, stamps and coins but they got rid of them and opened the flood gates.

There is a major cartel selling fake stamps right now under many ID's and Ebay could care less. As ,long as buyers don't know any better, Ebay just says thank you for their FVF's

Oh, the Chinese also fake certified coin holders to put their fakes in

[momcqueen]

Fake stamps, really? 

[dutchman48]

Old as well as newer ones and it has been going on for decades only now they are showing up on Ebay

[rose-dee]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:

I don't think ebay ventures into these water with the intent of floundering in an embarrassing manner. 

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That's probably quite true, but it's what makes these kind of concepts so brilliantly cynical on eBay's part.  I think this "programme" has the potential of morphing into a semi-obligatory fee (for sellers of such items who really want to compete, and for buyers who are too anxious to look elsewhere).  In turn it will likely mean that sellers will feel the need to list at somewhat higher prices in order to offset those fees.  

Although it might seem to be easy for sellers of higher-end merchandise to hide the cost of an extra fee in the listed price, those sellers will still pay higher FVFs on the sold item, and their buyers will pay more to purchase.  This will mean higher costs for everyone except eBay.  

I suppose I've become skeptical whenever eBay introduces something new with such touting of the wonderful benefits to all.  The things eBay introduces on the site that actually support sellers with no cost to anyone are done with less horn-blowing.  EBay supposedly already has policies and programmes in place to protect buyers (e.g. SNAD claims, MBG, VeRO, listing rules).  Why do they need another layer?  I think this is overkill, sold as rational insurance. 

In the end I think eBay's cash flow will be the primary benficiary.  This will create a clever kind of permanently-ensconced fee structure for eBay to rely on in addition to the usual FVFs.  Let sellers and buyers pay for it, why not?

[rose-dee]

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@dutchman48 wrote:

Maybe Ebay is having to refund a lot of FVF for fakes being sold which they have known are being sold constantly.

If they were so concerned about fakes, they would get rid of a very large % of Chinese sellers.

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You're right, that could be another explanation for this apparently unnecessary additional programme.  

I wonder how on earth eBay could possibly verify the authenticity of some item faked in China with a perfectly faked tag and logo?  They are so brilliant at creating imitations.  

[pocomocomputing]

I can see a seller selling a real Gucci bag bought at a Gucci store and ebay saying it is a fake and confiscating it and refunding the sellers money to the buyer and then suspending the seller. Ebay is incompetent and their decisions are final. I would not want to sell handbags since the buyer can use the service too.

[kitschnvintage]

I'll just add my thoughts in here:

I found a site on-line in the US that does designer handbag authentication that apparently is PayPal accepted against SNAD claims ( a written letter from this company protects the seller against claims of "fake" items) ~ this company seem to have issues with ebay though due to inconsistent (ebay) policies   ... but if PayPal is already accepting them as a legit authenticater (sp?) maybe ebay will too ...  

I think this would be a good tool for Sellers before they list an item ~ having this authentication service as a middle step just seems to me to be a bit of a waste of time and could lead to more buyer dissatisfaction not to mention even longer shipping times I guess ~ also what if the authenticater (sp?) accidentally damaged the item or needs to "damage" an item to authenticate it ... then what?  

Also I noticed ebay is offering the customer 2x their money back if the authenticated item turns out not to be authentic ??? They must have a lot of confidence in their authenticaters (sp?)

[cumos55]

It was several years ago that I had  presented this authentication process on a discussion on eBay.com.

Seller forwards a sold item to a an authenticator... who then forwards the authenticated item to the buyer.

Somewhat like the GSP program which is also an intermediary program... but   dedicated towards authentication...

There are many situations on eBay where some form of authentication is required......  

It is a process which will work best with high priced  uniquely manufactured  items..

and... it is quite easy to identify a "knock-off".... they may look right from a distance ... such as a photograph on eBay.... but there is something known as a "correct" feel when viewed close up

With an authentication process the seller is protected..... and no buyer can claim that the sold item is a fake....

and those selling known fakes  will have to be very careful as the buyer  will be protected if the buyer  requires authentication before they receive the bought item..

[i.am.vivian]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:

Fake stamps, really? 

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Oh yes, some of them are worth tens of thousands of dollars, even more, much more sometimes.  The incentive to make fakes is really high.  If you want to take a quick scan of the wiki page, 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philatelic_fakes_and_forgeries

[i.am.vivian]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I don't know exactly when this will be available or if it will be available for Canadian buyers or sellers but here is some info.

http://pages.ebay.com/authentication/?rmvSB=true

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According to the page, 

Does this program cater to specific sellers?
This program will be available to all sellers. It will allow sellers to highlight that their item will be reviewed by a professional authenticator, which will instill a greater level of trust among buyers.

If sellers have to pay to opt in I am sure it will be available to everyone, even encouraged, probably where it is not always needed.  

I wonder how the fakers are going to get around it.  Or will it eventually become a more obvious version of the way it is now, where no one sensible would really believe they are getting a genuine LV bag or Rolex for cheap, but they are sold here all the same.  Lots of people don't mind fakes because they can't afford the real thing.  There are even "replica" sites that sell openly sell fakes.  They can't sell them here.  

It also says, 

there will be messaging on their listing that highlights that the item will be reviewed by a professional authenticator before it’s delivered to the buyer. If the item sells, a professional will authenticate the item. If the item passes inspection, the item will be forwarded to the buyer.

My question is, What happens when a mistake is made?  Fakes are getting better and better making it harder for authenticators to spot.  Its not a perfect world.  What happens when there is a mistake, or even a conflict, when the handbag is authenticated but the buyer's local expert insists it is merely a first-rate fake?