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

[recped]

My question is, What happens when a mistake is made?

You get unhappy buyers and unhappy sellers, especially when eBay fails to explain when it's appropriate to use such a service (presuming it actually worked). No doubt there will newbie (and not so newbie) sellers signing up to have their $100 handbag authenticated which will need to to get a price bump to cover the authentication fee, the double shipping fees and enjoy the week or so extra delay in receiving the item, yeah that will make buyers really happy.

Next you'll have those sellers who are convinced they have a "real" bag "I bought it in a store and I have a receipt". When the authenticators receive a counterfeit LV bag what are they going to do, return it to the seller? I would think that would make them somewhat complicit in the distribution of counterfeits without the ability eBay currently has to say "we don't know because we don't have and can't examine the item".

Will eBay put a hold on funds for any sale sent for authentication? After all if it turns out to be fake eBay will need to refund the buyer for the cancelled sale and that money will come from the seller who sold the item.

Oh well, I'm sure it's a great plan, devised by the best people and without a doubt it will "make eBay great again"!

[cumos55]

This program caters to ... all ... sellers.

But....  Only certain sellers ... or buyers... will require such authentication... specifically based on what they buy and how much they are willing to pay

[cumos55]

All items identified as fake will most likely get destroyed.

[pjcdn2005]

I suspect that they would destroy anything they deemed counterfeit and the seller would be out that money even if the item was authentic and the authenticator made a mistake. In regards to high end bags, I don't know a lot about them but I do know that there are specific things to look for on each brand and that  those things can vary within the same brand.  Because of that, authenticators often specialize in just 1 or 2 brands.  As a seller can I trust that eBay will give my bag to someone who is familiar with that brand and who will not make a mistake and destroy my bag?

There is a problem with counterfeits here but I just dont don't see how they are going to do this. There are fakes in every price range and probably every category so how can they possible authenticate so many different types of items.  

"Make eBay great again".........hmmm,... .well it must be true if I read it here! 

[rose-dee]

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@recped wrote:

You get unhappy buyers and unhappy sellers, especially when eBay fails to explain when it's appropriate to use such a service (presuming it actually worked). No doubt there will newbie (and not so newbie) sellers signing up to have their $100 handbag authenticated which will need to to get a price bump to cover the authentication fee, the double shipping fees and enjoy the week or so extra delay in receiving the item, yeah that will make buyers really happy.

Next you'll have those sellers who are convinced they have a "real" bag "I bought it in a store and I have a receipt". When the authenticators receive a counterfeit LV bag what are they going to do, return it to the seller? I would think that would make them somewhat complicit in the distribution of counterfeits without the ability eBay currently has to say "we don't know because we don't have and can't examine the item".

Will eBay put a hold on funds for any sale sent for authentication? After all if it turns out to be fake eBay will need to refund the buyer for the cancelled sale and that money will come from the seller who sold the item. 

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All good points, and a very good question that isn't dealt with at all in the announcement.  

Although I didn't read the announcement this way at first, I think you're right that it seems the items are going to be personally handled by an authenticator, and of course -- importantly -- not in the presence of the parties to the transaction, so there's some control over the actual handling.  

So I would add to your list the buyer's anger and the seller's dismay when they both find out that the "authenticator" has accidentally damaged an expensive item, no matter how minor the issue.  It doesn't take much to diminish the value of a rare designer (or antique) item.  This may not be such a big concern with sturdier things like handbags, but as a seller I wouldn't want a third party putting a snag in the front of a Dior or Chanel evening gown I had just sold, or accidentally putting a small scratch on the toe of those Jimmy Choos.  

Another point: I think most sellers of higher-end items will want to pack them with particular care and attractiveness.  It doesn't give me much confidence in this regard when I consider what a mess Pitney-Bowes as intermediary has made of parcels I've purchased from the U.S. via the GSP.  Will eBay's "authenticators" also be such careful and expert shippers?   And who gets blamed if the item is damaged during the second leg of the shipping trip as a result of poor repacking?  

The more I think about this, the more it sounds like a SNAFU in the making...

I'll be very interested to see what categories or item types eBay applies this concept to, whether "branded" modern items only, or vintage and antique categories.   

[rose-dee]

Sorry, I meant to say up there: "not in the presence of the parties to the transaction, so there's no control over the actual handling."

[ricarmic]

Regardless how we feel about it as sellers, I think I understand why they are trying to do it.

Generally I don't bother to try to encourage folks to check out general stuff on eBay anymore because that's all I ever hear:

-its all fake stuff

-it never arrives

-they've fallen for PAYPAL phishing and got compromised and/or lost money (which really isn't a direct ebay problem)

So it almost always is never a happy conversation, so I've stopped raising it. (fortunately things aren't as bad in the stamp portion of eBay, but normally I'm not in the position to be suggesting ebay to stamp folks anyway because "everybody" knows about it - usually if there's a complaint on the stamp side, it is the Phishing problem)

While the things eBay is trying to do are certainly isn't making our lives any easier, I think it is important to remember that if nobody's buying then none of us are selling either.

I'm not sure how well this authentication will work when it is all in place, but I do have to say that I support the concept they're trying to put in place from a customers perspective....

[dutchman48]

Worst case.

I don't sell that stuff but here is my story and questions.

I sell a $4000 handbag and it goes to the authenticator and deemed it is authentic. It then gets sent to the buyer. How is the bag identified after that?

Buyer files a SNAD for another reason other than fake.

What does Ebay do? Can it be returned? What records are there in regards to the original authentication for identity purposes

If so, what is to say you get your item back?

As long as Ebay has their return policies that don't protect sellers from fraudulant returns, this will do absolutely no good.

All of this stuff has been tried before with coins and currency and then you have holders with identity numbers to rely on. Guess what, holders are forged as well to sell counterfeits or just higher grades.

Same with Certificates of Authenticity. They are constantly being forged.

Yes, I am a pessimist but also a realist. Ask ICCS what it means to have holders forged.

It is all a smokescreen to bring Ebay more income.

One other question, Will any of this be binding on Paypal or any other future seller or buyer?