eBay

housecat*****boutique · ‎11-11-2023

I sold a Louis Vuitton item for over $600, I received payment and purchased a shipping label. Apparently, the item went to the buyer and not to Authenticity Guarantee. When I sold, I looked for a label to "Ebay" but there was only one label I could find, so I assumed the Authenticity Guarantee was performed by people working from home and I sent it. Now the buyer wants to know why there is no Authenticity tag. What do I do? Can she send it to Ebay now to get the tag? Why didn't Ebay give me the correct label??

housecat*****boutique · ‎11-11-2023

Also, does anyone know how I can contact ebay about this?

silverstatetreasureboxes · ‎11-11-2023

@housecat*****boutique

So what you are saying that upon the completed sale of this handbag, you never received the authenticator label generated by eBay? What did the label that you printed off read?

Your listing shows the blue button of authentication and this address to said authenticator would be the only one that shows up, not buyer. So my next question is, Did you in fact receive legit payment for this item?

housecat*****boutique · ‎11-11-2023

Update - I spoke with Ebay and there was a glitch in the system and Ebay did not generate a label for the Authenticator, the label generated was to the buyer. I requested that they send the buyer a label so she can mail the item to an authenticator and get the authentication tag. Ebay said that the only way the buyer can get the item authenticated will be to return it, I re-list it, she re-buys it and now that the 'glitch' is fixed, the item will go to an authenticator. In short, the whole Authenticator thing is **bleep** I feel this is unfair to the buyer. Fortunately, I included every document possible with the item and I hope she can take it to a local boutique and authenticate it herself. Or call Louis Vuitton directly and verify that it was purchased (I purchased it from Louis Vuitton online in February 2023). I wish there was another place to sell luxury items...the Real Real costs to much, I don't do Facebook Marketplace....

gurlcat · ‎11-11-2023

WOW. So eBay admits THEY messed up ..... but you and the buyer have to go through this or that hoop to fix their mistake ..... and I don't suppose this representative offered to contact your buyer or provide you with any written proof that it was a glitch, proof you could share with the buyer .... so you just have to tell them and hope they take your word. Did I say 'wow' already?

12345jamesstamps · ‎11-11-2023

Tell the woman if she wants to know if its real maybe stop by an high end store and ask a clerk or maybe a few of them if its real. Would save a lot of money on shipping. Actually, it would be the same kind of authenticity the woman would get if the purse went to LV or NJ to be authenticated....just no tag. No pun intended.

silverstatetreasureboxes · ‎11-11-2023

@gurlcat

Well if you didn't say " WOW " enough I will say it with you. This is unbelievable to say the least.

@housecat*****boutique

Thank you for filling us in on what happened. There has got to be someone to contact over this mess but it's a holiday w/ e ( of course it is) maybe poster

@albertabrightalberta can help.

albertabrightalberta · ‎11-11-2023

I'd caution the buyer to avoid letting LV know an item was purchased from a third party website. The manufacturers and designer boutiques want buyers to purchase directly (not taking into account that items are often discontinued and impossible to buy new) and have been known to pronounce authentic items as fake.

They also err in the other direction since SAs aren't trained to authenticate and may deem fakes as authentic if an item has a "correct" date code or style number.

@housecat*****boutique

What I would do is have the buyer send it back to you so you can relist and hope that the "glitch" is fixed.

I'd go to Facebook for business and ~~request~~ demand that they cover your expenses for the initial shipping, fees and return label since this was their error.

They should make you whole so you can start over again.

albertabrightalberta
Volunteer Community Mentor

gurlcat · ‎11-11-2023

@albertabrightalberta wrote:
I'd caution the buyer to avoid letting LV know an item was purchased from a third party website. The manufacturers and designer boutiques want buyers to purchase directly (not taking into account that items are often discontinued and impossible to buy new) and have been known to pronounce authentic items as fake.

They also err in the other direction since SAs aren't trained to authenticate and may deem fakes as authentic if an item has a "correct" date code or style number.

@housecat*****boutique
What I would do is have the buyer send it back to you so you can relist and hope that the "glitch" is fixed.

I'd go to Facebook for business and ~~request~~ demand that they cover your expenses for the initial shipping, fees and return label since this was their error.

They should make you whole so you can start over again.

You living legend. Time to say it again ... WOWWWW!!! -but in a good way this time. 😁
And heck YES eBay needs to smooth every annoying crease in this hot mess.

sextons-sweet-deals · ‎11-11-2023

In theory, you as a seller should have realized the address on the printed label was not the authenticator.

A little too much going on here and I'm not sure we are being told the complete story.

If I was selling a $600 + item, it would be set as pick-up only and pay then.

two red flags in your posts:

1. When I sold, I looked for a label to "Ebay" but there was only one label I could find, so I assumed the Authenticity Guarantee was performed by people working from home and I sent it. Now the buyer wants to know why there is no Authenticity tag.

2. Ebay said that the only way the buyer can get the item authenticated will be to return it, I re-list it, she re-buys it and now that the 'glitch' is fixed, the item will go to an authenticator.

What kind of timeline are we talking about here for all this to take place?

housecat*****boutique · ‎11-11-2023

I know the item is Authentic, and I will make sure my buyer is comfortable with the transaction, whether I do it through Ebay or outside of Ebay. I spent an entire morning before work trying to make sure the label was correct and the item was going to the Authentication center. I have read in forums that the "Authentication" is done through outsourcing (people working from home) so I was reasonably confident that the item was going to an Authenticator, though I questions why "Ebay Authenticator" was not part of the address. I will give the buyer an option to return for a full refund if she is not completely satisfied. I have a copy of the transcript of the Ebay chat so I have proof of the glitch, although that doesn't solve the question of Authenticity for the buyer and ultimately it is up to her how she wants to proceed. I just don't really buy the whole Authenticity Guarantee through Ebay though and would not ever buy a luxury item through Ebay. How is it I have sold numerous items on Ebay for 20+ years and the ONE "Authenticity Guaranteed" item had a 'glitch'? I call **bleep** I'd rather pay the extra fees and sell my LVs somewhere else.

gurlcat · ‎11-11-2023

Oh what a relief that you had the ebay response via chat, because I could see a buyer being very suspicious of a seller just claiming "glitch". I didn't know authenticators could be in-home gig workers but it kind of makes sense, considering some people are extremely specialized in one brand or whatever, so they might not have work to show up to an office for every day, also how many specialists could there be within reasonable driving radius to such an office? -As for not saying "ebay authenticator" on the address, I have no idea if there's anything like that on a (real) authenticator shipping label, but I wouldn't be surprised if they avoid it. USPS has a non-zero tolerance for employees losing packages once in a while, so an unscrupulous one might keep an eye out for the best ones to "lose", and one that says it's going to an authenticator would be a clear indication that something very valuable is inside (well assuming it's authentic).

I hope you don't leave eBay altogether, but I wouldn't blame you if you won't mess with luxury here again. If you enter 'authenticaion' in the forum search, you'll see plenty of other horror stories.

valueaddedresource · ‎11-11-2023

@gurlcat wrote:
Oh what a relief that you had the ebay response via chat, because I could see a buyer being very suspicious of a seller just claiming "glitch". I didn't know authenticators could be in-home gig workers but it kind of makes sense, considering some people are extremely specialized in one brand or whatever, so they might not have work to show up to an office for every day, also how many specialists could there be within reasonable driving radius to such an office? -As for not saying "ebay authenticator" on the address, I have no idea if there's anything like that on a (real) authenticator shipping label, but I wouldn't be surprised if they avoid it. USPS has a non-zero tolerance for employees losing packages once in a while, so an unscrupulous one might keep an eye out for the best ones to "lose", and one that says it's going to an authenticator would be a clear indication that something very valuable is inside (well assuming it's authentic).

I hope you don't leave eBay altogether, but I wouldn't blame you if you won't mess with luxury here again. If you enter 'authenticaion' in the forum search, you'll see plenty of other horror stories.

@housecat*****boutique @gurlcat to my knowledge, the current handbag authentication program is not a work at home gig, though I'd definitely be interested to see where that info might be coming from.

eBay handles handbag authentication in-house at their "state of the art" facilities.

Who is providing the authentication services?

eBay's team of professionally trained authenticators vet and verify each bag, utilizing detailed, physical inspection and advanced technical equipment in a state-of-the-art facility.

https://www.ebay.com/authenticity-guarantee/handbags

I know for sure in the US they have one in Las Vegas and one in New Jersey, though there could possibly be others.

Every job ad I've ever seen for authenticators on eBay's careers page does not list them as "remote" or "hybrid" positions ,which makes sense - can you imagine the liability and logistics nightmare it would be not to have everything done in one location with security and handling protocols in place?

This is a very unfortunate glitch though and it's unconscionable the way eBay is just wiping their hands clean of any responsibility or accountability for the issue.

housecat*****boutique · ‎11-11-2023

Agreed. I'm very disappointed they wouldn't just send the buyer a label. I might try to talk to them again through Chat to see if I get a different answers.

buzzapparel · ‎11-11-2023

I don’t understand what this label to “eBay” is even supposed to mean? There is no mention of eBay anywhere on the shipping addresses to the various Authenticators. They are fairly easy to determine but it’s not because it says “eBay” anywhere in the recipient address.