Buyers - don't use Authenticity Guarantee... unless you are prepared to lose all your money :)
Jewelry friends, learn from my horror story.
Well, it's finally happened - after 15 years of buying and selling vintage jewelry on eBay, I have been cheated and will lose a lot of money. Not cheated by the seller, but cheated by eBay themselves, the people with more money than God.
The seller shipped the item - a pendant with a stone hanging from the bottom of it - and then the Authenticity group informed me that they could not authenticate it. When I asked why, they gave a vague misspelled answer about the metal content is unable to be tested. So I emailed the seller - a huge jewelry storefront that I've bought from before - and they said they tested it and it is reliable. I figured I'd like to assess the item myself, and if a jeweler didn't like it, the seller has a 30-day return policy anyway. So I told eBay to send it to me anyway. Obviously, dear Reader: FORESHADOWING. This is where I went wrong.
Turns out the pendant was broken, and that's likely why the Authenticity folks didn't want to send it to me. It almost looked like someone had handled it a little too harshly and twisted the small jump ring that attached the stone to the main part.
So again I contacted both the seller and the Authenticity people. And the Authenticity people demanded photos of the packaging and the Authenticity paperwork. I said there is no paperwork because you didn't authenticate it, but the seller agrees to a return, I just want to return it. I figure even if the seller wants to charge me for a couple hundred dollars worth of repair, at least I'm not totally out of money. eBay refused to let me send it directly to the seller, so I complied, packaged it up carefully, and FedExed it back to the Authenticity group. Still following me? Well, you know what happened. They refused to "authenticate" it and sent it back to me and informed me I cannot have a refund. Even though the seller is willing to refund.
So, learn from my naivete: a) Never purchase anything via Authenticity Guarantee. If you want a unique item, do a little googling in case the seller has a real storefront elsewhere, or a shop at the other "e" site. b) If the "authenticators" (heavy quotes there, hahaha) refuse to authenticate, DO NOT accept the item. It might still be perfect, it might be exactly what you want, but if you then choose to return it under an existing return policy, eBay will not honor that policy, even if the seller would.
As of now, I have no idea if I'll get any of my money back, but this was perhaps the lesson I needed to learn: don't trust eBay; don't trust their authenticators; and don't buy anything valuable on this site through the authenticators. eBay is not supporting sellers as they used to be.
I will say this: I used to feel that eBay backed the seller 90% of the time, and that's why I was willing to make large purchases from unknown people. And for most of my time as a collector of vintage/antique jewelry, I was right to trust! I've successfully bought a lot of high-end jewelry off this site, met many very kind and honest sellers, and had an overall good experience. If I bought the wrong thing, I politely asked to return it, and returned it, and no one was harmed financially. I've successfully passed on my own pre-loved things and my buyers were happy too. But now this Authenticity Guarantee group is inserting themselves into the middle of the transactions, and they are demonstrably *not* honest nor well-meaning! If you buy something that allows returns, you want to be able to make the return. And you certainly don't want an intermediary "authenticator" with a metal detecting device and zero education to break the item and then stick you with the bill for it.
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoNo, just don't tell them to ship it to you if they can't authenticate it
idealgems1
·1 year agoI'm sorry for your bad experience. But I believe you still have the option to return it to the seller, and certainly the seller has the ability to issue you a refund or partial refund.
I had a piece I sold that was stamped "14K" that they tested at 13K purity. My buyer bought it anyway with the knowledge that I would accept the return if they didn't love it. The arrangement was that if they kept it, I would issue a partial refund for the difference in the gold value (about $20), or if they returned it, I would issue a full refund. This I would have done even if they sent it back to GIA and the return was rejected first.
The other thing I need to correct you on is that the Authenticator has "zero education". GIA is the largest, most recognized educational organization in the jewelry industry. They have, in fact, educated countless jewelry professionals...including me, who earned a Graduate Gemologist diploma from them. Remember, they failed to authenticate your piece (in an attempt to protect you), and you decided to buy it anyway.
I hope you get your purchase straightened out!
silverstatetreasureboxes
·1 year ago@quercusrabidicus
Hmmm, OK you did several things wrong here. You were in the Authentication process, if they can't authenticate it properly it goes back to the seller and you get your money back. That part you should have left alone.
You could have message the buyer to put up a special listing for you that you could have repurchased jewelry after seller received piece back.
You have made this whole transaction tough on you and the seller because now you no longer want the jewelry.
I do have a question, how were you able to talk and get ahold of the authenticator when most people cannot?