I am having a similar issue. I mailed two PSA slabs to be authenticated on Dec 31st. They signed for both on Jan 5th. One of the cards has already been delivered to the buyer. It is done and dusted!
The other -- It has been at that stage 1, since the 5th (today 1/16/24). No movement, no notice, no nothing!
I gave them the benefit of the doubt thinking it was an issue with -- backup of the holiday purchases, but would have hoped things moved to the next stage already.
You said eBay is thinking it is either lost or stolen while in the authenticators office?
If I was the buyer I would be worried. Once that card was delivered and signed by the eBay authenticator you would think it's on them. They took co-ownership of the card when accepting it so I hope they sort it out quickly.
Even though I think the authentication system is a step in the right direction -- I am having some second thoughts about it. It is a shame because I sold more cards! I sent the authenticators two more expensive cards, and thousands is being held until they're authenticated, which I am okay with for a week (even though it suggests only two days) ... but from what I've been reading it makes me think my money is going to be locked up for a month. This is NOT what I had in mind when I decided to sell a few cards.
Even more of an issue was another card was sent to the authenticators and the USPS says when it tried to make delivery "Alert No Access to Delivery Location SANTA ANA, CA 92706 January 13, 2024, 12:14 pm" We could not access the delivery location to deliver your package at 12:14 pm on January 13, 2024 in SANTA ANA, CA 92706. We will redeliver on the next delivery day. No action needed.-- So they did try to deliver it to the authenticators and either nobody was there to sign for it, the building was closed, or the postal service couldn't access the building.
ALL of the above is my experiences since Jan 5th. I think I've had enough to last a lifetime!
