And now there's a handbag authenticity guarantee

[albertabrightalberta]

We've seen this before! And there WERE fakes, listed by supposedly "trusted" sellers. I'm not sure how this is different. 

https://pages.ebay.com/authenticity-guarantee-handbags/?_trkparms=%26clkid%3D2100149995298204382

[hpenryessentials]

This is even more terrifying. eBay is deciding what listings should be part of the program and which listings aren't?!? Who decides? Why is there even a $500 threshold 😂?!?! Just when you think you haven't heard it all it gets even more bizarre. But I suppose that's eBay. Thank you for looking into this. I've yet to hear an answer back.

[pikabo-icu]

Ok... I am bumping this back up as it seems to be rolling out to more bag sellers now and....

There's a thread posted on the selling board that has me angry and frankly, paranoid. Not because anything I have is counterfeit, I'm 100% certain nothing I have to list is fake but...

We know eBay is hiring "authenticators" with qualifications of "5 years of sales experience"  which qualifies them for SQUAT!

Now; it's been pointed out in this thread that for the sneaker program (no I don't sell sneakers but the programs are related), the TOS for the sneaker authentication text includes: "The shoes will NOT be forwarded to buyer or seller, if they deem the nonauthentic"!! 

For genuine fakes, I might be fine with that BUT these "authenticators" CAN and DO make mistakes.. Shoes have been mixed up & shipped to the wrong buyer etc..

NOT returning items to the seller, who may have purchased in good faith & be eligible to return to their point of purchase?? This is WRONG!

The seller could have bought this item and been told twas authentic, if they're within a return window, they could get a refund- but NOT if eBay KEEPS THE ITEM!

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Authenticity/td-p/32040523 

[donsdetour]

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@pikabo-icu wrote:

And yet another problem with the sneaker authentication program. SIGH

EVERYTHING that can go wrong with a program like this has/is going wrong with the sneakers..

ALL of this can happen with the handbag program as well..

Help needed - Bought a pair of Authenticity Guarantee shoes, sold them on eBay, got rejected as Fake 

This person tried to resell the shoes with eBay's authenticity tag still attached..

---

LOL might have switched the tags to fake ones... Who knows...

That will be a problem with any of this.

[albertabrightalberta]

My opinion is that there needs to be some transparency as to the authenticators as well as recourse for sellers in the event of error. Ebay shouldn't get to keep, dispose of or liquidate items that are deemed as fake. 

Does anyone remember when that was done over a decade ago and Paypal handled the return and supposed destruction and resale? The "fakes" (whether fake or not) were sent to a liquidation company which often resold those items, again whether they were fake or not?

From Ina: 

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/abblog/blog.pl?/comments/2008/7/1214969880.html/3/20

and

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m07/i02/s01

There was a reason the program ended and it certainly shouldn't be reincarnated. 

[pikabo-icu]

Absolutely..

There should be some recourse and if eBay doesn't want to pay the seller for the item, it needs to be returned. 

I resell frequently and if one buys from a website that sells preowned goods & then lists on eBay- if that item is deemed counterfeit by eBay's "authentication program"  we should be able to return to the site from which we originally purchased from for a refund. We need the bag/shoes to do that.

I indeed remember that items that were "destroyed" ended up being sold- and I wonder how many ended up on the feet or arms of "authenticators".

There have been a lot of issues with these authentication programs- and the problems are piling up.

At the VERY least these authentication inspection areas should be on camera & the identity of the examiner noted so that when there's an issue; a recording can be consulted to compare items received vs what arrived to buyer or seller returns. They wouldn't have to name the person, just examiner # 123 or some ID that's known internally. 

[earth_is_flat]

You should be worried. I just sold a 2008 Balenciaga Bag that I KNOW to be real and it was mine. Today there is a message that the bag did not pass authentication and is being returned. I will be glad if my bag arrives safely, but the buyer will be disappointed and think I am some sort of scammer. I don't think the employees know much about older Balenciaga bags. It was rejected as soon as it arrived like they didn't even check.

[petals_and_vines]

I've seen jobs posted where they will "train" people to authenticate! Complete JOKE. You can't "train" someone to authenticate in a couple weeks, or months. It takes YEARS.  Y E A R S. 

Probably why your bag was rejected. 

They would rather pluck people off the street and "train" them than LISTEN TO THOSE OF US HERE WHO ACTUALLY HAVE THE REQUIRED EXPERIENCE!

It's truly the bizarro world of handbags.