Authentication

[fishing-tripps]

Is it common for an authinticator to buy an item for themselves personally and have the item sent to themselves for authentication?  I couldn’t figure out why I was sending the item to be authenticated since the purchase price was below them threshold for it to be authenticated but I shipped it anyway. Then the problems began. I got two items mixed up and sent them to the wrong people.  So the authinticator(also the buyer) got the wrong card. He was very angry about it.  As soon as I found out what I had done I issued full refunds to both buyers. The authinticator accused me of canceling/refunding him because I wanted to keep the card to sell for a higher price. Seemed very personal but I didn’t catch it at the time that he was the buyer. I felt like I did everything I could given the situation by immediately giving both parties a full refund. Approximately 10 days later all my funds were put on hold and I went from having the best possible payout schedule to the worst possible payout schedule. I called customer service and was blatantly lied to twice. They said that every seller in America was being changed to the new payout schedule of 72 hours after delivery is confirmed. This just didn’t sit right so I called some friends that sell on eBay and asked if their payout schedule had been changed. Of course I found out that none of their payouts had changed.  This is when I began to look at transactions and realized the buyer was the authinticator. So I have no clue how to address the issue as the people in customer service are obviously involved in this mess. I am a top rated seller and if ratings were done today I would be still be a top rated seller.  Customer service says they will call back and then they don’t. So I’m sitting here with 7 shipments that need to go out tomorrow morning. 3 of these are supposed to be authenticated. Should I just cancel these orders??? Certainly not interested in sending in more items to this guy. Certainly not interested in giving eBay more of money to hold on to for an undermined amount of time. Just seem like a pretty big conflict of interest when the authenticator is the actual buyer having items sent to himself for authentication.  I certainly was in the wrong by shipping the wrong item to the wrong buyer. Was there another way I should have handled it outside of sending a full refund and making the buyers aware of what had happened?  Please advise as I have no idea how to move forward. 

[pickapaper]

@fishing-tripps 

I think everyone on here has probably mixed up packages and sent them to the wrong people.  The best thing to do in that situation is to let the buyer know what you did, apologize profusely, and have them file an Item Not as Described claim so that they will be issued a label to return the item, then when you get the item back, you can issue a refund to them.  Then you can relist the items and they can re-purchase if they are still interested.

I don't know why you jumped the gun and issued refunds to both buyers immediately.  By doing that, you lost both the money and the items.  By issuing refunds up front, there is no incentive for the buyers to return the items. I don't know how much money you are talking about, but looking at some of your sold item, it could have been expensive for you.

Now, about that authenticator being the buyer...how do you know that?  Do you have proof of that? And actually, what difference would it make?  A buyer is a buyer.  You sold an item but sent the wrong thing.  Lots of buyers get really, really upset about things like that as they think the seller is scamming them.   IMHO, you made a mistake and you are trying to justify something that isn't there. 

[kensgiftshop]

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@fishing-tripps wrote:

I called customer service and was blatantly lied to twice. They said that every seller in America was being changed to the new payout schedule of 72 hours after delivery is confirmed. 

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There's been other sellers complaining that CS told them the same thing.

[fishing-tripps]

Yes I have proof that buyer is the Authinticator. He has also admitted that is the case in our messages.  I was so embarrassed about sending the wrong item that the getting the items back was not much of a concern at the time.  It’s turned out to be very expensive and I would not make same decision now if it were to occur again.  I appreciate your feedback. Thanks for taking the time to do so. 

[fishing-tripps]

I think it’s a major conflict of interest for the buyer to be the authinticator. It could create a multitude of issues this being one of them. 

[powell-collectibles]

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@fishing-tripps wrote:

I think it’s a major conflict of interest for the buyer to be the authinticator. It could create a multitude of issues this being one of them. 

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I think it natural that an authenticator is also a collector.  And if he is  a collector, certainly reasonable that he authenticates the item.  Maybe I’d advise him to not have personal items shipped to the authentication location - that just confuses the situation.  

[tobaccocardyahoo]

I agree that an authenticator who authenticates on his own behalf has a conflict of interest, and I would notify the company Ebay uses to authenticate of their employee's conflict of interest, and also notify the legal department at Ebay. If their contract does not prohibit self-dealing it should be changed so it does.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@kensgiftshop wrote:

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@fishing-tripps wrote:

I called customer service and was blatantly lied to twice. They said that every seller in America was being changed to the new payout schedule of 72 hours after delivery is confirmed. 

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There's been other sellers complaining that CS told them the same thing.

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Isn't that the new rule for PRIVATE sellers in the UK?

Maybe CS is confused as to whom it applies. (Wouldn't be the first time).

[gone.c-33]

What proof do you have that the buyer is the authenticator other than them just saying so?

[fishing-tripps]

It shows it on the shipping page. I guess there is the possibility that they both have the exact same name and live in the same city. 

[gone.c-33]

Of course the authenticator’s name and address show on the shipping page, you don’t get access to the buyer’s actual address.

[theteamsetguy]

@fishing-tripps ,

Just fyi the buyer of your card probably used this new service.

eBay and PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) have partnered to offer a streamlined process for buying, authenticating, and grading trading cards. This partnership integrates PSA grading directly into the eBay buying experience, allowing buyers to send eligible raw cards for grading immediately after purchase. 

Here's how it works:

Buying and Authentication:

• Eligible cards are identified with an "Authenticity Guarantee" checkmark on ebay.
• Once purchased, the card is sent to PSA for authentication and inspection.
• For ungraded cards, PSA experts verify authenticity and check listing accuracy.
• For graded cards, PSA experts authenticate the case and label.
• The card is then shipped to the buyer with signature confirmation. 

PSA Grading Integration:

• Buyers can choose to add PSA grading at checkout after purchasing an eligible card. 
• The card is then sent to PSA for grading according to the PSA 10 point scale. 

[fishing-tripps]

It shows the buyers name. About a half page down on the order info  from authinticators shipping address