Do sneakers still get authenticated when selling internationally, how protected are we?

[tristian_05]

So I started posting my sneakers with International shipping. Today I had a buyer with Zero buys, Zero feedback, zero selling, and just opened their account on 1/12/22 with today being 1/15/22. When I asked "why is the account so new?" that stated they "lost their other account info and couldn't log back in". I saw all red flags, and decided to cancel the item, it just didn't feel right..

I am fairly new on selling on eBay but I thought all sneakers get authenticated?  Is it correct for me to now think if a sneaker is going to be shipped international it will not go through eBay's authentication program? the sneaker I was selling was over $400 and if authentication will not go through eBay when shipping international we would seem to be vulnerable to scams.

[klhmdg]

I would not sell international.

There are enough scammers in the US.

Authentication cannot protect you 100% from scammers.

#1 rule - do not sell anything you cant afford to give away.

[stuff4divas]

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@tristian_05 wrote:

I am fairly new on selling on eBay but I thought all sneakers get authenticated?  Is it correct for me to now think if a sneaker is going to be shipped international it will not go through eBay's authentication program? the sneaker I was selling was over $400 and if authentication will not go through eBay when shipping international we would seem to be vulnerable to scams.

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read this link for info>

https://pages.ebay.com/authenticity-guarantee-sneakers-seller/

Here is the section that you asked about, which means YES, you can ship to int'l countries you have authorized on your listings and that they WILL be authenticated.

How do I restrict my listings from shipping to buyers located outside of the US?

In order to exclude buyers that are located outside of the US from purchasing your item, go to your shipping preferencesand choose the locations you wish to exclude.

[tristian_05]

That didn't seem to be the case with me.  The address where I was shipping to and what I was asking through eBay to print out seem to be to a home or business ( actually library) address. When I ship here in the states it gets sent to a SneakerCon address like what it states in the Q&A for the sneaker authentication

[pjcdn2005]

According to that page the sneakers will be authenticated if sent within the US or to Canada and Australia.   I’m not sure what section @stuff4divas is referring to when they said that the authenticity program is for all countries that you ship to. 

[mtgraves7984]

I'm so afraid of the Sneaker Authentication program that I fear many levels of scam... shipped anywhere, unfortunately.

[reallynicestamps]

First, eBay has been promoting sneaker sales heavily, so finding a brand new customer is not surprising.

Second, if you have decided to sell internationally, look into adding the Global Shipping Program (GSP) to your listings.

This is a Seller Protection policy which ends your responsibility for delivery within the USA when the purchase arrives at the GSP plant in Kentucky.

I am not sure how the Authentication Program and the GSP work together.  That would be a good question for the eBay employees who run the Weekly Chat.  tyler@ebay  et al are very good about tweezing out obscure points of policy.

And I second third and fourth the suggestion that you Block bidders from countries you are uncomfortable shipping to. That in my opinion would be the entire continent of South America and the former Soviet Bloc.

[stuff4divas]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

According to that page the sneakers will be authenticated if sent within the US or to Canada and Australia.   I’m not sure what section @stuff4divas is referring to when they said that the authenticity program is for all countries that you ship to. 

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FAQ section

[pjcdn2005]

@stuff4divas 

I don’t see where it says anything about it being available worldwide.   As I mentioned earlier I could only find that they authenticate sneakers if the buyer is in the US, Canada or Australia.  

Only items purchased on eBay.com are eligible for Authenticity Guarantee. Items that are listed on eBay.com but located outside the U.S. for delivery to a buyer located within the US may be available for Authenticity Guarantee soon—check back for updates. However, items that ship to a buyer address located in Canada and Australia are eligible. Any other buyer address located outside of the U.S. are not eligible for the service at this time. Unincorporated territories (incl. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) and armed forces postal locations are not currently covered.

[stuff4divas]

ok

[ittybitnot]

I asked specifically in a weekly chat a couple of months ago if international buyers who use US freight forwarder addresses would be eligible to buy through the authentication program and the answer was yes. 

[richards*rock*collection]

I just send the stuff out, I never look at the name, or the address, or how long bla bla because I believe in eBay, you should too.

[downunder-61]

When I asked "why is the account so new?"

I can not believe you asked that question - you have 1 seller FB and have been selling for less than a month, I would have asked you the same question...........

[pjcdn2005]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

I asked specifically in a weekly chat a couple of months ago if international buyers who use US freight forwarder addresses would be eligible to buy through the authentication program and the answer was yes. 

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This isn't shipping to an international address so I would have expected that the answer would be yes.

[tristian_05]

Yes I just started selling as there was nothing to ever protect us when selling sneakers before.  The authentication does help and I know its not 100% but it is better than it was in previous years, that is why I now started selling on eBay.  I have been a eBay buyer, and registered member since 2006 with never receiving a negative feedback and never reversed any charge on anyone ever with any of my purchases which I have done plenty of. This person literally set up an account 3 days prior and buying a $400 plus sneaker with an address that would be going to a library, and the reply was I lost my other account credentials...  That is why I asked.  there is a huge difference in my and the buyers account.