PSA Charged $ 100 to Authenticate a $ 17 Autograph

[vintage761]

I sold a $ 17  Autograph to a customer, plus $ 2.60 Shipping. My customer said she was sending it off to PSA to be authenticated.  Nearly two months later my customer contacted me to let me know the autograph PASSED  PSA authentication.  That was fine. My customer now feels that I should split the $ 100 cost for the authentication.  I said NO WAY.  This is the third time in a year, that I sold an autograph for less than $ 20 and , despite being found authentic by PSA, customers somehow feel that I should ,after the sale, pay part of or entire cost for authentication.  Is this a trend ?  There is no way, as a seller, that I can justify  paying a third party $ 100 for an opinion on a cheap autograph. I was once a full time autograph dealer and I have nearly fifty years experience and there is not one PSA employee that I can not go toe to toe with as far as knowledge. If an autograph is only worth a few dollars, then I fail see see the justification for paying someone five times the value for a written opinion. 

[cargo11]

Me, I would not even reply to this - like a car being "checked out" after the fact to PROVE it ran okay and then demanding $100 for the check up. If you have to write back - state - now the autograph is worth even more - so they can "up" the price to $200 and sell it with authentic paperwork! But I know how you feel. Buyers that question, then do things on their own and demand someone else be responsible for their actions...........no self-responsiblity on their own.

[godzilla_goose]

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@vintage761wrote:

I sold a $ 17  Autograph to a customer, plus $ 2.60 Shipping. My customer said she was sending it off to PSA to be authenticated.  Nearly two months later my customer contacted me to let me know the autograph PASSED  PSA authentication.  That was fine. My customer now feels that I should split the $ 100 cost for the authentication.  I said NO WAY.  This is the third time in a year, that I sold an autograph for less than $ 20 and , despite being found authentic by PSA, customers somehow feel that I should ,after the sale, pay part of or entire cost for authentication.  Is this a trend ?  There is no way, as a seller, that I can justify  paying a third party $ 100 for an opinion on a cheap autograph. I was once a full time autograph dealer and I have nearly fifty years experience and there is not one PSA employee that I can not go toe to toe with as far as knowledge. If an autograph is only worth a few dollars, then I fail see see the justification for paying someone five times the value for a written opinion. 

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vintage761,

You are under no obligation whatsoever for any part of PSA authentication costs for which you did not incur. Your buyer chose to have the autograph authenticated by PSA. The buyer incurred the cost.

If your buyer wants to turn around and sell it, THEN they can set their asking price accordingly to factor in the PSA authenticating costs.

You, as I wrote above, are under no obligation whatsoever for paying any portion of those PSA authentication costs.

[partial*eclipse]

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@vintage761wrote:

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 .... my customer contacted me to let me know the autograph PASSED  PSA authentication.  That was fine. My customer now feels that I should split the $ 100 cost for the authentication. .... 

LOL!  What on earth is she thinking?

[sam9876]

Ignore and put them on your blocked bidder list.

[a*river*runs*through*it]

Ask her what she's smoking to think that you owe her one red cent.

I wouldn't  even reply to something that off the wall.

I'd block ASAP.

[bigchief2472000]

Obviously, you shouldn't have to explain to the buyer why they got the autograph for so cheap in the first place, but apparently, they're failing to grasp that concept.

[nawlinsron2]

Ask for a copy of the PSA report...things might get fun.

[bigchief2472000]

You might ask them if they intend to pay you the difference in value between an unauthenticated autograph and one that has been authenticated.

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@cargo11wrote:
Me, I would not even reply to this - like a car being "checked out" after the fact to PROVE it ran okay and then demanding $100 for the check up. If you have to write back - state - now the autograph is worth even more - so they can "up" the price to $200 and sell it with authentic paperwork! But I know how you feel. Buyers that question, then do things on their own and demand someone else be responsible for their actions...........no self-responsiblity on their own.

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the seller should be like no problem but now that you've got it officially authenticated Its worth $200 so I'll split the cost of the $100 for the authentication but in doing so I feel I should be entitled to half the new value.  after the cost of the authentication and what you originally paid you now owe me $40   😛

ok not really but it's not any more ridiculous then what the buyer wants 

[chipper01work]

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@vintage761wrote:

I sold a $ 17  Autograph to a customer, plus $ 2.60 Shipping. My customer said she was sending it off to PSA to be authenticated.  Nearly two months later my customer contacted me to let me know the autograph PASSED  PSA authentication.  That was fine. My customer now feels that I should split the $ 100 cost for the authentication.  I said NO WAY.  This is the third time in a year, that I sold an autograph for less than $ 20 and , despite being found authentic by PSA, customers somehow feel that I should ,after the sale, pay part of or entire cost for authentication.  Is this a trend ?  There is no way, as a seller, that I can justify  paying a third party $ 100 for an opinion on a cheap autograph. I was once a full time autograph dealer and I have nearly fifty years experience and there is not one PSA employee that I can not go toe to toe with as far as knowledge. If an autograph is only worth a few dollars, then I fail see see the justification for paying someone five times the value for a written opinion. 

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There are lots of idiots in this world OP, you just sold to one of them.

[go-bad-chicken]

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@vintage761wrote:

I sold a $ 17  Autograph to a customer, plus $ 2.60 Shipping. My customer said she was sending it off to PSA to be authenticated.  Nearly two months later my customer contacted me to let me know the autograph PASSED  PSA authentication.  That was fine. My customer now feels that I should split the $ 100 cost for the authentication.  I said NO WAY.  This is the third time in a year, that I sold an autograph for less than $ 20 and , despite being found authentic by PSA, customers somehow feel that I should ,after the sale, pay part of or entire cost for authentication.  Is this a trend ?  There is no way, as a seller, that I can justify  paying a third party $ 100 for an opinion on a cheap autograph. I was once a full time autograph dealer and I have nearly fifty years experience and there is not one PSA employee that I can not go toe to toe with as far as knowledge. If an autograph is only worth a few dollars, then I fail see see the justification for paying someone five times the value for a written opinion. 

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This sounds like a fishing expedition. One in which the buyer is hoping that the seller will bite and pay for 1/2 of their authentication fees.

You could reply with something like, No unfortunately my listings do not cover third party certification fees, but if you feel that this is unsatisfactory, I will be happy to accept your return of this item and issue you a refund for your total original purchase price of $19.60.

My guess would be nothing but, Crickets............................................

[rolenboy01]

I don't know if this buyer is a scammer or an idiot or both but WOW, I thought most people knew MANY items are not authenticated because it costs more than many of them are worth and if they didn't know that they shouldn't have been buying, but as we know there are way too many idiots out there who buy items they are clueless about because eBay coddles their idiocy.

[timemachine777]

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@vintage761wrote:

I sold a $ 17  Autograph to a customer, plus $ 2.60 Shipping. My customer said she was sending it off to PSA to be authenticated.  Nearly two months later my customer contacted me to let me know the autograph PASSED  PSA authentication.  That was fine. My customer now feels that I should split the $ 100 cost for the authentication.  I said NO WAY.  This is the third time in a year, that I sold an autograph for less than $ 20 and , despite being found authentic by PSA, customers somehow feel that I should ,after the sale, pay part of or entire cost for authentication.  Is this a trend ?  There is no way, as a seller, that I can justify  paying a third party $ 100 for an opinion on a cheap autograph. I was once a full time autograph dealer and I have nearly fifty years experience and there is not one PSA employee that I can not go toe to toe with as far as knowledge. If an autograph is only worth a few dollars, then I fail see see the justification for paying someone five times the value for a written opinion. 

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The buyer has a screw loose. They chose to buy your item, and then they chose to get it verified. That on them. I would tell them to get real. 

[ed8108]

If a buyer suspects that an item may not be authentic,my recommendation is move on, do not buy

If a buyer on their own iniative and motion submits an item for authentication, and it receives a favorable review, there is no course of action against the seller. The buyer should be very pleased. The seller is not morally obligated or legally bound to contribute toward payment of the authentication expense. 

The price that buyers are willing to currently pay to acquire a particular item, prohibit manny items from being submitted for authentication. 

Authentication by a recognized expert clearly increases both the desirability of the item and the cost to acquire the item by a buyer.

Authentication is an opinion, and is  based upon the expertise of the authenticator.

Your customer should be very pleased with the positive evaluation that the item received.