I last week I sold my Cartier Juste un Clou 18k gold ring along with a Cartier matching bracelet to 2 separate buyers. Both items arrived at the GIA center in Carlsbad, CA, on the same day. 2 days ago I received an email from eBay indicating my ring failed its "test" and the buyer was being refunded. I was stunned! I bought this ring myself from the Cartier boutique and have the certificate of authenticity, invoice, paper cc receipts, and all original packaging. I listed everything accurately and provided photos of the engraving in my listing. The buyer and I exchanged several friendly messages over the course of the sale. The reason for failing was listed as "does not seem authenticate" - what an absolute joke! Whoever they have performing these tests are inept and incompetent. They probably have never seen a real Cartier ring! I was humiliated and embarrassed that the kind buyer now somehow thought I was trying to scam her. Ironically, I feel as I have been scammed by this entire ordeal. The bracelet, however, passed and was sent to buyer!
First thing I did was message the buyer and apologize. Thankfully, she was understanding and explained that she had a feeling this would happen because a friend of hers sold a real Tiffany jewelry piece that also failed.
Second thing I did was call the GIA center directly. No one answered, so I left a detailed voicemail. Then I emailed the GIA center and explained everything. Not long after, a kind woman replied back and apologized for my experience. She provided me with the direct line to eBay's authenticity dept's customer service. I called and spoke to a man name Tim. I told him what happened and expressed how upset I was. I did not appreciate being accused of selling counterfeit, and said eBay will lose sellers if they do not fix this obviously flawed program they have in place. I also said I did not trust their authenticator, and I was worried over how my ring will arrive back to me - will they swap it out for a fake and keep my real ring?! He told me he was going to try and hold my ring at the hub for further review and inspection, but couldn't guarantee anything, as it was already showing as being shipped back. As of today, the ring is in fact en route back to me, and while looking closely at the USPS tracking, I noticed they sent it back without requesting signature upon receipt. What if something happens to the package? who is responsible? Did they insure it for its true value, or treat it like counterfeit? I am out $45 in shipping fees as well, from my own pocket, as I did not charge shipping to the buyer.
I appealed their decision and have not heard anything back. I asked Tim if I would be able to re-list the item (not that I actually want to, but out of principal) even though I was told in their email that I am no longer allowed to list it. He said he did not know and I would have to ask later.
Depending on the outcome of the appeal, I am ready to pull all my listings and sell on Poshmark, instead. I am not an avid seller... I sell from my own closet and sometimes I go months without listing anything, but when I do sell in the future, it will not be with eBay.
The audacity to charge 3% more for jewelry items over $500 just to cover the cost of this clown show they call "authenticity guaranteed"
