Seller - eBay Authenticity Guarantee Nightmare Begins?

[chidela]

I wanted to post somewhere to keep track of everything that's going on in order to either warn future sellers, or hopefully provide an instance of eBay looking after sellers. We'll see how this ends up.

A couple of months ago I sold an item for $2200 using eBay's Authenticity Guaranteed program. eBay quickly authenticated the item and it was delivered to the buyer. Now, two months later out of the blue I get an email saying that the buyer has opened a Payment Dispute with their financial institution. eBay asks me to provide proof that the item was as described. I'm only allowed to submit a single photo, no text. I choose to screenshot the tracking from eBay showing that the item was authenticated by eBay as well as delivered to the buyer. 

I contacted support and was told that:

"I have confirmed that in this case you are protected. The buyer put their reasons for opening the dispute as item does not match the description of your listing. eBay has authenticated your item, meaning we have taken full responsibility and verified your item listing was accurate. This is why you are protected against any payment disputes." 

and: 

"You are guaranteed a reimbursement but for legal reasons, they money would have to come from you to the buyer. Then eBay will take over and protect you as one of our sellers and reimburse you."

This sounds way too good to be true. Has anyone else had this outcome? I will keep this thread updated as things develop. 

[chidela]

Update: 

I did a bit of digging and it appears the buyer used a US address to receive the package but actually lives in El Salvador. So this means I’m likely dealing with a financial institution in another country. From what I’ve read this makes the dispute process much longer than usual. It also means my means of recovering the loss outside of eBay are non-existent. 

[m60driver]

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@chidela wrote:

It sounds like some of the time eBay would reimburse them

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Maybe Ebay reimbursed a seller after initially taking money out of the seller's account, but they do not request that you reimburse the buyer directly.  The dispute is between the buyer's bank and Ebay.  The original response you got about "for legal reasons, they money would have to come from you to the buyer" is so bogus as to beggar belief.  I would probably suspect it as a scam message.  You should go to Ebay for business on FB and report it so that the CS agent can be sent to a re-education camp.

[chidela]

I reached out to eBay For Business on Facebook yesterday but have not received a reply. 

[metaltech1]

Thanks.

Now I don't have to type out the very same thought about what might happen.

[glasser]

Yes, keep us up to date. There have been interesting issues with the authentication programs. 

I am curious why eBay has put your account on hold, especially after this statement from CS

"I have confirmed that in this case you are protected. The buyer put their reasons for opening the dispute as item does not match the description of your listing. eBay has authenticated your item, meaning we have taken full responsibility and verified your item listing was accurate. This is why you are protected against any payment disputes." 

This implies that eBay is on the hook. If in fact the dispute is lost, then eBay would be reimbursing the buyer. There is no reason for you to have to provide item as described information, their authenticator authenticated it. One would assume that information from the authenticator would suffice to settle the claim, or else what's the point of the program?

I think you indicated that CS could not provide additional information on the process since it was not public. How could CS or eBay resolve a claim based on unpublished information that you have not agreed to in the terms of service. Something fishy here. I would demand a written copy of the policy that is being followed.

Since eBay is saying you may have to reimburse first, which I really doubt, you should before any reimbursements are made demand all relevant documentation including and exchanges between eBay and the authenticator. If the item turns up to not be as described and you end up have to reimburse and eBay does not come through, you could file a claim against the authenticator directly.

[playklax]

"You are guaranteed a reimbursement but for legal reasons, the money would have to come from you to the buyer. "

Are they saying you would send the money to the buyer directly?  That's how I read it, and if that's the case, it's completely insane!  But if not, then it also makes no sense that you will have your account deducted for the amount in question, then reimbursed by eBay?  The money would still flow from eBay to the CC to resolve it, and you'd just be getting your own money back in the end.  

This all sounds very sus at best!

[ersatz_sobriquet]

YOU to CS: 

"For legal reasons, I will await notice in writing that I am supposed to reimburse the buyer and then ebay will reimburse me. Until that time, I will leave the case open." 

Signed--You the seller. 

[ittybitnot]

....the buyer used a US address to receive the package but actually lives in El Salvador.

@chidela 

So the authenticator shipped to a freight forwarder (likely Miami/Dade area) , too?  Not that it matters much at this point, but seeing as how this "authentication" system limits the countries eligible (forced/allowed) to use this program, I specifically had asked recently if international buyers who use freight forwarder addresses were allowed to participate.  The answer from eBay staff was YES.  

In answer to how long this "hold" will be on the 2.2K$ amount, you are most likely correct that it will be until the c.card company decides the outcome.  Even for Payment Disputes (aka chargebacks) for 'Item not Received', eBay makes the seller wait even if every requirement is met for seller protection.  

[chidela]

Update: 

I spoke with eBay For Business on Facebook. Their explanation of how things will play out is sadly less optimistic than the CSR stated. 

She said that the $2200 hold will remain on my account no matter how long the dispute takes to end. eBay provides zero support for my case to show that they authenticated the item themselves.  When the dispute ends in the buyer’s favor the $2200 will be taken from my bank account, I will also be fined $20. 

At that point I can file an appeal with eBay, however, they cannot tell me if eBay will reimburse me. The best I could get her to say is that eBay “will look into other options” once a decision is made in the dispute. 

So it would seem that eBay does not guarantee any sort of protection for sellers who use the Authenticity Guarantee program. This is frankly a devastating blow to me financially. I really thought eBay would have my back. 

[katzrul15]

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@chidela wrote:

Update: 

I spoke with eBay For Business on Facebook. Their explanation of how things will play out is sadly less optimistic than the CSR stated. 

She said that the $2200 hold will remain on my account no matter how long the dispute takes to end. eBay provides zero support for my case to show that they authenticated the item themselves.  When the dispute ends in the buyer’s favor the $2200 will be taken from my bank account, I will also be fined $20. 

At that point I can file an appeal with eBay, however, they cannot tell me if eBay will reimburse me. The best I could get her to say is that eBay “will look into other options” once a decision is made in the dispute. 

So it would seem that eBay does not guarantee any sort of protection for sellers who use the Authenticity Guarantee program. This is frankly a devastating blow to me financially. I really thought eBay would have my back. 

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They "could", but likely will not.  So very sorry.  

[ersatz_sobriquet]

Wow. I haven't been on the seller board in years, nor sold, and I read this case. <shudders>

The best thing to do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst, whatever that entails for you personally. 

The case will have to go through their secret panel of judges, or whatever. Probably someone will look at the case who is a bit higher up than your typical CS, like somebody who actually knows what they are doing, before they decide the outcome. 

That old saying--don't list anything you can't afford to lose comes to mind. 

[johnc_industries]

That's ridiculous, they authenticated it themselves, but still they're still going to charge you.  I've been subject to unbound buyer fraud on here myself lately (3 of 40 sales), which is why I'm officially off ebay.  Their poor seller protection policies are losing them business.    

[lightlily_arts]

And that is the exact scenario I was wondering about.  Potentially you can lose the money, the watch and get hit with the chargeback fee.  I don't sell internationally, but eBay Managed Payment program doesn't allow sellers to block international sales when the buyer is using a freight forwarder.  The only thing  a seller can do to minimize that risk is to determine where the buyer is located.  If you are charged with the international transaction fee then you know they aren't located in the states.  With a high risk item I would just cancel the sale citing a problem with the address.  Since eBay doesn't protect sellers  it's up to you  to do what's needed.

[fab_finds4u]

Your so called protection on eBay is for 30 days.

What do you think happens after 30 days?  They would rule in your favor if the claim was made on eBay. I just have bad vibes they will protect you from a credit card chargeback. The buyer could have said true they are authentic but it's defective or the watch quit working or the shoes were the wrong size. I have misgivings about the outcome.

Please come back and let us know how it turns out.

[chidela]

Update: I was able to find out that the buyer paid with PayPal and has filed a dispute through them. I also was able to obtain the case # for PayPal. So tomorrow I will try and call PayPal to see if they will allow me to provide more conclusive evidence that the item was indeed as described.