eBay Sneaker Authentication Program should be up OPTIONAL to the BUYER if they want to use it.

[masterblasterplanet]

As a buyer and collector of sneakers there's nothing more frustrating than making a purchase for my favorite pair of Nike Dunks on eBay and they take an extra 7-10 days to be delivered because eBay forces me to wait for my sneakers to be authenticated. For example I live near Orlando FL and I recently purchased a pair of Nike Dunk Low Black Pandas from Lakeland FL which is 35 min from my house. Due to the fact the shoes have to ship from FL to the authenticator in NY then back to me in FL takes an extra week. The amount of extra time it takes to receive your shoes can be ridiculous especially if I'm buying a pair as a gift for someone else which I do on a regular basis for birthdays, Christmas, and other special events.  I'm not saying the eBay Sneaker Authentication Program isn't necessary. What I'm saying is I think the eBay Sneaker Authentication Program should be OPTIONAL for me to chose as a buyer during checkout. I wouldn't even mind if eBay charged a $10-$15 fee to authenticate sneakers and we know how eBay loves to charge fees! Sure if I'm buying a rare pair of sneakers and spending $400 and up and I've got the extra time to wait I'd be willing to use eBay's Authentication Program. If I need them quickly and I'm paying $150-$300 and they're a current release and everything checks out including the seller's feedback I might be willing to skip the extra wait. Regardless I think it should be an OPTIONAL service and it should be up to the BUYER and if they want it or not.

[Anonymous]

What buyer WOULDN'T want it?

[masterblasterplanet]

A buyer that doesn't want to wait or have time to wait.

[dolcetreasures]

The vast majority of sneaker styles being authenticated DON’T have any counterfeit counterparts in any market. In other words, no one is counterfeiting the vast majority of styles eBay insists we send to the authentication. 

[Anonymous]

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@masterblasterplanet wrote:

A buyer that doesn't want to wait or have time to wait.

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Nope...a scammer

[masterblasterplanet]

Exactly! Why would a company knock of a cheap pair of current Dunks if they can knock off a pair that sells for $2,000 on a sneaker marketplace? In 20 years of buying sneakers on eBay I've only received 2 pair of shoes that were not legit that were counterfeit and I should have known better as they both came from international sellers. This was well over 10 years ago. If it seems too good to be true it probably is.

[masterblasterplanet]

How is the buyer a "scammer" because they don't want to wait for their shoes an extra 7 days? Optional means as the buyer, you still have the option to use it if you want to.

[dolcetreasures]

eBay is increasing the fees on sneakers sold between $100-$150. 

Every buyer will now pay a $14.95 flat fee for shipping on top of what the seller charges. (There won’t be fees on that $14.95 but you can bet the buyers will want the seller to charge $15 less) 

[masterblasterplanet]

Yeah I just saw that. The surprising thing to me is the $14.95 flat rate shipping fee which is really odd since eBay has been pushing sellers to include free shipping on everything they sell for the past 10 years. I used to have eBay reps calling me telling me to build my shipping charge into my price. Personally when I sell an expensive pair of sneakers I always include free shipping.

[yuzuha]

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@masterblasterplanet wrote:

Exactly! Why would a company knock of a cheap pair of current Dunks if they can knock off a pair that sells for $2,000 on a sneaker marketplace?

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The same reason people counterfeit $20 bills-- because people are much less likely to check for or expect something comparatively inexpensive to be a counterfeit, which makes it ten times easier to pass the fakes off as the real things.

[powell-memorabilia]

The authentication program is not just for buyers or for sellers. It is also to protect eBay. They have to demonstrate that they aren’t a marketplace for counterfeits. The best way to do that is to have this authentication program.

[masterblasterplanet]

It's pretty easy to find out if sneakers are authentic. It's not like the eBay authenticators are doing something that a regular buyer with a little knowledge can't figure out. Regardless eBay still protects buyers under their buyer protection rules which included sneakers long before the authentication program came along.

[masterblasterplanet]

I agree with your statement, however there's tons of fake items on eBay. I could make the argument that if eBay truly cares about it's reputation in terms of counterfeit items you would have to cover more than just sneakers and handbags. They're just trying to grab market share from Stock X, Poshmark, and GOAT so they're all in on sneakers at this time. Sneakers, hand bags, and trading cards is eBay's current focus their ads prove this. If you think eBay cares about counterfeit items on their platform just do a quick search on eBay for BAPE and anything you find under $100 is a fake. Tons of designer brand items are fakes too.

That said, NOBODY is saying to get rid of the eBay Sneaker Authentication Program. I'm saying it should be optional to the buyer, which means if you want it, you check a box during checkout and you can use it which causes a delay in delivery time. Nobody is suggesting otherwise.