Ebay guarantee authenticity program

[BobC]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

By all means, that was the reason for its construction. Why else would eBay truly care about this unless there was something in it for them?

I think the real question is in how viable/practical it will be for them to continue doing this. There's just no way there are enough people at the two authentication companies to handle this, and you can't simply hire anybody off the street to do the work. While what little these companies are doing in this process seems very basic to many of us, there is still a fair amount of knowledge required to do it. I predict they will be biting off far more than they can chew. It's going to backfire splendidly for them. They will of course ultimately keep some scaled-down version of this program, but it will be optional as opposed to mandatory.

I would love to know the inner workings of why eBay would choose a company that's so fresh to do this "authentication" work, other than they obviously have far more free time on their hands than PSA. I would have to assume that one, if not two of the other major players were approached and would be very interested to know why one of them isn't handling the $250-750 material. This would have been much more sensible to me. Maybe they saw the impracticalities of the program or wanted too much to do it. The new guys would naturally be chomping at the bit to have their brand sent out all over the country. Logic would dictate that they couldn't afford to be undersold. Additionally, there truly aren't many alternatives for eBay to choose from.

As noted earlier, I'm an autograph guy, not a card guy (at least the unsigned versions), so have not been paying much attention to this company. I do gather that they've already managed to assemble camps of devotees and detractors in their brief period of existence. It's also been extremely rare for me to spend a dime on authentication of any sort. You can still get by without it as both a collector and a dealer, regardless of what others will have you believe.

CSG may be "fresh" to card grading, but not to collectibles grading. Look up their parent company, Certified Collectibles Group (CCG). They have money, business smarts, and experience backing them. They also, if I understand correctly, currently charge a much more reasonable fee for their typical grading service than other TPGs, and their turnarounds times from what I've heard others occasionally posting about here on the forum seem to always meet (if not actually be faster than) their posted deadlines. They likely made a sweetheart deal with Ebay at some flat, fixed rate, that other TPGs either wouldn't, or couldn't.

CSG likely has their ultimate sights set on taking over as the perceived top card TPG from PSA. They have the backing, connections, and wherewithal to be in this TPG game long-term. For example, one of the big investors in the CCG parent company is Michael Zubin, founder and executive chairman of Fanatics. Fanatics ownership also includes to my knowledge the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB, as well as the player's unions/organizations for all four sports leagues as well. And if you remember, Fanatics has apparently taken over the future card licensing rights for the teams and players of these four major sports leagues as well. And this development caused Topps scheduled billion dollar IPO bid to be shot down in flames last year, and subsequently led to Fanatics then buying Topps for half of their expected IPO price. I think all of that is not a series of unrelated coincidences, and the ownership in CSG by Fanatics founder is a definite connection to eventually be further exploited by the parties involved. What they do next, and going forward, will be interesting.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by BobC

CSG may be "fresh" to card grading, but not to collectibles grading. Look up their parent company, Certified Collectibles Group (CCG). They have money, business smarts, and experience backing them. They also, if I understand correctly, currently charge a much more reasonable fee for their typical grading service than other TPGs, and their turnarounds times from what I've heard others occasionally posting about here on the forum seem to always meet (if not actually be faster than) their posted deadlines. They likely made a sweetheart deal with Ebay at some flat, fixed rate, that other TPGs either wouldn't, or couldn't.

CSG likely has their ultimate sights set on taking over as the perceived top card TPG from PSA. They have the backing, connections, and wherewithal to be in this TPG game long-term. For example, one of the big investors in the CCG parent company is Michael Zubin, founder and executive chairman of Fanatics. Fanatics ownership also includes to my knowledge the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB, as well as the player's unions/organizations for all four sports leagues as well. And if you remember, Fanatics has apparently taken over the future card licensing rights for the teams and players of these four major sports leagues as well. And this development caused Topps scheduled billion dollar IPO bid to be shot down in flames last year, and subsequently led to Fanatics then buying Topps for half of their expected IPO price. I think all of that is not a series of unrelated coincidences, and the ownership in CSG by Fanatics founder is a definite connection to eventually be further exploited by the parties involved. What they do next, and going forward, will be interesting.

Yes, I was aware but I appreciate your putting this all down in a post for those who might benefit.

In response to the highlighted portion of your comment: most assuredly.

Granted, the parent company is far from new (I want to say they predate PSA's founding by a year), but their card division is the newest of the players who people pay any attention to. I can't base my feelings for a new branch of a company on the success of other divisions. That reputation has to be earned on its own accord, but that's just my personal reasoning. Please forgive the sidetrack. Back to the subject at hand!

[BobC]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

Yes, I was aware but I appreciate your putting this all down in a post for those who might benefit.

In response to the highlighted portion of your comment: most assuredly.

Granted, the parent company is far from new (I want to say they predate PSA's founding by a year), but their card division is the newest of the players who people pay any attention to. I can't base my feelings for a new branch of a company on the success of other divisions. That reputation has to be earned on its own accord, but that's just my personal reasoning. Please forgive the sidetrack. Back to the subject at hand!

Agree wholeheartedly, they are new to cards, and definitely have to prove themselves. With how a lot of people on our forum look down on the established TPGs out there, you would think there would maybe be some positive outlook from such grading naysayers that CSG could start to correct and fix at least some of the perceived errors and deficiencies that other TPGs have been accused and shown as guilty of. Instead of trying to have an open mind and waiting to see how they actually do, there seems to be many people who have already condemned them for agreeing to work with PWCC, and possibly this deal with Ebay as well. They are apparently just projecting their hate and distrust for these other entities onto CSG for daring to work with other participants in this hobby/industry they already didn't like. Oh well, to each their own.

[Aj-hman]

Once the auction or purchase is complete the buyer should have the option to use the authentication guarantee if the card meets eBay standard for authentication. Seems unnecessary to make it mandatory.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Aj-hman

Once the auction or purchase is complete the buyer should have the option to use the authentication guarantee if the card meets eBay standard for authentication. Seems unnecessary to make it mandatory.

It has to be a no-brainer that this will ultimately be the scenario of the future. Buyer has the option for this service; optional for the buyer, but mandatory for the seller if that's what the buyer wants to do. I'm not sure why this isn't how the program was started out in the first place. Definitely not my first choice as a seller, but even so, I could understand it.

I took the advice of someone in this thread and switched my listings back to the Trading Card Singles category and also included "Set Break" in the titles. I will be finding every way possible to dodge this unwanted bullet, even if that means having to list in other categories, risking far less traffic. I feel that the seller should have some say if they want to participate in something they deem unnecessary and ridiculous, but again, we all know that eBay is only geared towards buyers' experiences.

I was extremely fortunate with the only instance where I nearly had to send cards in to CSG. I contacted the buyer and explained how uncomfortable I was with this middleman entering the transaction. They immediately replied that they felt the same way and that they knew my offerings were legitimate. Very comforting to hear that, especially from a first time customer. The transactions were cancelled, relisted, re-purchased and sent directly to the buyer's address like a normal business transaction. Crazy, huh?

[prestigecollectibles]

I just got this eBay purchase in the mail today from CSG. There was no blue box or authentication sticker on the card saver.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by prestigecollectibles

I just got this eBay purchase in the mail today from CSG. There was no blue box or authentication sticker on the card saver.

That happened to me as well on a George Brett team issue pre rookie card, just showed up in the card saver, no documentation, nothing.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

It has to be a no-brainer that this will ultimately be the scenario of the future. Buyer has the option for this service; optional for the buyer, but mandatory for the seller if that's what the buyer wants to do. I'm not sure why this isn't how the program was started out in the first place. Definitely not my first choice as a seller, but even so, I could understand it.

I took the advice of someone in this thread and switched my listings back to the Trading Card Singles category and also included "Set Break" in the titles. I will be finding every way possible to dodge this unwanted bullet, even if that means having to list in other categories, risking far less traffic. I feel that the seller should have some say if they want to participate in something they deem unnecessary and ridiculous, but again, we all know that eBay is only geared towards buyers' experiences.

I was extremely fortunate with the only instance where I nearly had to send cards in to CSG. I contacted the buyer and explained how uncomfortable I was with this middleman entering the transaction. They immediately replied that they felt the same way and that they knew my offerings were legitimate. Very comforting to hear that, especially from a first time customer. The transactions were cancelled, relisted, re-purchased and sent directly to the buyer's address like a normal business transaction. Crazy, huh?

Add a second card to every auction, something worthless from the 80s. They don't authenticate if there are multiple cards being sold in a listing as I understand it.

[kmac32]

Okay, just bought a s74 silk off of eBay and it is to go through this process. I know the card is legit and this is a total waste of time and money. I would rather have the seller send it directly to me and I can send it into CSG for slabbing. If there is an issue, they will tell me. I say let’s cut Ebay out as the middle man and the authenticator and get back to common sense.

[TRC4191]

Reading the eBay authentication info on their site it looks like the authentication guarantee if for cards only. But here is any auction for a signed program that show the eBay Authentication Guarantee on on the auction page.

https://tinyurl.com/23p9u9mn

How does that work?

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by TRC4191

Reading the eBay authentication info on their site it looks like the authentication guarantee if for cards only. But here is any auction for a signed program that show the eBay Authentication Guarantee on on the auction page.



https://tinyurl.com/23p9u9mn



How does that work?

The seller listed as "Sports Trading Card". That would trigger the guarantee. It will likely just get forwarded on to the buyer with nothing done to it.

[robw1959]

Originally Posted by TRC4191

Reading the eBay authentication info on their site it looks like the authentication guarantee if for cards only. But here is any auction for a signed program that show the eBay Authentication Guarantee on on the auction page.

https://tinyurl.com/23p9u9mn

How does that work?

The authenticity guarantee is evidently for more than just sports cards, and it extends to some items under the $250 threshold. For instance, I got a new pair of Addidas sneakers at the price of $115, and they arrived in the mail after they went through the authentication process.

[Flintboy]

This is a straight money grab on eBay’s part. If you think they’re doing it for any other reason you’re sorely mistaken.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by robw1959

The authenticity guarantee is evidently for more than just sports cards, and it extends to some items under the $250 threshold. For instance, I got a new pair of Addidas sneakers at the price of $115, and they arrived in the mail after they went through the authentication process.

Others have mentioned there is authentication for sneakers and I think watches that was going on before they started requiring authentication for sports cards above a certain price. Just curious if there is any charge for the sneakers to be authenticated (to buyer or seller) and if anyone knows what people who sell (and buy) those items on eBay thought of the authentication process being added to the purchase.

[Stampsfan]

Originally Posted by robw1959

The authenticity guarantee is evidently for more than just sports cards, and it extends to some items under the $250 threshold. For instance, I got a new pair of Addidas sneakers at the price of $115, and they arrived in the mail after they went through the authentication process.

I don't know much about the sneaker world, but if the side of the shoe or the box says "Addidas", I would guess it might be a cheap knockoff.