Authenticity Guarantee Fiasco

[SteigerWRX]

Purchased a high end card ($2000+) 2 weeks ago that was listed with eBays authenticity guarantee. Card was shipped and arrived at the authenticator, where it sat for almost a week, and then made its trip to me.

I opened up the package and inside was just a normal white bubble mailer instead of the usual blue magnetic cardboard box. When I opened it up, there was the card I bought, in a regular toploader, with no type of tape or team-bag, slid halfway out of the toploader. Also inside were about 15 loose baseball commons and a note from eBay stating there was an error in the listing and the card was miscatagorized and did not qualify for authenticity guarantee.

The card I bought sustained 2 areas of damage from being slide out of the case, edge ding on top and a crease/indent on the back about 1/2" in length from one edge to the other (diagonal on the corner).

I immediately reached out to the seller who did not immediately respond. So then I reached out to eBay at authenticsportscards@ebay.com and got a response letting me know the card did not qualify for the authenticity guarantee program because it was signed "post manufacturing" and not pack-pulled. I responded to them with pictures showing it was in fact a pack pulled card, had the Topps "autograph issue" stamp and COA sticker on the back. eBay responded again and then told me "sorry, I just looked at the auction and assumed it wasn't pack pulled. After looking at the notes from the authenticator the item was miscatagorized as a BGS 9 but arrived in raw condition. If you'd like us to open a return for you please let us know. You have 3 days to file for a return".

By then the seller finally responded swearing up and down that they sent in a secure way, card should not have been able to be damaged, blah blah blah.

So at this point, both eBay and the seller are both claiming no fault. Its ridiculous that eBay had the card in their position (the authenticator contractor) for DAYS before realizing the issue. It had to make an extra cross country journey, have more hands on it, repackaged, etc... for no reason only for the card to ultimately show up damaged.

The seller ultimately offered an 8% discount ($200) which I declined as the cards value is significantly impacted. I have not heard back since yet and cannot ask eBay to step in until the 14th.

I do not know who is to blame, who should be on the hook for damage and am afraid if I have to file insurance with my own insurance (collectinsure) they will drop my policy.

Comments? Opinions? Advice?

What an absolute mess.

[JeremyNick]

Open a return and send back. It arrived damaged.

It wasn’t AG, per Ebay so it’s returnable. You don’t need to worry about assigning blame and figuring out who has to pay. Sucks for the seller, but you did nothing wrong and he needs to take it up with Ebay, not you.

[SteigerWRX]

Open a return and send back. It arrived damaged.

It wasn’t AG, per Ebay so it’s returnable. You don’t need to worry about assigning blame and figuring out who has to pay. Sucks for the seller, but you did nothing wrong and he needs to take it up with Ebay, not you.

I cannot send it back yet as the seller has not authorized a return, I also can't have eBay step in to force one yet either. Even then it becomes up to them to decide if a return can happen. With it not being authenticity guaranteed, you would figure i had the usually 30 or 60 day window, whatever it was, on a return. But eBay themselves said I only have 3, and the listing itself is still listed as "authenticity guarantee" so it will limit me on how I can proceed unless I get eBay involved non-stop to explain how it was NOT authenticity guaranteed. Which is where my worry comes from.

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[Bosoxfan5990]

I cannot send it back yet as the seller has not authorized a return, I also can't have eBay step in to force one yet either. Even then it becomes up to them to decide if a return can happen. With it not being authenticity guaranteed, you would figure i had the usually 30 or 60 day window, whatever it was, on a return. But eBay themselves said I only have 3, and the listing itself is still listed as "authenticity guarantee" so it will limit me on how I can proceed unless I get eBay involved non-stop to explain how it was NOT authenticity guaranteed. Which is where my worry comes from.

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You should be fine, as long as you opened the return request within 3 days of delivery.

[Tiger23]

I cannot send it back yet as the seller has not authorized a return, I also can't have eBay step in to force one yet either. Even then it becomes up to them to decide if a return can happen. With it not being authenticity guaranteed, you would figure i had the usually 30 or 60 day window, whatever it was, on a return. But eBay themselves said I only have 3, and the listing itself is still listed as "authenticity guarantee" so it will limit me on how I can proceed unless I get eBay involved non-stop to explain how it was NOT authenticity guaranteed. Which is where my worry comes from.

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If the seller does not accept returns, then eBay policy is 3 days from receipt to open a dispute.

[Sonnys88]

This is 100% on the seller.

They described their item incorrectly which made it go to PSA for authenticating. They also included extra cards in the package which would've probably made it be deemed not eligible for eBay Authentication if it was sent to CSG for raw card authentication.

Just open an "Item Not As Described" return on eBay and include any information they request. The return should be approved by eBay if the seller fails to respond or provide a legit reason why it shouldn't be approved.

[JeremyNick]

I cannot send it back yet as the seller has not authorized a return, I also can't have eBay step in to force one yet either. Even then it becomes up to them to decide if a return can happen. With it not being authenticity guaranteed, you would figure i had the usually 30 or 60 day window, whatever it was, on a return. But eBay themselves said I only have 3, and the listing itself is still listed as "authenticity guarantee" so it will limit me on how I can proceed unless I get eBay involved non-stop to explain how it was NOT authenticity guaranteed. Which is where my worry comes from.

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Open the return. Ebay has already provided you with proof that it does not qualify for AG, so you wont need to provide them with anything.