eBay Trading Card Mandatory Authentication - Starting NOW

[NeedChapmans]

This was posted in the quiet eBay forum an hour ago ... someone talk me off the ledge. (Putting it here for exposure)

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...301467143.html

This starts now, and appears mandatory for all sellers. Any item that sells for $750+ must be shipped to eBay, and costs of authentication are covered (for now). This will expand to graded cards valued at $250 or more in the near future.

https://pages.ebay.com/authenticity-...ingcards/#FAQs

[Rage]

How long before the eBay backlog lol

[starwolf1234]

I don't remember this being on the list of things I wanted from eBay but all right...

[BC Hunt]

if true, myslabs about to really blow up more than they are already.

[SupermanBrandon]

This will be fun! So what's it going to cost (extra) for the seller/buyer? How much time will they take to "Authenticate" it?

[NeedChapmans]

Originally Posted by Rage

How long before the eBay backlog lol

Raw card > $750
Slabbed card > $250

I can only imagine. How they're going to keep this all neat and tidy ... and at what cost to us. My head hurts.

[BigSeph]

It doesn't look like this is a required thing, just optional.

I just went to do a sample listing of something and wasn't forced into it. I think the "can I opt out" option was for buyers who don't want their card shipped to CSG, authenticated, and then sent to them. If they bid on something with the "authenticated by ebay" option, they can't opt out of that process.

But this is just one more sign that CSG is gaining strength in the market, and could very well rival BGS and surpass them once Fanatics gets into the graded card scene a little more.

[StateEx]

They should add the option to have CSG slab the card while authenticating.

[Anish]

Originally Posted by BigSeph

It doesn't look like this is a required thing, just optional.

I just went to do a sample listing of something and wasn't forced into it. I think the "can I opt out" option was for buyers who don't want their card shipped to CSG, authenticated, and then sent to them. If they bid on something with the "authenticated by ebay" option, they can't opt out of that process.

But this is just one more sign that CSG is gaining strength in the market, and could very well rival BGS and surpass them once Fanatics gets into the graded card scene a little more.

Yeah, exactly

[Rooftop]

eBay's Trading Cards category is growing significantly faster than the total marketplace.
Trading Cards in the first half of 2021 hit $2 billion in transactions - equal to ALL of 2020.
To date, close to 4 million cards purchased on and off eBay have been added to customer Collections.
In addition, close to a quarter million buyers have used the Price Guide tool in search to visualize trends for their favorite trading cards.
In 2020, a sports trading card was purchased every second.
Top Trading Cards GMV Growth by Categories (H1 2021):
Tennis - 1797%
Soccer - 852%
Pokemon - 536%
Marvel - 437%
Golf - 436%

Source: Numbers based on eBay U.S. January-June 2021 sales data.

[zworykin]

Optional for the seller, but the buyer can't opt out of it if the seller opted in (which is what the FAQ quoted in the OP was getting at). At least that's my read. (edit: as someone else just posted while I was reading about this - guess I should have refreshed before typing my response)

[StateEx]

"This will expand to graded cards valued at $250 or more in the near future."

Is this a value add? I've heard stores about false slabs, but are they prevalent enough to warrant this?

Also, what happens when they conclude a PSA graded card isn't authentic? What happens when PSA concludes a CSG graded card is inauthentic?

[NeedChapmans]

Originally Posted by BigSeph

It doesn't look like this is a required thing, just optional.

I just went to do a sample listing of something and wasn't forced into it. I think the "can I opt out" option was for buyers who don't want their card shipped to CSG, authenticated, and then sent to them. If they bid on something with the "authenticated by ebay" option, they can't opt out of that process.

But this is just one more sign that CSG is gaining strength in the market, and could very well rival BGS and surpass them once Fanatics gets into the graded card scene a little more.

The language from the PR seems clear.

"Beginning now, single ungraded trading cards (including collectible card games, sports and non-sports) sold for $750+ in the U.S. will be authenticated."

Add on the FAQ page and it doesn't seem optional to me (or at least it won't be optional when they're fully up and running)

[JoeAdam]

"You acknowledge and agree that if the Authentication Partner cannot verify an item’s authenticity, a refund will be issued to the buyer and you shall cooperate with removing the item from marketplace circulation."

Don't like that language. What if they are wrong? They just get to remove my card?

[oddstuff]

Originally Posted by zworykin

Optional for the seller, but the buyer can't opt out of it if the seller opted in (which is what the FAQ quoted in the OP was getting at). At least that's my read. (edit: as someone else just posted while I was reading about this - guess I should have refreshed before typing my response)

Guessing this is an extra "service" that wary buyers can opt into (free for now) by shopping only with those listings with the blue Authenticity Guarantee checkmark. Those listings will probably appear higher on their "Best Match" order so sellers who do opt in have more visibility for their listings. Sellers who opt in to this for now won't get hit with fees but I'm sure will get hit with fees down the road...another form of eBay's "promoted" listing.

[BigSeph]

I see plenty of sneaker listings for $5k+ that don't have the "authenticity guarantee" blue checkmark. But of course they are suppressed when you search based on the "best match" filter. Ebay will hit non-authenticated expensive cards with their algo, and promote the blue checkmarks.

Sounds like another platform we all know......

[LVDan]

bottom feeders rejoice!
No effect here
maybe a couple cards a year over $250 only here

[mfw13]

What if the buyer wants the card raw? Many people collect raw cards and do not want their card slabbed.

Sounds like a policy thought up by some corporate lackey who is clueless about actual card collecting.....

[mfw13]

What if the buyer wants the card raw? Many people collect raw cards and do not want their card slabbed.

Sounds like a policy thought up by some corporate lackey who is clueless about actual card collecting.....

[ThoseBackPages]

how great is that?

[zworykin]

Originally Posted by mfw13

What if the buyer wants the card raw? Many people collect raw cards and do not want their card slabbed.

Sounds like a policy thought up by some corporate lackey who is clueless about actual card collecting.....

They're definitely not slabbing these cards. Looks like they're just sticking them in a semi-rigid with a sticker on it.

[THammers]

Originally Posted by zworykin

They're definitely not slabbing these cards. Looks like they're just sticking them in a semi-rigid with a sticker on it.

Beat me to it. Looks like they put it in a top loader/card saver and include a QR code.

[hotcalsun]

Originally Posted by NeedChapmans

This was posted in the quiet eBay forum an hour ago ... someone talk me off the ledge. (Putting it here for exposure)

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...301467143.html

This starts now, and appears mandatory for all sellers. Any item that sells for $750+ must be shipped to eBay, and costs of authentication are covered (for now). This will expand to graded cards valued at $250 or more in the near future.

https://pages.ebay.com/authenticity-...ingcards/#FAQs

Count me as a fan of the service. I have had the old switcheroo pulled on me a couple of times, where the buyer says "not as described" then the buyer returns a different card than what was sent. Love the option to eliminate that risk on higher end cards.

StockX does this already for all cards sold on their platform.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by zworykin

They're definitely not slabbing these cards. Looks like they're just sticking them in a semi-rigid with a sticker on it.

That's good to know....

But honestly, I don't think that CSG has enough experienced and knowledgeable authenticators to cover a significant portion of the expensive cards that are being sold on EBay.

Or to put it another way.....who's authenticating the authenticators?

[zworykin]

Originally Posted by mfw13

That's good to know....

But honestly, I don't think that CSG has enough experienced and knowledgeable authenticators to cover a significant portion of the expensive cards that are being sold on EBay.

Or to put it another way.....who's authenticating the authenticators?

Yep, think that's a fair question to raise; additionally, my thought was that as a buyer, if I'm buying something with the potential of grading it down the line (which is, admittedly, better done in person than online, but we all make compromises sometimes), I'd rather have fewer people handling it than more...

Now, am I buying raw cards on ebay for $750+ with the hopes that they'll grade well? Rarely. And would I value the authentication in that case more than the "fewer people touching it"? Maybe. But in the future when this threshold drops down to $250, those answers might change.