New Ebay Authenticate program

[Blazing Lazers]

http://pages.ebay.com/authentication/

 

and an article:

 

http://www.ibtimes.com/ebays-new-authentication-program-will-find-out-if-high-end-handbag-you-want-buy-not-2474652

 

I especially like the part where it says a buyer could be refunded up to twice the price if the item turns out to be fake, as all a seller would have to do then is buy their own fake item and bid it up on purpose. So while it's just handbags for now- might something of this sort ever be put in place for games?

 

 

 

 

[mumbai]

 

So while it's just handbags for now- might something of this sort ever be put in place for games?

 

 

Doubtful, as eBay would have to staff-up authenticators for such items, which eBay likely views now and for the foreseeable future as a poor fit for the program as few such transactions would be considered "higher-end" relative to other product categories. I imagine it depends on how the numbers shake out for eBay's projections for the program's uptake outside the realm of fashion.

 

Given that the program is opt-in, for an additional unspecified fee, and adds a step to the sales process to permit authentication prior to transaction close, there might be limited appeal to video game sellers unless it became the norm for many to most to utilize the program, if offered. That would leave it to buyers to opt-in to the program and shoulder the associated costs of any proposed video game verification process by eBay ... but as a percentage of all such transactions, how many are of sufficient value and questionable authenticity that require an expert opinion (i.e., aren't screamingly obvious fakes to even a layperson) to justify that extra expense?

 

Given that the 2x refund penalty only applies to items that pass through eBay's authentication step that are later found to be inauthentic (with the likely requirement for proper third-party assessment to a degree satisfactory to eBay), unless eBay's authenticators prove to be utterly incompetent, I don't see the loophole suggested above that sellers could repeatedly exploit.

[Shawn]

This is a step in the right direction. Here is hoping it ends up ebay wide for all items.

[icemanxp300]

"To further bolster consumer trust in this program, if a buyer receives an item following inspection and it’s found to be inauthentic, eBay will refund the buyer two times the cost of the original purchase price*."

 

 

Hell yeah! Time to start making ebay accounts and sell myself some red sea crossings. I'm going to retire early.