General Forum

Why am I seeing more and more items on ebay that say "Authenticity Guaranteed"? What's the purpose? Even graded cards are coming with this tag after being graded. Just curious.

Is it coming from the seller or from Ebay? If it's from Ebay, I imagine they're trying to convince buyers that the seller isn't fraudulent. If it's from the seller, I guess they hope the buyer takes their word for it?

https://www.ebay.com/authenticity-guarantee

This "program" has been out there for a while.  Their tv commercials/internet ads focus on things like designer handbags, shoes, watches, etc. that are notorious for having counterfeits out there.  For trading cards, the asking/selling price (there is a threshold, but I don't know what it is at the moment) dictates if it goes through the program.  The FAQs at the bottom of the linked page will give you a bit more context.

My issue is that you have to let the expensive item out of your control, trust that it will be authenticated and returned to you before you can sell it.

You sell it, ship it to eBay, they authenticate it and send it on to the buyer. It's never out of your control until you sell it.

As spinmove said @jmkidd you are confusing it with vaulting your card.  Which is another option but not directly related.

I believe that’s for any card over $250 and yes that includes graded cards. It’s mostly due to counterfeit, seller scams, and buyers abusing the return system. 

If you’re the seller, you would send it to eBay authentication and after they review it, they send it to the buyer.