Ebay does this for watches already and I’ve used the service multiple times. It’s perfectly fine.
Not everyone buying cards has efour-level common sense or skills. Also CGC/PSA are obviously extremely good at catching fakes so not sure all the complaints on that.
people aren’t buying thousands of watches a day.
I don’t think it’ll affect me too much. The few times I’ve purchased raw cards on eBay for above that price was from people that I already trusted.
I am wondering however if this will have any effect on people grading higher-end damaged cards. I’ve heard people say to get these sort of cards graded just to have it authenticated and therefore make it easier to sell. If buyers can safely buy and sellers can therefore sell authenticated but ungraded damaged 1st ed charizards, maybe we see less psa 3 zards getting slabbed.
I’m generally not in the market for raw singles $750 or over, but I’ve seen a metric ton of fakes across the board <$200. This is definitely a decision only made for the $$$ on both ends. What raw cards in this hobby even fall into this pricepoint? A few 1st ed Base, the odd WotC chase card, and a majority of Gold Stars? Certainly nothing from DPPt onwards. Certainly not from the eras with the most widespread, mainstream fakes.
I could count on hand the amount of fakes I’ve ever seen that looked remotely close to real product - they were all 1st ed Charizards. The rest were like night and day. All it takes is pulling up a picture of a real card to compare. The people who are the most unaware either a). aren’t spending $750 on one card or b). SHOULDN’T be spending $750 on one card.
I’m sorry, but when I agree to purchasing a card from a seller I only expect the seller to touch the card while ensuring it is ready to ship. Now I have to agree to who knows how many other unnamed, unidentifiable and legally protected “experts” taking said card out of its packaging, inspecting it, and “safely” packaging it up again? We’ve all seen the stories of grading companies damaging cards. We all know how this is going to go down. Except this time, instead of willingly sending our cards to them and taking the gamble, we’re forced to. It might never happen, but I’d rather not take that gamble if I don’t have to.
Guess I’ll be buying my Gold Stars off of eBay in the future.
Blackstone, the majority owners of CCG and thus CGC and CSG, had $731 billion in assets under management reported in their third quarter 2021. Deep pockets.
I am iffy on this service. Here are my concerns:
I really don’t see the need for it, as others have mentioned there are not many convincing fake cards over $750 out there. Hell, there aren’t many convincing fake cards to begin with, the most common fakes are Chinese GX bulk lots where anyone with a day’s experience can tell they’re fake. Sure, there may be scams over $750, but eBay’s buyer protection is next level. Contrary to what people have said here, shipping to a third-party authenticator doesn’t add any protection if they’re shipping you a rock instead of a card…you still get your money back, it just might take longer. However, I recognize that this may be more for sports cards than Pokemon.
The release also mentions a “thorough inspection” where the card’s “overall condition is checked against the auction listing description to ensure accuracy and authenticity.” What does this mean? Are they grading the card? What are the standards here? We just don’t know anything.
Does this lead to additional seller protection? We all know how insane eBay buyers can be, and eBay’s rock-solid buyer protection works both ways and is easily abused. If the card passes the authentication and condition verification, can sellers refuse a return request? After the item is delivered at the authenticators, are sellers protected from item not received claims? Once it expands to graded cards, does this eliminate the stupid “this PSA 9 card you sold has a print line and it wasn’t disclosed, I want to return” claims? If the answer to all these questions is yes, I’ll be a lot more excited about the service than I am now.
I see some minor benefits to it:
People who are new to the hobby and buying expensive cards won’t get screwed. Really the only situation I see this protecting against is in the case of someone with zero knowledge buying an expensive card, not knowing it’s fake, and then finding out way down the road.
If we do get increased seller protection, that will be a huge benefit. But I’m not holding my breath.
I wouldn’t feel comfortable selling a raw card for $750+ on ebay with the lack of actual seller protection. Joe blow buyer could say “it was a Caterpie he sent.” So this adds a layer of seller protection.
Inb4 false claims of “authenticator damaged the card, I want full refund”
I find this mildly frustrating. I don’t need cgc or any other company to authenticate what I already know is real. How often are people buying raw cards over $750 who don’t know how to spot red flags? Add this to the laundry list of reason to just buy the already graded PSA card. Bird in the hand all day.
I can already see it…
20% premium for authenticity guarantee!
BUT WAIT there’s MORE!
For a measly additional premium of 75% we will grade the card for you!
At the end of day, this service by CGC is nothing more than a middle man making sure you get the correct authentic card you bought.
We don’t need CGC though most people buying trading cards know what they are buying and if it looks correct or not. Anyone who spends $750+ on a card will most likely have some sort of knowledge or at least enough to tell if the card they bought is the right one
From the eBay information page:
“If the item condition or any other aspect of the trading card does not match the listing, the trading card will be returned from the Authentication Partner to the seller, with the purchase cancelled and payment price returned to the buyer.”
At least 8.5 is considered NM/Mint+. Carry on.
Also from the eBay information page:
"The following items are not eligible for Authenticity Guarantee:…
Sets, lots, kits, decks, boxes, and packs of two or more cards…"
Enter the era of gold star memes where they are being sold with a couple energy cards.
@reinasierpe, I don’t think the cards will be slabbed. The article shows a picture of a Pikachu in a sleeve + card saver, fit into a “protective package”. Presumably the QR code will be on or in there.
So many questions, so little answers. They launched this service today and we know next to nothing about the service or logistics. Almost as if they knew reception would be poor.
It says in a couple different areas that there will not be grading done.
“AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEE FOR TRADING CARDS DOES NOT INCLUDE GRADING SERVICES”
“Rayquaza Gold Star playset, use Holy Star straight out of the cardsaver!!!”
“most people” referring to e4 people? Yea. But as a general statement, I strongly disagree.
I’d rather have BBCE authenticate the items…oh wait.
if you are going to spend $750+ on a card you most likely aren’t going to be a newbie. It’s not as if were talking about a modern rainbow vmax card that anyone and their dog could buy because of a whim on getting back into the hobby. While $750 isn’t a mind boggling number, for a raw card that’s pretty up there and knowledge of those cards requires more than a day of being in the hobby.
eBay sending to cgc reminds me of PSA sending to bbce. How’d that work out? Easy pass for me.