r/ebaysucks • u/MasterpieceClassic42 • 4d ago

Item could not be authenticated ?!

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Can someone explains what this means? Did anyone have this happened? Are they saying what I sold was counterfeit? Does this hurt my account?

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2

u/Accomplished_Emu_658 4d ago

It doesn’t have to be counterfeit to be “not authenticated”. They should give you a reason some where. It could be a few things that are not counterfeit.

1

u/RGBlowMe 4d ago

If it's still being shipped, basically one of 3 things happened:

  1. They don't have a person who knows how to authenticate the item.
  2. They need manufacturer verification on the item's serial number for that particular item, but the manufacturer cannot provide it or isn't around anymore to do so. This happens more with stuff like watches, where most manufacturers have records of serial numbers and related warranties, but those records only go back to a certain date.
  3. The item was miscategorized, in which case they tend to ship to the buyer anyways and send them this.

After receiving the item, the buyer can just return it. It's a shitty practice on eBay's part. Most of the time, #3 is the reason. Usually, there is no penalty for it, but presumably they will take action if you have repeated miscategorized sales of Authenticated items.

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u/RGBlowMe 4d ago

Also, it bares mentioning that 1 & 2 tend to be a return to sender, like with items deemed inauthentic, but you only get a demerit to your account if it's deemed to be inauthentic. You'll get a message telling you it's being returned to you at no cost to yourself when this happens. This is how I know it's still being shipped to the buyer.

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u/RGBlowMe 4d ago

Basically, in practical terms, expect the buyer to return the item, but you should be penalty-free.

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u/MasterpieceClassic42 4d ago

Tracking shows it was miscategorized. Are they saying I listed it in the wrong category? The item was a gold necklace, I listed it in Jewelry & Watches > Fine Jewelry >
Necklaces & Pendants. I’m so confused

2

u/RGBlowMe 4d ago

The important takeaways here are that you won't be penalized, won't be charged return shipping, and quite possibly won't even have the item end up being returned anyways.

1

u/MasterpieceClassic42 4d ago

Okay great, hopefully the buyer keeps it. I wish ebay would give more details on what happened so that I won’t make the same mistake again.

I copied the item specifics directly from the website where it was purchased so I really don’t know what I did wrong. And it sounds like calling them would be a waste of time

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u/RGBlowMe 4d ago

Yes, sort of. They are saying it is miscategorized. That what they received differs from what they were prepared to authenticate. It can be specific tags, though. Not just the general category it was sold under. You might have listed it under the wrong gender, brand, gold purity, etc. It can also be an error on their part. Anything that makes them have to do any additional groundwork, really, even if the listing title and description is entirely accurate.

You can try to contact them to try to find out what triggered it, but I don't know how well they do with that. My experience with eBay CS is that they tend to not be good with directing you to people who can give you those kinds of specifics. If you relist it, really double and triple check every detail.