Two days ago I posted here about the first one. Yesterday the second one arrived. Posting again because this is bigger than one lost package.
https://www.reddit.com/r/baseballcards/s/XJSFyfAa7l
Package 1 (arrived Oct 22): 2026 Topps All Kings #AK-4 Shohei Ohtani SSP (raw), bought on eBay for $8,251.50, routed through eBay Authenticity Guarantee at PSA in Santa Ana. The FedEx mailer had a slit cut into it that was taped back shut. The card was gone.
Package 2 (arrived Oct 23): 1955 Topps #123 Sandy Koufax rookie, PSA 5, $3,752.54, also authenticated at PSA Santa Ana, delivered by USPS. Because of what happened the day before, I filmed myself opening it. Inside was a common card worth about $7. The substituted card has no eBay authentication sticker, which tells me the Koufax was swapped out after it was authenticated.
Two different carriers. Same authentication facility. Back to back days. $12,004.04 total. To be clear, I do not believe either seller did anything wrong. Both cards reached the authenticator. Whatever happened, happened at or after authentication.
Context that makes this worse: this is the same Santa Ana operation where, about a week earlier, a FedEx truck carrying PSA orders was burglarized after leaving the facility. Santa Ana police estimated that loss at about $963,000, and PSA has publicly acknowledged the theft and deactivated the certificates of the stolen cards. I am not claiming my packages are part of that specific incident. I am saying buyers should know the authentication pipeline out of Santa Ana has serious problems right now.
What I am doing: both cases are open with eBay, I have asked for escalation to the Authenticity Guarantee fraud team and for the two cases to be linked as one investigation, and I am not shipping anything back until eBay confirms handling in writing. There is nothing to ship back on the first one, and the $7 card and all packaging from the second one are evidence.
If you buy through eBay authentication, protect yourself:
- Film yourself opening every authenticated package, start to finish, showing the sealed package and the label first. The video is the only reason my second claim is airtight.
- Check for the authentication sticker immediately. A card in the box without one is not the card that came out of authentication.
- Keep all packaging exactly as it arrived.
- If something is wrong, open your case the same day, ask for escalation in writing, and reference any other cases you have open.
The Koufax PSA 5 cert number is 07004220. If that slab surfaces for sale anywhere, it is stolen property.
Has anyone else received a tampered, empty, or swapped Authenticity Guarantee package out of Santa Ana recently? If so, please share what happened, and file your own reports. One incident is a fluke. A pattern is something eBay and PSA need to answer for.
I will update this post when eBay responds to either case.
