Everything tagged Authentication
Telling real from fake, reproduction or altered, category by category.
10 posts- AUG 29
Buying vinyl records on eBay: no authentication, real bootlegs
Vinyl records sit outside eBay's Authenticity Guarantee entirely. Every grade is a seller's claim, and bootleg pressings are a separate, real risk.
7 min read · Collectibles, Authentication, Price research
- AUG 29
Buying graded trading cards on eBay: fake slabs eBay can't catch
eBay's own pages disagree on the price threshold for authenticating trading cards. Here's what the program covers, and how to spot a fake PSA slab.
8 min read · Collectibles, Authentication, Price research
- JUL 24
eBay Authenticity Guarantee: 2026 thresholds by category
Wristwatches from $2,000, sneakers from $100, handbags and jewelry from $500. eBay's own two pages disagree on the trading card number, and both are live.
10 min read · Buyer protection, Authentication, Collectibles
- JUL 22
"Untested" isn't an eBay condition. Here's what the seller actually picked.
A seller who types untested has still picked Used or For parts off eBay's list. That field, and not the prose around it, is what a claim is measured against.
10 min read · Collectibles, Buyer protection, Authentication, Price research
- JUL 20
Buying video games on eBay: fake cartridges and who grades games now
WATA stopped grading under its own name on 2025-10-15 and is PSA Video Games now. How to spot a fake cartridge, and where eBay's coverage stops.
11 min read · Collectibles, Authentication, Price research
- JUL 16
Buying watches on eBay: what $2,000 authentication misses
eBay authenticates watches automatically from $2,000 and sells the check for $80 below it. It catches counterfeits, not frankenwatches built from real parts.
11 min read · Collectibles, Authentication, Buyer protection, Price research
- JUL 14
Dating vintage clothing on eBay from a photo of the tag
Care labels, fiber percentages and RN numbers each set a floor on a garment's age, never a date. Single stitch is evidence, and reproductions copy it.
11 min read · Collectibles, Authentication, Price research
- JUL 10
Buying Funko Pops on eBay without overpaying for a lot
Box condition carries the value, and a mixed lot sells at roughly 50 to 55 percent of summed guide values. We compare asking prices, not sold prices.
10 min read · Collectibles, Authentication, Price research
- JUL 8
Retired LEGO sets on eBay: box grades, seals, and fake bricks
What B1, B2 and B3 actually mean, the tells a resealed box gives away, and where to price a retired set. We compare asking prices, never sold prices.
11 min read · Collectibles, Authentication, Price research
- JUL 2
eBay buyer scams in 2026 and the tells that give them away
Five 2026 eBay scam patterns with the tell for each, from off-platform payment to AI-generated photos. Patterns only, since no single tell proves fraud.
10 min read · Buyer protection, Authentication