eBay Launches Ebay Authenticate Service Today

eBay’s new authentication service eBay Authenticate launched today with 12 high-end brands of luxury handbags and wallets. The launch brands eligible for this new program are:

• Louis Vuitton
• Hermès
• Chanel
• Gucci
• Céline
• Fendi
• Christian Dior
• Prada, Goyard
• Balenciaga
• Burberry
• Valentino

eBay will expand the program in 2018 with more brands and possibly other high-end luxury goods. Right now the service is only for consumer sellers, but eBay is considering expanding it to business sellers in 2018.

Currently, this program is only available in the United States. No word on international expansion as of yet.

To promote the program, eBay is discounting the fee to 10% (will be 20%) and reducing the minimum value threshold to $250 (will be $500) until January 31, 2018.

How To List Products for eBay Authenticate

To list an eligible product, sellers select “Sell with eBay Authenticate” when starting their listing. At this point, eBay will offer two options for sending the item to eBay.

• Drop off the item at any FedEx Office location, and they will pack and ship the product to the authentication expert
• Or sellers may box the item themselves and drop it off at any USPS location.

For either service, eBay provides a free shipping label. When the eBay expert receives the item, they authenticate it, then photograph, list, sell, and ship it to the buyer.

Pricing will be set by the expert based on researching eBay sales over the last 90 days. eBay did not say if you have any control over this process, so presumably, they will determine the fair market value and list it.

If the product cannot be authenticated, it will be returned at no charge to the seller.

Handbags are listed on eBay for 60 days, and if they do not sell, they will be returned to the seller. Sellers must have a PayPal account to receive the funds from the purchase.

With this program, eBay hopes to build trust with buyers further. It was announced earlier in the year, and it was also mentioned during eBay Open 2017 in Las Vegas.

While businesses may have to wait to become involved in the program, it is another step in the right direction to promote eBay as a marketplace that can be trusted.

To learn more about the program, eBay has a landing page located here.

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