Ebay Is Changing How Pokémon Cards Are Sold In Effort To Stop Scammers
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Featured Image Credit: The Pokémon Company
So, the Pokémon card buying situation is still a bit of a mess. Maybe it was the influence of big content creators like Logan Paul, or maybe it was our lockdown-fuelled insanity, fuelling us to seek out but a moment of happiness from the small dopamine hit you’d get from pulling a sparkly card out of a packet, but starting in 2020, the demand for these funky pieces of cardboard soared, and it’s not really gone down since.
As we all know, with demand comes those attempting to make profit from it, be it in the form of scalping, or just straight up scamming. Well, it seems like eBay is finally making some attempt to stop the latter from happening - at least when it comes to the bigger-budget transactions.
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According to PRNewswire, as of now, eBay has extended its Authenticity Guarantee, which previously covered sneakers, watches and handbags, to trading cards being bought and sold in the US for $750 and above. That’s for single, ungraded cards, by the way - this new policy wouldn’t have covered Logan Paul’s recent $3.5 million dollar blunder.
So, how does it work? When you’re browsing eBay’s listings, you’ll come across those listed with a blue “Authenticity Guarantee” checkmark. When one of these items is bought, either outright or at auction, the seller sends it to an authentication facility, where it will be checked by “leading industry experts at the Certified Collectibles Group’s affiliates”, and if the card doesn’t pass the inspection, you’ll be given a full refund. The inspection will apparently take between one and two business days, and you won’t be charged any fees for the service. Which, considering this is on purchases of $750 and above, you would certainly hope that it’d be complimentary.
“Our trading cards business has been growing for the past six years, and the recent surge speaks to the immense cultural significance of the category,” Dawn Block, VP Collectibles, Electronics and Home at eBay said in a statement. “As hobbies turn into investments, authentication services in categories of high value have become a priority for collectors. With the introduction of Authenticity Guarantee for trading cards, we're giving enthusiasts exactly what they want, while continuing to improve confidence in the marketplace.”
There’s a lot of different terms and conditions for the scheme, so make sure to read over them carefully if this is something you’re interested in taking advantage of - again, this is currently only available in the US, so keep that in mind. I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone who’s strongly considering spending that much money on a single piece of cardboard to be careful, though.
