eBay CEO Triples Down On "No Counterfeits" Claims As Scrutiny On Authentication Heats Up
UPDATE 10-20-25
Despite CEO Jamie Iannone's absurd claims, eBay users continue to report that counterfeit items do in fact sometimes pass through authentication - and that eBay refuses to help them when it happens.
Bought a Fake Card Through eBay’s Authentication Guarantee – eBay Refusing to Help
by u/Auto_Rebirth in Ebay
I recently purchased a Pokemon card on eBay that was covered under their Authentication Guarantee program. The card was authenticated by PSA and arrived sealed in the tamper proof packaging. However, upon inspection, it's clear that the card is a fake, (Static holo pattern, holo matches with TCGPlayer, 1st Edition stamp is not lined up properly) despite PSA marking it as authentic.
I did not do my due diligence prior to purchasing due to it being through the Authentication Guarantee, now I wish I should have.
I contacted eBay immediately. They redirected me to another department and unfortunately, they refused to offer a return or refund. Their reasoning was that they trust PSA’s authentication process and won’t override it, even in the case of a clear mistake.
Here’s where I currently stand:
- I’ve contacted PSA directly and am awaiting their response as they review the case.
- The card remains sealed in its tamper proof packaging - I haven’t opened it to ensure the chain of custody is intact.
- I'm considering a chargeback as a last resort, but I'd prefer to explore all possible avenues before going down that road.
It’s frustrating that eBay’s authentication program which is supposed to protect buyers seems to leave no room for recourse when the authenticator gets it wrong. And ironically, PSA’s involvement has limited my ability to open a standard claim under eBay’s Money Back Guarantee.
CEO Jamie Iannone continues to make the media rounds repeating line that no counterfeit items have ever passed through eBay's authentication centers, but do those claims really hold up to scrutiny?
At his most recent appearance, a pop-up conversation hosted by Punchbowl News during one of eBay Mainstreet's lobbying trips to Washington DC, Iannone told the host:
When I came back to eBay 5 years ago as CEO, I really wanted to make sure across the whole platform, we really raised the level of trust and safety, so you could feel really great shopping any product on eBay.
So for a number of our products, we actually put an authenticity guarantee. And what that is is that if you buy a watch, a sneaker, a handbag, a trading card, a piece of jewelry, etc., when you sell it to a buyer, we'll actually send that item, we'll transmit it to one of our authentication centers...and we'll actually authenticate that item before it goes to the buyer.
It raises a whole new level of trust on the platform. It's a great experience. We just authenticated our 15 millionth item on the platform. Last quarter we authenticated one million items. And to my knowledge we've never had in those 15 million items a counterfeit product get through.
That almost exactly echos statements Iannone also made recently while celebrating eBay's 30th anniversary, feeding both CNBC's Squawk Box and Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi the same line about no counterfeits getting through authentication "to his knowledge."
Liz Morton
Sozzi related a story that he had purchased a Movado watch on eBay years ago only to find out it was fake and swore that he would never buy another expensive watch from the platform again, leading to him posing the question to Iannone, "how do you authenticate the stuff on the platform?"
And interestingly the subject came up on Squawk Box when the host asked about eBay competing with StockX, which just settled a lawsuit brought against them by Nike related in part to counterfeit sneakers sold through their platform despite their authentication guarantee.
Clearly the "to my knowledge" part of Iannone's script is doing a lot of heavy lifting here because there are well-documented actual user experiences proving that counterfeit items have been passed through eBay authentication.
Probably the most well known example would be this ~$23K Michael Jordan card that passed through eBay authentication but turned out to be fake - as eventually admitted to by both Beckett Grading Company and eBay.
If Jamie is really completely unaware of the problems that have been reported with Authenticity Guarantee, he could easily educate himself just by spending an hour scanning Hobby Twitter/X and Reddit, not to mention eBay's own community forums.
Another example of failures of the @eBay authenticity program.
— auburn35 (@35auburn) May 4, 2024
This account has several counterfeit @PaniniAmerica cards listed and even has feedback showing at least one was approved by @CGCCards and eBay.https://t.co/FwziJyBQib https://t.co/d1lkF4MbMm pic.twitter.com/WC5eK0P0pI
Some of the most telling and troubling reports of authentication issues come from experiences where the item was originally purchased on eBay and passed authentication once, but then when that buyer then tries to resell it, it fails - leaving them stuck in an impossible position solely due to their trust in eBay's authentication process in the first place.
eBay Screwed Me Over- Help Please!
by u/tdb1994 in RepTime
Unusual QC? Request- eBay Screwed Me Over
Hi all- I bought this 15200 on eBay last year. It went through Authenticity Guarantee and eBay confirmed it authentic. I had no reason to question authenticity. A few months ago I sell it on eBay to recoup my money (got another watch) and it didn’t pass- eBay said it was inauthentic. I took it to Rolex to confirm it had a “super fake” movement. They said case could be real but movement was 100% fake.
I threw an absolute fit to eBay and my CC company but because it had been over 120 I’m stuck and out $3k. I’m hoping to case is at least real? I thought no one would know better than the guys here at RepTime. I tried to post on QC Rep Time but it got deleted Can someone help me out here?
Not a watch but my wife bought a Chanel bag on eBay through their Authenticity Guarantee, and it passed. However, when she received it, she suspected it was fake and contacted eBay, who said that was impossible.
Her not being 100% happy with the bag, she decided to sell it right back on eBay, and it failed their authenticity check. After a lot of back-and-forth, she finally got a refund for the original purchase.
In this example, the buyer said after putting up a fight, they were eventually able to get resolution, with an eBay representative finally admitting the shoes were counterfeit and processing a full refund, please an additional $50 in the forum of a gift card to compensate for the inconvenience.
Sports memorabilia collectors are still reeling from July's revelations about a massive forgery and fraud scheme committed by Mister ManCave founder Brett Lemieux and while it's not clear how much of his inventory was sold through eBay or whether any of it passed through authentication, there is still an ongoing federal investigation that may reveal more details in the future.
Liz Morton
eBay and PSA are also currently being sued by an Ohio man alleging they failed to catch purposely altered listing images and clear differences in condition on a card sold with Authenticity Guarantee.
Liz Morton
While that lawsuit doesn't claim the card is counterfeit, it does allege eBay authentication missed critical details that should have flagged the item as not as described - and if they missed that, it's not difficult to believe they may also occasionally miss details that should flag an item as counterfeit too.
While eBay does and should get credit for getting it right a lot of the time, and I do believe these examples are likely the exception to the rule, it's still just plainly laughable for anyone to claim that eBay has never had a counterfeit item get through authentication.
The most charitable take on Iannone's remarks is that maybe he truly is just absolutely clueless as to what is going on with the eBay Authenticity Guarantee program - in which case, I'd have to seriously question whether he is qualified to continue leading the company.
Or it could simply be a slick way to use plausible deniability to avoid accountability - if so, it certainly wouldn't be the first time an eBay executive did that.
Liz Morton
It also wouldn't be the first time Iannone played fast and loose with the truth on a subject of great interest or importance to both eBay's customers and shareholders as he and other current execs continue to forward the lie that eBay Live livestream shopping was just launched in the UK in May 2025 when eBay's own press releases and archived web pages show it's actually been active in that market since April 2024.
Liz Morton
While that may seem like a small and perhaps unimportant detail, it begs the question - where else might eBay be being less than honest about their financial and operational performance?
And if they're willing to be dishonest about eBay Live in order to keep shareholders happy, who's to say that Iannone might not carefully hedge his comments around the success of the company's authentication programs too.
Notably, both buyers and sellers have been reporting that authentication for trading cards has recently been taking longer than usual, with some wondering if increased scrutiny due to Iannone's comments may be one reason for the delays.
@ValueAddedRS probably running slow, as @eBay doesn't want to allow any counterfeits sold on the platform.
— auburn35 (@35auburn) September 16, 2025
https://t.co/DlWi2Ioyem pic.twitter.com/bq2WDfWHyo
As Iannone continues to double and triple down on these claims about Authenticity Guaranteed, it will be interesting to see if he receives any pushback or questions about these comments when eBay reports Q3 earnings, which will likely be around the end of October.
Have you ever received an item that passed eBay's Authenticity Guaranteed program for sneakers, streetwear, handbags, jewelry, watches, and trading cards but ended up being verified as counterfeit after you received it?
Let us know about your experience in the comments below or contact VAR!
