Authenticity check - Shipment could not be delivered!?
Summary: wertvolles-guenstig reports a problem with the delivery of an expensive wristwatch that was sent for authenticity verification. Despite the attempt, the package could not be delivered and is available for pickup, which is concerning given the high value and the required inspection. roter_rauch and others discuss questions of liability and the unusual shipping method. perfect-sally asks why the package was not successfully delivered and points out that insurance coverage may be missing. An eBay employee, nina@ebay, explains that buyer and seller protection applies and recommends monitoring the status. Concerns about insurance coverage during authenticity verification and eBay’s responsibility for the shipping process are raised repeatedly.
Hello everyone
Can someone explain this to me? What is this supposed to be? On 19/7 I bought a wristwatch for over €5000. The purchase included an authenticity check! The watch was sent by the seller for authenticity verification and was supposed to be delivered there today. Nobody was there to receive it, and it is supposed to be picked up by the recipient at the post office by the recipient!? How can something like this even happen?
Here is the tracking history:
Tue, 21 Jul
11:43
The shipment could not be delivered and is being transported to a branch of Deutsche Post for collection by the recipient and made available there. - Delivery attempt unsuccessful
Tue, 21 Jul
9:17
The shipment is out for delivery. - Out for delivery
Tue, 21 Jul
4:18
Your shipment was processed in our logistics center on 21/07/2026 and has reached the destination region. - Transport
Mon, 20 Jul
20:13
Your shipment was processed in our logistics center on 20/07/2026. - Transport
Regards
grohbacher
·3 weeks agoHello,
you can read here how an "authenticity check" works:
Sell items "With authenticity check" | eBay
This means that the seller is responsible for shipping to the authenticator and bears the shipping risk for it. In the event of loss or damage during transport, they can of course take action against the shipping provider, provided liability exists under its terms and conditions. The seller should therefore insure the shipment to the authenticator adequately. I don't know whether EBAY points this out to them in individual cases.
EBAY is then responsible for forwarding the item to the buyer and bears the shipping risk for that. It should be borne in mind that frequent shippers (especially with higher values) have transport insurance and can therefore also ship with simpler, cheaper means of transport.
@wertvolles-guenstig You do have the tracking number. Write the first 5 letters/digits of this number here (not the full one; that would be deleted because of "data protection"). Then we can see which mode of transport was used (registered mail, parcel, etc.).
Regards
Manfred
nina@ebay
·3 weeks ago@wertvolles-guenstig Hey. 🙂 In principle, it can of course always happen that a package could not be delivered during authenticity verification. Unfortunately, that lies entirely in the hands of the shipping providers.
If the package really was not forwarded to you or was lost, both buyer and seller protection apply here in any case.
Please keep an eye on the shipment status. If it remains unchanged, you can open a request for an item not received after the original delivery date has passed.
@hasjana & @perfect-sally Thanks so much to both of you for tagging. ❤
Best wishes,
Nina
wertvolles-guenstig
OP2 weeks agoHello Nina,
many thanks for your reply. There’s no movement in the tracking. How can it be that during the authenticity check, when a delivery is made, nobody is present and nobody takes care of a pickup at the branch? I contacted the seller and he says that he followed eBay’s instructions. I fear the seller shipped with Deutsche Post or DHL. In that case it would be completely uninsured, since valuables of class 2 with a value of 500.-€ or more are considered excluded from transport under the terms and conditions. Why is it even possible to print a DHL shipping label via eBay for such a high value?
I ask once again that the process be reviewed.
Regards
G.Jung
grohbacher
·2 weeks agoHello, @wertvolles-guenstig
it would be nice if you would also answer my question from yesterday, 16:37. Which recipient does the tracking show when you enter the postcode of the recipient address?
Since you work commercially in the jewelry industry, you have already had to send Valueables to the authenticity checker several times. So you know their address and exactly the procedure for the authenticity check as well as the corresponding notes from EBAY to the seller and the buyer.
Has the seller really used a shipping label from EBAY? Or is he just claiming it? Is it a private or a commercial seller? The item no. (not the order no.) would be helpful.
Regards
Manfred
wertvolles-guenstig
OP2 weeks ago · EditedHello Manfred,
I posted the eBay message here that went to the seller after our payment. But eBay deleted my post - eBay item no.:257620992171 The (private) seller is being asked by eBay to buy a shipping label or generate a QR code. In this email, the virtual eBay tracking number JSYBX5C is mentioned. I fear eBay offered a DHL label. This should not happen with a mandatory "authenticity check for watches with a value of €1500 or more", because there is no insurance coverage at all here. Unfortunately, there is no verifiable address for Stoll and Co. in Germany. All of this is very strange.....
We ship our parts exclusively via our jewelry service, always directly to the buyer. Everything is fully insured there.
Regards and have a nice weekend
Gerhard
hasjana
·3 weeks ago@wertvolles-guenstig
currently @nina@ebay is responsible, maybe she can write something about it 🙂
wertvolles-guenstig
OP3 weeks agoFor me, the question is - How is it possible that nobody is on site on a normal working day to accept a shipment. The recipient is supposed to pick up the shipment at the post office!? A company that checks the authenticity of luxury watches? It is always said during the inspection of luxury watches by Stoll and Co. Such a company is not registered or to be found anywhere in Germany......There is only one address in the USA. Can anyone explain that?
I’m really curious to see how this goes on.
perfect-sally
·3 weeks agoLeaving aside the fact that it can very well happen that nobody is there, or has that never happened to you?
And then you also don’t know whether the courier actually tried to deliver it. That happens more often than you’d think too.
And when I read post office branch, I think of Deutsche Post or DHL. A value of €5000??? By post or DHL? At the very least, I’m also missing the mention of additional insurance if the item was even allowed to be shipped that way!
And I also think that ebay is responsible for the shipping to the authenticity checker and, through the sale, also knows the value of the item.
More than 4 hours ago an ebay employee was already tagged, but so far I don’t read any feedback. Unfortunately, in the oh-so-great new community, it happens that quite a few mentions don’t even reach the employees.
So once again: @nina@ebay could you please take a look? Thanks
roter_rauch
·3 weeks ago… but not, for example, the package size and weight. Besides, eBay would then maybe be liable if empty packages were sent on their way.
That the seller sends it for authenticity checking already makes sense.
At least that’s how it was for me with an expensive bag.
After the check, eBay then shipped it on to the buyer – and with a carrier where private individuals can’t take out additional insurance, but business customers can.
perfect-sally
·3 weeks agoI think package size doesn't play a big role on eBay; they have their contracts with the service providers. It will be the same here as with the return labels that are supposedly offered at overpriced prices.
wertvolles-guenstig
OP3 weeks agoIt should have a label or QR code. This is not possible with Valoren shipping. For a value of over €1500 for watches, eBay should know this....
roter_rauch
·2 weeks ago · Editedalso true.
If Ebay actually provides the label to the seller – that would be great and would make selling jewelry over €500 much easier for everyone.
But I don't quite believe that yet. ;-)
roter_rauch
·3 weeks agoyeah, weird.
Which is why I also assumed that it might be a letter shipment, also because of collection at the post office and not from DHL. What does the tracking number say about the shipping method (parcel/letter?)?
Actually, as far as I know, all authenticity etc. deliveries now go to a central "inspection center" in an industrial area near Berlin. Since several hundred/thousand (?) parcels probably arrive there every day, Ebay almost certainly has some kind of drop-off agreement with pretty much all shippers. Something requiring a signature, like a valuables letter, probably won’t be provided for in this system.
But as I said, all just guessed.
At any rate, you’re pretty much certainly not taking on any risk at the moment if the shipment gets lost.
Which isn’t even something to assume yet.
roter_rauch
·3 weeks agoYeah, I also find that a bit unusual. Did the seller actually send a valuable watch by registered mail/insured parcel or something like that? Pretty risky (for the seller).
Maybe that’s why it couldn’t be delivered.
If the authenticity verification company doesn’t pick up the shipment, it will probably be returned. Or it will still be picked up, checked, and then continue on its way to you with a carrier selected by eBay.
At the moment, all you can do is speculate about how it’ll go from here. ;-)
hasjana
·3 weeks agoI don't see anything anywhere about registered mail or insured letter?
wertvolles-guenstig
OP3 weeks agoThat raises the question: who is liable in the event of a loss? This isn’t explained by Ebay....
roter_rauch
·3 weeks agoCurrently, the seller is liable. Upon/after delivery to the inspectors and for onward shipment, they are liable.
sunrise1605
·3 weeks agoWasn't it the case that eBay provides the shipping labels for the authenticity check?
Then they would be liable.
roter_rauch
·3 weeks ago · EditedAfter the inspection for forwarding to the buyer. Before that, the seller is responsible.
So for making sure that the shipment arrives at the inspectors near Berlin undamaged and complete.
sunrise1605
·3 weeks agoHmmm, I had understood that differently so far, especially with PVK.