Authenticate and Grade Your eBay Collectibles

If you buy or sell collectibles on eBay, then you may want to use an outside expert to authenticate (verify that it’s the real deal) and/or grade (determine a value based on the item’s condition and legitimacy) these items. To have these services performed on your items, you’ll have to send them to the service and pay a fee.

The best way to find a good authenticator in your field is to search the items on eBay and find the most prominent authenticator listed in the descriptions. For example, in the coins area, coins from certain grading services get higher bids than those from other services. You can also go to an Internet search engine and type the keywords coin grading (for coins). You’ll come up with a host of choices; use your good sense to see which one suits your needs.

Here are a few well-known and respected grading and authentication services, some of whom offer discounts to eBay sellers.

Grading coins

Following are a few excellent sites for grading coins:

Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS): This site is considered to be the top of the line in coin grading. This company's standards are strict, but coins graded by PCGS usually sell for higher prices.
American Numismatic Association Certification Service (AMNACS): Billed as America's oldest grading service.
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC): This site offers eBay users a discount and features a mail-in grading and certification service for your coins.
Dominion Grading Service (DGS): DGS bought the longstanding and reputable PCI Coin Grading Service in early 2008.

The PCGS Web site has many links and an up-to-date price guide at no charge.

Grading stamps

Stamp collectors (or those who have just inherited a collection from Uncle Steve) can get their stamps “expertized” (authenticated) by the American Philatelic Society.

Grading comic books

For comic books, Comics Guaranty, LLC will seal (enclose in plastic to preserve the quality) and grade at a discount for eBay users.

Grading sports cards and memorabilia

Sports cards and sports memorabilia have a bunch of authentication services. If you got your autograph or memorabilia direct from the player or team, you can ensure its authenticity. Having the item authenticated may or may not get you a higher price at eBay. Try these sites: