tPF authenticator discussion
- Thread starter missbanff
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I agree. I think sometimes the reason the threads exists get lost. . . to keep counterfeits out of the marketplace. While I understand why an individual won't do it, I cringe a little when people assume it's a hard fast rule. It's why we've asked repeatedly that members who offer their time to speak on their own behalf and not the community and say things like "I prefer. . . " in lieu of "we prefer . . ."
Glad to hear it!Extra posts were removed as well, we need to try very hard not to engage. Just report and ignore
Yes, agree, and I have volunteered countless hours to helping members of this forum buy only authentic Hermes bags. And for now will continue to volunteer my free time. But this is not a one size fits all template.
It is pretty obvious that there is no one approach that makes sense across all the multitude of designer brands authenticated on tpf. This is shown by the different approaches expressed by different brand authenticators. The variation in price points alone is enormous. Authenticating Hermes bags is not to be undertaken lightly. The dollars at stake are considerable. There are extremely sophisticated fake Hermes bags that have deeply penetrated the worldwide market. Very few members, even those with over 500 posts, are qualified to authenticate an Hermes bag, or would even want to voice a public opinion for another member to rely on at this kind of dollar level.
In Hermes we don't do private sales, because we found that our authentications were being abused by many sellers seeking validity for their items for free. Let alone the posts with stolen pictures and lack of verifiable listing provenance which could have resulted in fraudulent market offerings being given verification without intent. The examples were endless. This won't change. That makes sense in our brand based on our extensive experience. Authenticators for some other brands like Chanel feel likewise, based on their experience in their threads.
If an Hermes bag is for sale publicly then an active member has plenty of opportunity to ask for authentication before entering into a contractual obligation to buy. This is one reason we don't authenticate closed Hermes auctions. If someone does buy a fake for whatever reason then they need a professional service to do anything about it anyway. Opinions voiced by volunteer authenticators on threads on tPF have no validity with PayPal, eBay or a credit card company in a dispute about a fake bag already purchased on eBay or elsewhere.
People read the authentication threads because they know they are getting reliable information. This accounts for the high traffic to those threads and resultant good metrics for tpf. The disorganized situation in the threads where established authenticators have quit is unfortunate for the forum public image, and I am sad to see it.
Thanks for this, as I'd never understood (but also would never have questioned) the reasoning behind only authenticating live auctions.
I've always appreciated the authentications threads and the excellent authenticators here and want to thank everyone for their time, I am really grateful there are people out there wanting to help others.
Thank you
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You will always have the right to authenticate (or not authenticate) any item you wish. That is never going to be taken from you. At the same time, other authenticators have the right to authenticate whatever items they would like to. I think that's all that was ever said in this thread.
I understand this completely thank goodness! I am a volunteer, so its not like I am paid to do this, I am offering my time to help people for free.
Other authenticators can do what they would prefer as I have said above. I am not saying any different. However I am saying that different things make sense in different brands. I explained why in Hermes the closed auctions and private sales are subject to abuse or impractical.
It is up to management to put the backup in place and support their volunteer authenticators so that the quality of all of the threads is what they seek. The laissez-faire approach has caused an unfortunate situation in threads where authenticators have quit for all the reasons expressed throughout this thread.
Thanks for saying that. Every show of appreciation helps our team feel motivated to keep on keeping' on!
I would not call the forum's approach to authentications as laissez-faire. This thread and all of Megs' attention to it was well as the issues presented here has been everything but.
Hashing out new ways to help everyone feel valued is the entire purpose of this thread. It may not always be fun to figure to sort through, but everyone here seems to be passionate about resolving the kinks.
Between their generosity of skill and time, the authenticators on this forum are nothing short of AMAZING *and that continues to be said here repeatedly. I don't mind saying it again and again. I know as a member I feel so much trust in them and just feel safer in the marketplace because of them!
I am glad to hear that you value the authenticators. I think they are amazing too, LOL!
I trust that means also that you will take into account the comments they make. The whole initiation of this thread was because of problems some authenticators voiced about issues in their threads. And unfortunately those threads are not working well today without those authenticators.
We can work together to fix this but it means recognizing that there are differences in the forum, that what works in one thread does not necessarily work in another.
Can you show me where anyone said otherwise? I feel like you are responding to something that was said, and if so, I would like to clear that up.
I just want to know where any of us said that the forums are not different, or that they should be uniform.Can you show me where anyone said otherwise? I feel like you are responding to something that was said, and if so, I would like to clear that up.
Must have misunderstood and happy you cleared that up.
Look forward to continued support from everybody and continued harmony in the Hermes bag thread. Where there is little drama thankfully. It is well moderated and organized.
i just want to add my thanks to the authenticators, they do a great and, sometimes, thankless job out of their own time and without expecting anything back so i do not understand why people are not polite...
it is a pity than we have lost some authenticators, their brand knowledge was an asset to TPF
it is a pity than we have lost some authenticators, their brand knowledge was an asset to TPF
Must have misunderstood and happy you cleared that up.
Look forward to continued support from everybody and continued harmony in the Hermes bag thread. Where there is little drama thankfully. It is well moderated and organized.
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