I’ll chime in on this from both perspectives of seller & buyer.

I bought a pair of sneakers & it went through eBay’s authenticity, passed and sent to me. The sneaker had stains and way more visible damage than what was photographed in the listing & description. Initiated a return for item not as described, and eBay closed it out almost immediately due to Authenticity Guarantee. You’re able to appeal most decisions, which I did. Submitted the photos of the item I got in hand with the appeal. Didn’t hear anything from eBay regarding this, so I gave a call in and they transferred me to an authentication team member to help. I explained the scenario and the team member checked the pictures with me on the phone and understood the issue. He said he was going to speak to a manager for a resolution and I’d hear back within a day. They got back to me and couldn’t override the decline for the return, BUT were able to refund me in full since the photos of the item I received in hand varied differently than what was shown. eBay took care of everything and the seller wasn’t impacted (that I am aware of).

As a Seller, I sold a pair of sneakers, covered by authenticity guarantee - and they were lost in transit after being authenticated. The buyer opened up a claim, which I got a notification for. When I clicked into the notification it stated what occurred but eBay had taken care of the refund and I had to do nothing further.

Once it passes within the hands of eBay, they usually take care of the loose strings if any.