Overview
Authenticate First is a third-party service that uses pictures of luxury handbags, clothes and shoes, jewelry, watches, and accessories to verify an item's authenticity before you list it to your online marketplaces. This guide outlines how to use Authenticate First in your workflow.
Table of Contents
Getting Started with Authenticate First
To begin, create an Authenticate First account here. There’s no need to connect your account to Lister since purchasing occurs directly on the Authenticate First website.
For charities or sellers with a high sales volume, you can take advantage of Authenticate First's generous pricing:
Log in to Authenticate First and click your profile icon in the top right corner
Click B2B Application and fill in the details
How to Add Authentication Details to Draft Products Automatically
Once you have created an Authenticate First account, you can automate adding authentication certificates, pictures, and notes directly to draft products via your Lister Admin>Manifest Settings page.
Navigate to the Admin page by clicking the gear icon in the top right navigation menu of Lister
Click “Manifests” in the side menu
Activate these settings under the “Convert manifest items” section:
Auto-convert: Automatically convert manifest items to draft products when they are accepted
Images: All images used for the authentication will be added to the draft product
Authentication Materials: Certificate of Authenticity will be added as a picture to the draft product
Item Details: Any details added during the authentication step will show internally in Lister as product notes
How to Authenticate an Item using Authenticate First
Authentication via Authenticate First begins at the Manifest processing step when items are accepted, rejected, or placed on hold. If an item in a manifest is on Authenticate First’s list of brands, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Place Manifest Item On Hold
As you process items in a manifest, click the hold icon next to the items that will be authenticated via Authenticate First
Click the “Authenticate via Authenticate First” icon in the popup box to place the item on hold
Step 2: Create the Authentication
Click "Edit authentication" to open the authentication details for the product
💡Operational Tip: This task can be completed by the person processing the manifest or by a separate employee in charge of authentications
Step 3: Add Details of Item to Authentication
Clicking “Edit authentication” will open the Authentication Manager for the product. From here, add the following details:
Images: Upload pictures of the item from your computer
Order Name: Enter the product name as you want it to appear on the Certificate of Authenticity
SKU/Description: The SKU will automatically import from the manifest
Brand: Enter the brand name
Category: Enter the product category
More Info Link: Add a link to any additional information/pictures you may have about the product
Step 4: Save and Purchase the Authentication
After the authentication details are filled out, you'll have the option to "Save as a draft" if a manager needs to review and approve the purchase or "Save & purchase" to complete the transaction.
Click the blue “Save & purchase” button at the bottom of the page when you’re ready to send the product details to Authenticate First.
Note: Please ensure the user purchasing your authentications has the login information to your Authenticate First account. They will be in charge of purchasing each order after clicking "Save & purchase."
💡Operational Tip: Click the down arrow on the blue Save box to switch the default behavior between “Save as a Draft” and “Save & Purchase.”
Step 5: Verify Details on Authenticate First
After clicking “Save & Purchase,” you’ll be directed to Authenticate First’s website. Log in if needed and verify you're connected to the correct account.
Click the purple information icons to the left of an add-on option to learn more about the service
Add any certificates or services you’d like to have for your item
We recommend adding the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) at a minimum. This COA can automatically be added to your listing photos and will be visible to your buyers
Review the add-ons for the authentication
Agree to the terms and conditions
Click “Purchase” at the bottom of the screen
💡Operational Tip: Base prices for authentications may vary based on the brand and item type. Click the "Prices" link at the top of your Autneticate First account to view authentication pricing by item category and brand.
Step 6: Wait for the Results
Once the authentication is purchased, you'll be redirected to the Authentication Manager in Lister. You can check back here at any time to see recently completed authentications (They can take up to 72 hours).
The Authentication Manager shows the current status of each item:
Draft: An item that still needs to be sent to Authenticate First
Processing: An item currently being reviewed by Authenticate First
Authentic: An item authenticated by Authenticate First
The associated manifest item will be automatically accepted if the item is authentic
If you have activated “Automatically convert on acceptance” in your Admin>Manifests settings, a draft product will also be created for the item (recommended)
Any details or pictures from the authentication will be added to the product based on your manifest settings described above
Inauthentic: If the item is counterfeit, the associated manifest item will be automatically rejected with the default reason of “inauthentic”
Failed: Represents an item that was examined by Authenticate First but couldn’t be confirmed Authentic or Inauthentic. These items must be manually accepted or rejected in the manifest
Step 7: List the Authenticated Items
Once an item has been authenticated by Authenticate First, it will appear on the Draft Products page. Scan the product barcode into the search bar to quickly pull up the item and begin listing by clicking the green “List” button.
Additionally, you can filter the results to only show authenticated items by following the steps below:
Navigate to the Draft Products Page
Click “More Filters”
Select the toggle switch under “Only Authenticated”
💡Operational Tip: Print a copy of the authentication paperwork to include with the item!
How to Access, Search, Sort, and Filter Authentications
The Authentication Manager has several ways to sort your authentications, as described below.
You can check the status of authentications in Lister by clicking the “Open Authentication Manager” link on the Manifests page:
How to Search and Sort Authentications
Use the search bar to find items by SKU, title, or brand
Click the Sort button to sort results by date created or date updated
How to Filter Authentications
Click the “More filters” button to filter results based on the user who created the authentication and/or the current status of the authentication.
Authentication Event Logs
Lister records each action during the authentication process to display a timeline of an item’s authentication. This timeline is located at the bottom of an item’s authentication page.
The following events & when they occurred will be recorded within each item’s authentication page:
[USER] created this authentication: Date when a team member marked as “Hold for Authentication” from a manifest
[USER] updated this authentication: Records each time a team member edits and saves a Draft Authentication
[USER] clicked “Save & Checkout”: Displays when the Save & Checkout button was pressed. This is when the authentication is created within Authenticate First by beginning the checkout process on Authenticate First’s website
[USER] purchased an Authenticate First authentication: Notes when a user purchased the authentication in Authenticate First
Authenticate First marked this item as authentic: Date Authenticate First verified the item as authentic
Authenticate First marked this item as counterfeit: Date Authenticate First rejected the item is counterfeit
Authenticate First failed to authenticate this item: Indicates Authenticate First is unable to fully authenticate the item. You can find out why they may not be able to authenticate your item on Authenticate First’s website
[USER] resynced this authentication: Displays if a staff member clicked “Check for updates” on an item’s authentication page
Related Guides
Have questions? Reach out to us at support@uprightlabs.com or via chat anytime between 9am-6pm ET, Monday to Friday