Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

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rkovars
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by rkovars »

Also, if you are looking for a particular CW model you can post a 'Want to Buy' here on the forum. You never know. Someone might have one they are looking to move on.
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by johncolescarr »

As someone who has bought (and sold) dozens of CW on eBay, with a few precautions as you have been advised already, it is probably the safest was to buy pre-owned (I do enjoy using the forum sales more, interacting with fellow CW fans is part of the experience).

EBay’s money back guarantee is very much in the buyers favour, so if you get a duff, or if the watch is not as described, you’ll get your money back, I’ve had to do this.

I would advise that you ask about hand/bezel alignment if this bothers you and movement timekeeping as often times these watches with QC issues get sold and resold a lot until a buyer who is unaware or does not care about these small issues keeps it.
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by what-time-is-it »

Timishere wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 6:02 pm
what-time-is-it wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 1:54 pm Not sure if it's been mentioned, but many ebay sellers drop-ship from Amazon - so always check Amazon before you buy on ebay. Not necessarily as relevant for watch purchases, but for cheaper stuff.

We've had it a few times where we have bought on ebay and Amazon Prime delivers the following day. :lol:
I'm sure this is breaking some sort of privacy law, but many sellers do it and if challenged, they say 'we ran out of stock'. [-X
Wow. So these eBay sellers are just straight reselling amazon products and taking a small margin. That is genius as no doubt they hoover up some sales for buyers who didn't check amazon. I used to work at amazon and I'm not even sure that would be against the rules particularly?
Yes, very common and rarely mentioned in the description.
Seller places the order with Amazon, with the buyers name and address and marks it as a gift. Not a fan of the practice myself - so I always check on both platforms.

I had a money off voucher with eBay recently, bought something for our dog and it arrived the next day by Prime. SWMBO had also bought something from a different seller and it also arrived at the same time and again delivered by Amazon.
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by Timishere »

johncolescarr wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 8:32 pm As someone who has bought (and sold) dozens of CW on eBay, with a few precautions as you have been advised already, it is probably the safest was to buy pre-owned (I do enjoy using the forum sales more, interacting with fellow CW fans is part of the experience).

EBay’s money back guarantee is very much in the buyers favour, so if you get a duff, or if the watch is not as described, you’ll get your money back, I’ve had to do this.

I would advise that you ask about hand/bezel alignment if this bothers you and movement timekeeping as often times these watches with QC issues get sold and resold a lot until a buyer who is unaware or does not care about these small issues keeps it.
That's a good question to add to my list. Curious though - would a misaligned bezel be something that would be sorted on the 60m warranty? Or is that really just for the movement?
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by thomcat00 »

About half of my CWs I’ve bought used, at least 6-7 watches anyway. I’ve used Chrono24 because it has an escrow to only release funds to the seller when the watch arrives and you as the buyer can look it over. I’ve also bought via this Forum; the Sales section is quite active. While the Trusted Seller designation helps, not all sellers have yet earned it but I still feel comfortable with this platform. And I’ve also bought from members of the CW Facebook groups. I’ve had no problems via any method this far. And people are available for reference checks. As stated prior, “buy the seller,” and do the due diligence for a successful transaction.
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by Deks »

My experience on Ebay hasn't been great. I bought 2 CW watches with issues. The first watch was advertised as mint condition, I sent a message to the seller and he said he had checked it and couldn't see any marks whatsoever but when It arrived there was a noticeable and visible scratch on the upper top of the lug. On the second watch it was advertised as very good condition, I took the plunge and when it arrived the brushed bezel had multiple scratches.

On a positive I bought an old C8 MK2 quite cheap and due to age etc I expected it to show marks and scuffs etc but I bought it as an everyday wear and expected this. To my surprise when it arrived it was absolutely immaculate.

Just remember if someone says they have had a good look over and cannot see any marks they aren't saying there are no marks they are saying they cannot see any marks themselves and that's where it is subjective or that they deliberately mislead

That's just my experience.
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by Timishere »

Deks wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 4:20 pm My experience on Ebay hasn't been great. I bought 2 CW watches with issues. The first watch was advertised as mint condition, I sent a message to the seller and he said he had checked it and couldn't see any marks whatsoever but when It arrived there was a noticeable and visible scratch on the upper top of the lug. On the second watch it was advertised as very good condition, I took the plunge and when it arrived the brushed bezel had multiple scratches.

On a positive I bought an old C8 MK2 quite cheap and due to age etc I expected it to show marks and scuffs etc but I bought it as an everyday wear and expected this. To my surprise when it arrived it was absolutely immaculate.

Just remember if someone says they have had a good look over and cannot see any marks they aren't saying there are no marks they are saying they cannot see any marks themselves and that's where it is subjective or that they deliberately mislead

That's just my experience.
Thanks for sharing, Deks. Did you have a route to recourse via ebay or just c'est la vie?
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by Illiera »

It’s been said above but the facility on the forum or the separate Facebook groups are good places to buy from.

You can get really great deals and the people selling tend to take very good care of their watches. Take this one from the forum for example, looks like a lovely piece and great seller too……

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=57713&p=882705#p882705
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by Deks »

Timishere wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 5:40 pm
Deks wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 4:20 pm My experience on Ebay hasn't been great. I bought 2 CW watches with issues. The first watch was advertised as mint condition, I sent a message to the seller and he said he had checked it and couldn't see any marks whatsoever but when It arrived there was a noticeable and visible scratch on the upper top of the lug. On the second watch it was advertised as very good condition, I took the plunge and when it arrived the brushed bezel had multiple scratches.

On a positive I bought an old C8 MK2 quite cheap and due to age etc I expected it to show marks and scuffs etc but I bought it as an everyday wear and expected this. To my surprise when it arrived it was absolutely immaculate.

Just remember if someone says they have had a good look over and cannot see any marks they aren't saying there are no marks they are saying they cannot see any marks themselves and that's where it is subjective or that they deliberately mislead

That's just my experience.
Thanks for sharing, Deks. Did you have a route to recourse via ebay or just c'est la vie?
Im not sure about recourse as I kept the watches. I looked at the description again today from the watch that was in really poor condition with really bad scratches etc and it was described as follows "This watch is in superb condition and is in good enough condition to be gifted, worn or added to a collection". This was a blatant lie as it was bloody awful condition. So all I can say is be careful on Ebay. On the other hand I have bought watches from these forums and every watch arrived exactly as described and the people I have dealt woth here have become my friends and who I all hold in high regard :-)
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by StrappedUp »

I've never had a selling issue on eBay as I'm always honest about my watches.

I've had a few buying issues though where the watch wasn't as described.
The most recent being a Bremont that arrived with a severely scratched AR coating (amongst other things) that wasn't visible in the listing photos and no mention was made in the description.
I eventually got my money back, but it was a pita and caused some anxiety during the wait due to the value.

I also had a Seiko go in favour of a seller. Arrived with a 'dent' in the dial that was clearly visible when the watch was tilted one way.
Turn it other ways and it wasn't apparent.
Guess which way the photos weren't taken ...
eBay/PayPal sided with the seller despite me clearly providing photos of the issue as soon as it was received.
Luckily that was under warranty, so was sent back and replaced FoC by Seiko. That's enough proof for me that the dial was defective.

I approach a purchase by trying to ask all the questions I want to know beforehand, ask for clearer photos if the listing ones are suspect and I started taking videos when opening received packages and inspecting the watch, highlighting and commenting on anything not as described.

As can be seen from my above couple of experiences, this doesn't always guarantee a smooth purchase.
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Re: Buying on ebay - tips for a dummy

Post by Timishere »

Thanks, Ryan. It is really helpful to hear about and hopefully learn from your experiences. I now do a live video from postman handing it to me through to unboxing and careful review!
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