Vendetta Against eBay!

[locutus49]

Yes, I have been accused of waging a vendetta against eBay for posting a few comments on the Fake threads suggesting buyers WHO LACK EXPERTISE should avoid buying their first Rolex on eBay.

Vendetta, Jihad, war!!! Let me explain my posts. And I invite you to respond, but please remain civil.

First, I do realize that genuine Rolexes are sold on eBay, sometimes by TRF members. I don't know the numbers, but let's assume for the sake of discussion that 50% of Rolexes sold on eBay are genuine. I believe I'm being generous.

That means that a significant percentage of Rolexes sold on ebay are fake, or franken-Rolexes. Please go to the Watchout sub-Forum and check out how many of the fakes are from eBay. One or two, I would wager. Anyway, it will give you a rough idea of the scale of the problem.

My posts ALWAYS contain a qualification that if a buyer is not an expert or possesses expertise, he should avoid buying his vintage Rolex off eBay. I do not offer advice to experienced buyers. YOU may be very honest and experienced in buying and selling on eBay, but many buyers have little money and no experience. Is eBay the place you would advise them to risk their savings on?

New buyers, frequently ones who have saved up for their first Rolex, come to our site for advice and a stamp of authenticity on an eBay watch he has his eye on. I feel it can be helpful to suggest these non-expert buyers be cautious when buying pre-owned Rolexes off an auction site well known to sell fakes of many luxury goods. I never tell people NOT to buy, just to be cautious or to avoid buying "vintage Rolexes" off eBay if they are inexperienced.

You may disagree, and feel that buyers should buy what they want, and since some sellers on eBay are trusted sellers, that it follows that most or all Rolexes on ebay are genuine.

I think we are helping inexperienced buyers by steering them towards ADs or trusted TRF sellers (which I always do).

So if that is a vendetta, so be it. But I never made a slanderous or false allegation against any legitimate or trusted seller on eBay. eBay is a publicly traded company and I believe they could be doing much more to ensure their luxury goods are legitimate. They could hire a watch expert to review all luxury watches proposed for auction. That would at least show credibility.

Bottom Line: TRF should be, and is to a large extent, helping inexperienced buyers buy their first Rolex from legitimate sellers. And help them buy genuine Rolexes. Many will ignore our advice. But it is not a crime or vendetta to help people with a financially important decision.