Is it safe to purchase a Rolex on eBay

[Hardtimes]

Many times the sellers on Ebay ARE trusted sellers, just another avenue to advertise.

[derek001]

I definitely wouldn’t, I have heard lots of negative stories.

[Hawkeye98]

Originally Posted by SAAS

I’ve used ebay many times for watches rolex/tudor without issue. They now also guarantee authenticity which is helpful though in dozens of purchases previously I didn’t have a serious problem. My one area of caution would be to stick with the US and use a credit card to give yourself another layer of protection. I say stick to the US because if you do need to issue a return on a foreign transaction you become the exporter of the item it can involve paperwork and fees to do correctly the worse I faced was a return to Japan it seams like there is a proliferation of Japan listings lately I will not touch those.

This ^. I needed to return a watch to Japan and had to file as some sort of business entity with the IRS in order to return it with the proper $ insurance coverage as the value exceeded the maximum standard jewelry coverage UPS/FedEx offers to private parties. Good thing I did because UPS lost the watch as they delivered it to a different address in Japan.


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[Oldwoods]

I recently bought a Tudor Harrods BB from eBay, it was unworn and at a reasonable but not ‘cheap’ price. The watch went through the eBay authentication process and I took it to my local Tudor AD to have it sized and checked over. I did my due diligence ( as much as you can) on the seller. I’m very happy with the watch, maybe I was lucky but the whole process was very smooth and the watch is a beauty.

[mobster600]

Yes its great to buy and sell on. I have bought and sold watches on ebay for years. Never had an issue. They now make you ship the watch to an authenticator. They act as a middle man to ensure all watches transact smoothly.

The watch market has been booming since covid. Ebay is a great place to buy/sell

Could some of the nay-say'ers explain some of their past experience's using ebay? Has this negativity been recent purchases/sales?

[Polyesterpig]

I have purchased watches on eBay. No problems so far. Each one came with a certificate of authenticity. They no longer offer the guarantee on watches purchased from out of the country (for us in the USA). Not sure about around the world.

[Nico81]

I have purchased 4-5 watches in ebay
Flawless and great deal
Just last week I purchased 16710 from Japan amd arriived no issues

Love how Japanese people take care of their belongings


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[Solo118]

Maybe the safest imho. It gets verified for free, and shipped to you safely... if it had no box/papers it comes in a nice ebay box with a little verification card.

[Ibrahim Abuillan]

I wouldn't do that.

[HorologicalGangster]

I would, with some research. As they say, buy the seller not the watch.
I've purchased 2 watches on eBay with success.

[Moondoggy]

No no no to ePrey

[dshin525]

I have, as well as multiple Breitlings and a Sinn. This was years ago, well before the ebay authenticity guarantee. I had zero issues. The Rolex and Breitling were all from well established dealers selling on eBay so I wasn't concerned. Sinn was from a private seller with minimal feedback and it was priced accordingly.

[Mr Ben]

I’ve purchased three watches on eBay and all was fine with them. They were all <£1k though so not the biggest risk to take although no authentication at that level.

My Rolex was advertised on eBay but I visited the seller’s physical store to buy it. Think it’s ok if you pick decent professional sellers and stay away from the people with feedback of 1 selling “grandpa’s watch”.

[Kevin of Larchmont]

I’ve sold eight watches on eBay this year, none over a thousand dollars. They ran only one through their third-party verification process, a Helm Komodo that sells new for about $350 that I sold for $500 shipped due to the long wait list for new. When we asked eBay why the Helm specifically they said they get a lot of fakes of that watch which sounds insane based on the low cost. Nonetheless it appears they have a “hot list” for frequently faked watches, no doubt Rolex is on it. Having said all that I wouldn’t buy or sell anything of significant value on eBay. I only sold watches there that could afford to lose.

[sherrill]

You have to be careful. For example, a website called Michaelswatches.com is a fake website with stolen pictures and stolen address. There is a real store at that location, but the actual watch repair owner doesn’t have a website or deal with Rolexes. The scammer changes their handle name by adding a number or letter to the listing so they can put the fake listing back up every time it gets reported and taken down. eBay is a minefield. The owner has reported them to google, but to no avail. Do research, return policy and authentication to the best of your ability.

[SVC]

I actually wouldn't do that

[watchluvr4ever]

eBay can be safe if you know what to look for, just remember that ”authentication” doesn’t mean the watch you receive does not require servicing which can be co$tly, and they are authenticating only the watch and not the accessories included. Do your homework.

[jraym12]

can someone help me authenticate it? i cant post the link yet because im new.

[Topspin14m]

Easy answer: Don't do it. There is no reason to. Lots of good sellers on TRF and elsewhere.

[JonnyOld Boy]

I have been selling on eBay for decades and have also bought and sold watches on there. So long as you research the seller and do your homework then it's no better or worse than buying used anywhere else. The reason sellers sell on there is because fees/overheads are comparatively low compared to many other selling platforms [ depends on country obviously ].

[Flintstone]

It’s safe. BTW, PM me if you’re interested in purchasing some oceanfront land in Nebraska.

[Polarexplorerii]

No

[Trailboss516]

Many people will say no, and many people will say yes.

For me, it is absolutely out of the question. If you feel comfortable doing so, have a roll of the dice!

[bluestreak]

The people that say yes give example of the specific times they have used the service and that they haven’t had problems, even referring to the specific watches at times.

The people that say no, give vauge “I heard from someone” with no details to back it up. And ,of course, always a plug to buy from a “trusted seller”

I think the authentication service takes a lot of risk out of selling and buying. Not all risk, but a significant chunk of it.

[Belinus]

I’m currently considering a couple of watches on eBay so the resurrection of this thread has come at a great time. From what I can tell and from listening to the podcast posted earlier on the thread, buying from eBay seems like one of the safer options if purchasing online.

[GST15]

Originally Posted by Hardtimes

Many times the sellers on Ebay ARE trusted sellers, just another avenue to advertise.

I understand, but who exactly do you really trust. A lot of people trusted the TPG, and look how that turned out. Buying new, the AD is the only 100% trusted seller.
For pre owned, there will always be some lever of danger. Each person must decide how much risk they are willing to accept. Generally, sad to say, I trust no-one.

[Miker86]

I’ve used the eBay authentication service twice and it’s fantastic. On one occasion the watch and papers were fine but the box was counterfeit- I was given the option to pull out of the deal which I did out of principle and the customer service from eBay was fantastic.

[njlam]

I have bought three watches on eBay and have been very happy.

A preowned Panerai and JLC, as well as an unworn Batman.

Their authentication service gives me peace of mind. I plan on buying more watches, especially from the sellers I have already bought from.

On the other hand, my one experience with Chrono24 was not great and I won't be using them again.

[njlam]

Originally Posted by njlam

I have bought three watches on eBay and have been very happy.

A preowned Panerai and JLC, as well as an unworn Batman.

Their authentication service gives me peace of mind. I plan on buying more watches, especially from the sellers I have already bought from.

On the other hand, my one experience with Chrono24 was not great and I won't be using them again.

I forgot to mention that after I bought my 2nd watch via eBay they gave me a card that took 10% off my next watch purchase (up to $1K). This made the Batman a great deal for me.

[edinjo19]

Please some established dealers for Breitling in e bay?thanks