Part V
Who Should I Buy From?

Another good question. Naturally, my immediate answer is “ME”! But the reality is that try as I might to carry a watch for every taste and budget, it’s impossible. And the other reality is that there are MANY reputable sellers online, so instead, I am going to try to give some guidelines in order to avoid many of the pitfalls that buyers run into.

Ebay – How to pick a seller:
Since I am writing this guide specifically for Ebay, I thought I would start here. Let’s face it, the last few years Ebay has not developed the best reputation when it comes to buyer/seller relationships. Ebay has taken note of this and has been working diligently to get rid of the bottom 5% of sellers as they have discovered that these are the sellers that are causing the majority of the problems with lack of fulfillment of buyer’s expectations. So, when buying a new watch, the things you should look for in the listing:

1. Are original papers and/or warranty card included? And if it is not, are you comfortable with the reasons why not?
2. Are there sufficient pictures in the listing?
3. Is the box included?
4. Read the WHOLE listing. Make sure that it answers any other questions that might pop up in your head. Also, when reading a complete listing, it helps to give you a “feeling” as to whether the seller is on the up and up or not. A listing does reflect the personality of the seller and when you are about to make an investment in your time piece, you do want to get a feel for their personality

Things to look for with the seller:

1. ALWAYS look at their feedback. They may have 100% feedback, but it may be because a negative or neutral was removed. This is not always a bad thing. Many times, there can be misunderstandings and those entries SHOULD be removed. However, one thing I always tell people to look for is the seller’s response to the buyer in those cases. Was it a professional response or not? If you see responses where the seller calls the buyer, “idiot”, even if the seller was RIGHT on the issue, you can tell that the seller is unprofessional. Why does this matter? Because it is an indication of how they run their business. And it’s a further indication of how they might treat YOU in the event of a dispute or disagreement. 100% feedback is not as important as what the feedback says. A perfect example is that of a seller that used to be on Ebay (he may still be) that sold DEFECTIVE video games and video gaming system parts. That was his whole business. His main page stated that the parts were defective and every description stated it. And yet, he’d get feedback from his buyers stating that the item didn’t work when they got it. He also has some of the lowest feedback of any seller I’ve seen – and yet his business thrives. This is because people are able to see that it was clear that the buyer did not read the descriptions. I cannot emphasize enough how important that is.

2. As mentioned before, read the listings completely. Do you get a feel that the seller is being 100% honest with you in their listing? A listing is more than just facts. It is the seller in text form.

3. Does the seller seem to be knowledgeable with the subject?

4. When you ask the seller a question, how long does it take them to respond? People who run their Ebay business like a true business will respond promptly. At most, 24 hours should be the limit. With auctions, sometimes even that is too long.

5. What is the seller refund policy? If a seller has done a good job in their description you should get the watch that you want. However, what happens if you don’t like it? A good online retailer should be just as happy to refund you your money as a brick and mortar retailer would.

Does it matter if the seller is an “Authorized” reseller?
Yes and no. Yes, in that you’re buying from a person who, once again, treats his Ebay business LIKE a business, but secondly, it helps because that person has a direct line to the company should an issue arise. That’s the theory anyway. However, there are many people that are not authorized, that are buying close-outs and able to pass the savings on to you and they will work HARD to make sure you are happy with your purchase.

But don’t get being authorized mixed up with watches being authentic. That’s something else altogether. Today, most watches sold as authentic on Ebay are truly authentic. They have to be. Ebay is cracking the whip on people selling counterfeits and the number of fakes has diminished dramatically.

What about replicas?
Today’s replicas are getting to be better and better. In fact, I found one company recently that claims that the only way a jeweler could tell the difference between their $800 product and a $30,000 Rolex is by opening it up and examining the movement.

I don’t sell replicas. That is not to say that there are not quality replicas out there. BUT, I will say that one of the pitfalls I see with them is that it may be hard to get them serviced should the need arise. And while you didn’t spend $30,000 on the watch, you did still spend several hundreds of dollars.

Final Notes

Lastly I just want to reiterate that this guide really is just an outline of a field that gets far more complicated. The main purpose of writing it is to answer some of the most common questions I get when I am out and about and within the Ebay Community. I have found that many times, my customers are VERY knowledgeable and I have learned a thing or two from them. So, in the event that you are one of those people and you see something that is either inaccurate or needs more explanation, please feel free to let me know. I love getting input in order to make my products and services better.

Whether your reason for reading this is to gain knowledge or to help you pick out the right watch, I hope that it helped and should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!