zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

It is quite easy to spot the fakes, frauds, and unscrupulous dealers. If you deal with only large-feedback, high-end sellers, you can pick up a real deal on thEbay!

Yes, the naive and slow-to-the punch (and super cheap morons) are being taken left and right.

Ever hear the phrase, Caveat Emptor? Buyer Beware? It is thousands of years old! Not ten, like eBay.

Sure, it's an impersonal, shady place it you are not careful, and folks can and do get taken. But if you know what to look for you can steal watches for 1/3 retail in GREAT shape.

I am personally very weary of sellers who have not been active for three years, and then have a $18k Rolex President "Buy it Now" for $2400. Or sellers who have never gotten any feedback, who show cloudy, distant shots of the latest "replicrap" to come from our little red pals in China.

Use some sense. If a seller has 3500 positive feedbacks, and sells Rolex, Omega and Breitling every day, you can usually trust them. If they have forty positives, all within a month's time, and all for selling matchbox cars at $0.99, then that Twin Sixty Navitimer they have for $250 b.i.n *might* NOT be authentic.

Too often I see people jump on obvious replicas. You can go to replicawatch.com, and see exactly what the latest Chinese-made Rolexes and Breitlings look like. Again, most are OBVIOUS fakes. Many are copies of several models rolled-into one, and others are just plain chromed poop.

The biggest worry with eBay is hiijacked accounts; as I mentioned above, they are sometimes VERY easy to spot. If a seller named "cutie_preeteen_92" has been lying dormant for three years, and all of the sudden has a too good to be true deal, DON'T buy from them. Or, it all of their feedback is for tiny purchases, and NO sales, or consists of nothing but shady sales of "Goochie" and "Pradah" handbags, they MIGHT not be the best person to send a $6000 cashier's check to.

There is another *dead-on* giveaway that a seller is NOT to be trusted. If they do not accept PayPal, or will not allow credit cards, and demand ONLY wire transfers to Mozambique, or cashiers checks (or even CASH! LOL), you might consider that $19,000 Patek Phillipe, "Solid 18K, New in Box" a little bit shady at the $125.00 dollar asking price.

Likewise, if the seller is in Vietnam, and has one feedback, and will only acept money orders or BidPay wire transfer, you should look elsewhere for a new Seamaster. Theirs is probably a phony.

Also, take a good look at the pictures of the watch. Are they all taken from the same camera? With the same background? Are they stock photos from an Omega catalog? Do they look legit, or are there many different pictures of the "same" watch, one with a steel band, and one with a leather strap? Is the serial number showing in any shots? Anyone who steals photos from the Omega or Rolex web-site PROBABLY does not have the watch that they claim to have for sale.

I am tired of people blaming eBay for their own ignorance. Every person would enjoy a new Rolex for $250, but it just does not happen. I started a 16013 DateJust at $1, with no reserve, and the final sales price was over $1500. ANy legit seller knows that a $1 opening bid will bring right about full market value at auction's close. I typically avoid "Buy it Now" deals which are grossly under the fair market value, unless I personally know the seller, and have previously had good experiences with them. Likewise, I will R A R E L Y buy from an overseas seller! It's just too risky.

Take a look at the going rate for the watch you want to buy. Most good sellers look into the actual market price prior to posting an auction. If they have a legit "buy-it-now," it is typically right at fair value.

Finally, many of the scam auctions read, "This was a gift, and I don't have the papers." or "I have no way of guaranteeing authenticity..." Better yet, "I found this at a yard sale..." DO you really think that ANYONE with a real Rolex President is going to post it for 1/15th its true value???

Then, there are the classic, "I'm selling this for a friend, and don't know anything about Omegas," routines. Oh really? So your buddy wishes to remain anonymous, and leave you holding the bag, huh? Sure. Most scam artists have to steal for a living SIMPLY because they are too stupid to do anything else. Sure, there are exceptions, but we usually just elect them to run our country.

-- eyeteaayelwhy