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27 May 2016, 10:32 AM | #1 |
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How can I protect myself from eBay buyers who will claim I sold them fakes?
Hi everyone.
I want to begin selling used Rolex watches on eBay, with an offer of a money-back guarantee. Please tell me, what would I do if a buyer has a fake Rolex watch with a fake certificate, and he orders from me an authentic Rolex watch of the same model. All he'd have to do is claim that I sent him a fake, and return the fake to me. I would have no way of proving to ebay that I sent him an authentic watch. I'm told that the hologram on the Proof of Authenticity document that Rolex provides with their watches is very difficult to counterfeit, but I must send this document to the customer. I will therefore not be able to show it to ebay should the customer claim he received a counterfeit product. The customer can simply send back a fake document. (If I could send the customer a notarized copy of the proof of Authenticity document that Rolex produces, rather than the original, that would be great. But I know of no such notary who provides this service.) Does anyone have any ideas how to solve this problem? Thanks very much. |
27 May 2016, 01:35 PM | #2 |
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I've sold a few watches - only one on this forum so far - 3 or 4 on eBay. I always film the watch up close as I'm packing it into the box at the UPS store. I keep filming until the box is sealed and the shipping label is placed over the top seam. It's not a perfect strategy and to date I've not had an issue with buyers claiming the watch was fake or the box arrived empty. One thing I do know - insurance is a must and once UPS takes possession of the package a claim can be filed if something goes wrong.
None of my precautionary strategies give me complete peace though. Every time I send out a watch I worry until the buyer confirms they have received and are happy with the watch. I'm super curious how the experienced and professional sellers deal with this - so I'm glad you asked this question. It's something I've always wondered about but never thought of posting. |
27 May 2016, 03:23 PM | #3 |
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Very helpful idea
Thanks for writing. Your filming idea is very intelligent. I will certainly do this.
Thanks very much for sharing this idea. It can only help. (I have a feeling that the answer to my question is that sellers make sure to earn enough profit for each sale that they can absorb the loss they incur from the occasional unscrupulous buyer. I just hope there is a better way to handle this problem.) |
27 May 2016, 05:42 PM | #4 | |
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27 May 2016, 06:39 PM | #5 | |
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27 May 2016, 06:56 PM | #6 |
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I don't understand something. Once a buyer clicks to purchase the watch on eBay, the seller has a legal commitment to sell to him. The seller doesn't have the option to call the buyer to see whether he has a good feeling about him.
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27 May 2016, 08:02 PM | #7 | |
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27 May 2016, 08:05 PM | #8 |
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I've seen some listings that say internal parts are security marked to avoid this sort of risk.
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27 May 2016, 08:11 PM | #9 |
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I have also seen this, does seem a little extreme. It's not as bad as everyone thinks. If the buy has really good feedback 99% of the time everything goes smoothly. You can also set your listing I think to allow purchases only from users over a certain amount of feedback. Obviously this would eliminate some potential customers. I have never bought a watch off eBay though and don't think I ever would, the prices arnt that great and if they are there usually something wrong with it.
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27 May 2016, 08:14 PM | #10 |
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You could do a brief interview before you sell a watch to them and ask them what their feelings are towards the Costco return policy. That could give you a good idea of what type of character they have and whether or not there is a high probability they might screw you.
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27 May 2016, 08:49 PM | #11 | |
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27 May 2016, 09:18 PM | #12 |
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Don't accept PayPal as a seller is the one and only way.
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27 May 2016, 09:54 PM | #13 |
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I would not accept PayPal and move to wire transfers. The transfers have issues also but if you wait until the funds have cleared and move the funds from one bank to another the seller buyer relationship becomes more equal. I like ebay for some items but anything involving real money I talk to the buyer/seller and do my background.
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27 May 2016, 11:52 PM | #14 |
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Before coming here, i used ebay once for a rolex. I posted the auction and the wise members instructed me, theres aftermarket parts. Seller had a 14 day money back guarantee. Once here, i used to only deal with users that accepts paypal, but im slowly warming up to the idea of a wire transfer, once I understand the security and protection for both parties. Remember you are literally sending thousands of hard earned dollars to someone on the internet, in hopes they will hold up their end of the deal. But i went with a trusted seller, and have been quite happy with my purchase.
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27 May 2016, 11:54 PM | #15 |
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These "type" of threads worry me.
Comments in these open threads may allow scammers to find ways to improve their methods or worse maybe the OP is looking to learn similar tips. I think (personally) we should be extremely careful tutoring people in protective measures or what identifies a fake. Just my 2 cents adam |
28 May 2016, 12:40 AM | #16 |
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On eBay you cannot set your listing to allow purchases only from users who have over a certain amount of feedback.
After reading all of the above comments, I think my best bet would be to sell it to a trusted seller who would then put it up on eBay. I will make less money, since the seller would surely mark up the price, but I should be able to at least get a commission on the deal. |
28 May 2016, 01:22 AM | #17 | |
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28 May 2016, 01:25 AM | #18 | |
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28 May 2016, 02:13 AM | #19 |
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I am not trolling, nor am I trying to learn how to scam. But I don't blame people for being suspicious, since the internet is full of scammers.
I cannot limit my ebay buyers to those with great purchasing history. So that's out. So after reading all of your comments, I think my best option is to sell to a trusted seller who would then resell it. I will make less money that way, but it's better than nothing, and I don't see any other alternative. |
28 May 2016, 07:41 PM | #20 |
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I have now another idea: to buy commerce insurance from a local company. I just hope it exists for ebay selling of such expensive items.
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29 May 2016, 12:10 AM | #21 |
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Sell them on a different forum or manner, never sell high end items on ebay, just asking for trouble. Just my experience.
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29 May 2016, 01:29 AM | #22 | |
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+1. Forget eBay for selling high end items. Ain't gonna work out great. If you're selling legit high end watches, sell on fora (is that a word?) like this. |
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29 May 2016, 07:02 AM | #23 |
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I'm dropping the idea of selling on eBay
Thanks everyone. You've all been very helpful.
I cannot get commerce insurance so I am dropping the idea of selling on eBay. As many of you have said, it's too tilted towards the buyer. |
29 May 2016, 07:41 PM | #24 | |
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You're lucky! eBay has recently threatened to kick us off for having direct contact with a buyer outside of eBay. They have robots that can detect if you exchange numbers and emails. Very annoying. What I love about these forums is that is gives the buyer and seller a chance to provide references. The best buyers are ones that have bought from other members, it makes everything so much safer for both parties. If only there was a selling platform that functioned like these forums. I'd be the first to sign up.
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29 May 2016, 08:05 PM | #25 | |
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My advice (coming from someone who's had watches stolen, PayPal scams, even a bank wire scam one time). Don't bother with potential ebay transactions, especially if you're starting in the watch dealing business. One scam could break you. The way we did it: Build solid references!!! These forums could be a great tool for you to do that. Acquire amazing watches!!!! Then build a website Promote on eBay (use it as a billboard) make sure you username matches your website, so hopefully a smart buyer will know to search your name on google and find your site this way (I love when this happens, we always give a big discount because we avoid eBay and PayPal fees) Ship overnight, always and fully insured! Never ship a watch over the weekend (the thought of having one our watches sitting in a FedEx warehouse where thieves, sorry, I meant employees, have to look over packages is terrifying) we had 6 watches stolen in one shipment when we shipped over the weekend with fedex. Bank wire only but always wait until it completely clears before sending and make sure the buyer knows this as well. We had one guy use a fake check when we gave him our wire details, the funds showed up on our end so we shipped the watch and big mistake!! At this time we didn't know of this scam but it's very possible. I think I am just rambling at this point because of alcohol and that Im still bitter because of how dumb PayPal and eBay is.
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30 May 2016, 04:09 AM | #26 |
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At the other end of the spectrum I know of an out of state buyer who bought a Rolex on eBay, and on delivery he made the postman wait until he opened the box (to be a witness) and he got just the Rolex box (cardboard and wooden) and nothing else. Turned out that this seller had sold the same Rolex to three different buyers on eBay and not delivered to any one of them. Anyway, I kept in touch with this friend of mine and he said that he never got any restitution even though the culprit was arrested, and also heard that all charges were eventually dropped. This crooked seller was selling under his own real name, but somehow they just couldn't prove the case against him, maybe because the victims were spread out around the country. Also from what I was told this guy actually had a receipt for the Rolex to prove he had it (but just for one Rolex, not three!), anyway somehow the waters got muddied to the point where three people paid him with PayPal and got burned, although my friend said he actually ended up getting the money back from PayPal, not sure about the others.
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30 May 2016, 05:47 AM | #27 | |
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30 May 2016, 06:54 AM | #28 | |
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Forums is a perfectly legit word.
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30 May 2016, 08:00 AM | #29 |
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This forum is amazing. You guys are really incredible. Very, very helpful.
"Ship overnight, fully insured" one of you wrote. Does anyone know an international shipping company that fully insures expensive watches? I haven't found any yet. Shawn, I never realized this difference between a fake check and a wire. If I understood you correctly, when you deposited the fake check in your bank account, it first showed up normally, as if money entered your account, but when the check bounced a couple of days later, the money was debited from your account (Now I understand why so many businesses will not ship until the check they receive clears.) On the other hand, a wire transfer is final and can never be revoked. This is an important point and I'm glad you made me aware of it. Did I understand you correctly, or were you trying to say something else? Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk |
30 May 2016, 11:11 AM | #30 |
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Parcel pro insures international shipments. It's owned now by ups but you can also use fedex.
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