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Member Replica Watch Sales and gotchas

Pedalo

Meep meep meep
7/5/22
87
16
8
Australia
I would like to sell my first replica on here and have read the sales rules, hints and tips etc. I wanted to ask what the current preferred payment methods are and if the "expect the worst" is truly the reality of selling on here.

I see a lot of warnings about scammers and that you should expect the buyer to find faults and other warnings which is quite off putting. eBay is bad enough to sell on with people bidding and winning then backing out or haggling over prices after. I have managed to navigate that minefield quite well so far but on here its definitely more of a trust relationship between the buyer and seller without support.

Are there a higher percentage of good sales and easy transactions than bad? As a new member are there additional things I should do when selling to put the buyers mind at ease? Just looking for some more hints and tips really from those that do this regularly. I got caught up in the world of shiny reps and now have too many to handle, I think someone on here previously posted the stages or a rep buyer and I followed them to a t.

Not being an expert at this I buy purely on what I like and validate QC on what looks good to my eyes but then it might not be good enough for some of the experts on here too.

Thanks
 

Rx4Time

Supporter, Panerai lover
Supporter
Certified
31/3/16
10,855
7,559
113
CONUS
Truthfully I have found selling here to be a much more positive experience than the sales I've done through eBay. Be very clear and state in clear terms any known flaws or issues with the watch, post lots of good clear pictures of all sides and multiple angles, You would also be wise to get some pictures in natural sunlight as that can sometimes capture flaws that indoor lighting cannot and vice versa. above all be alert to who you're selling to. It's more of an art than anything else to avoid scammers. A lot of them follow into a pattern where they will do a couple of low-cost purchases or sales then list an expensive piece or two and run off with the money or some have listed multiple pieces simultaneously and before anyone is aware there's an issue they've sold multiple pieces. Of course there are no guarantees and there are instances where a long-term member suddenly became desperate and ran off with a bunch of money but those are far and few in between. As a seller the choice of payment option is yours. I have used PayPal friends and family for most of my sales without issue, I also have used Venmo, zell and wise.


Some additional tips I would offer include posting private message pictures of the watch along with the shipping label and also I would recommend you take a video of the watch showing it running and all functions working properly. It's not a bad idea to also along with the aforementioned picture with the shipping label to get pictures of the sides and back of the watch as well. This way you're demonstrating the watch as it shipped out. If I truly have any doubts about who I'm selling to I will even sometimes go as far as video taping myself sealing the box with the label already attached to it and a couple times I've even made distinct markings along the seal. Those instances turned out to be unnecessary however in those particular cases I was selling to newer members and my comfort level wasn't as high as someone who has been around and had multiple sales and purchases without issue. If you have a timeographer or access to a cell phone, you can also post a picture of the timeographer readout or take a picture of the timographer app showing how the watches running. For Android there is a free app called watch accuracy meter which is a good basic timeographer.
 

Tocacho

You're Saying I Can Sell?
8/11/21
62
27
18
EU
I've never had a problem here, and there are scammers everywhere, including ebay. As soon as you buy a property on the internet, there is a risk.
In France, we say that you have to "buy your seller", that is to say that you must first be ok with the guy more than with the object purchased, and with a rule too: "the crooks are (very) good guys".
So a nice guy is not a guarantee, that's why there are rules on the forum.

I don't know if it helps, but a little caution, it works fine.
 

p0pperini

patr0n h0arder
Gold Patron
Certified
29/1/19
8,897
29,424
113
UK
The vast majority of sales here go without a hitch. It's very rare for things to go bad. But as with all things, it's the bad stuff you end up hearing about, which can give a false impression. In my personal experience, I've either bought or sold well over 150 watches M2M since the beginning of 2019 and have had no bad experiences. A couple of the watches I received were in slightly poorer shape than I was hoping - that's it.

I've had worse experiences buying brand new watches from TDs, now I come to think of it!

You also have the mods on hand to get involved in the unlikely event that an M2M trade goes bad.

If you specify "Friends and Family" PayPal payment (rather than "goods and services" with its additional fee), then you're on your own, the mods won't get involved in any subsequent dispute. This has always been advised against in the guidelines for M2M sales anyway, but was recently made "official". So as a new seller, you might find some buyers are reluctant to do a deal this way. The reason for this is that PayPal F&F payments have no recourse to a buyer getting refunded in the event of a problem. Once the payment's made - that's it.

The bottom line with M2M and reps in general is - you're buying a counterfeit item, and an inherently fragile thing, made in China. They can go wrong, and it's always good to keep this in mind and adjust your expectations accordingly. And to that end, it helps to know you have someone you can send a problematic watch to and get it fixed (or can do it yourself) before you get too far into the hobby.
 

NIH_NUMB

Known Member
Patron
23/7/22
175
36
28
i'm a new member, have made some deals, but sometimes, people prefer to sell to or buy from a more long-term member. i think this is normal behaviour. use caution and you will be hopefully fine !
 

Art Tic

Time Machine Collector
26/2/17
948
237
43
California
I buy and rarely sell on M2M, and my experience has been mostly positive. I did get a few lemons, but some of it was my fault for not examining the for sale pics more closely (to see the flaws). A few were from sellers intentionally hide or not disclose the flaws (deep scratches and non-working movement). Nevertheless, I get better luck buying M2M than direct from TD. If I wasn't so set on buying certain reps brand new, I might just give up on TD.
 

Pedalo

Meep meep meep
7/5/22
87
16
8
Australia
Thanks to everyone for the tips and advice on this one. So far I have had good responses to my sales and everything is on its way to the new owners. It wasn't as bad as I feared and actually better than eBay in some ways.