what percentage of watches on ebay are fake

[morgi27]

hi gang,
After looking on ebay for quite some time at watches,what percentage of them do you reckon are fake?,there was a guy on there,who has now dissapeared,who sold breitling navitimers 4-5 at a time without any boxes or papers.
Surely if he gets is hands on this many watches,atleast some would have papers,his feedback was ok,but surely noone would buy a watch from ebay without papers to back it up???
Do people just buy them and hope for the best :?
M :shock:

 

[fakemaster]

According to all the data released during ebay's lawsuit issue, about 70%-80%. That is only concerning luxury brands.

 

[greg_r]

Percentage much reduced these days. There's still some dodgy stuff on there but a lot more reputable dealers have started selling on the 'bay and eBay are getting better at removing the crooks. I still find myself reporting 2 or 3 misrepresented sales a week, though.

Steer clear of private sellers, though - stick to the dealers with 100% feedback on gen watch sales.

Personally, I'd still stick to a local AD - much better buying experience and you know exactly what you're getting.

 

[fakemaster]

Actually has gone up. Courts ruled Ebay is not responsible for copyright infringement. God bless capitalism.

 

[greg_r]

And where exactly do you get that from? It certainly doesn't appear that way when spending time looking at what's being offered, irrespective of what some court may have ruled.

I don't disagree that eBay is a less-than-ideal source for gen watches, but there's a drastic reduction in fakes on there compared to 5 or 6 years ago.

 

[fakemaster]

If the number has gone down it's because of the companies themselves going after the people. Ebay couldn't care less.

 

[d4m.test]

The reason why the number or fake Rolex watches may have gone down is that there is an entire team of people on TRF that seem to spend ALL DAY scouring Ebay auctions and reporting the fakes.
Now for the life of me, I dont see how Ebay can take the word of some Joe who claims to be an expert, but quite often the auction is removed within minutes of the person posting the auction on TRF.
They have also discussed the fact that Rolex and Omega have a team of in house persons doing the same thing.

 

[R2D4]

According to all the data released during ebay's lawsuit issue, about 70%-80%. That is only concerning luxury brands.

If that is true, 7 or 8 out of every 10 watches on Ebay is a fake. Is my math right? Considering AuthenticWatches.com lists watches there and dominate some of the luxury brand listings I would guess this 70-80% is an embellishment by someone. (the Swiss watch industry, perhaps?) Seriously, if you do an ebay search for Gucci Pantheon Diver and the majority of sellers are established sellers who, I have purchased from in the past.

So, I don't put much stock in some of these data reports.

 

[fakemaster]

R2. That's why these types of threads and the responses that go with them give me a chuckle. It's not the type of question you can give a broad stroke answer to. When I was referring to luxury brands I was not including Gucci. I am talking mainly about Breitling, Rolex, Panerai etc. What the other brand percentages are, who knows. I can't imagine spending (or having for that matter) the amount of time that some do analyzing this stuff. But I am sure someone without a life will come along and comment.

 

[d4m.test]

Well I will step forward as someone without a life...
I personally am glad to see that SOMETHING gives you a chuckle Fakey!
And if I can add to the hilarity of the post which does that, AWESOME!
T

 

[levelmanroger]

I think it depends on what you're looking at. If you want an SMP or a Sub, then I suspect there will be a lot of scams, because those are so easily available world-wide.
Personally, I often buy vintage watches on the Bay. And by "vintage", I don't mean a 1973 DateJust. I mean WWII era or older. Those are harder to fake. It would typically cost more to fake it then they often sell for (unless it's a Jaeger or a Zenith or something like that). I have had most authenticated by my very old and experienced watch smith and have had no fakes thus far. I have several newer acquisitions to take him, including a 1930s Omega Seamaster that might have been faked. Something doesn't look quite right about the Omega emblem on the face. But so far, so good!
I too am glad to hear that Fakey is chuckling over the inance fixations of the great unwashed masses. :mrgreen:

 

[PHicks]

As a collector of antique clocks I can tell you that the number of fakes on eBay has increased dramatically in the past couple of years. Unlike rep watches there is nobody chasing these people and so eBay has no incentive to police it. I simply don't even bother looking on Ebay any longer.

If the fake business is this large in a subject I know something about I dread to think what the overall eBay fake sales are; it simply must be huge.

I don't agree with Fakey's 70%-80% figure; that sounds like a statistic based on a very narrow set of criteria; which is probably what it was intended to portray. I would find it interesting to read this report if Fakey can recall it's source.

 

[ibizta]

I'd say some of the problem has been curtailed by the enactment of selling limits on new sellers.

I sell extensively on d'bay and had to go thru hell for months to get past the selling limits.

It definitely has eliminated the type that comes in, lists 100 items in one shot, sells a few and disappears.

 

[cybee]

I was lunching with Meg Whitman just the other day and she mentioned to me that 66% of the watches on eBay are replicas.

 

[PHicks]

I'd say some of the problem has been curtailed by the enactment of selling limits on new sellers.

I sell extensively on d'bay and had to go thru hell for months to get past the selling limits.

It definitely has eliminated the type that comes in, lists 100 items in one shot, sells a few and disappears.

I take your point but it seems to me that this is more to do with rogue dealers that take the money and run rather than the sellers of fake products. From what I've seen many of these dealers have been around for quite some time; probably because the buyers are unaware that they have bought a fake. For example, 90% of the sellers of Photoshop on eBay are selling counterfeit copies but only those people that call Adobe for support get to find out.

 

[PHicks]

I was lunching with Meg Whitman just the other day and she mentioned to me that 66% of the watches on eBay are replicas.

Cybee, I don't know if you are being serious about lunching with the ex-CEO of eBay but either way the numbers just don't stack up; 66%!

Just randomly pick any 10 watches from eBay and show me 6 or more than are questionable gens. Hell, most of the watches advertised on EBay sell in the stores for less than a Rep. Now if you start getting selective; exclude all watches with a retail under $5000, I still can't see it. Most expensive watches on EBay are sold by 'reputable' dealers that can't risk taking the heat. Besides, we in the Rep business have a lot of knowledgeable people that can spot a fake from a mile off. Sure, we catch out the odd one but not 66%!. Now Craigslist, that's another story....

 

[ibizta]

Now Craigslist, that's another story....

+1

"Hey come by and see it, hurry, lots of people have mailed me"

"Really need the cash, thats why I am letting it go cheap"

"I work at X, meet me in front of my building"

"The papers and box are in storage, I will mail them to you"

 

[fakemaster]

Well Cy that sure is pretty close to the numbers I read. I am going to try and find that info. I originally read it when this topic came up before. It was right about the time the ruling came out. It really is amazing when you think about it.

 

[cybee]

Cybee, I don't know if you are being serious about lunching with the ex-CEO of eBay but either way the numbers just don't stack up; 66%!.

I was trying my best to do an H_U impression. I've never met Meg, but she will be running for governor in Calif next election. Actually I have no clue how many replicas are on eBay. How would one actually approximate the number anyway?

Sorry FM, I was doing my best to help you win the argument

 

[PHicks]

Well Cy that sure is pretty close to the numbers I read. I am going to try and find that info. I originally read it when this topic came up before. It was right about the time the ruling came out. It really is amazing when you think about it.

That would be great Fakey, I'm not in any way suggesting that you conjured up that number, it's just that it doesn't tally up with my experience. If it's true then it surely would deserve a spot on 60 minutes (not that we want this kind of exposure).

For these numbers to have any credence then I can only assume that there is a secondary, secret, Rep market that produces such a high grade of Rep that nobody from the 'dark side' has ever managed to spot the difference. Makes for a great movie theme. Alternatively, the report may have come from corporate Rolex who, undoubtedly, have a rather different agenda and a different method of processing statistical data.

PS. Cybee, just saw your last post. You Faker...