Hi, all-- I'm curious to hear how others vet private sellers (outside of OF), or even dealers who are not well known. I recently purchased a watch from a guy in Germany and it worked out just fine. But I pretty much judged the risk on the quality of the exchange leading up to the sale and the fact that he was a trusted seller on Chrono24. It wasn't the most thorough vetting, as I went largely on gut instinct. But one might assume that a good scammer is also good at putting one at ease, so gut instinct probably isn't a very good method. How do others try to mitigate the risk of private deals?

 

In the example you refer to, you bought a watch on C24. They supposedly review the trusted sellers according some criteria but the criteria used to evaluate the dealer you are working with isn't printed anywhere. C24 will help you get a refund if the watch is "not as described", or is "not authentic." Also your money is held in an escrow, so the seller doesn't get payment until you receive the watch. But C24 also has higher prices because C24 is charging I believe 6% of each transaction.

If you are to buy from a private seller then you need verify the identity of who you are talking to. Google their name, google their phone number, ask for a copy of their ID or business license if they have a business license, find them on facebook if you can, and of course ask if they can refer you to someone they have done any trades with. Do they respond quickly and completely to your questions about the watch? How well do they describe the product they are selling? Another important thing I look for is the quality of the photographs they present. Even with dealers on C24 or Ebay, I have seen poor photos, and incorrect or incomplete descriptions of a watch, so I put that in the trust your gut category. So the more information you can verify and the more the seller is willing to help you verify, the more likely you are working with someone who is truly representing what they are selling.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I did not buy the watch I mentioned via chrino24–I just said the guy I bought it from is a trusted seller on that platform. That fact did give me some confidence in him, though.

Most of the tips you mention seem pretty easy for a scammer to replicate—even a “reference” from another buyer is easily faked. obviously someone with a lot of references or known rep is another story...

 

I’ve made quite a few deals on Reddit (for whatever reason the place where I do all of my private deals). Watch Feedback history, and overall user history gives me a good sense of who I am dealing with. If a user has made a lot of deals and has a big presence, my rationale is thats it’s low probability that someone would ruin their reputation on the site to pull off a long con.

Outside of that, I get a conversation going to make sure it’s a good sale/trade partner in terms of making sure we see eye to eye on condition etc just to make sure expectations are on par.

 

Makes sense. I have not bought through Reddit but anytime there is public feedback/history to look at, that is very helpful.

 

Sometimes I can really just trust my judgement when it's someone very active on forums or IG for many years. In some cases they already have a lot of unsolicited references.

If it's a total stranger with no references, I like to know who they really are or probably I won't do the deal. Sometimes people have a significant internet presence in real life which can give you confidence. Other people have a professional presence, e.g. connecting on LinkedIn is good.

 

Hey scoot have all your Reddit transactions worked out well. I’ve been monitoring them for seamasters but so many request wire payments it really gives me pause. I did buy a dynamic on Reddit prior to there new basic vetting process and everything went OK but higher dollar purchases give me pause

 

Fortunately yes. The new feedback system is a little cumbersome, you need to request a transaction history report (this is automatic so you do receive it almost instantly) and from there I piece together prior sales experience. I can say that I never bought anything of higher value from a user who didn’t have ample evidence of prior history, to the point where I felt that if they tried to screw me it would be at the cost of them hurting their reputation on a site they buy/sell from regularly.

Regarding payment, it never hurts to message the seller to feel out an alternative method to payment the works for both parties.

 

Private sellers my rule is never pay or buy at a cost that is more than I am comfortable loosing.

Many purchases of mine are off trusted members here and are repeat business with said members.

My buying is limited to the best example possible nowadays so it’s usually fellow collectors with less watches purchased.

 

My best recommendation is listen your guts. If your guts say "Meh.", walk away, even if already engaged in a conversation. There will always be another opportunity.

Where it becomes trickier is when the guts say "Go!" however the head doesn't. No risk, less fun.

 

I purchased an el primero off a dealer on C24, a trusted seller, but I still went through a lot of pre purchase correspondence, more pictures, finer details, method of shipping, packaging etc. enough to hack him off I think, if he weren't genuine, I also checked his other items for sale and used the escrow account which puts the mind at ease. I have also purchased off OF a few times, and again, buy the seller, check the feedback, OF is a great platform for this, I have never bought from ebay, too many horror stories.

 

I always try to "buy the seller". It's not that easy though. Just bought a watch from eBay by winning an auction and previously during the bidding I wanted to get the feeling of the seller. I messaged him and of course, asked for more photos, tried to make some small talk about this certain watch. Just to see if the seller is a "good guy". With this one, it's not quite clear but haven't seen any red flags yet. I've asked some sellers to talk with me on Instagram and share a video of a watch etc. Been successful. When I have sold a watch couple of people have called to my phone and just wanted to talk to me prior to the transaction.

 

Really can't go wrong with that rule! I use the same whenever vetting or a return policy is not available.

 

Here or established dealers. That’s it. I also like Standy’s rule. I’d never put thousands in play with a “stranger”.

 

Search for feedback and/or ask public questions about the seller on the host forum.

I have bought from here, WUS, The Watch Site, Rolex Forums and Reddit. On this site it is very easy to find out if someone is trustworthy. On WUS and the others (except Reddit), I pretty much base my evaluation on a search for their on-line name.

On Reddit, its a little harder for me to sort out sellers historical behavior. Reddit does require time stamped photos, so that helps. As someone mentioned, how responsive the person selling is, goes a long way to adding confidence.

Some things that help: Always pay using a guaranteed means (Paypal - not Friends and Family). As someone else said, I never pay more than I am prepared to lose. That can be a lot of money that would pain me to lose, but it wouldn't be a show stopper (probably would cure me of second hand buying). I've had 20 - 30 transactions and all have been good to excellent. That may be a small number to some, but not to me.

Edit - I almost forgot. If the picture quality is bad, run away. For the life of me, I can't understand why a legitimate seller would post unclear photos. It's one thing if a single photo is slightly blurry. Its another to see snap after snap of blurred images. That is a huge red flag for me.

 

Good points. The “bad photos” thing can work both ways, however, as I have scored some bargains on eBay due to, I think, the crap photos. But there are bad photos and there are what seem like a series of deliberately unclear photos meant to deceive and, once again, your gut tells you the difference (hopefully).

 

I actually have had great success on eBay, but I've also been on the platform for 24yrs now, so I have developed spidey senses when it comes to sniffing out what's what.

My #1 rule on eBay: DO NOT BUY WATCHES INTERNATIONALLY. I stick to my own country(US). Everything about the transaction is easier if you deal inside your own borders. I also only sell within my own country. Same reason.

I've also found a quick message to the seller saying casually oh hey I have a LEO buddy nearby where you live (isn't that cool?) does wonders to keep honest people honest.

 

very useful hints there, thanks