Certina DS Amagnetic and another ebay adventure

[Eve]

Wanted to share my recent experience and seek for advice from other members on how to resolve an issue.

I have been searching for a Certina DS Amagnetic for a while now, it is a very uncommon reference and dont come up for sale very often.

In September this year a more or less nice version of Amagnetic comes up for sale on ebay from a US based seller.
I have been following the auction and was one of the underbidders. The auction ended with a surprisingly low price for this reference, but i expected the auction to end on the following day, and was a bit surprised that it ended 1 day earlier than expected. Maybe i mixed up the time zones... but my buddy who was following the auction as well also said that the auction ended too early in his opition.


20 days later i get an email from ebay that the item is relisted again, this time with a "buy it now" option.
I didnt hesitate long and pulled the trigger, as the price was in line that i was willing to pay for this piece, despite all the customs hussle and additional cost due to overseas deal.


The seller mentioned following information in the description:

"Certina D.S. Automatic Amagnetic Vintage Mens Watch. Excellent Condition not perfect. The last picture shows scratches along the bezel.
This watch was previously sold at auction. The buyer returned it saying he thought the hands in the pictures were gold. I’m not sure why he thought that. The first two pictures were added for the listing. I hope this helps. The auction sold for $1,090. It is being listed as a buy it now for $990.
Please look closely at the pictures as they are part of the description.
Thank you for looking."

Two additional photos from the front were added to indicate the colour of the hands i guess.
The fact that the watch was returned, did ring a bell that something might be wrong with the watch, but according to the photos from the listing i didnt see any changes on the watch (seller used the same photos as in the auction).

So around 20 days later the watch arrives
i open the package and immediately fee delighted to see this lovely piece! love the patina on the dial! very well preserved lume dots, just like i was hoping to receive it.


I turn the watch around and realise that the caseback is not correct, and is not the same as on the sellers pictures


The correct caseback has a larger bevel and is a bit thicker in order to accomodate for the Amagnetic cover inside the watch.
Unfortunatelly this watch has the wrong caseback (so also the reference number inside will not match the amagnetic reference but just a standard DS).

I immediatelly though, that maybe previous buyer who won the auction the first time (and returned the watch the first time) has swapped the casebacks? but i guess this i will not be able to find out unless the seller has taken extra photographs of the watch from different angles before and after the watch was returned to him. Not trying to blame the first buyer, just brainstorming what could have happened here. Hard to believe the seller has swapped the casebacks though.

This is really tragic, as i have no idea where one would have to find another caseback like this
I really love the watch and would like to keep it, but this situation with the caseback is a bummer..

what would you guys do in my case?
thanks!

 

[watchyouwant]

Back it goes ...

 

[Bernhard J]

I would contact the seller, explain the situation (wrong caseback, different from the photos), and offer to keep the watch, if the seller manages to provide the correct caseback and the amagnetic cover (which would seem to be missing then as well?). If he refuses, I would return the watch.

 

[Eve]

i did contact the seller, and he apologized for the inconvenience and asked me, what i would expect as a discount.
i really much rather have the correct caseback without discount...

damn it.. such a lovely dial.. what a pitty..

 

[Bernhard J]

Did you look at the inside of the case back? And check whether the amagnetic cover is there (would be a surprise, if the standard cover is not high enough)? With this cover missing, imo an essantial technical feature is absent, making it an "ordinary" DS having an accordingly lower value.

 

[Eve]

i am not sure if opening the caseback might jeopardize the terms for return.

but lets assume the amagnetic cover is inside, does it make a big difference?

 

[Tony C.]

The likelihood of finding a correct case back is, unfortunately, exceedingly small. And for that reason, I would return it.

 

[Eve]

the seller offered a 250,-USD refund otherwise a return.. :/

 

[josiahg52]

Return it. Or live with it. Sounds like you can't live with it so return it.

 

[rendo]

Sounds like the seller is scammed by the first buyer who swapped the case back and returned the watch.

 

[Bernhard J]

Could well be.

That does happen on eBay. Earlier this year I was forced by eBay to accept a return, although it was a private sale. It was an expensive part for a classic car. I had sent a good part and received returned a part for the bin, not the same (other time stamp in the casting). Apparently his old part, which he had swapped against my good one.

OK, I could sue him, but in Italy only. And this would likely take 5 years minimum, 10 years typically. That is the experience, which let me leave eBay and have my account deleted.

That fellow in Italy had a rare and expensive part for free by this way. With the explicit assistance of eBay.

Edited: Oct 25, 2023

 

[Thommas]

Scammers and thieves are really the scum of the earth. Sorry to hear about your storry. A really pity that a perfectly nice watch was ruined for someone’s selfish gain.

I would also return it and wait for another opportunity to source your grail watch. This one will always be tainted and leave a sour taste in your mouth...

Edited: Oct 25, 2023

 

[Olhenry56]

If you have a huge amount of faith in human decency, you might ask the seller to give you the contact info of the previous buyer. Perhaps it was an honest mistake and they have your case back on their Certina. That seems unlikely, though. Probably just a return is in order.

 

[osterman]

I would return it

 

[Foo2rama]

Olhenry56

If you have a huge amount of faith in human decency, you might ask the seller to give you the contact info of the previous buyer. Perhaps it was an honest mistake and they have your case back on their Certina. That seems unlikely, though. Probably just a return is in order.

There is no icon to describe how hard I am laughing right now.

 

[Eve]

Olhenry56

If you have a huge amount of faith in human decency, you might ask the seller to give you the contact info of the previous buyer. Perhaps it was an honest mistake and they have your case back on their Certina. That seems unlikely, though. Probably just a return is in order.

I asked the seller twice, to contact the first buyer, that maybe he swapped the casebacks by mistake . But didnt get any response on this matter..
I also said i much rather have the correct caseback returned rather than financial compensation.

 

[Eve]

Just a small update.

The watch does have an Amagnetic cover inside, and yes the caseback would not close 100% properly as it should due to the lack of depth.

I decided to keep the watch anyways in exchange for partial refund. I would have much prefered correct caseback, but sometimes it is what it is.

I really like the dial on this one, i have never seen such a nice even brown discoloration to a white amagnetic before. For me it is the highlight of this watch. And considering that good examples (if one can even find one) have been trading at least x3 the price of what i paid, i think i did fine in the end.

Yesterday i modified the caseback a little bit so it would at least close properly.


Changed the o-ring and gasket, had a slight polish to the crystal..
Sits nice on the wrist In the end i am happy!

Edited: Nov 3, 2023

 

[bardamu]

Bernhard J

Could well be.

That does happen on eBay. Earlier this year I was forced by eBay to accept a return, although it was a private sale. It was an expensive part for a classic car. I had sent a good part and received returned a part for the bin, not the same (other time stamp in the casting). Apparently his old part, which he had swapped against my good one.

OK, I could sue him, but in Italy only. And this would likely take 5 years minimum, 10 years typically. That is the experience, which let me leave eBay and have my account deleted.

That fellow in Italy had a rare and expensive part for free by this way. With the explicit assistance of eBay.

Sad to read this.
That's exactly the reason why I don't sell anything anymore on ebay, I just buy something every now and then.
Getting back on topic, nice to see the OP found a way to put that beauty on the wrist.

 

[rcs914]

Ebay is such a crap shoot for sellers - I feel like it's not worth your time or effort to sell anything for less than $50, but if you sell something for more than $500 you are taking a huge risk that you are going to get scammed. I've been lucky - I don't sell a lot, but I have sold a few rare items for $500+, including an exceedingly rare enameled Dunhill sterling Unique lighter and a McIntosh MC-30. Both sales were so sketchy seeming with where they were being sent (pretty sure they were being shipped overseas after I sent them to the "buyers" in the US) but at least there were no chargebacks

 

[Eve]

So just wanted to update the thread.

Many thanks to this wonderfull forum and especially @MoclovFlop, this Certina Amagnetic is finally complete! I couldnt imagine i would find the correct caseback in next 10 years.. but here we go!



Installing it with the newly acquired @Pahawi's Caseback opener


Fits like a glove



I am glad that this story has a happy end thank you all!