More likely, ebay have found a way of taking a bigger cut of the expensive watch business.
Since they say it there's no additional charge... I suspect they are saving themselves money by not having to refund selling fees for watches that have been claimed to be "inauthentic".
I believe they were speaking to buyers, & assumed they would be charging the seller a fee.
Count me out. I can't stand damage to the back of the lugs from bracelet removal and install
That's one heck of an assumption to make.
Not that I think they need defending, per se, but assumptions....
You can see the tool they use (instead of the tweezer-lookin' type) and the way the bracelet was reinstalled with fingers depressing the spring bars. That's gonna scratch from the spring bar as well as the tabs sliding upwards along the lug. I would be pissed if I bought a new with stickers watch and that happened.
At this point, there is no indication they will be charging a fee to buyers or sellers. However, it's fair to speculate that this could happen in the future. It concerns me that the multi-point inspection seems quite invasive, including removing the bracelet and also inspecting the movement.
I don't think this is a bad thing, but a step in the right direction and obviously a sound business decision. How many of you here have posted that you wouldn't buy a watch on eBay because of potential fraud. Other online companies also do authentication, StockX I believe is one, and they authenticate everything from watches to purses to Yeezys.
I'd say give it a chance before passing judgement.
Remember it's for watches at a price more than $2000. I for one would never sell an expensive watch on eBay, authenticated or no.
It doesn't bother me so much as a buyer, frankly, since the risk is pretty small. Maybe they might have trouble authenticating a watch, in which case it kills the deal (e.g. they don't have enough knowledge or can't open the case), which would be annoying, but the buyer doesn't lose money. Yes, there is a delay, but think of the lovely box that the buyer will received. 😉
It concerns me as a seller, and I won't be selling watches on eBay until I see how this shakes out. I just have too many unanswered questions about the process.
