Just received my first omega - a triple date mark 40 through Ebays new authenticity guaranteed service. No papers - just the sellers assurance and a receipt acknowledging he bought the watch from crown and caliber. I posted in a thread asking if my watch looked authentic, but thought I might as well describe my experience with Ebays new service.

My seller shipped to the authenticator in Dayton - they received the watch on a Friday and shipped it out the following Monday. I received the watch on Wednesday - so not too long a wait.

The authenticators do not clean the watch at all (steam, polishing, etc - atleast according to the eBay support staff I spoke with).

My watch came with an authenticity card and a security tag around the case back - no returns if it’s removed.

The watch was not running when I received, but given my watch only has a 44 hour reserve I don’t think I should be concerned?

On to pics



I was not expecting a 25 year old watch to look this clean - bezel likely replaced?

Any advice on posting higher resolution pics? Uploading seems to affect the quality a bit.

 

The full resolution is there, you uploaded large files. If you click on a photo, it will open in a separate tab where it can be magnified.

 

I wonder if they looked up the serial number to determine it is supposed to be a 3520.53.00. 3820.53.00 is the strap version.

 

I seriously doubt it.

 

Do you know if the 3820.53 used tritium?

 

So this service is like stockx. My experience with stockx is garbage. Box and papers does not mean a complete set. Plus you don't get to see the piece, at least on ebay you see what you buy. Enjoy your piece.

 

Sounds like arranged marriage

 

I have no idea,

 

Yes, the 35205300 used tritium. They both did.

 

Wow, I missed this yesterday but the authenticators actually RECORDED THE SERIAL INCORRECTLY on the “authenticity guarantee”. More specifically they flipped the order of 2 numbers. Disappointed - hopefully support will address this without too much of my time.

 

mathewsc95 was kind enough to send me a PM with the serial number, and I have confirmed that the model is indeed a 35205300 bracelet version, and not the 38205326, which is the strap version.

 

Send it back and tell ebay how useless their service is. Thank you Archer.

 

Not sure what you mean. Other than apparently transposing numbers on the certificate (a typo essentially), the information provided was correct.

 

Except no bracelet.

 

Okay, but the model matches the serial number. Watches are often taken off bracelets and put on straps, and this watch never came on a canvass strap, so that's obvious. If they had called this the strap version, to me that is a bigger problem - the fact that they verified what the serial number stated it should be is a good thing.

 

To be fair, I did buy it without the bracelet and think the price reflected that. Sending it back would likely just hurt the seller and as he was honest (at-least to my untrained eyes) I see no reason to do that yet. I’d rather pressure eBay to validate/convince me of their guarantee. I don’t think they should be charging if all they’re doing is looking up and matching a serial no, though. Hopefully the resolution will offer some more visibility into their process.

 

I don't understand, what exactly are you asking eBay to do? What issue are you asking to be resolved with respect to their guarantee? Are you asking them to change their judgement and say that the watch is not authentic?

BTW, eBay is not charging anything for this.

 

The issue for me is ebay needs to 100% accurate for this to work. In this case they are not. At the very least they need to mention the strap is not original to the watch. A buyer may buy a watch based on a model number, say 35205300, but in this case comes on a strap. Ebay would authenticate it as genuine as in this case. When it comes time to sell the original buyer may be a little angry at ebay for not catching the fact the bracelet is missing.

 

If you read the policy carefully, you will see that they make exceptions for accessories like straps that are often changed or modified.

 

So when a 1957 Submariner comes with a fake bezel ebay would authenticate it because the part is no longer available? Again what is the point if they aren’t 100% accurate.