And now on Jomashop too, and maybe Ebay soon.
Basically what is going on is that Ebay, Amazon, and Jomashop partners up with what is in effect a certification and auditing company that certifies sellers like me to make accurate and standardized assessments of watches. To keep us accountable, there is a buyer complaint line as well as quarterly audits of already graded inventory (we send graded watches to these companies) to make sure that we do not stray from their standards. Sellers that do not stay within standard are booted out of the program.
This of course is not a rock solid guarantee that you will never get an incorrectly described watch, but the non-performers are taken out of the system on a quarterly basis. The barrier to entry is very high - you need to be a legit tax paying business, you pay for every watch that is certified and you pay for the quarterly audit where they go take your stuff and check them out (and you not being able to sell them during that period of course). And joining is by invite only. IMO the bad actors do not get in and if there are errors, they will be honest mistakes (such as confusing a bracelet vs strap model, or not knowing which box goes with which model, as in the example above).
In addition, there are other requirements, depending on platform, for example - a longer than normal return period, and attestations that the watch being sold keeps good time, is WR tested, etc etc. On platforms like Amazon and Joma for example, the watch will come with a 1 year warranty that the sellers are on the hook for. I've already had to service several watches on my dime because of warranty claims. It's a tough standard. Not perfect, but on balance its a Good Thing
edit: I am not sure if the Ebay program I am in is the same as the one on the example above. Because the "guaranteed authentic purses" program requires the purse to be sent to ebay, and they go inspect as well as sell the purse, for a higher fee (20%) - which makes them direct competitors to other purse venues such as Tradesy and Poshmark.
full disclosure: I am a silent partner (kapitalista) in a spinoff business that sells new and pre-owned luxury handbags
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