Is it common to edit pic colors of watches on eBay?

[Giovanni2023]

I bought this ladies' Seamaster from Japan on eBay. I was looking for a gold-toned watch to match my wife's gold wedding ring. From the pics, it looks gold tone. However, the one I received was completely silver. I thought maybe the seller sent me the wrong watch. So I asked him and he said:

"The color of the photo often differs slightly from the actual image. I may have edited the colors of the photo a little. If you would like to return it, we will accept it."

Is that common or acceptable? Seems they should not edit the photo to change the color at all in my opinion. Is it a bait-and-switch? Also, I guess a red flag is that no color/description is actually listed.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/235053353705

I have inserted a pic of the watch with the eBay pic in the background for comparison. I like the watch, still, as it seems to be keeping time perfectly after 24 hours.

On a different but related note, I was also curious if anyone knows the difference between this watch and another that looks the same except in stead of saying Seamaster, it says "Ladymatic." Are they the same watch but with different labels/date ranges?

Thank you.

Edited: Sep 22, 2023

 

[Foo2rama]

 

[connieseamaster]

Ladymatic was Omega's first line of full rotor automatics (smaller caliber came out a few months before the bigger version). The Seamaster on the back indicates some level of original water resistance.

But yeah...that watch never was gold tone and I would avoid any seller that edited the pictures that much.

 

[dsio]

I very much doubt the images are edited, phone cameras just aren’t good at picking white balance so I have pics of my stainless Daytona looking yellow gold too.

In many cases over the years I’ve taken photos of a watch on eBay, color corrected for white balance myself and figure out what it was or just messaged the seller and asked

 

[southtexas]

One of the listing photos to me is plainly SS. However, all of the others are questionable. Luckily the seller sounds to be reasonable and will accept a return without attempting to make a problem.

 

[Davidt]

iPhone photos commonly have too much ‘warmth’ and make stew appear gold tone so it may well not be the sellers fault.

What is the sellers fault (if this is the case, I haven’t clicked on your link) is not clearly stating the case material in the description to avoid issues such as this

 

[mountainunder]

Presumably the ebay seller didn't manipulate the photos!
They are using the same photos from Japan's 'Mercari'.
https://jp.mercari.com/item/m73328326467?utm_source=android&utm_medium=share&source_location=share

For example, sunglasses with silver metal frames often look gold in the photo, which is the same phenomenon.

 

[kaplan]

You always have to ask for the color, it's sometimes impossible to tell whether something is silver, yellow or rose

There's one seller that consistently photographes yellow as rose

It's very common for silver to appear as yellow as well - no adjustments

 

[Aroxx]

As others have said. Not intentionally altered. Just a product of the lighting and white balance on the camera. At the Omega boutique they have bright white lighting but it threw off the white balance on my phone so bad everything turned yellow/gold and I couldn’t get a good picture.

 

[Giovanni2023]

mountainunder

Presumably the ebay seller didn't manipulate the photos!
They are using the same photos from Japan's 'Mercari'.
https://jp.mercari.com/item/m73328326467?utm_source=android&utm_medium=share&source_location=share

Interesting. Those are the same exact pictures. But is it the same watch that was sold to me on eBay? Is there a date when this was sold? It is just mirroring the eBay listing, or was this really a different watch?

 

[Scarecrow Boat]

Giovanni2023

Interesting. Those are the same exact pictures. But is it the same watch that was sold to me on eBay? Is there a date when this was sold? It is just mirroring the eBay listing, or was this really a different watch?

It’s the same watch. The mercari and eBay sellers aren’t affiliated with each other. The Mercari seller in this instance is the genuine owner/seller. The eBay seller found the watch on Mercari and relisted it for a profit. When you purchased it through the eBay seller, they bought it from the Mercari seller, once they received it they then shipped it to you, and kept the profit for their work. If you look at the other items the eBay seller has listed, you will see the photographic style varies quite a bit. So, I am inclined to believe many of their other listings are recycled from other sites.

If someone else had purchased the watch from Mercari before you had purchased it through the eBay seller, the eBay seller wouldn't be able to complete the sale with you. In fact, they have plenty of negative reviews indicating this exact scenario has played out a several times before.
Edit- typos.

Edited: Sep 23, 2023

 

[mountainunder]

Giovanni2023

Is there a date when this was sold?

'Mercari' will not know the date of purchase unless you are the person who purchased the item.
In the comments section of the product description on 'Mercari', there is a date when the comment was listed under the exchange that was assumed to be the purchase.
So I assume you purchased the item after that date.

 

[SOG53]

This is common practice with some ebay sellers from Japan. Often see the same watch offered by several different sellers. In fact some of the more reputable sellers will advertise that they have everything they sell in their own inventory.

 

[southtexas]

Aroxx

As others have said. Not intentionally altered. Just a product of the lighting and white balance on the camera. At the Omega boutique they have bright white lighting but it threw off the white balance on my phone so bad everything turned yellow/gold and I couldn’t get a good picture.

that happens in my office when i try to take the occasional watch photo…is there a fix in settings on iPhone by chance?

 

[padders]

While pic 1 does look gold, pic 2 and 3 look silver ie steel so you did have some indication right there. How often do you see a seller clearly state that a watch isn’t plated? Never I’d suggest, though they usually do say when it is. I’d imagine the seller isn’t overjoyed at your mistake.

Edited: Sep 24, 2023

 

[Giovanni2023]

padders

While pic 1 does look gold, pic 2 and 3 look silver ie steel so you did have some indication right there. How often do you see a seller clearly state that a watch isn’t plated? Never I’d suggest, though they usually say do when it is. I’d imagine the seller isn’t overjoyed at your mistake.

I let the seller know I'm happy with the watch. It is a lesson on my end.

 

[Aroxx]

southtexas

that happens in my office when i try to take the occasional watch photo…is there a fix in settings on iPhone by chance?

Sorry, I'm not really sure. Just looking quickly I see you can adjust some settings on the fly, one being the exposure. Maybe if you manually over-expose the picture it might look a little better. When I tried to edit mine after the fact to fix them up I didn't have much success.

 

[Risto]

Auto whitebalance issue. Sometimes cameras, not just on phones, pick up the wrong ambient color temperature. Happens easily with tungsten lights. Still, this is a weird situation, because the seller is obviously an experienced seller, not a one-timer private seller.

 

[JimInOz]

Risto

Auto whitebalance issue. Sometimes cameras, not just on phones, pick up the wrong ambient color temperature. Happens easily with tungsten lights. Still, this is a weird situation, because the seller is obviously an experienced seller, not a one-timer private seller.

The "seller" is an "on-seller" using pics taken by another party.