Greetings all,
About a month ago I bought a 78350 bracelet on eBay for my Rolex OPD. Transaction went perfectly, seller had plenty of feedback, not much as a seller but he is clearly a watch guy from his purchase feedback. When I got the bracelet it was stunning, near flawless. I started up a conversation with the guy and we of course started taking watches. We took the convo off eBay into email and we chatted back and forth showing pics of watches we both liked.
I asked which watch the bracelet came from and he sent pics of his Airking from which he removed the bracelet when he got it (he prefers leather). I mentioned if he ever wanted to get up off of it, let me know. He said he’d consider it as it doesn’t get much wrist time.
He reached out yesterday and said he did a little poking around and went to his AD and they said the watch was worth $1.5k without the bracelet, $2k with it- so if I wanted the watch I could have it for $1.5k. I think this is a pretty good deal (even though I really don’t need it as I have a silver OPD which is pretty darn close). He sent 22 pics (I had only seen a handful before) including a time graph report (I assume the AD did that for him). The watch is about as clean as it could get (haven’t asked about box & papers but even without the price seems fair), so it all seems good.

My question is, I have never met him, only have a handful of emails back and forth, and only have the one transaction on eBay with him. How should I proceed if I decide to go through with it so as not get burned?

 

It seems that you had a very good transaction with the seller vis-a-vis the purchase of the bracelet and since you initiated the possibility of purchasing the Airking, I think you'd be fine buying the watch. If it were me, I'd buy the watch. Good luck.

 

PayPal, not friends and family.

 

escrow.com is a good alternative to Paypal and considerably cheaper

 

+1 PayPal.

 

Escrow.com says $1500 would be $48.75 and you’d still need to mail a check or do a wire transfer which banks normally charge for. If you want to use escrow.com with PayPal or credit card it’s $94.50. $1500 on PayPal is $45 and it’s one step without having to wire money or mail a check.

 

So Paypal, not F&F seems to be the vote. I have no problem paying $45 for piece of mind. Should I have him send me a request or "invoice" or something so there is a definitive paper trail?

 

The invoice actually works best for him so he can set sales terms (scratches on bezel, watch only - no boxes, no returns, etc). Otherwise you could theoretically open a complaint with PayPal and ask for a refund because it didn’t come with a bracelet

 

I agree

 

Escrow becomes very competitive above $5000 and if used internationally.

PayPal’s exchange rates are very poor and international credit card fees are ridiculous for the seller.

Escrow fees remain between $150-$180 for $5000-$20000 and I think exchange rates are close to base.

As a seller it is great to be able to see the fees(and decide who will pay them) rather than get a nasty surprise when using PayPal.

 

As a seller, I've had bad luck with PayPal and I don't accept it for large amounts. Not even if the buyer pays the fees. Long story.

If you have a good feeling about the seller, which you seem to, then you're probably OK. I like to google them, sometimes I'll ask for a copy of their driver's license. You can then get a real address, see if it's a house or apartment. If it's the former, then you can verify that they own it, in which case you've got a pretty good chance of finding them if something were to go wrong.

A legitimate seller shouldn't have a problem sending you all of their contact information and providing you with enough information to vet them thoroughly.

I've never used escrow.com but that sounds like an excellent idea as well.

 

This is all very helpful information. I have never sold big ticket items online, only items under a grand or less, and have only had 2 issues in 20 years on ebay (and both situations ruled in my favor) all using PayPal. For vintage hi-fi, I will do only local pick-up, mostly due to the delicate nature of the equipment, and there are plenty of people who will drive hundreds of miles and pay full boat for it, so I don't need to try and appeal to a broader audience.
But I understand as a seller there are pitfalls with PayPal like a seller claiming they didn't get it, despite having a signature from the post, and PayPal will rule in their favor. But as a buyer, I love paypal! I am pretty much guaranteed to get exactly what I expected or I get my money back....hard to complain about that. So I understand the paradox here.

 

I would not accept PayPal even for a small amount as I also had bad luck with them.
Your idea about exchanging info is quite sound...
Cheers

 

I have used Transferwise a few times now and it's a lot cheaper way to move money than either Paypal or a bank. No recourse though to call the money back.

I haven't used escrow.com as yet, but it seems like a good way to go as well. GL.

 

Thanks for all the advise guys. I got a slew of other photos from the guy, including the case numbers and movement pics-in extreme detail-man is this watch clean. He activated the GPS on his camera and I cross referenced it to his address, which was the same city as his eBay profile, and I googled and found his company.
I had him send a pic of his DL, and he did. He offered PayPal F&F if I felt comfortable and I opted to pay the fees just to be safe. He has already generated the shipping label and it will be outgoing today. So far, an ideal blind transaction between two relative strangers.
Of course I will reserve celebrations until it’s in my hands.