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If you’re a watch collector, you probably live and die by one website: eBay. You spend late nights scrolling through listings, hoping to uncover that barn or drawer find you’ve always dreamed about. You wake up to spend your mornings sifting through eBay alerts to see if that watch you’ve been looking for for years has finally surfaced.
It’s the internet’s marketplace, full of the hottest modern watches, in addition to forgotten treasures and diamonds in the rough. But, once you’ve won an auction for that watch you’ve been hunting down, there’s still a tinge of doubt, a voice in the back of your head: what if the watch is fake, incorrect, or otherwise not authentic?
Now, eBay has introduced a service to eliminate that doubt, silencing that voice in your head: Authenticity Guarantee. After purchasing a watch that is covered by eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee, it will be shipped directly to eBay’s third-party authenticator. There, the expert authenticator will perform a meticulous inspection on the timepiece, verifying each part of the watch, also checking it against the original listing and description. Then, the authenticator will safely ship it off to the buyer via expedited and insured shipping. A luxury experience for a luxury watch.
The best part? The Authenticity Guarantee service is included in your watch purchase or sale. That’s right, peace of mind for free, whether you’re the buyer or seller.
All watches sold on eBay above $2,000 will be authenticated under eBay’s new Authenticity Guarantee service, meaning you can shop eBay’s unmatched collection of watches worry-free, with total confidence. This even includes vintage watches that meet the eligibility criteria, including those that contain replacement parts when the original manufacturer no longer makes that replaced part. Smart watches, watch parts, and items specified as “customized” (i.e. original brand parts that have been replaced with non-brand parts) will not be authenticated. Additionally, items that ship to outside of the U.S. or that are located outside of the U.S. are not currently eligible for Authenticity Guarantee (but check back for updates on international availability!). Check eBay’s FAQs for more information about specific exclusions from Authenticity Guarantee.
You’ll see eBay’s “Authenticity Guarantee” badge next to eligible listings, indicating that the seller will ship the item directly to a third-party authenticator. And it’s fast: the authenticator will process your watch purchase within two business days of receipt, then ship it out to you via insured two-day shipping (signature required). If it turns out the third-party authenticator finds there’s something wrong about the watch, have no fear. It’ll be returned to the seller, and the buyer gets a full refund for the purchase. Every authenticator is a recognized leader in the watch business, with the years of experience, brand and technical certifications you’d expect from someone tasked with authenticating important timepieces.
Listen, oftentimes a collector will swipe up a watch on eBay, perhaps with some question as to if there is something a bit “off” about it -- perhaps the hands look questionable, some movement components look like inauthentic replacements. Once the watch arrives, the first stop -- after posting a social media photo or two, of course -- is at a local watchmaker to check the watch out. The watchmaker will run the watch through a multi-point inspection to make sure everything checks out. It’s the assurance every collector needs to make sure their latest acquisition is correct, original and authentic, and they can proceed to proudly show it off to fellow collectors.
eBay’s new Authenticity Guarantee eliminates this trip and cost, for free. It’s like having your local watchmaker run through that multi-point inspection, with the added confidence that your local watchmaker is actually an industry-recognized professional with years, even decades, of experience.
If you’re like me, you spend hours on end researching before you decide to pull the trigger on any watch purchase. And why shouldn’t you? Mechanical watches are expensive: you might even be buying the piece to commemorate a personal or professional life event. You deserve the confidence in knowing that you’re getting what you paid for: a mechanical marvel of the utmost craftsmanship, worthy of a place in your collection and on your wrist.
Even though buying and selling watches on the internet has been commonplace for decades, it can still feel a bit like the Wild West: poor photos, descriptions, or other misrepresentations rule the day. eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee promises to bring new confidence to buying and selling watches online, bringing the assurance of vetted third-party authenticators to every sale.
So what are you waiting for? Get started by shopping eBay’s luxury watch listings today.
