How to waste money on eBay!

Today we're doing something different: I'm showing off what a gullible target I am/have been for frankens and fakes sellers. I'll run through nine watches I bought at various points in my watch collection journey that didn't really turn out to be what I thought...

Join Stian for a discussion about what to look out for when you are interested in buying a vintage watch and who knows, maybe you can learn from my mistakes. And yes, there are some special invitees!
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[Gary-Seven-and-Isis-in-]

Fakes and Frankin watches, a very interesting topic, but one which needs to be filled out a little
with regard to price paid.
The price you paid is also a good indication of the integrity of the seller, was he intentionally trying to
mislead the potential buyers, or just throwing something out there at a cheap price, letting the buyer decide
the authenticity of the item.
People do like to own conversation pieces, (Frankin and Knock off) there is a market for such items.
It is OK as long as these are valued accordingly.

[silvershine]

I bought an Omega seamaster on ebay and was saved from making a mistake because the watch was first sent to an authentication service and they notified me of problems and sent the watch back to the seller. So I do suggest doing this if buying an expensive watch. This is a common service offered by ebay now.

[tkindschi]

I've done a little poking around eBay. But I quickly determined that I do NOT have even the minimum expertise required to play in the vintage watch game. I slowly backed away from the computer, happy to still have my wallet intact. 😅

[Surreal_Memoir]

I became a watch hobbyist because my partner bought me a lovely vintage watch from ebay. Once I was confident enough to open it up we found it was actually 2-3 lovely vintage watches cobbled together!

[BirdDogey]

I"ve been burned more than once on ebay purchases. Apparently, the description of "good" condition is much more subjective than I had imagined.

[randyallen]

regarding the Felipe Rene chronograph, it says “incabloc” on the dial but the movement had no shock protection so someone is lying. In my opinion.

[Virtue_Signaling_Land_Whale]

You should make more ebay related vids. How to spot fakes, what to look for, etc.

[johnsrabe]

I only buy expensive items from people with a LOT of positive sales. But you gave me a good idea: before pulling the trigger, look for other sellers with the same item and compare. If they don’t match, something is up.
BTW I could live with a wrong caseback.

[erics]

You should put out a video or discuss the following 2 topics. 1: your training. How did you learn and update your knowledge base. Fascinating. And 2: the factory machining of the parts. There are really no good videos of watch manufacturing out there. Precision lathe and mill work to make these movements is astounding. Thanks in advance

[redv]

If you can be fooled this much Stian then God help the rest of us. My ebay purchases have generally been as expected but the odd bit of camera trickery has caught me out on occasion with cases. Cheers, Howard

[truxton]

I have bought watches on eBay and similar for over 20 years. Some times I have made mistakes of course, that's what you learn from. But often I have had bargains and that's what counts, in time you learn, so mistakes are fewer and the bargains are more frequent. Having said that it was easier to get bargains pre 2010 as nowadays more people are more aware of the importance of researching what watch you actually have before posting for sale, and supporting this with good photos. The best bargains I had was to buy from sellers that were not in to watches and knew nothing about them, often posting old watches with badly scratched crystal, with bad photos. Often buying those paid off big time. I actually got a proper bargain last year buying a 1950's Omega with a badly scratched crystal, the seller believing something was wrong as the crown "only could set the time in one direction", I diagnosed this as probably a loose crown which turned out to be the case. So when I received the watch it was just a question of taking out the crown/stem, re-attaching the crown with locktite and sourcing a NOS crystal. Otherwise the watch was in pristine condition with a fantastic dial under the scratched crystal, in fact the best I have ever seen, all original dial, hands, movement, crown etc. I paid £300 for the watch, now I would not sell it for less than £1500....!

[frankthomas]

Good stuff Stian!
My favorite sellers claim "freshly serviced" when the pictures show there is crap all over the movement. Sheesh...

[kuroschasghari]

I love your no nonsense comments on the watches your used in this session. Your insight as a watch expert is great

[ahdunheved]

As a seller on ebay I absolutely love this video! Good job 👏🏼 👍

[frankthomas]

One of my first rookie buyer mistakes was an inexpensive Oris. It was all glued together inside the case.

[RichUK]

The best I saw was an A.Lange & Söhne printed as A.Lange & Böhne. Genuine movement too.

[laughingsharpie]

Been lucky to find a few reputable sellers who have done right by me. AND videos like yours as well as some digging on my own part saved my wallet numerous times.
Thanks for the information!

[timothywelch]

I was very lucky to discover ebay about 20 years ago and make my purchases then. Three omegas and a tissot, all from between 1965 and 1975, all genuine. I couldn't possibly be so fortunate today.

[Berre]

I have a book about antiques. One of its first phrases says: "Do not trust anyone but yourself".

[Cleatus]

I've been really close to buying a couple of vintage watches on eBay. Now I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger. Thanks for great, informative video.🤜🤛👍