Victim of Ebay Seller Fraud

[adr]

in future, you have to set up a video from you PC or any recording stuff to record the package while opening it. get all tools ready to open the back case.
& accompany by some at least 1person as witness.

ask for more detailed picture before bidding.

ask seller give you serial number if you win the bid.

ask seller phone number, verify & obtain GPS coordinate.

call their local Police station or welfare check on the person name, address & name.

keep all origin transit paperwork, it zooms in seller hand writing, shipping location etc.

ask seller to pack in a sealed security case with special tape, bag or wires with serial number & can only be break at destination.

if a honest seller, they will complied in what ever info or request you want.
before any purchase in future, put your feet as the seller.

not say buying from the net is bad, but be smart. many good deals comes from the net. i bought & sold many watches from the net, their price is way better than locals. this is the ups & down, the thrill is there & it worth the game.

[seiko.citizen]

you have to remember that although your points are valid, a rolex watch is very desirable, and there are other people who will be willing to transact without the fuss. just my 0.02 YMMV

[kt2u]

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate encounter! Do you mind PM me which seller it was? I know people that might be able to investigate and perhaps suspend the fraudulent account to prevent other victims from stepping into the same trap...

Hope everything will be fine eventually... Good luck!

[Ray_Watches]

Sorry for you but scammers are all over the place....

Scammers are everywhere... may it be the net or in real life... I a user of ebay for selling my watches.. encountered many " Rich Daddy's" from nigeria wanting you to ship, willing to pay alot more than you ask for... Scammers from Italy also.... asked for your Acc no and never see the $$....

Buyers are worried but so are sellers....

So its best if you see on the net and buy only local.. meet up for deal.. view the item and verify if you have to... I would like it if i can get cash too.. have a peace of mind... COD is best..

But again, sorry for your loss dude... its yet another valuable lesson for all of us...

[louie]

ts,how you know its counterfeit? did it c/w all the boxes papers etc?? Did you have it verified at rolex service centre?

[tls12127766]

As i know you should file a disputed on the watch you buying from the seller to Ebay also paypal center,does the seller has verify account from paypal?Normally when you received the watch after got something must contact paypal center on this method paypal can claim the money back since they are charging the money.Before you purchase a watches from ebay seller you should request their contact number everything also some more picture and looking their feedback and simply think that you could get very very lower pricing for the watches due they is a lot of cheater around the world ,or try to call the seller before committed to buy the watch.Hope this will help

[counterfeitrolex]

EBay Fraud

Hi
Thanks again for advice and moral support.

Bro Louie, i had it verified at a reputable local watch shop. The shop has since given me a documentation that the watch is a fake. I figured since i was gonna wear it, no point paying more to do the same thing at RSC. And if I were to sell it, the potential buyer would verify it at RSC then.

The watch came with box and accessories. It didn't arrive with papers although the "original cert" was featured in the Ebay sales. Strangely, the watch that came didn't come with pinholes, although on the Ebay sales, his picture had pinholes. On the 1st night that i got the watch, i emailed asking about the abovr 2 points. The seller said he misplaced the original cert and completely ignored the query on the missing pinholes.

On the 2nd day, i went to authenticate it, getting a shock of my life. The inside of the watch was a gold colour ETA movement. When i revisited the shop after opening a case with Paypal, I brought along the box set. The shop said the box set is brand new. Inspecting it further, I agreed that it is too new to be 9years old - the booklets would have at least yellowed abit.

In hindsight, I recall that the seller "disappeared" for about 10days after I won the bid and paid through Paypal, on the pretext of a death in the family. Now, I suspect he went missing and delayed sending me the watch because he probably ordered a box set after securing my deal.

In my ensuing emails with the seller, the arse still had the cheek to say real collectors like him take good care of such expensive watches, thus the box set was so new. If only he was in front of me in person when he said those words to me .....

As for the case of the missing pinholes, my take is he took pictures off the net to put in his sale, or, he has the real watch and a fake one, sending me the fake one.

This has been a really expensive and embarassing ordeal for me, especially to relate it here. But I just hope nobody else gets scammed like me and I hope to tap forummers' experience on similar cases like mine.

[adr]

true, if you pay via paypal you can open a dispute claim & the amount paid can be reversed until the matter is resolved. you telephone paypal directly as their call center in China. They stand a better chance to advise you.

a liar will always get what they deserved sooner or later.

[johnfish]

Sad on your side of story...need extra careful & some search on seller history feedback. BTW.. I echo "Citybank are real Suck! Myself encounter similar issue on some purchase , they go hand off.

[keltzar]

Hi,
I'm sorry to hear about it. I have bought 3 pieces off ebay and so far so good. But I understand how you feel because I have often worried about it turning out this way.

That said, its never my preferred method of purchase... but sometimes the local price for a vintage is 30-40% above the international collector market.

you haven't really said why you went for it ... was it really cheap? I can also understand the embaressment may feel worse than the money spent.

If its too cheap, it may well be suspicious. And you should always have the right to ask for photos, esp inside the case-back.... and another trick is to ask for the seller to set the watch to a time you define and take a photo for you. From your description, chances are the photos were stolen too.

Another thing is to buy from reputable dealers who have sold many such watches to many people with different amount of feedback.

And, you may also want to consider buying from collectors with lots of references in fora such as vintage rolex forum for older pieces . For newer pieces there is no advantage in buying from overseas... prices in Singapore are among the best in the world already. Pay the premium and buy local.

I hope you have also lodged a complaint w/eBay?

And, you have also validated what I have thought these past 10 yrs - avoid Citibank!

[Caribbean]

So sorry to hear your case. I had a few bad experiences with ebay. I could claim only some. One suggestion is to search the seller's address or telephone from his email or ID. It is not so difficult to get it from US directory although you may need to pay some dollars. Then you make a call to the seller saying that you are pursuing this case via a US lawyer if the seller does not agree to refund you the money. I used to do it once when I bought a very expensive audio gear from a US seller but he did not respond back to me after I had transfered the money to him. Hope this helps.

[counterfeitrolex]

Ebay Fraud

Hi all
Thanks for the support.

Due to the poor exchange rate and shipping costs, the final price i paid was at best $1k cheaper than local prices. So in the first place, the watch was not super cheap to smell a rat. I took on an outlook of owner to owner sale for this transaction. But fellow bros who have tried online purchase would understand the excitement of bidding, winning, tracking the shipment, and finally unwrapping the delivered item. Although i've only done this 3 times on Ebay, it was an interesting vibe (maybe work too stress liao).

Anyway, a little update - I made a police report and I will fax it to Paypal soon.

Fingers crossed...

[keltzar]

.... you should also complain to ebay!

[counterfeitrolex]

Ebay Fraud

Hi guys
Jus abit of update, I have faxed the police report and authenticate receipt to Paypal. Now still pending investigations.

A friend of mine said Paypal may ask me to ship back the fake watch or may even ask me to discard it. Is that possible? The watch is the only proof I have of this fraud.

Btw, Bro kt2u, you asked me for the seller's ebay identity saying you know people who can investigate. I never heard from you since I PMed you the details. Did you have any intention of helping?

[louie]

Hi guys
Jus abit of update, I have faxed the police report and authenticate receipt to Paypal. Now still pending investigations.

A friend of mine said Paypal may ask me to ship back the fake watch or may even ask me to discard it. Is that possible? The watch is the only proof I have of this fraud.

Btw, Bro kt2u, you asked me for the seller's ebay identity saying you know people who can investigate. I never heard from you since I PMed you the details. Did you have any intention of helping?

buddy i hope you didnt discard the shipping boxes and the courier slips. Did you tell the police about the shipping weight is the same or close to the watch in the shipping boxes? This is a very strong point to prove the watch is the original watch the seller shipped...

I suggest you have the watch authenticated at RSC,cos you will need their papers. Bring along the police report to rsc and tell them what happened.