Buying on E Bay

Submitted: Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 09:52
ThreadID: 34690 Views:1855 Replies:12 FollowUps:10
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I am looking at buying a Seiko watch on E bay, and was amazed the prices being changed compared with my local stores.

Understanding that E Bay could be a minefield for those who lack the knowledge, I am hoping someone could throw some light on this matter.

Many thanks

Col Tigwell
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Reply By: Member No 1- Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 09:57

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 09:57
picked up some omega watches in malaysia for a fraction of the price the main retail stores charge?....but were they really Omega?...i reckon not.....would'nt or couldnt be fakes eh?
AnswerID: 177173

Reply By: madcow - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 10:06

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 10:06
Check their feedback if any, Do a search and see how many they may have sold. I would only pay via Paypal as there is some insurance ( for what it's worth) if something should go wrong. Do your homework and you may pick up a bargain!

Dave
AnswerID: 177175

Reply By: Member - MrBitchi (QLD) - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 10:31

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 10:31
Check the postage cost. Sometimes items sell cheap but make up for it in postage and handling charges.
AnswerID: 177182

Reply By: traveller2 - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 10:54

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 10:54
I bought my Seiko on ebay, genuine with wty, works a treat and as you say a fraction of the local retail.
I'll try and find the seller for you as they had sold thousands, was local in Oz, central coast nsw from memory.
AnswerID: 177184

Reply By: Member - Ed. C.- Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 11:26

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 11:26
A few years ago I bought a cheap ($20.00) "Steel" brand watch on ebay which the seller advertised as having a Seiko movement.. Watch works just fine, and I have no reason to doubt the veracity of his statement...

More recently, I have purchased a couple of Citizen (ladies & gents) watches for a fraction of retail price, one of these being an Eco-Drive (gents) for just over $100...
These are the Genuine Article, & supplied with all paperwork (& presentation box) and full warranty cover...
These prices certainly highlight the very high margins that Australian jewellery stores enjoy....

As mentioned above, check seller's history (and feedback), do your homework (know your prices!), and there are indeed some bargains to be had...

If the seller is a volume seller, specialising in a narrow field, has been around a while, & has a high feedback score, then it's a safe bet that he/she is legit...

One tip.... Never, ever, get into a "bidding war" with another bidder... Anything I buy on ebay, I put on my watchlist (no pun intended), and then don't go near it 'till a few minutes before the end time, when, if the price is still less than I'm prepared to pay, I enter my Max. bid, & press the "confirm bid" button with less than 5 seconds on the clock...(I can get it down to 2 secs. consistently)...
The main reason for doing this is that it lessens the risk of a "shill bidder" (or anyone else) pushing up the price...
If someone else has entered a higher proxy bid than my max., then I didn't want it anyway... I'll go find another....

Happy Hunting!!
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"He who lie underneath automobile with tool in hand,
....Not necessarily mechanic!!"

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AnswerID: 177189

Follow Up By: geocacher (djcache) - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 21:37

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 21:37
www.auctionstealer.com

Dave
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FollowupID: 433336

Reply By: Scubaroo - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 11:55

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 11:55
I think the Seiko watches on eBay are parallel imports - Seiko Australia won't warranty them (as they didn't import them in the first place, so why should they!). Basically someone has sourced them cheap overseas, and is cutting out all of the usual middleman and retail markups.

Often called grey market goods. Nothing illegal about the practice, there's often huge savings to be had, but forget about contacting Seiko Australia if you have a warranty problem - the eBay seller has to provide you with statuatory warranty support as they are the importer. Not sure if the particular seller you've seen is offering that, but by law they have to (even though they might try and tell you otherwise). Just something to keep in mind.

That said, they're Seikos - they shouldn't really need warranty work (although my Kinetic Auto Relay died after 4 years - had it repaired myself as it was of warranty, and was told it was a common fault with that particular model).
AnswerID: 177200

Follow Up By: robak (QLD) - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 12:21

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 12:21
Scubaroo is right. The warranty, if you need to use, is basically non-existant. In fact the importer could be YOU, and not the person sending it.

Also, remeber that the seller is in another country and therefore doesn't need to obey Australian Law and even if they did - good luck on getting them to court in Aus.

Having said that, there re some real bargains out there if nothing goes wrong.

Good luck
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FollowupID: 433199

Follow Up By: Mad Dog (Australia) - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 19:35

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 19:35
I wonder if they make the Seikos as good as they used to. I have worn mine everyday for 25 years, replaced a few batteries and had a couple of new straps...it just keeps on going.
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Reply By: Member - Malcolm P (VIC) - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 12:27

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 12:27
As an aside, I was bidding on a Waeco and let it go.
Someone else won it. I looked at my watchlist a couple of days later and there was feed back ledt for the buyer and seller that everyone was happy, the I get an e-mail asking me if I wanted to buy the fridge from the original seller at my original bid. What's that all about?
AnswerID: 177207

Follow Up By: Emo - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 15:48

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 15:48
Sounds like a scam
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Follow Up By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 16:10

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 16:10
If it was a new fridge, he may have had more than one and offered it to you as a "second chance bid". It's ok by Ebay and good for the seller as he only pays a commission on the second fridge and no fee for advertising!!!!
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Follow Up By: Scoey (QLD) - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 16:11

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 16:11
Might also be that the transaction was completed, feedback left and then for whatever reason the buyer returned the item within the scope of the sellers returns policy. The reason could be anything from faulty item to an item not being as described. ie different size, scuff mark or damage that wasn't listed in the add etc etc. Nevertheless, I would treat with care! ;-)

Cheers
Scoey.
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Follow Up By: geocacher (djcache) - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 21:43

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 21:43
There's a well known scam where unscrupulous hoaxers try to suck in a losing bidder with a phoney secondround offer to try and get you to part with your hard earned.

They look like the original seller. They take your money and no goods arrive.

Makes it hard for genuine ebayers to make legitimate second round offers. They generally target highish dollar items.

Someone tried it on a losing bidder on one of my HF radios. The guy had the sense to make contact and see if it was genuine before clicking on Pay me now! I had already sold it, shipped it and been paid.

Dave
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Reply By: TerraFirma - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 15:08

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 15:08
Yeah check the sellers history and do it via Pay Pal , all should be ok then
AnswerID: 177235

Reply By: brett - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 19:14

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 19:14
Recently bought a 2GB Sandisk SD card for less than half the retail price here. Seller has over 5000 feedbacks all good. Memory card comes in a genuine Sandisk package also has a genuine Sandisk warranty book with it. Card works fine but it is a 100% fake no doubt about it. If something is less than half the price you can get it for here, ask yourself why. The Chinese are very good at copying things, if they can make a watch what makes you think they can't make a cardboard box and a booklet just like an original.
AnswerID: 177272

Follow Up By: Member - Andrew W (SA) - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 19:35

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 19:35
memory disks and USB storage has a potential issue.

Somehow they make small capacity items badged with a fake cover to look like the real thing (real Sandisk, say) of higher capacity, and they program them to tell the host computer lies about how big they are.

Fake Memory Guide

This is happening with all flash memory products.

That is not to say that brett's card is not 2GB, but unless he writes a 2-GB file to it, he is not going to know for sure until it bites him ;-)

Ciao for now
Andrew.
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FollowupID: 433283

Follow Up By: brett - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 20:59

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 20:59
The card I got works fine and does hold 2GB, I also bought a smaller card off another seller and it's ok as well but even though they are in a sandisk box, they are copy's. I'm not worried about it as I expected this for the price and the sellers feedback was all good, suprised someone hasn't mentioned they are fakes but for the price they are a good buy in my opinion. Not sure about this guy's watches they may be original but generally if something is real cheap on ebay compared to retail you need to do your homework or be happy with with you got for the price you paid.
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FollowupID: 433320

Reply By: Motherhen - Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 23:52

Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 at 23:52
As so many have said before me

It may be genuine, but it may well not be (most stuff i have bought from overseas eg Cd's from China are copies, but cheap)

Auctions do not have the same protection as retailers. Auction is "buyer beware".

Sometimes a buyer re-negs, and the loser bidder gets the second chance, but check the details carefully, as it often comes from someone else trying to get your business. You will be able to spot differences. If it is suspect, there is a place on eBay to report this scam - do so. If it is a registered eBayer doing the wrong thing - a few complaints and person gets kicked off eBay.

Always check freight and any 'hidden costs'. Email the seller before bidding if you want anything clarified.

Always check the history of the seller. My family have all had an occasional loss (either goods not delivered, not the product as described, or product didn't work) and the seller has not come to the party and has been kicked off eBay after our complaint, but we have had to bear the loss (for claims, you must pay the first $39 anyway). Considering the savings on some items, we are still in front, and item is posted direct to you so it saves the cost of going to the retailer (some distance in our case).

With so many people using proxy bidding, bidding in the last few seconds is not essential - you can set you highest bid at any time and not look until it is all over (but miss the excitement of bidding in the last seconds). As I'm sure some sellers use dummy bidding, being there at the last would be wise with expensive items.

You will occasionally have disasters, but generally it is good fun, and if the item is cheap, worth the risk if you really want it.

Happy bidding!

Motherhen

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AnswerID: 177353

Reply By: Richard W (NSW) - Thursday, Jun 08, 2006 at 08:17

Thursday, Jun 08, 2006 at 08:17
I've been buying all my camera gear from Hong Kong at good prices and always check seller feedback before bidding. So far so good.
AnswerID: 177378

Follow Up By: ooze - Thursday, Jun 08, 2006 at 15:30

Thursday, Jun 08, 2006 at 15:30
Hi all. being a watchmaker i thought i might throw in my two bob's worth. Someone (sorry) was spot on before about the warranty. Seiko Aus. won't touch them, and often there are models from overseas that aren't imported here, so no parts. And on that subject, the wise old manufacturers for both Seiko and Citizen thought it would be a good idea to stop importing spare parts after five years, so fifteen years, or even six years down the track if something goes wrong, Sorry sir, parts are no longer available for that model, and there goes the good reputation that these watches once held. Not to mention your good watch. Slightly different story with the automatic wind models because of a 'good' supply of old watches that can be used for parts, but there aren't too many of these watches that survive the 25 years of use in industry, such as the example before. By the way, what else do you own that has worked for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 25 years or so, non stop with minimal servicing???
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FollowupID: 433555

Reply By: herkman - Thursday, Jun 08, 2006 at 20:22

Thursday, Jun 08, 2006 at 20:22
Thank you all for your kind help.

Looks to me that the risk of needing service, is more than copensated by the saving.

Regards

Col
AnswerID: 177516

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