I'm looking at possibly buying a watch off Watchuseek classifieds. What are the pitflls/things to avoid and/or recommended things to protect myself? Thanks.

Rob

I'd stay away from all overseas sales, unless the username is well established and has been there for awhile. Also, paypal only transactions as most scammers will try and get you to send a money order of some sort.

I've been trading on WUS for several years with no issues, but I have been approached by scammers a few times after posting a wanted ad. Usually those folks aren't members and will try to communicate outside of the site. Most all legitimate folks have several dozen posts and will communicate via private messaging only.

So, what's the watch?

I tend to use a different forum, but the idea I suppose is all the same. I do some variety (not necessarily ALL) of this:

I make contact via PM, or ask that the other buyer/seller contact me that way. It assures me they are members and I can see their ID, join date, post count. I beat the holy hell out of Google and I make sure I contact them via other channels once I find them (FB, LinkedIN). I ask for a phone number of their business and contact them at that number after verifying it online. If they've posted their number under that userID for years and years, it's a good sign. I have a realistic, but unreasonable fear of a good account being hacked and thus I'm "buying the seller" but it's really not them. That's what the number helps with. It's hard to get a guys cell phone redirected to you, but it's easy to take over their online accounts.

Big warning sign to me is a well active member that's been dormant for years, and then is online selling something.

I like to pay with PayPal, but have wired money. I will only accept bank wire on any big dollar item, but for a few hundred bucks, I take PayPal. When selling, I tend to start every watch on SF first, at a discount. I'd rather sell here to the well vetted and quality membership than to sell elsewhere. Though I've sold to some great people on watch forums, as well as buying from them.

if using paypal: goods or services, never gift.

People have said "buy the seller not the watch".
As r0gue said do your research on the seller as much as possible. Some sellers do have brick and mortar stores so they have a reputation to maintain and hopefully they would be reliable.
I am a member of WUS and have heard stories of good and bad experiences. Some members have lost thousands of dollars on a bad sale. The best way to be as safe as possible is to buy from an authorized dealer or a secondary sellers who has a brick and mortar store. I am lucky, I live near a secondary seller who is one line and has a store near me. I have been to his store and he has a nice selection.
What watch are you looking for?

quote:

Originally posted by RobLew:
I'm looking at possibly buying a watch off Watchuseek classifieds. What are the pitflls/things to avoid and/or recommended things to protect myself? Thanks.

Rob

If your looking for a high end watch, Rolex, Omega, etc....do spend some time on a forum for that particular brand. Dig deep.

Understand types of warranty for a "Gray market" vs AD watch.

Be extremely careful of overseas sales. Several people in my area have lost thousands of $$$$ in a fake Rolex, Omega sale.

I buy only from well-established members in the US/Canada and manufacturers overseas.

Communication is key. If it feels funny, it IS funny. Avoid.

Good Luck,

RMD

Doesn't address the meat of your question, but if you want more selection beyond WUS, this site aggregates a number of sites' classifieds (including WUS):

https://www.watchrecon.com/

Thanks for the advice guys. I looked up the seller on WUS and he's fairly active. A search on his username shows he's gotten good feedback. I'll PM him and try to get more info. I'll definitely only do Paypal, which is the seller's preferred payment method.

As far as the watch - it's not some high end piece like some of you guys have. It's a Halios Tropik. Halios is a Canadian microbrand that I like a lot - so we're not talking major bucks, but I like what I like. I was surfing around a bit last night and saw this listed, but hasn't been updated for a few weeks. I'm not even sure it's still available for purchase.

Lots of legitimate business takes place via Money Orders and inactive members, but sure, *sometimes* those are indicative of something fishy, but never, ever, in and of themselves. Lots of folks simply refuse to use PayPal under any circumstances, and plenty of people only occasionally sell things as a great many people are not active collectors.

Be suspicious of someone who doesn't seem to know what he has.

Example—

Red flag:

"Found this '90s Omega in my dad's dresser drawer. I wound it up and it runs okay."

Worth taking a look:

"This is a '96 Omega 2531.80. Last serviced by Omega in May of 2016 (cal 1120, Omega's modified ETA 2892-A2), papers included for original purchase and service history. Running average of +2.4 spd on the wrist, resting dial up it's -0.3 spd, averages about +1.0 spd on my winder. (See Watch Tracker screen shot.) Has some slight scuff marks on the clasp which are since its last service. Bezel clicks beautifully and dial still pristine. Will do a pressure test before sending it off if customer prefers."

I've done a number of transactions on watchuseek. I've never had issues.

Don't let a low number of posts determine if you would do business or not. Instead, ask a lot of detailed questions and see what the responses are. I got lucky and was able to do a face to face transaction and inspect the watch. It's generally a pretty safe place to buy/sell and as already stated, I would not do any out of country transactions. Good luck.

If the seller is active on WUS with good feedback, and the PMs/emails don't raise any red flags, I'd feel safe as a buyer -- especially if the seller is OK with PayPal.

Halios Tropik is a solid choice.

Hmm...not getting any response from seller after two PMs. I'm guessing it's because I'm a total noob on WUS. Any thoughts on how to engage to alleviate concerns I may be a scammer?