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Looking at a recent sub-discussion on the Incoming thread, there's some talk about dicey eBayers who routinely sell garbage. Advice was given to never buy a Pogue from the UK unless you know the seller...
We all know the types - often quite arty and processed looking photos that somehow manage to not convey the detail you need. Flowery descriptions that are the same for every post, with little to no detail of the watch at hand. Some vague disclaimer about "some parts may have been replaced" or "photos form part of the description".
Well, I try to keep a list of dodgy eBayers so that if I see anything from them in future I'll know to be extra wary or to avoid at all costs. Some seem to disappear and then spidey sense detects similar photography styles or description practices in other sellers who show up. I figured it's time to smoke a few out - please share your favourite eBay frankenmeisters... some of us on the eBay from the UK are genuine, you know ;-)
{EDIT - 7 Feb 2020
OK, thought I'd update this list a little ... still faking it large:
retroo1 | fara-uk | watchesonsale23 | salestuff-100 | mehdi_78 | pipakee | mrvintagewatch / andyrswan | lillywatch / goldenlily777
Seems to have disappeared:
vintage-n-unique | watches-4-you | perry4035 |
}
retroo1 - always nicely photographed, always slyly described. Previous history.
fara-uk - the usual lengthy and repetitive descriptions, including:
vintage-n-unique - fairly recent joiner (Feb 19) with low feedback numbers, but already a fair few watches gone under the hammer. See them here.
Very poorly described. Maybe just a dealer who doesn't know any better so you never know, a real gem might well arrive amongst the guff.
watchesonsale23 - shifts a lot of stuff, and a lot of watches, not too many Seikos though. Looking at the various Omega Dynamics I think they are all replacement dial jobs. past history. One Pogue has a whole list of things wrong with it, priced highly and described poorly, with 3/4 of the description taken up with badly formatted T&Cs.
[edit - 19/9/19] - he seems to be upping his game and now has a slew of ropey Seikos all badly described. See this blue 6139 as an example - "This is very rare Seiko Pepsi chronograph ,original Blue dial ,the watch is in very good condition .Please look at the photos for more detial." The dial and hands are most definitely not original, though bizarrely the bezel and bracelet look like they might be.
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He's also posting as salestuff-100 with a mix of ropey and overpriced stuff. If you see someone selling Seikos from Bideford, Devon, then watch out - he might have numerous other noms de plume.
mehdaziz_0 now renamed to mehdi_78 - another repeat offender who appears to have found a stash of old Seiko & Citizen boxes, as every one of the frankens appears to come with a similarly non-original box. Favours the "due to age, some parts may have been replaced" disclaimer, and "excellent used condition" to describe everything, including the new aftermarket bits.
watches-4-you - floral backgrounds are a useful giveaway, but the dodginess of the stock (previous) and the comical descriptions are usually enough of a tell-tale too. eg, Pogue:
pipakee - not the most prolific seller, but another "some parts may be replaced" and "I'm not an expert, but..." seller, so worth keeping an eye out for in future.
We all know the types - often quite arty and processed looking photos that somehow manage to not convey the detail you need. Flowery descriptions that are the same for every post, with little to no detail of the watch at hand. Some vague disclaimer about "some parts may have been replaced" or "photos form part of the description".
Well, I try to keep a list of dodgy eBayers so that if I see anything from them in future I'll know to be extra wary or to avoid at all costs. Some seem to disappear and then spidey sense detects similar photography styles or description practices in other sellers who show up. I figured it's time to smoke a few out - please share your favourite eBay frankenmeisters... some of us on the eBay from the UK are genuine, you know ;-)
{EDIT - 7 Feb 2020
OK, thought I'd update this list a little ... still faking it large:
retroo1 | fara-uk | watchesonsale23 | salestuff-100 | mehdi_78 | pipakee | mrvintagewatch / andyrswan | lillywatch / goldenlily777
Seems to have disappeared:
vintage-n-unique | watches-4-you | perry4035 |
}
retroo1 - always nicely photographed, always slyly described. Previous history.
fara-uk - the usual lengthy and repetitive descriptions, including:
With 50 Seiko sales in the last 3 months, I'd have expected a little expertise but maybe that's just me.
vintage-n-unique - fairly recent joiner (Feb 19) with low feedback numbers, but already a fair few watches gone under the hammer. See them here.
Very poorly described. Maybe just a dealer who doesn't know any better so you never know, a real gem might well arrive amongst the guff.
watchesonsale23 - shifts a lot of stuff, and a lot of watches, not too many Seikos though. Looking at the various Omega Dynamics I think they are all replacement dial jobs. past history. One Pogue has a whole list of things wrong with it, priced highly and described poorly, with 3/4 of the description taken up with badly formatted T&Cs.
[edit - 19/9/19] - he seems to be upping his game and now has a slew of ropey Seikos all badly described. See this blue 6139 as an example - "This is very rare Seiko Pepsi chronograph ,original Blue dial ,the watch is in very good condition .Please look at the photos for more detial." The dial and hands are most definitely not original, though bizarrely the bezel and bracelet look like they might be.
He's also posting as salestuff-100 with a mix of ropey and overpriced stuff. If you see someone selling Seikos from Bideford, Devon, then watch out - he might have numerous other noms de plume.
mehdaziz_0 now renamed to mehdi_78 - another repeat offender who appears to have found a stash of old Seiko & Citizen boxes, as every one of the frankens appears to come with a similarly non-original box. Favours the "due to age, some parts may have been replaced" disclaimer, and "excellent used condition" to describe everything, including the new aftermarket bits.
watches-4-you - floral backgrounds are a useful giveaway, but the dodginess of the stock (previous) and the comical descriptions are usually enough of a tell-tale too. eg, Pogue:
... meaning it's got an AM dial and bezel, it's polished to hell, and if it was serviced, the "watchmaker" didn't bother cleaning any of the crap off the rotor, the rust in the movement, etc. Maybe they opened the back, sprayed in some WD-40 and thought "that's me done".
pipakee - not the most prolific seller, but another "some parts may be replaced" and "I'm not an expert, but..." seller, so worth keeping an eye out for in future.
