Is there an ironclad way to sell a high value, 20K+ item without getting scammed?

[richiereed]

While some transactions worked out alright, I have now listed a 20K+ watch three times and each time it was 'bought' by a scammer. Twice the purchase was made through an 'unauthorized use' of an account (I have evidence these were highjacked), once it was made by an unregistered buyer. To make things worse, ebay released my contact information to them, so I now have to fear for my safety. They obviously did not pay, nor did I ship. Ebay suggests to list with 'buy it now' and request immediate payment, but I don't think I can take a chance to ship to someone who may claim the item is not as described and then sends back the item damaged or changed, or even sends back an empty package. Seller protection is pretty much useless, especially if the buyer does a credit card charge back. Since there appears to be no way to have a payment irreversibly in my account, I am about to give up on ebay. Am I missing something?

[ersatz_sobriquet]

Use an escrow service. Google it. 

[bradandamber]

Quick answer...NO! Take the watch to Southerby's or a place like that.

[sharingtheland]

---

@coolections wrote:

NO, even if you sold it anywhere else in the world there is no ironclad way you would not get ripped off.

---

Not true.   There are very reputable sites and services that deal in the high end watch secondary market.

[emerald40]

---

@dougsue123b wrote:

well pick up is not 100% scam free, he could get mugged.

Come to think of it, the buyer with 20k in his pocket could get mugged

---

That is why you do not go alone and do it in the open in some dark alley.

Do it at the Police Station.  Ours have areas set up for these types of transactions.

Bring a very large male with you that preferrably has a concealed carry permit

And very important - if you accept cash, bring along one of those pens used at stores to make sure the money is not conterfeit.

[freeshipusa1]

if the auctioneer accepts electronic payments for you and you proved you have shipped the item,it will send you the proceeds after so many day,so you are off the hook if the buyer files a chargeback ,the auctioneer is the one who gets hit.not you

of course,the acutioneer will try to collect from you if it can?

You will lose the privilege of selling via them in the future,what else can it do,you have to do your own research,read the terms,talk to a lawyer.

fees would be higher,most auction houses have buyer and seller premium like 25%

[richiereed]

I think a face to face transaction could be relatively safe. Before agreeing, I would want to have some communication with the buyer to develop a certain level of mutual trust. The buyer would have the option to have the authenticity etc confirmed by an authorized dealer. The transaction could be completed at a bank where the cash can be verified to be real. This would still allow to take advantage of the wide exposure on ebay.

[freeshipusa1]

There are big buyers on Ebay who use paypal to make payments.

Some have prior approval from paypal ,some would have to call Paypal to get permission.

Many are professional dealers who are looking for items to resell,if y ou look at what they bought and the feedback they left for their sellers would give you some idea.

But there is no way you can screen bidders based on how they leave feedback for the high ticket items they left for their sellers>

some are too busy to leave feedback.

Expensive watches are considerd high risk category by Paypal along with smart phones and comics !

Ebay has  high value customer service dept for items selling $1000 and up

Kuwait has a bazaar where you can buy used expensive watches all authentic.for less,    

[nc-daydreamer]

I have seen 2 forms of advice from others on these boards, and that I feel is sound/wise - do not sell anything you can't afford to lose - and - never sell anything higher than your feedback score.  Be safe - local pickup only and no PayPal - cash only.  Good luck.

[richiereed]

While this is correct, it is one thing to release personal data to a buyer who has a relatively good record, it is another to provide criminals with great leads for burglary targets.

[richiereed]

Direct and to the point.

[richiereed]

Thanks, as a collector I am well aware of the top choices for selling watches and art. I was just hoping to find a way to get the exposure of ebay and still be safe.

[garmentvarmint2004]

RICHIE

Well the bank can authenticate the cash  the buyer  shows up   with.  But they cannot verify  anything about the watch itself.  So then what?  You  must  ALSO  set up a  visit to an Authorized Dealer ??   This sounds awfully time-consuming  for everyone involved!

Just does not  seem  practical  to me. 

I think  this why some Posters here said you should go to  an AuctionHouse.

[sharingtheland]

---

@richiereed wrote:

Thanks, as a collector I am well aware of the top choices for selling watches and art. I was just hoping to find a way to get the exposure of ebay and still be safe.

---

And also hoping to pay a smaller fee here ?

I know it's tempting but not a chance I'd try selling any of our items such as yours here.  

[richiereed]

---

@garmentvarmint2004 wrote:

RICHIE

Well the bank can authenticate the cash  the buyer  shows up   with.  But they cannot verify  anything about the watch itself.  So then what?  You  must  ALSO  set up a  visit to an Authorized Dealer ??   This sounds awfully time-consuming  for everyone involved!

Just does not  seem  practical  to me. 

I think  this why some Posters here said you should go to  an AuctionHouse.

---

I agree, that the face to face approach I outlined is not very practical. For what it's worth, there are better choices for selling high end watches than auction houses. The most important thing is that a buyer and seller either know each other or have mutual references or have some other way to check each other out to their satisfaction.  A few years ago, I actually sold an even more expensive Patek Philippe complication on ebay. In this case we both could find plenty of  information about each other on google. The buyer paid by wire and reported back 'watch even better than described'. On another occasion I got an offer from a buyer with feedback of about 10 and he had not given one positive only negative feedback. I was uncomfortable and asked him some questions. He got upset about that and canceled the transaction. So at this point, I still insist to screen the buyer on a high value transaction and risk getting my account closed if I cancel. But I am increasingly shying away from using ebay because the scamming from my perspective is getting out of hand. 

[rixstuff]

The idea of shipping freaks me out too.  I would just never let something that valuable out of my hand until I got the cash in the other and couldnt trust anybody else (PARTICULARLY THE PO OR FEDEX) to deliver it for me.