The watch business

[PgsJeweler]

Just curious to know what other people are curious about when it comes to watches (as a mechanical time piece) or the watch business.

I don't actually consider myself an expert as I know others in the trade who are far more experienced, but maybe I can shed light on something or other....

[keith160259]

What is your opinion of e-bid permitting fake watches being advertised as genuine?

[PgsJeweler]

What is your opinion of e-bid permitting fake watches being advertised as genuine?

I actually don't think eBid allows fake watches to be advertised as genuine. When such an instance occurs, I'm sure eBid takes the auction down quickly. I'm not sure what the policy is for watches that are clearly described in the text as replica (the seller is also not trying to hoodwink the buyer on the issue of authenticity).

It's somewhat of a problem in the gray area where a watch isn't explicitly stated to be a replica, or isn't stated to be genuine (possibly because the seller doesn't know for sure), and where the description and photos are sufficiently ambiguous as to make a judgement impossible. A good example of this would be this auction for a Rolex:
http://us.nine.ebid.net/perl/auction...2-0&mo=auction

I don't know how eBid is set up to screen auction items - how many people are devoted to screening, how the IPIP program is implemented, how tightly and frequently eBid interacts with Trademark Owners. Neverthelss, in the end, hopefully there is good communication with Trademark Owners as it is in everyone's interest that eBid maintains the reputation for selling properly and accurately described items.

PS - let me amend my comment on the aforementioned auction. Title is for a Rolex Submariner; photo shows a 2 tone oyster bracelet; bezel insert is more appropriate for a GMT; bezel color is off (might be photograph artifact); Seller labels serial # to be 16233, which is more appropriate as a Model number for a Datejust. In short, it just doesn't quite add up.

[bobyjo]

its a wind up