The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hey guys,
I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on this situation.
I have a guy interested in my 24HR CM and he is requesting a 48 hr approval/inspection period for the watch. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I guess I'm a little over cautious when it comes to more expensive watches. He wants to pay with e-check via PP. 
I have offerred his all of my references as usual. 
Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys,
Chris

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Cheers,
Christopher

Currently...
Blackbird, Black Hercules, PAM 000
Down to a humble three...

I'd let him come and see it by all means. But once he's bought it, thats it for me. I mean if he finds something that I should have told him about etc, then ok, but I don't want to hear, "i've changed my mind" or something.

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Men are from Mars, women are from Hell.

Be careful with E check. They can "post as paid" and only be partially funded, the payment can be stopped after you ship if you ship directly after it "posts". I don't accept them as a rule, I put a note in my posts stating that I don't accept them. Not saying that your guy is trying this but it happens. If you use E check don't ship until it clears and all the funds are available for withdrawal. I usually give a buyer a little time to return a item. Not 48 hrs.

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Rolex 42mm Explorer
IWC Ingenieur

A few others too.

It would be a shipped item, following payment clearance, so it would not be a local face to face deal.
I don't want to run into the " I changed my mind" buyers remorse thing as well.

_________________
Cheers,
Christopher

Currently...
Blackbird, Black Hercules, PAM 000
Down to a humble three...

Mark,
Thanks for the heads up. I already told him that I would wait to ship the watch once the payment had cleared fully.
So what is a good time frame to allow? 24hrs?

_________________
Cheers,
Christopher

Currently...
Blackbird, Black Hercules, PAM 000
Down to a humble three...

If he really wants an inspection period, I would highly recommend using Escrow.com over PayPal. The advantage is that they accept wire transfers, which are fast and 100% reliable, and the fees for a wire-based transaction are comparable to PayPal echeck. Unlike PayPal, however, they do not clear you to ship the item to the buyer until the buyer's funds have completely cleared.

When you initiate a transaction, you set up a contract on Escrow.com's website that both parties agree upon. You can customize terms like who pays the Escrow fees (buyer, seller, or split) and how long the inspection period will be. Once both parties agree, they are bound by the terms for the duration of the transaction. The buyer sends the money to Escrow.com. Only when the funds have definitively cleared (you can also send a regular check but that takes something like 2 weeks to clear), does Escrow.com clear the seller to ship.

When the buyer receives the item, they have the agreed-upon period to inspect and approve the item. If they do nothing, the transaction is automatically approved at the end of the inspection period and you get the money. If they reject it within the inspection period, then they must send back the item immediately, but they do not get their money back until you receive the item and accept it as having been returned in original condition. If not, then you can dispute with the buyer through Escrow.com, but at least Escrow.com is holding on to the money during this period. This makes it difficult for a scammer to really trick you out of anything.

I have only used them for 1 transaction so far as a buyer, so I am not an expert, but I was impressed. It takes a little longer to do the transaction than with PayPal, but the added safety is worth it. Since I suggested it to the seller, I offered to pay all of the fees to show that I was serious about buying the watch and would only return it if something was significantly not as described.

///M

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." --Dave Barry

Under no circumstances EVER, would I allow the watch to leave my hands without teh money fully cleared and into my account. As far as the inspection goes, I would say that very detailed photos and a very detailed descrition would be enough. If he is worried about it being authentic, then a letter from you local AD noting the serial number should be enough along with your paperwork from Breitling.

Maybe I am over cautious but we have all seen several of our members get screwed out of thier watches.

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Breitling Steelfish(black)
Breitling Steelfish(silver)
Panerai PAM 312
Bell & Ross BR03-92 Phantom
Steinhart BreitlingSource LE #5/15

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Men are from Mars, women are from Hell.

Thanks again guys. Your words of wisdom are much appreciated.
I've politely declined providing a "inspection period" and have and will provide all necessary paperwork, photos, references etc...
This is the part I hate most about this wonderful interest of mine...I can honestly say that if I ever do get screwed on a deal, I'm done.
Thanks again as always!
Chris

_________________
Cheers,
Christopher

Currently...
Blackbird, Black Hercules, PAM 000
Down to a humble three...

If it feels funny-----Pass.

_________________
Rolex 42mm Explorer
IWC Ingenieur

A few others too.

Gut feelings exist for a reason. Follow them.

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Chronomat, Steel/Gold, MOP Dial, 2-tone band (2008)
Super Avenger Black Baton Dial (2009)
Bentley B04 GMT Silver Dial (2013)
Avenger Blacksteel Baton Dial (2014)

Well done for passing on that one. I'd NEVER let someone have a watch for 48 hours. Never in a million years! Heck, even AD's (expect Linde Werdelin)don't do that, and they have infinitely less invested in a particular watch than you would.

Something like this would open up so much scope for problems. What would happen if this guy suddenly decided he didn't want it? Or put a tiny scratch on it? Imagine the potential for problems........ it doesn't bear thinking about.

There'll be other much more simple deals out there.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I've had this too. A couple of months ago I was selling my chrono colt on the forum and only had one reply at the time. The guy who contacted me said he was very interested in the watch but wanted me to post it to him so he could check it out and make sure it was gen. Also he lived overseas so I gave that sale a miss! Managed to get a good sale on the bay anyway so glad I passed on his offer!

I offer money back if the watch is not as described. I have only ever had 1 watch returned and it was only a few ££ and from then on I introduced the return of only if item is not as described. I heard about this guy who bought a very high end watch asking for a 48hr inspection period, he wore the watch to a wedding showing it off and then sent it back on the Monday saying he had changed his mind

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"It's not how it's written it's how it's read"