Purchasing from Private sellers

I've thought about buying from a private seller on Chrono24 in the past, but just couldn't bring myself to do it.  I think my issue is that Chrono24's escrow service certainly makes it safer, but it's not foolproof.  

• With a professional dealer, you have something like 2 weeks to return the watch for a full refund if it doesn't meet requirements
• With a private seller, you're supposed to come to a mutually agreed resolution.  If there's an issue, you can bring it up with Chrono24 customer service, who then hold onto the money in escrow, and effectively wait for the 2 parties to come to some sort of resolution before releasing the money from escrow!

It's safer than buying from other sources, with that escrow service, but still couldn't get over my own personal misgivings to give it a go!

As with all used purchases and vendors my selection is:

E: It depends. ✔

 Even Ebay has seller reputation scores. I love some sellers, hate some sellers, and I'd never consider buying products with a bad reputation for reliability from a source that doesn't allow returns. 

You must know what you're doing. And if you have to ask a forum, I'm afraid you're probably not ready to buy from a private seller yet.

I buy almost all of my watches from private sellers. I’ve never had an issue but I always try to vet the seller as much as I can. 

Vetting the seller is definitely one that keeps coming back in the watch world.

What specifically are you looking out for?

I've bought many more from individuals than stores/dealers.  

Although after a combined 25 years on these forums, I only deal with people I "know".  

I do a lot of buying from places like e Bay and a lot of that is from private sellers, and 95% have been great,now nothings perfect and very occasionally you'll get problems but with PayPal etc you have some back up,again not perfect and you do hear horror stories.  Only ever got 1 lemon (and I could and should have sent it back) but it wasn't expensive and my local watch repair shop is sorting it as we speak for not a great deal of money. Now if your buying off places like Facebook and classifieds well it can be the wild West and its definitely a case of buyer beware,better a face to face meet and look at the goods before buying, only time I did this I was lucky it was 20 miles up the road and the seller turned out to be a genuine enthusiast and both parties were happy. Its all a hierarchy of risk out there,yes stick with an AD,safest,trusted ,reputable sellers on sites you'll pay more but get peice of mind(and wallet), if you do go into the 'wilds' it's risky but with knowledge and a bit of luck there's sometimes a gold nugget to be had. There's mostly good people out there but there's always a sister out there as well,be careful and be smart.

Looking for people discussing their experience purchasing from them primarily for authenticity. I’ve bought quite a few on r/watchexchange recently. I bought a new Speedmaster earlier this year through a Gray Market dealer that I found on the Omega forums with a lot of positive feedback. I saved about $1,000 over the AD which is worth it to me. 

Depends on what it is. A san Martin? Sure, why not. An Omega? That's a different story. What concerns me is the plethora of fakes out there, and some are quite good. I've heard of folks getting fakes when the seller was completely unaware, so they'd need to be vetted by a pro before I would consider it. 

Presence of fakes would definitely point me towards ADs for really popular models. Luckily, these are also models that tend to be more expensive on secondary.

I’ll use eBay for <$2000 pieces, but as a whole I avoid private transactions for many of the reasons already mentioned.

I've done so, but only really in person where I can inspect the watch in a reasonably secure area.  I probably wouldn't otherwise aside from through a platform like eBay where there are recourse options.

To me it depends on how much the watch is or how hard it would be to find one. 

I have bought and sold as a profile buyer and seller on Chrono24 and have to say it’s been a seamless servide. Sure, if you buy without any research, you create your own problems, but take your time and find what you want and ask LOTS of questions of the seller and you should be OK. I always ask for more photos and for specific ones which they can only take if they have the watch. 
 

with the escrow in place I feel more confident as a buyer and seller. Plus they only charge 6% compared to eBay‘s 10% (plus PayPal fees). 

I looked up the fees and have found them more than reasonable considering the platform they offer and that half of it likely goes to the credit card anyway.

I won't know how much safety the escrow really adds until I need to dispute something, and I prefer not having to go through that.

Asking extra pictures is a simple trick.

Depends on the watch, but for the most part I wouldnt mind. The way I see it, the private seller is most likely just some dude with a watch they feel like selling. If I'm selling a watch, chances are I will just be some dude with a watch I feel like selling. I'd like to think I can trust myself, and therefore trust others. 

I have bought from private sellers on several platforms, always (so far) with pleasant results. I've also engaged in conversations with private sellers and, as a result, declined to purchase. A general rule doesn't seem appropriate. Well, other than the general rule that I always have a conversation first, even if only to ask questions to which I already know the answer. I won't claim to have any magical powers, and it's quite possible that I may be the victim of a scam in the future. But I've managed to buy several vintage watches, each at about half the price typically advertised by dealers.

A and B really go hand and hand don’t they? 

Disregard all the poll options and buy the seller.  I don’t think I would have serious money out in the wind to an unknown seller.  I’m perfectly comfortable making deals with people I’ve known on forums for quite some time. 

They are quite close. Although first option tends to indicate little value perceived in going through a professional dealer.

I'm quite surprised by the results overall. I did not expect the gap to be so wide.

Outside of getting to know the seller directly, do you confer any trust in seller ratings in platforms or the buyer protections offered by them?

Seller ratings on large platforms like eBay or Chrono24 don’t mean that much to me.  I think my biggest eBay purchase was maybe $500 for a vintage watch that I planned on servicing anyway.  There’s no deals on Chrono24 (IMHO) so I haven’t bought anything there.  I would be sceptical of any “super bargain” I found there regardless of seller ratings.

I’ve had great luck making deals with forum members, generally those who I may have followed for years.  Regular sellers on forums can also work very hard to uphold their reputation and are great to work with.

Buyer protection is a whole other matter and I’ve read pages long threads about the pitfalls and hazards on other forums.  The major platforms are BIG business and don’t necessarily have your interests in mind when making decisions. 

Simply stated, if I’m not buying new from an AD, I will buy from the safest source, ie a known business (Gnomon, Jomashop) or trusted forum seller.