If you want to buy some high-value item on ebay, you might want to know about my experience first:
I bought a high-value watch on ebay from the seller addicted_2oldskoolgarage. I paid it through paypal right on the spot, convinced that that would be the safest way.
You have possibly seen the "ebay buyer protection" logo on ebay sites at some point.
The thing is that, after close inspection by a professional jeweler, the watch was totally ruined, rusty and not worth a penny, as the repair job was much more expensive than a new item. Water had leaked in and the movement needed total replacement.
The first thing I did was contact the seller explaining what the condition of the watch was like and asking for a refund.
The response I got was the usual one, denying the fact that the watch was in that condition and even suggesting that I had the different parts replaced by older, rusty parts:
Seller's response:
"Hi, the watch was listed as described & again I would never try to sell an item in that state. I have never listed an item not as described as you can see from my previous feedback. No Offence to you but how do I know that the parts haven't been changed by your Jeweller? Like I explained before, there is no way that there could have been water damage to the watch and this still baffles me that you could even say that. I cannot accept a return for this item (it clearly states in the auction no returns) as I would lose out as you would be sending me back a completely useless watch which I know was not in the state you claim it to be in.
Having also thought about the whole situation, I should never have agreed to send the item abroad. I should have sent it to your UK address.
Please feel free to open a case I will happily contest this."
After this response, I got in touch with ebay and paypal. They resolved that I should post the item back to the seller. They instructed me to use an approved courier, which I did. A long story short: parcel got lost and I was told that, since the seller did not get his item back I was not entitled to a refund. The way they told me, with a total lack of empathy was really unnerving. I got many confusing emails: on the one hand they said that w should wait until the parcel reached its destination while minutes later they closed the case in favor of the seller. Now I have got neither the money nor the watch... NEVER AGAIN
