eBay Offers Free Authenticity Guarantee on All UK Watch Sales Over £2,000 GBP
eBay extends trust-building service to UK customers.
eBay is offering a new authentication service in the UK on all watches sold for £2,000 GBP ($2,720 USD) or more.
eBay hopes to remove any uncertainty from the process of buying watches from its platform, which has recorded a 31% increase in searches for watches over the last two years and last year sold one watch every 28 seconds.
“When it comes to purchasing luxury goods such as watches, confidence and trust is paramount for our customers,” says Kirsty Keoghan, Director of Luxury Goods at eBay UK. “Our number one goal is to bring more trust to our marketplace for our entire eBay community which is why we are investing in authenticity guarantee for watches at no extra cost to the buyer or seller, so customers can buy or sell luxury watches with complete confidence and have the item delivered to their door within two days via secure delivery.”
eBay has partnered with Ohio-based watch service specialist Stoll & Co, which opened a new state-of-the-art facility in the UK in the summer. Each watch submitted will be “fully vetted and verified through a multipoint inspection.”
As well as checking the watch and its individual components, Stoll & Co’s experts will also review any “collateral” presented along with it, such as packaging and papers. The auction site already offers such verification on watches sold in the US and Japan.
“Buying an expensive watch online can be a nerve-wracking experience, that’s why this process is of utmost importance to the second hand luxury watch market, giving customers the security of knowing that their purchase is 100% authentic,” says Stoll & Co’s head watchmaker Graham Foster. “It’s the details within high end watches that make us tick, so we’re excited to bring our skills and expertise to the UK to help power eBay’s new Authenticity Guarantee for watches.”
eBay also offered an insight into its user’s purchasing habits in the UK with the Rolex, Omega and Tudor the most popular brand based on sales and a rose gold Rolex GMT Master II from 2019 achieving the highest recorded price for a watch on the platform, selling for £50,000 GBP ($68,000 USD).
In other watch news, Spike Lee and Artisans de Geneve go back to the drawing board with Cool Hand Brooklyn Rolex.
