Is it true that sending back to TAG for authentication is free? It seems unlikely.... I thought watch companies were like Archie Luxury (they don't do **** for free...).
Where i live, yes it is free to authenticating watch. But, i must go to the service center and they only open at working hour and non on weekends. So i cannot do it anytime i want. I still got jobs.
On the easier way. I posted on the instagram and see if anyone comment if there's any fakes. Which i hope i never get to see.
Hi Otto, yes it is free - I had it confirmed by my contact at TAG and also that one of the things they test is the steel used to make the case.
I was thinking actually, is the movement a reliable test of a watch's genuine status? If you had an old S/EL for example which needed a new movement, and it was replaced with an ETA or similar which didn't have 'TAG Heuer' stamped on it, it doesn't make the watch 'fake'. Is it like a car, where the chassis is actually the thing that determines authenticity? I mean we hear that Rolex are notorious for changing things when watches are sent back (dials, hands, parts) but while it does affect its 'value' nobody is suggesting any of those things make the watches 'fake'.
Genuine questions @jamesbizs ... How do you get to speak to eBay execs about things like this? And how do you manage to convince people in eBay, who won't be watch experts, that these are all fake without evidence from Tag? Do they have experts they consult on such matters?
And does the fact the sellers have been removed now make it harder for you to get your refund or is that sorted?!
Whichever, it's a result that they've been taken down - well done. Still those watches will surface elsewhere unfortunately...
Well, like imagwai or black said, it's a drop in the bucket... But at least some people will get their money back, and these guys will have a tougher time doing something they thought was super easy. Maybe it will shut them down. Maybe they will get raided? I don't know. We are talking about committing some major high stakes international fraud here.
Yeah, just going off my figures which didn't even include the Longines, Omega or Seiko watches we are talking over 拢100k in the last year...
So heres a question. Not that I haven't monopolized this thread as it is lol. It's easy enough NOW to tell these watches are fake. But what happens with the secondary market? I have no idea how to determine used ones to be fake. Or hell, these guys could get smart, and just remove the plastic wrap from these.... then what???
This isn't a new problem, though. Fakes have been around for ages. It's definitely getting harder, hence I've toughened up my advice these days. You simply have to do your homework, both on the watch and on the seller as well. If they can't satisfy you that they are a genuine seller and convince you that the watch was originally sourced from a genuine source (and there are so many factors you could take into account here, impossible to list them all), then you might as well forget it. Or, buy from an AD or reputable used watch dealer.
I wonder how much longer we'll be able to trust reputable used watch dealers...
I wonder how much longer we'll be able to trust reputable used watch dealers...
