For some people, this might be a boring article about eBay policies, but they may change their mind if they lose money. eBay has made some major changes to its 2017 selling policies and it affects watch buyers and watch sellers that dabble in sales on eBay, direct PayPal watch sales, and forum watch sales. eBay needs no introduction as the world’s largest and most famous peer-to-peer selling web site. Where else can you find such a wide variety of junk and treasures in one place… certainly not in any retail store?
For many of us, eBay is only one channel to sell or buy watches. This article should perk the ears of this group of collectors because there could be dire consequences if eBay’s rules are not followed to the letter. Many sellers often list watches on watch forums and also locally in ad sites like Craig’s List at the same time that they sell the same watch on eBay. This could spell trouble according to eBay’s new user guidelines because eBay could still charge you if you sell your item outside of eBay. That is the reason that I am making this public service announcement specifically for watch collectors.
eBay watches for sale
Before I get into the details, you may be wondering why eBay is doing this. From a business perspective, it comes down to protecting their own interests. Let’s be honest… most people do not want to pay for anything these days. Everyone is so used to “free” apps and services that we can often take for granted that online businesses need to make money or protect their financial interests. While this may be a silly thing to say about an internet giant who made almost $9,000,000,000 in revenue in 2016, I cannot say that I am surprised by the new rules.
As of September 2017, eBay published new selling guidelines that specifically talk about communication between sellers and buyers. The reason is that many buyers were using eBay’s powerful selling platform to advertise their watch, but then selling it outside of eBay. The reason comes down to the sellers wanting to make larger profits by avoiding the so-called “eBay Tax.”
eBay + PayPal fees = ~13%
How to Calculate the “eBay Tax”
For example, eBay final value fees roughly equal 10% of the sale, and listing fees are not included in that percentage. Many people use PayPal and it has a ~3% fee for using their service totally about 13%. So a watch that sold for $1,000 on eBay would net only 87% (100%-13%) of that figure for the seller… so only $870. The $130 “eBay tax” is what most sellers are trying to avoid to increase their profits but at the expense of eBay making money.
- The easiest way to calculate your sale value (after fees) is to multiply the selling price x .87
- The easiest way to calculate the fees is to multiply the selling price x .13
It probably did not take a genius to figure out what was happening because eBay can screen messages and see every item listing. It is my belief that they have been aware of this issue for a long time but did not have a formal enforceable policy specifically against questionable communication practices that suggest sales to be conducted outside of the eBay ecosystem.
Obvious Versus Innocent Mistakes
Obviously, showing an email address, phone number or website URL to sell the watch outside of eBay seems like an clear-cut infraction, but that is not always the situation. I have sent sellers a link to my own WatchHunter.org blog if I can’t them using my copyrighted images in their listings, and I have also used such links to help sellers who made mistakes in their listing. I also reference my blog in my own sales because the articles contain lots of background info on watches that I sell. These would technically now be violations according to eBays 2017 Guidelines, so this is something that I myself will have to change.
The complete rules as of September 2017 will be listed at the end of this article, and they are pretty explicit so there is no need to repeat that information. Instead, I think it might be more helpful to discuss how this 2017 User Policy affects watch selling and what to do. This is only my opinion and every seller will have to determine what is right for them. I for one will play it safe because I personally cannot imagine being booted from eBay after being a member since 2002. Back then, you had to send a bank check to pay for items. We’ve come a long way since then.
Recommendations for Avoiding Trouble with eBay
- Consider selling in 1 place at a time – It looks like eBay could still charge you final value fees if you cancel a listing to sell the watch elsewhere. For example, say you get a legitimate offer on a forum ad and you cancel the eBay auction to sell it to the forum member. To eBay, it may look like you attracted the buyer through eBay but sold it elsewhere. There is no way to prove or disprove this to eBay so probably it would be their judgment call on whether to penalize you.
- Follow the eBay rules to the letter – Simply be aware that eBay will be strict with communication of any sort that uses phone numbers, website URLs or external email addresses. Expect to be flagged if you try this because eBay robots will be programmed to look for this behavior. That includes fancy tricks to throw the bots off the scent like attempting to hide your email. For example: email(at)domain(dot)com.
- Make your own web store – I actually do not recommend this unless you have a lot of merchandise to sell. Even then, most individual watch store websites do not have the incredible reach of eBay. eBay itself is a highly-tuned and very powerful search engine that puts your product in front of more potential buyers. You simply are not going to beat them in exposing your watch to a large audience.
- Sell on the watch forums – Watch forums like WatchYouSeek are a great way to buy and sell because there are no 10% final value fees, but you could pay 3% in PayPal fees. Common sense rules still apply here and covering your purchase with PayPal Buyer Protection making payments as “Good and Services” not “Friends and Family”. Also, “buying the seller, not the watch” is the name of the game here. Expect some negotiation on pricing and a fair market value… your watch may be worth less than you think. I’ll dedicate a separate blog post to forum watch trading and sales later.
- Explore other ways to sell or buy a watch – New websites like Crown&Caliber.com, Chrono24.com and others are popping up just for watch collectors.
- Just pay the eBay fees – If you find eBay of value like I do, then it might just be worth paying the “eBay tax” to use their service. Personally, I have had great interactions with eBay as a buyer and a seller. The fees do add up, but they are providing a valuable service. Before eBay, you would likely have to sell your watch locally for potentially less money or get ripped off by a jewelry store or pawn shop offering pennies on the dollar.
That is about all I have to say on the subject. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the new guidelines listed below and take steps to avoid violating the policies. The penalties are potentially stiff. Whatever you decide to do, just be smart about it.
Official eBay Policy Concerning Offers to Buy or Sell Outside of eBay
Policy overview
We don’t allow our members to use eBay to contact each other to make offers to buy or sell items outside of eBay. Also, members can’t use information obtained from eBay or any eBay systems to contact each other about buying or selling outside of eBay.
Sellers are liable for fees arising out of all sales made using some or all eBay Services, even if sales terms are finalized or payment is made outside of eBay.
Sellers are also liable for final value fees if they offer or reference their contact information, or ask for a buyer’s contact information, in the context of buying or selling outside of eBay, even if the item does not sell.
If you receive an offer to buy or sell outside eBay, please report it.
Make sure you follow these guidelines. If you don’t, you may be subject to a range of actions, including limits of your buying and selling privileges, restrictions on listings and account features, suspension of your account, application of fees, and recovery of our expenses in policy monitoring and enforcement.
What are the guidelines?
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Allowed |
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Not allowed |
Some examples of activities that aren’t allowed include:
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How to tell if you’re buying or selling on eBay
The best way to tell if you’re actually transacting on eBay is:
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Open a new browser and type www.ebay.com.
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Click My eBay at the top of the page and sign in.
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Check to see that the listing you’ve bid on, bought, or sold appears in the Purchase History or Sell sections.
If your transaction doesn’t show up in My eBay, then you didn’t buy or sell the item on eBay.
Why does eBay have this policy?
Offers to buy or sell outside of eBay are a potential fraud risk for both buyers and sellers, and are not protected by the eBay Money Back Guarantee and other buyer protection programs. Additionally, these offers may be an attempt to avoid eBay fees. This is unfair to other sellers and violates our policies.
