chrono24 - private seller from germany

[taz11]

Hi all just wanted some advice if anyone has bought of any private sellers in germany. As its my first time i am using chrono24 im not sure about private sellers.. any experience suggestions would be helpful.

thanks

Taz

[logan2z]

I purchased a Sinn 156 Military from a private seller in Germany a year or so ago and it went flawlessly.

My (limited) experience with chrono24 thus far has been that private sellers are much better to deal with than the so-called 'trusted sellers' who advertise on the site. Most of the latter either a) don't bother to reply to inquiries b) respond with 'the watch has been sold' or c) are grossly overpriced.

On chrono24, as everywhere, buy the seller. Get good photos (with the watch set to a time you request, although chrono24 already does something like this for private sellers), speak to the seller if possible, and go with your gut feeling. If anything seems 'off' then move on. Finally, pay with PayPal or some other payment service that provides buyer protection.

Good luck.

[flugzeit]

I live in Germany, although I'm an Aussie. Over the years I've done a lot of deals on Chrono24... both buying and selling... all without any trouble. The structure of Chrono24 has changed a lot in recent years and the current structure favours dealers over private sellers, but this is based entirely on the structure of payments and means that a lot of private sellers have dropped out of it as a platform. My feeling is that any private sellers that show up are likely to be serious sellers... although as the post, above, suggests (and in all situations, IMO) you should "buy the seller".

-flugzeit

[DB9yeti]

My (limited) experience with chrono24 thus far has been that private sellers are much better to deal with than the so-called 'trusted sellers' who advertise on the site. Most of the latter either a) don't bother to reply to inquiries b) respond with 'the watch has been sold' or c) are grossly overpriced.

My experience is a) they always respond b) it's always available c) prices are way better than the UK.

Perhaps you're lowballing them? Who knows.

Private sellers on the other hand either don't reply and one guy in Switzerland tried to sell me a mis-described Day-Date.

Funny old world eh?

[DB9yeti]

although as the post, above, suggests (and in all situations, IMO) you should "buy the seller".

-flugzeit

No arguing with that!

[logan2z]

My experience is a) they always respond b) it's always available c) prices are way better than the UK.

Lucky you, my experience has been quite the opposite. And I'm not specifically referring to German sellers, but 'trusted sellers' in general.

Perhaps you're lowballing them?

I'm talking asking prices.

[James.uk]

I responded to a Breitling for sale a few days ago, as soon as I had sent the email the advert was removed. Seemed odd so I asked lots of questions.. Seller was in London although it was not listed as such. When I suggested a meeting the conversation went cold.... Never had another reply. I assume it was a fake or stolen. Be careful.

[midgetda]

First post on here (although have been a member on Pistonheads for years under a different user name, spending a fair amount of time in the watch forum).

I would echo the comments above. I have only purchased once via Chrono24 but didn't just go for the absolute cheapest option when buying (bought new so condition wasn't a factor). I actually looked at a few potential sellers on and off and decided not to proceed as it didn't "feel" right. Ended up purchasing via a dealer in Italy with a bricks and mortar shop that allowed credit card transactions which gave me peace of mind. Do your due diligence and only proceed if you are 100% comfortable doing so.

[Dave+63]

I once bought of a German private seller and had absolutely no problems. In fact the watch was far better than described.

There are good honest sellers on chrono 24 but there are also crooks. Be careful and do as much homework as you can.

[Wolfie]

I think you're getting the picture here OP... i spent a good whack with German seller via Chrono24, he had the very same watch on eBay too.., did a bit of Internet research, sent the money via PP, and received a lovley watch... It's not too tricky in all honesty if you do your homework...

[vekslak]

there is no relevant feedback system on chrono24 so I would never buy there especially from a private seller but I am probably being overcautious..

[DB9yeti]

Lucky you, my experience has been quite the opposite. And I'm not specifically referring to German sellers, but 'trusted sellers' in general.

I'm talking asking prices.

So you're offering them prices that you already consider to be 'grossly overpriced'?

[daveyw]

Don't worry about it, he's German, it's sure to fine.
Auf weidersen

[pluseditor]

I have thought about flying out to the Netherlands to view and possibly buy a Seadweller recently. What with the improved sterling/euro exchange rate and the availability of cheap flights, it seems financially viable plus you get to examine the watch and possibly have a bit of a haggle face to face.
Any problems anyone can envisage, I would be happy to hear.

[Uriel]

Bought a Sinn UK last year. Perfectly happy with the way it went.

[taz11]

update

the seller got back to me saying there was an issue with his paypal account and the fees and if i could bank transfer instead.. So i emailed back to say I will pay for the fees and postage but it has to be through paypal and now the seller has gone cold.

[flugzeit]

update

the seller got back to me saying there was an issue with his paypal account and the fees and if i could bank transfer instead.. So i emailed back to say I will pay for the fees and postage but it has to be through paypal and now the seller has gone cold.

Sounds like you're doing all the right things. A lot of people in Germany don't have PayPal or don't use it often... so it could be down to that.

Also, PayPal has changed their fee structures a lot recently... in particular there are now much higher fees for:
- cross-border transactions
- transactions involving a currency exchange
- and both of the above are effected with additional charges if your funds are not part of you PayPal balance but come from bank account or credit card

It might be that what you thought you'd transferred to the could be different from what you both expected.

-flugzeit

[PJ S]

Paypal fees are still 3.4%, and the sender of funds still has the option to use PP or his card provider/bank's exchange rate to convert into the recipient's currency.
None of that impacts on the seller, and the ruse of "something wrong with PP account" would certainly have me being very apprehensive about proceeding.

@taz11 – If your seller's English is good, then offer to go the escrow route with the likes of Transpact. It'll be less expensive than PP, and allows you both to agree the terms of the deal, insofar as how long you have to inspect the item before the funds are automatically released.

[flugzeit]

Paypal fees are still 3.4%, and the sender of funds still has the option to use PP or his card provider/bank's exchange rate to convert into the recipient's currency. [...]

Correct. But I think you'll find with a currency conversion (e.g. GBP > EUR) and not using a PP balance that additional charges will go on the 3.4%. I did a PayPal transfer, AUD to EUR from bank account, last week and the total fees came to almost 7.5%. When I queried PayPal they pointed me to changes in the fee structure. ;-)

-flugzeit

[markrlondon]

offer to go the escrow route with the likes of Transpact.

Have you used this route? What was it like?

[taz11]

i have seen the same watch with a trusted seller from greece and accept paypal..daft question they are in eu do i pay in custom charges??

[markrlondon]

daft question they are in eu do i pay in custom charges??

No Customs charges inside the EU.

Hurry up while Greece is still in the EU though. ;-)

[taz11]

thanks for your advice guys

[PJ S]

Correct. But I think you'll find with a currency conversion (e.g. GBP > EUR) and not using a PP balance that additional charges will go on the 3.4%. I did a PayPal transfer, AUD to EUR from bank account, last week and the total fees came to almost 7.5%. When I queried PayPal they pointed me to changes in the fee structure. ;-)

Of course you'll pay more if you allow PP to decide the exchange rate – that was my point. Your card provider (if that's the only option to switch the exchange rate) will often provide a much better rate than PP does, so all that happens is that PP bills your card provider (or bank account) for the amount in whatever the recipient's currency is, and your statement will show what the amount was in local currency or a separate fee for the conversion.
As such, the recipient receives the agreed amount, assuming you've added on PP's 3.4% fee.

Have you used this route? What was it like?

Haven't yet Mark, but I did speak with them specifically about watches, given the possibility for dispute over authenticity, and value of such items – they have no prohibitive policy in that regard, and have been used for doing deals with artwork, without any problems.
I offered it as one possible solution for tax's situation, but the "gone cold" aspect of the comms, and the PP account not working (why the hell would it ever be faulty?) suggests all is not as it seems on this item or seller.

[markrlondon]

Haven't yet Mark, but I did speak with them specifically about watches, given the possibility for dispute over authenticity, and value of such items – they have no prohibitive policy in that regard, and have been used for doing deals with artwork, without any problems.

Thanks. Reliable escrow is potentially useful.

[logan2z]

update

the seller got back to me saying there was an issue with his paypal account and the fees and if i could bank transfer instead.. So i emailed back to say I will pay for the fees and postage but it has to be through paypal and now the seller has gone cold.

Time to walk away.

[flugzeit]

Of course you'll pay more if you allow PP to decide the exchange rate – that was my point.

Actually, I wasn't referring to the currency conversion at all. Its clear that there is a margin for PP on the currency conversion. I was referring to the fixed fees, cross-border charges, and additional non-balances fees (link). Maybe UK to Germany has a different regime... but I know there are now many new fees for PP depending the transaction you are trying to do.

-flugzeit

[Dave+63]

If I was selling anything and the buyer suggested escrow, I'd run a mile!

It was the preferred scam on eBay for a long time.