eBay Adds Watches from Luxury Brands to Authenticate Program

• eBay has finally added luxury watches to its authenticate program and covers more than 30 international brands.
• The e-commerce website will authenticate watches from top-rated sellers in the initial phase.
• The brands covered by the website include Breitling, Patek Philippe and more.

With many users receiving fake luxury watches off eBay, the e-commerce giant has finally decided to include luxury watches in its eBay Authenticate program. Prior to luxury watches being included, the program was open to premium handbags only.

eBay is set to include more than 30 brands from all over the world including Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet. Sellers who are able to successfully verify their products on the website will receive an “authenticity verified” badge. With some products on the website costing tens of thousands of dollars, there are many fraudulent sellers who give eBay a bad reputation.

7,000 watches will be verified during the first phase and another 10,000 watches in the coming weeks. The premium watches can range from $5000 to $50,000 in value and include both new and used watches. The Authenticate program will be open currently to top-rated sellers. The charges involved for verifying a product have not been revealed, but it is likely to be a hefty percentage considering handbags incur a 20 percent fee. It will also lead to an increase in prices as sellers will be looking to cover the costs incurred for verification by experts.

With counterfeits being readily available, many online shoppers would often turn to brick and mortar stores or watch experts for their purchases. eBay offering authentication makes online purchases for shoppers looking for premium watches secure.

While there may still be unverified sales on the platform that involve counterfeit watches, paying a premium using the Authenticate program will offer a secure means of purchasing your favorite premium watch. The addition of watches has been long overdue considering watches make up a large part of the website’s sales.

What do you think about the addition of luxury watches to the Authenticate program? Let us know in the comments below. Get instant updates on TechNadu’s Facebook page, or Twitter handle.