Online auction houses such as Ebay have a growing influence on the buying and selling of watches.  Purchasing a watch online can be a fun experience if handled with care and awareness of the risks.   Just like any transaction where you're unable to see the goods except through the eyes of the seller, buying online is a process fraught with danger for the unsuspecting.

Warranties

Many high end manufacturers do not honor warranties of watches purchased from dealers on the Internet.  This is to prevent gray market sales and to keep their distribution channels under control.  To this end, most manufacturers' web sites will warn you about purchasing watches from online sources.   Existing warranties for some manufacturers are also not transferable.

The safest way to buy any watch is from a reputable dealer for that brand.  This may mean a slightly higher price than from online dealers, but you get the peace of mind knowing your purchase and warranty is honored by the manufacturer.   Also the risk of unknowingly buying a counterfeit is negligible.

Buying from an Auction

When you come across the watch of your dreams on an online auction site there are several things you need to do before getting too excited.   Remember, all that you have to go by in evaluating the watch are:

1. Your knowledge of the watch in question.

2. The pictures the seller has posted.

3. The description of the watch he or she has provided.

4. The reputation of the seller (feedback percentage).

Before you purchase any watch online make sure you are comfortable with each of these areas.  Don't buy something with a wonderful description and pictures if the seller has a low feedback percentage.   If you know the pictures of the watch are from the manufacturers' web site be very wary of the seller.  Balance all the areas against common sense before you buy.

Your Knowledge

The purpose of this guide is to increase your general knowledge and awareness of the replicas on the market.  But you should also research and learn as much as you can about the genuine watch before you buy.  This means if possible visit your local dealer and get an opportunity to see the watch in person.   There's no real substitute for seeing the genuine watch and getting an chance to handle it.  Even if all you have to review are photographs your personal experiences with the watch will aid in your decision making process.

There are also many online resources to turn to in helping you evaluate a watch.  Never abuse the privilege by excessively posting auction listings to forums.   If you're sincere and request help many forums will provide you with their informal opinion on a listing.  Web forums like Timezone ( www.timezone.com) and Paneristi (www.paneristi.com) are well known hang outs for experts on particular watch brands.

Be familiar with the manufacturer's web site.  This means visit the site and dig into the information that's posted there.   Most manufacturers are light on information they post online.  They seem to feel its more important to have a flashy dynamic site than one that presents a list of features and data.  

Still these sites are wonderful tools to get an idea of the varieties of each model and to get a feel for the look of each watch.   Plus many pictures from the manufacturer's web site are stolen and reused as actual item pictures in auctions.  By being familiar with the manufacturer photographs (for example, Rolex always has their watches set to 10:10 and 30 seconds) you'll know what to look for.