How to Buy a Watch From a Dealer Safely

Most watch deals between dealers and their buyers go smoothly. The ones that don't usually go wrong in the same few ways: a fake or altered watch, a stolen watch, a seller who never ships, or money sent to the wrong bank account. Every one of these is preventable with a simple process.

This checklist works whether you're a collector buying from a dealer or a dealer buying from another dealer. Follow it on every deal, especially the ones that feel too easy.

The risks you're protecting against

• Counterfeit or "frankenwatches": fakes, or genuine watches with aftermarket dials, bezels, movements or bracelets.
• Stolen watches: genuine, but not the seller's to sell. If police recover it, you lose the watch and the money.
• Misdescribed condition or set: polished when described as unpolished, missing links, papers that don't match.
• Non-delivery: you pay, the watch never comes.
• Payment fraud: you pay the right person's name to the wrong account. Fraudsters hack or imitate email and chat accounts and send "updated" bank details mid-deal. Across all industries, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center logged 24,768 business email compromise complaints with over $3 billion in reported losses in 2025 alone.^[1]

Step 1: Verify the seller

Check who you're dealing with before you look at a single photo.

• Is it a real business? A registered company name, a business address, a website and social accounts that match, and a history going back more than a few months.
• Who vouches for them? Ask dealers and collectors you already trust. In the trade this is called a reference check, and it's normal to ask.
• Is the identity consistent? Same name, same company and the same contact details everywhere. Be wary of new accounts, recently changed names and people who only want to talk in private messages.
• How do they handle questions? Reputable dealers answer clearly, send extra photos and put things in writing without complaint.

Step 2: Verify the watch

• Ask for fresh photos and video, in daylight, including the dial, caseback, clasp, bracelet links, papers and box. A short video of the watch running and the crown being operated shows more than any photo.
• Match the details. Reference, serial and dates should agree across the watch, the papers or warranty card, and the listing.
• Run the serial. Check it against a stolen-watch database. The Watch Register, for example, lists more than 100,000 lost and stolen watches.^[3]
• Ask about originality directly: "Are any parts aftermarket or replaced: dial, hands, bezel, bracelet, crystal, diamonds?" Get the answer in writing.
• Check service history. A recent service from the brand or a qualified watchmaker is worth knowing about, and so is one that's overdue.
• For high-value pieces, use an independent inspection. A watchmaker or a trusted third party can open the case, check the movement and confirm authenticity before the deal closes.

Step 3: Agree the terms in writing

Before any money moves, agree and write down:

• the price and currency, and exactly what's included (box, papers, links, tags);
• condition and any disclosed issues or aftermarket parts;
• shipping: who pays, carrier, insured value, signature required;
• when payment is due and when the watch ships;
• what happens if the watch arrives not as described: how long you have to report it and how a return works.

A message thread can work, but an invoice that lists the watch, the terms and the payment details is better. It protects both sides.

Step 4: Pay safely

This is where the most money is lost.

1. Know what's reversible. Wires and crypto are fast and cheap, which is why dealers use them, but they're very hard to reverse. The FTC compares wiring money to sending cash: once it's gone, you usually can't get it back.^[2]
2. Pay the business, by name. The account holder should match the dealer's business (or the person you verified). A personal account, a different company or an overseas account you didn't expect is a reason to stop.
3. Confirm the details by voice. Call the dealer on a phone number you already had, not one in the message with the bank details, and read the account details back.
4. Never act on "changed" bank details sent by message. This is the classic fraud. A real dealer will understand why you're calling to confirm.
5. For a new relationship, start smaller, or make a small test payment and confirm it arrived before sending the rest.
6. Keep proof: payment confirmations, the agreed terms and every message.

On Soda, once a deal is agreed, both sides see each other's secure, verified payment details inside the deal page, and only there. To change them, the account owner has to confirm the change first (by email link or text code), and the dealers they're trading with are told. Payment details are never meant to travel through chat.

Step 5: Shipping and receiving

• Insist on fully insured shipping with a signature, and get the tracking number the day it ships.
• Ask for packing photos or video from the seller.
• Unbox on video, in one take, from sealed parcel to watch in hand.
• Inspect the same day: condition, set contents, links, serial, and that it runs. Report any problem immediately, in writing.

Red flags

Walk away, or slow right down, if you see:

• a price well below what the watch really trades for;
• pressure to pay now ("another buyer is ready");
• payment to a personal account, a different name or a new country;
• bank details that "changed" mid-deal;
• refusal to send extra photos, a video or the serial;
• a new or recently renamed account with no history;
• vague answers about where the watch came from.

If something goes wrong

1. Call your bank immediately. Ask them to recall or freeze the payment. Speed matters.
2. Report it. In the US: the FBI's IC3 (ic3.gov) and the FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov). Elsewhere: your local police and national fraud reporting centre.
3. Report a stolen watch to a stolen-watch register so it's flagged if it resurfaces.
4. Keep everything: messages, invoices, payment records and tracking.

The bottom line

Buying safely from a watch dealer comes down to process: verify the seller, verify the watch, put the terms in writing, confirm payment details by voice, and inspect on arrival. Most bad deals skip one of those steps.

Next, see how watch dealers source inventory, or start with how to become a watch dealer.

Trade with verified dealers on Soda

Soda was built around these risks. Every business is verified before it can trade. Every profile shows a real track record. Deals are binding with Mark as Sold, payment details are shared only inside the deal, and backing out can lead to a strike. See all features, then apply for access or book a demo.