On July 10th, 2024 in Vienna, aBlogtoWatch co-hosted an event with eBay to celebrate the importance of the major online marketplace platform for the watch enthusiast community. Timepiece lovers, collectors, and dealers gathered at the stunning 15th-floor Juwel Wien private venue for an evening of good conversation and #RareFinds watches. aBlogtoWatch founder Ariel Adams was on the scene and spoke about his 20-year-plus experience with eBay, along with fellow watch media personality and collector Kristian Haagen, from Denmark.
After a hugely successful rollout in the United States, eBay continues to expand its Authenticity Guarantee buyer safety service to more parts of the European region. Currently, eBay Authenticity Guarantee is available for buyers in the United Kingdom and Germany. The Vienna Rare Finds Watches event included a presentation from eBay Germany’s (currently the largest European market for watch purchases) head of luxury, Julia Verpoorten. She explained the nuances of eBay Authenticity Guarantee, and how, at no cost to the consumer, all watches priced at 1,800 Euros and up are individually checked at eBay’s verification facility in Berlin.
eBay just opened the Authenticity Guarantee service to sellers from various EU countries, including Austria. Now, eBay buyers in Germany can access a wider variety of watches from sellers in a host of countries and will benefit from the Authenticity Guarantee service. eBay Germany Luxury Category Lead Julia Verpoorten spoke at the July 10th event in Vienna and stated, “The positive response from our buyers and sellers since the introduction of Authenticity Guarantee has been overwhelming and reinforces our decision that the market needed this program.” The program checks each watch to make sure it is authentic and matches the description page. This is the highest standard of buyer assurance services available on a marketplace platform – demonstrating that eBay continues to offer class-leading solutions and services.
eBay also has a deep commitment to interacting with the culture of its major category channels, including luxury timepieces. More than just a major marketplace, in both the United States and Europe, eBay takes a customer-centric approach to refining its platform. This is a win for customers who want a platform like eBay to serve the needs of dedicated enthusiasts and collectors, as much as lay consumers. The aBlogtoWatch team continues to be impressed and excited about the close relationship between eBay and seasoned watch enthusiasts around the world.
Ariel Adams of aBlogtoWatch suggested at the event in Austria that eBay is more than just a place to buy and sell watches — it is actually an important part of watch collecting culture today. Both he and Kristian Haagen developed their skills and knowledge as watch collectors largely because of eBay’s ability to expose them to many brands, products, and information in a single place. eBay is responsible for helping to create the modern backbone of information and availability for watches online today. eBay allows enthusiasts to browse and educate themselves as much as it allows them to buy and sell items. This gives eBay a very special relationship with the watch collector community – including many other collector communities out there. More recent additions to the eBay experience such as Authenticity Guarantee simply make a good tool for collecting even better.
Vienna is an excellent city to host a watch appreciation event because of the region’s historical importance to the horological art form and hobby. For hundreds of years, Vienna’s acclaimed elites have commissioned masterful clockwork machines, many of which still exist in Vienna’s many prestigious museums (including at least one dedicated clock museum of course). From portable sundials produced in the 1500s to elaborate and complicated clocks and calendars made well into the 20th century, Viennese locals have been among the world’s most important patrons of luxury timekeeping. Today, the city incorporates stores carrying nearly all of the world’s most important watch brands, and the local population includes highly sophisticated collectors and those passionate about the watches of today and yesterday. Ariel Adams and the aBlogtoWatch team were absolutely delighted to be exposed to Vienna’s incredible horological history and contemporary interest in wristwatches.
aBlogtoWatch and the larger wristwatch enthusiast community offer thanks and appreciation to eBay and their dedicated team for the impactful and fun recent event in Vienna. Go here to learn more about eBay Authenticity Guarantee in the USA, here for eBay Authenticity Guarantee in the United Kingdom, and here for eBay Authenticity Guarantee in Germany.
