How the secret eBay watch monopoly ruined Christmas

This story would make a terrible holiday TV special, and wasn't much better in real life

12/27/2013 | ConsumerAffairs

I hope your Christmas was less aggravating than mine. While you were presumably basking in the benefits of Santa's largesse, I spent the week trying and failing to buy my niece a Christmas present from a recalcitrant Chinese watch-seller on eBay.

Which, by itself, wouldn't be worth mentioning - but when I tried taking my business to a different seller, I discovered that multiple "different" watch manufacturers and peddlers on eBay are fronts for the same seller.

eBay did not respond to a ConsumerAffairs request for comment on this story.

Here's what happened: I own a mechanical-skeleton-watch necklace, a piece of jewelry that looks like a little glass sphere from a distance but is actually a windup watch with its brass gears and internal workings all visible inside the glass. I bought it from a Chinese seller on eBay a couple of years ago; it looks like a Victorian antique but is actually modern and mass-produced, and identical watch necklaces are readily found on eBay for well under $20.

When I wore mine while visiting my sibling a few months ago, my 8-year-old niece was absolutely fascinated by the watch. Between that and how inexpensively they're listed on eBay, I figured buying her a similar necklace for Christmas was a no-brainer, right?

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