# BEWARE: Fake Tag Heuer Models on eBay WITH Paperwork



## exelonman (Apr 10, 2010)

Here is an example of a Tag Heuer WAY2012 that I purchased on eBay and it turned out to be fake.

It came with matching paperwork that was faked which is quite scary when considering purchasing a watch from the secondary market.

You can tell the difference against the real thing.....dial color is off, magnification of date is off, color and size of bezel numbers are off, size of pearl is off, and caseback is thicker in profile.

The fake one has the hangtag on it.


----------



## yankeexpress (Apr 7, 2013)

IBTL

What else is new?


----------



## Michael Day (Feb 19, 2016)

Wow that's a pretty good fake. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## lightingball2 (Jan 12, 2014)

Why I don’t bye from the gray market. And why I work for an AD that sells Tags!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sapphire44 (May 20, 2018)

I feel honored my TAG is cool enough to be faked, the local Jared in Clearwater FL. Is a AD. ...."She went to Jared " 🙂


----------



## fastfras (Jul 23, 2014)

Thanks for the heads up... It's a pretty good looking counterfeit, very difficult to determine from a photo.


----------



## michelesanctis (Feb 1, 2018)

I have received one today in the UK.
Initially nothing struck me as fake (had a few Tags as well as other brands in my life as well as had a few super reps in my hands), but when I left the office I thought "hmm it's more like gunmetal blue sort of like blue SOHII".
I have checked photos of this model on Tag and other websites and they do appear to be blue rather than clearly grey markers on the bezel.


----------



## Bada Bing (Jun 9, 2018)

Wow - 

Do these fakes wear a serial #? If so are they all the same number? Any pics of the serial on the caseback?

Fingers crossed you purchased with PayPal and are protected, I’m still amazed at the quality of some of the fakes floating around.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## exelonman (Apr 10, 2010)

This is the scary part. They appear to have random serial numbers with matching paperwork. The hangtag is eerily similar to the real Tag Heuer paper tags with all numbers matching.

I could show you at least 5 sellers at this current time that have fake TH models listed on eBay that all have matching paperwork.

This is the not the first loser I have dealt with on eBay so the return process is proceeding.



Bada Bing said:


> Wow -
> 
> Do these fakes wear a serial #? If so are they all the same number? Any pics of the serial on the caseback?
> 
> ...


----------



## Gambba (Oct 30, 2014)

Dial seems to be the first easy give away as dial print is clearly not delicate like the genuine one.

I had said about the bracelet gaps, but upon looking again that’s just not the case, and it’s a rather good copy.

I think without your close up analysis most people would be none the wiser which was the fake, but side-by-side it’s the dial that gives it away with text print and texture.

Not easy to tell off of photos on eBay though, and hope you get your money back.


----------



## Mawgie (Mar 10, 2011)

exelonman, 

Thank you very much for posting this. I very recentlly won an auction for a very similar new grey market Tag Aquaracer on ebay two days ago. PM sent.


----------



## taipanbg (Apr 13, 2012)

How did you understood the watch is fake? I mean when you start doubts it is genuine


----------



## exelonman (Apr 10, 2010)

taipanbg said:


> How did you understood the watch is fake? I mean when you start doubts it is genuine


I learned the same way that the Secret Service educates their staff to spot fake US currency....you spend hours and hours examining the real thing

I buy and sell hundreds of watches per year and can normally spot replicas readily, but some of them that have fake parts added are more troubling.

The packaging on these replica Tag Heuer models is also a give away.


----------



## taipanbg (Apr 13, 2012)

Happily you found it and everything is okay. How trusted sellers sale such a replicas? Where did you found it? Maybe they bought on a kilo


----------



## exelonman (Apr 10, 2010)

Here we go again, the seller has relisted it under a new username.....https://www.ebay.com/itm/TAG-Heuer-...0&_sacat=14324&_nkw=tag+heuer&_from=R40&rt=nc


----------



## Mawgie (Mar 10, 2011)

exelonman,

That ebay link is already dead. Here is another, to a Seller I believe is suspect, from Bulgaria. New TH watches selling for hundreds less than the grey market price.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-TAG-HE...:g:k2YAAOSwi4dau2pc&_nkw=way201a.ba0927&rt=nc

I directly emailed him through the ebay system twice to ask whether his watches were replicas or true Tag Heuers. No response of any kind.

exelonman, Thanks for posting this thread.


----------



## taipanbg (Apr 13, 2012)

I am not playing like lawyer to the seller but , guys I'm also bulgarian. Keep in mind that we are not all selling or doing frauds 
And those one from the link is with warranty so may be is genuine.


----------



## MorbidSalmon00 (Mar 2, 2016)

If the price is too good to be true...

Always buy the seller first. Do reaserch on the seller. Exeloman for example seems to get positive reviews. I wouldn’t even think of buying from some anonymous source who won’t reply to questions.


----------



## Mawgie (Mar 10, 2011)

taipanbg, I meant no disrespect of any kind to Bulgaria. The only reason I mentioned the location of the Seller was because I believe that Seller is closing and opening new accounts, and it may be easier to keep tabs on the Seller knowing his/her location.


----------



## taipanbg (Apr 13, 2012)

Hm I saw a few such TH in bulgarian sells sites with papers and warranty from jomashop. Maybe the seller is selling in locally in Bulgaria. Does that mean jomashop may have fakes though


----------



## Qwin (Mar 23, 2013)

I've been thinking about buying a watch from eBay but I haven't pulled the trigger due the possibility of it being a fake. How does one normally prove that the watch is a fake to start the eBay return process? Any insights would be much appreciated.


----------



## imagwai (Feb 23, 2013)

Qwin said:


> I've been thinking about buying a watch from eBay but I haven't pulled the trigger due the possibility of it being a fake. How does one normally prove that the watch is a fake to start the eBay return process? Any insights would be much appreciated.


Ideally you never want it to get that far! Always do your research on both the watch (including asking for as many detailed pictures as you need, and posting them on the fake busters thread) and the seller before buying. As Tag Heuer is often faked, then you really only want to buy watches where the provenance can be proven, e.g. from a seller with excellent feedback who can provide evidence of being the original owner of the watch that he bought from an authorized dealer with matching paperwork, or from a pre-owned watch specialist with good references/feedback. What you don't want to do is buy a watch on the off-chance it's genuine, have it checked out, and then have to return it and try and get your money back. If you think you got a bargain, then this should be a red flag also.


----------



## mike70sk (Dec 15, 2013)

ebay should kick these sellers off, but there making good money off these thief's so they could care less about this!

why even mess around with ebay and returning replicas, go to an AD a demand a 25 percent discount, this is Tag were talking about its not Rolex. phone or email various Tag dealers in your country, the AD's have to move a lot of Tag product so if they don't give you a deal they will just dump it on the grey market, for not much more then cost, keep contacting AD's to until you think you got a fair deal for an authentic watch.

Someone brought up a good point, we assume jomashop watches are authentic, but how do we know for sure ?? not everyone sells 100 watches a year and study's the watch for hours on end like op.

I wonder how many people on the public forum are blissfully wearing replica submariners that they purchased as the real deal on ebay while looking down on us Tag owners.


----------



## gh0stleader (Oct 4, 2017)

Ugh... I've been grail hunting on the bay. Now, I might just stick to paying a little extra and getting from grey market.


----------



## Seb-85 (May 19, 2016)

Was looking to get an TH on Ebay but after reading this I won't pull the trigger especially because I'd have a hard time myself to spot if it's a fake once it would be my first Tag..... thanks for the heads up guys


----------



## sdotlow (Jul 15, 2018)

Alarming. I was just looking at batman Tags on Ebay. Yikes. 

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk


----------



## taipanbg (Apr 13, 2012)

Imagine for example company registered as legal entity in commercial register/company register. I would not choose name, let's say its Watchsell Ltd. This company makes income of 100-200- to 1mill month/year base. Do you think they have the opportunity, chance or whatsoever to check every item they receive into storage or warehouse before put in shops or online to sell/trade?! I seriouslly doubt it. Most of these legal entities are holding the business to amount of sells and avarage of income, nor the percentage of interest in the end of year. 
I've had some watches from grey market and indeed they go trough service on the first or second month for one or another reason. Most of the watches sold in the world are coming absolutely from the very same gray market. Beside the fact that most of watches are staying in the storage for years. Another example, I go to trustable and legitimate watchmaker in my country, gives him a nice Omega to maintan and service it. He told me the story how he service some Rolex which was brought to him. And the very same Rolly was with some counterfeit part inside, and the watch was with papers, service history etc.


----------



## Pimmsley (Jun 19, 2017)

Omg that is frightening, thanks for posting.
if these get sold closer to grey/retail, as used or as new price, the amount would be less suspicious and unfortunately fool more people... very troubling


----------



## mike70sk (Dec 15, 2013)

Im sure Jomashop wouldn't knowingly sell fakes, but how do we know one of there suppliers might slip in the occasional fake in, like say one time out of 100,


----------



## taipanbg (Apr 13, 2012)

That's what I mean. Before 4-5 years I bought a Breitling Colt from trustable seller in chrono24. I had issue with the watch (dropped down on a floor) got it to breitling service center. They told me, movement was not genuine breitling movement.  Was changed its genuine ETA but nor for this breitling as it was produced in Swiss.


----------



## gh0stleader (Oct 4, 2017)

taipanbg said:


> That's what I mean. Before 4-5 years I bought a Breitling Colt from trustable seller in chrono24. I had issue with the watch (dropped down on a floor) got it to breitling service center. They told me, movement was not genuine breitling movement.  Was changed its genuine ETA but nor for this breitling as it was produced in Swiss.


Honestly, it's stories like this that make willing to pay extra to an AD


----------



## imagwai (Feb 23, 2013)

hypehorology said:


> Unless the deal is so good that it's worth the risk
> 
> In all seriousness, Tag is one of those brands that I see one of the most fake copies of, not sure why but I guess it has to do with the market share and price point that make it appealing.


It's a well-known luxury brand name, that's why it's copied a lot. Probably not as much as Rolex though.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk


----------



## Skyjuice (Sep 7, 2018)

Thanks to the OP for highlighting it.


----------



## gh0stleader (Oct 4, 2017)

imagwai said:


> Ideally you never want it to get that far! Always do your research on both the watch (including asking for as many detailed pictures as you need, and posting them on the fake busters thread) and the seller before buying. As Tag Heuer is often faked, then you really only want to buy watches where the provenance can be proven, e.g. from a seller with excellent feedback who can provide evidence of being the original owner of the watch that he bought from an authorized dealer with matching paperwork, or from a pre-owned watch specialist with good references/feedback. What you don't want to do is buy a watch on the off-chance it's genuine, have it checked out, and then have to return it and try and get your money back. If you think you got a bargain, then this should be a red flag also.


Do you have a link to that thread?

I'm thinking about picking up a watch on ebay and wanna be able to go over this list.

TIA.


----------



## imagwai (Feb 23, 2013)

gh0stleader said:


> Do you have a link to that thread?
> 
> I'm thinking about picking up a watch on ebay and wanna be able to go over this list.
> 
> TIA.


It's a sticky topic in the Tag Heuer forum.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk


----------



## King_Neptune (Mar 3, 2015)

The bezel lume pips look different, one appears convex, or domed, and the other does not. It's hard to tell with pics if the other looks flat or concave. Also, the crown profiles look a bit dissimilar. The fake looks to have a crown with a slightly higher profile from the case than the genuine one, which seem to have the appearance of a slightly shorter crown. Does the font of the print on the hang tags match or is it different?


----------



## JuanPablo046 (Jan 18, 2015)

Sorry to hear and not very encouraging. Buyers protection worked out for you?


----------



## kerner (Dec 13, 2015)

Have you opened it up at all to see what kind of movement is in the fake? a close copy or obvious cheaper movement?


----------



## EsteCor (Apr 16, 2019)

Hello everyone and thank you for the valuable information.

The quality on these counterfeits is concerning.

I came across this counterfeit Tag WAY2012 and here are my observations:

1.- The dial looks perfect with the exception of some unpainted (minute) spots at the bottom of the "SWISS MADE" lettering (below the 6 o'clock marker)
2.- The diver on the back looks flat instead of "raised or 3d like" 
3.- The ETA markings and movement information (behind the mainspring) are laser-inscribed not stamped. Notice the microdots and laser "burn" marks.
4.- The case as you mentioned, is slightly thicker than the original.





























Let me know your thoughts...
EsteCor


----------



## EsteCor (Apr 16, 2019)

Kerner,
Here is the movement.









Scary Right?


----------



## Bso (Mar 7, 2019)

EsteCor said:


> Kerner,
> Here is the movement.
> 
> View attachment 14366587
> ...


What exactly is wrong with this movement?


----------



## arvinsign_nyc (May 23, 2016)

That engraved diver logo is one of the first things i check in Tag Heuer AR line when buying from eBay or online 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jjspyder (May 1, 2018)

Wow. Those fakes are shockingly good.


----------



## Acey (Apr 29, 2019)

I really cant see myself buying a Tag online. The most popular models have been "super-repped" and are basically a 1:1 rep aside from its movement. This doesn't help the re-sell value of the few tags that I have, however =/


----------



## jamesbiz (Sep 11, 2010)

oh hey  I know you, fellow ebayer. 

I've been seeing a lot of auctions lately of watches with boxes and paperwork, that look suspicious. Just a huge spat of them. All from sellers with only about 15 feedback. All are brand new, with the bracelets wrapped. All the auctions starting around $200. Is that what you bought?


----------



## jamesbiz (Sep 11, 2010)

oh, this is a year old thread... oops.


----------

