Launching the Relleb Marketplace

We proudly hereby announce that we are launching our own Relleb Marketplace! After the launch of our Relleb website, we have had loads of contact forms from watch collectors around the world asking us to help them safely buying a watch online. Fake and incorrect watches is a (unfortunately) common problem haunting to the pre-owned watch market. Forums are full of people debating about this problem and tons of collectors around the world have expressed their worries with regards to the available marketplaces out there. The feedback over the past months has been tremendous (many thanks for that!!) and that is exactly the reason why we are launching our own marketplace. We are ready to provide everybody in the watch community the option to buy and sell watches safely online.

Why was Relleb founded anyway?

We have launched our initial Relleb website, where we offered authentication support for watch collectors around the world, in June 2020. The basic principle consisted of supporting collectors in safely buying a watch online by authenticating these watches bought online. The idea was born when I bought my first pre-owned vintage watch in September 2019. Only the idea of possibly buying a fake or incorrect watch while splurging my two year savings would give me sleepless nights. After reading forums on the internet and reading closely through the current marketplace terms and conditions (e.g. eBay and Chrono24) opened my eyes to the risks current watch collectors are exposed.

More than 10 years of experience at Deloitte as a Dutch registered CPA makes me an expert in providing assurance. And since I strongly believed buying a watch online could and should be different, I launched Relleb.com together with Marcel. We were ready to help prevent other watch collectors around the world buying fake or incorrect watches.

Why are current marketplaces not sufficient?

The current marketplaces and most dealers do provide some sort of safe checkout options with for example an escrow service and money back guarantees if the watch is fake. But fake and incorrect watches are still traded to an unknown number of buyers on a daily basis - as watches sold online are often not authenticated at all, or by an independent party. Just start a search on Google or YouTube about fake watches or ask a regular authorised dealer and he or she will confirm to have encountered fake watches bought online on a weekly basis. The problem lies within the fact that spotting a fake is just too difficult for the untrained eye and can only be done by hand to be a 100% sure. On top of that, authorised dealers are not really helpful checking if a watch is correct as well.

We have a special blog focusing on the risks for buying a watch on Chrono24 (click here) and a blog about all available options including eBay and Catawiki (click here).

Fake watches are getting more and more convincing

Fake and incorrect watches are getting more and more convincing, and thus more difficult to distinguish forom a real watch. The reason why increasingly better fakes are flooding the watch market, is driven by the big bucks that can be made by crooks on the pre-owned watch market. Buyers think they score a good deal, but end up buying a fake watch only to discover it after 5 years when they hand it in for service…

What is Relleb doing differently?

All watches bought through the Relleb webshop will be authenticated by hand by our experienced watchmakers in our Relleb Authentication Center in Amsterdam. During the authentication process the watchmaker will make pictures, videos and write a report on all authentication steps performed. The whole process will be documented and kept safe in a digital file. If the watch is correct, the authentication report and a certificate for authentication will be complemented with the watch and send to the customer. In case a watch is incorrect or fake, the customer receives all his money back. Relleb takes care of reporting the seller to the right authorities. No risk for the buyer.

We believe in a better online experience for watch collectors, and safe online buying for everyone. Buying a watch is an emotional event and marks a great moment for every collector. In our experience, buying a watch online is currently not even close to the experience at an authorised dealer. Since we are watch collectors ourselves, we know what your concerns are and feel the obligation to make the whole journey a pleasant and joyful ride. Just try us out…

When are you a watch collector?

Every watch collection starts with one watch. So even if you have one watch, you are a watch collector!

For Collectors, By Collectors 

This is our slogan. Marcel and I are true watch enthusiast and watch collectors. We founded Relleb as we believe safe online buying of watches should be available for everyone around the world. We are ready to truly change selling and buying watches online and we sincerely hope you will all enjoy the ride as much as we do already! 

If you have any remaining questions, or if you want to get in touch so we can help you safely purchase a watch, then feel free to reach out to us!

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