Tempo Buyer Protection Policy

This is a preliminary policy. It will be reviewed by legal counsel before Tempo processes real transactions.

1. The Promise

Every purchase on Tempo is protected by escrow. When you buy a watch, your payment is held — not paid to the seller — until you receive the watch and confirm it's what you ordered, or your inspection window ends without an issue. If something is wrong, your money is still in escrow while we fix it.

2. What's Covered

This policy protects you if the watch you receive is:

• Inauthentic — counterfeit, a replica, or containing non-factory parts not disclosed in the listing;
• Not as described — condition, accessories, or details materially differ from the listing description and photos (for example: undisclosed wear or damage, a non-functioning clasp, a watch that needs service to run but wasn't described that way);
• Missing something promised — box, papers, warranty card, extra links, or service records that the listing said were included;
• The wrong item — a different watch than the one you purchased; or
• Never delivered — the package doesn't arrive (handled through the carrier-insurance path in Section 7).

What's not covered: change of mind (see the Tempo Return Policy for remorse returns), issues arising after delivery from wear, accident, or servicing, normal characteristics of a pre-owned watch that were accurately described, and watches altered in any way after delivery.

3. The Inspection Window

You have 72 hours from confirmed delivery to inspect your watch. Opening a dispute within that window pauses the escrow release until the dispute is resolved — there is no time pressure on you once a dispute is open. If the window passes with no dispute (and no return request under the Return Policy), the funds release to the seller and the order completes.

4. How to Open a Dispute

Open a dispute from your order page within the 72-hour window. Include a clear description of the issue and photographs showing it. We may request additional photos (dial, caseback, serial number, specific details) to evaluate the claim — providing them promptly keeps your case moving.

What to expect: a substantive response within 12 hours, a status update within 48 hours, and resolution typically within 5 days. Authenticity cases that require third-party authentication can take up to 14 days; we'll tell you at the 48-hour update if your case is on that track.

5. Authenticity Claims

If you believe your watch is counterfeit, we investigate in escalating steps: expert photo review against the original listing and reference data first, then a detailed photo review of specific components if needed. If the question still can't be resolved on photos and the value warrants it, Tempo facilitates third-party physical authentication:

• You pay the authentication fee upfront (typically $150–$400 depending on the watch);
• If the watch is confirmed counterfeit, you receive a full refund of the purchase price, shipping, and the authentication fee, and the seller is suspended;
• If the watch is confirmed authentic, you keep the watch and the authentication fee is yours to bear — it's the cost of certainty in a claim that didn't hold up.

Confirmed counterfeits are not returned to circulation: at our direction the watch may be provided to law enforcement, destroyed with proof, or returned to us. You may not resell a watch you reasonably believe is counterfeit, on Tempo or anywhere else.

6. Possible Outcomes

Tempo's resolution of a dispute may be: a full refund; a partial refund (you keep the watch, compensated for the documented issue); Tempo Credit (Tempo-funded compensation, used where the issue is genuinely ambiguous — see the Tempo Credit Terms); release to the seller (the claim isn't substantiated); or a request for more information before a final call.

Return shipping follows fault: if the seller materially misrepresented the watch, the seller pays return shipping; if the claim wasn't substantiated or reflects a change of mind, you do. Tempo's determinations on the disposition of escrowed funds are final as between buyer and seller. Nothing in this policy limits rights you have under applicable consumer protection law.

7. Non-Delivery

If tracking shows your package never arrived, the seller — as shipper of record on an insured shipment — files the carrier insurance claim, and we coordinate. If the carrier confirms the loss, the insurance recovery is passed through to you under the Seller Agreement. If carrier evidence clearly shows delivery to the wrong address (GPS scan, delivery photo), Tempo may refund you immediately from escrow without waiting for the claim to complete. If the carrier confirms delivery to your address, the claim is not covered as non-delivery.

8. Keep It On Platform

Don't accept off-platform resolutions (refunds via Venmo/PayPal/wire, side deals to drop a dispute). They void this policy's protections for that transaction, and they're a violation of the Terms of Service for both parties. If a seller proposes one, report it.

Chargebacks: filing a card chargeback instead of using this process doesn't get you more protection — it usually gets you less, slower. If you file a chargeback during an active Tempo dispute, the Tempo dispute pauses until the chargeback resolves.

9. What This Means for Sellers

A dispute resolved against a seller can mean a reduced or cancelled payout, responsibility for return shipping, a strike on the seller's account under the Seller Agreement, and — for confirmed counterfeits or fraud — immediate suspension and referral to law enforcement. Sellers who believe a determination was made in error may request review through support.

10. Questions

admin@tempo-watches.com