Hi James, first welcome to the Forum. The longer you stay the better you'll be informed.
First, replica sales is against law in NZ. He must have been stung so probably cannot sell anymore. I'd bet you'll never see him again.
Secondly, it's likely he was selling canal street quality panerai. Panerai watches are so easy to replicate. If you saw the sub being sub-par in quality then it's likely the panerai you saw was in similar quality. Why not venture into our TD here? You can buy super quality panerai for few hundred buck which would last nearly lifetime.