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Instant buyer's remorse after 1st Rep purchase

baltalemule

You're Saying I Can Sell?
13/4/18
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Is this a thing? I just pulled the trigger on a Rolex GMT 1675 with a TD. The transaction was fine, Western Union, though a little too cloak and dagger for my taste. QC pics looked ok. I accepted though lume color didn't all match like in the website. (is this a sin around these parts?) It was like I didn't care and just wanted to get the transaction over with. This is really the only watch I have truly considered a grail, but no way in hell I was ever going to pay $10-15K for a watch. I have an old Gallet Multichron 12 with 72 Valjoux movement that I love, but it quickly became a safe queen. I just don't feel right wearing something old and fragile that cost me more than I paid for my first car. I figured, for very little money I could get my hands on a facsimile of my grail without a worry about what happened to the watch. I would keep it in a watch box, wear it while walking the dog, and put it back in the box. Maybe I would try to add a little patina for kicks.

I had been torn between Rep, Tiger Concept homage, and Steinhart's new 39mm Pepsi GMT. I went with this for the sake of having something as close as possible to the real thing for a price I could stomach ($250). Though it will be some weeks (months?) until I receive the watch I already feel a little sick about it. Not sure why. I am certainly not anti-rep, and actually really appreciate what I am seeing from the rep community, especially the artistry of prematurely aging watches and the attention to detail. I may feel super excited about my purchase after I get my hands on the watch, and it may drive me to amass a collection of reps. Don't know.

My question is, did anyone else feel similarly right after purchase, and before receiving their first rep? I know I'm really exposing myself for discussing feelings and junk, and maybe this isn't buyer's remorse at all and rather just regret about not rejecting the QC until the TD came back with a watch with matching lume. It could be that I am just bummed that I can't have the watch right now and will have to wait a while. Or maybe the non-Amazon-like buying experience feels a little odd to me.

Call me a sissy if you must. I can take it. Share your experience if you are cool with doing so.
 

kilowattore

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These watches come with 2 lume colours afaik: either orange or white. There really isn't much QC to do with them as they're pretty basic reps, mostly good base for modding or to be worn without much thinking.

Regardless, Be it a super rep or any other rep, after a few years in the hobby my only feeling when I order a watch is still the urge to receive it :)
 

gigi77

I'm Pretty Popular
3/8/17
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Buyer remores is something that do happen from time to time, nothing to worry ;)

Be glad it happened on something that cheap!
 

Bokthoi

Active Member
4/9/17
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I can’t say I’ve felt buyers remorse with reps, I think its due to the amount of reading and research you put into it before choosing one. That you know what to expect versus shelling out 1000s for a gen.
 
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JOP

Renowned Member
30/1/17
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I always have remorse about the size or the paint scheme while i am waiting my watch to arrive. Never remorse after have it.
I 'm sure that if i have to pay 1000s i will never complete any purchase or i will break the balls of the seller..
In 2003 and 2004, i give 2x 300€ to order a multistrada (moto). I was cancel both times without refund..

what can i say, its a materialistic world, some remorses sound healthy if you are free enough..
 

Rx4Time

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There's always a little worry...will it look as good in person, how will the build quality be, etc. I've found that after receipt I've not been let down. If the lume bothers you, there are a couple of modders who can relume it. Odds are you'll be pleased after receipt, and if not, sell it in m2m and try a different model.
 
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baltalemule

You're Saying I Can Sell?
13/4/18
64
27
0
There's always a little worry...will it look as good in person, how will the build quality be, etc. I've found that after receipt I've not been let down. If the lume bothers you, there are a couple of modders who can relume it. Odds are you'll be pleased after receipt, and if not, sell it in m2m and try a different model.

I think you're right. I've pretty much always felt a bit of uncertainty upon purchasing any watch online. Even the most ordinary cheapy Seiko 5s exceeded my expectations when I received them. I guess I have a little worry that it is going to be a lemon or like one of those $5 replicas you hear about. There's a bit of faith required with the first purchase. Now, the risk lies in receiving a watch that is too nice because that will likely mean other watches will follow.
 

Rx4Time

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I think you're right. I've pretty much always felt a bit of uncertainty upon purchasing any watch online. Even the most ordinary cheapy Seiko 5s exceeded my expectations when I received them. I guess I have a little worry that it is going to be a lemon or like one of those $5 replicas you hear about. There's a bit of faith required with the first purchase. Now, the risk lies in receiving a watch that is too nice because that will likely mean other watches will follow.

LoL. Prepare your wallet...these are nothing like the dhgate specials you hear about. Post pictures when you get it!
 

trailboss99

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ooo! A multichron! :drool:
 

GingerBubba

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I've never experienced buyer's remorse in the sense of 'why did I buy that particular watch', but certainly for about my first ten rep purchases, I felt anxious about the process - worried I might be scammed totally (probably only for the first purchase), thereafter worrying that I might get a substandard/non-working/reject watch - and I did have crappy luck with a lot of my early watches; I seemed to have an unlucky run of DOA purchases.

I think when I got the amazing watch that is the ARF SD43, I finally relaxed a bit and now I'm super chilled - I now buy all my watches wholesale, have them all sent with the cheapest airmail option and things are going swimmingly, no concerns. I hope you get a beaut and that you become as enamored with this great hobby as I am!
 
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baltalemule

You're Saying I Can Sell?
13/4/18
64
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I've never experienced buyer's remorse in the sense of 'why did I buy that particular watch', but certainly for about my first ten rep purchases, I felt anxious about the process - worried I might be scammed totally (probably only for the first purchase), thereafter worrying that I might get a substandard/non-working/reject watch - and I did have crappy luck with a lot of my early watches; I seemed to have an unlucky run of DOA purchases.

I think when I got the amazing watch that is the ARF SD43, I finally relaxed a bit and now I'm super chilled - I now buy all my watches wholesale, have them all sent with the cheapest airmail option and things are going swimmingly, no concerns. I hope you get a beaut and that you become as enamored with this great hobby as I am!

Thanks for the encouragement. The whole scam concern is probably a big part of it for me too. It will be a long while before I see the watch, but I'll post it to this thread when I eventually have it in hand.
 

jennyleee

You're Saying I Can Sell?
6/4/18
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0
It has been similar experience for me, having to reject after seeing QC photos three times, before landing on one that I settled for minor flaws. At that point I didn't even know if I could back out, or keep asking to see more samples!
 

xray7

Renowned Member
1/4/18
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The transaction was fine, Western Union, though a little too cloak and dagger for my taste. QC pics looked ok. I accepted though lume color didn't all match like in the website.

If you have limited experience in cloak and dagger, then this part may be jarring. I've been paying for, ahem, unusual things via methods such as WU since I was about 15, so this is all rather pedestrian to me at this point. If this was your first outing, it isn't unreasonable to feel a little odd about it.

I had been torn between Rep, Tiger Concept homage, and Steinhart's new 39mm Pepsi GMT. I went with this for the sake of having something as close as possible to the real thing for a price I could stomach ($250).

Good choices. I would've skipped the Tiger myself these days but if you'd asked me a few years ago, would've been in the running in that lot. We've got a few Steinharts at my place, what you're likely to quickly learn is that the homage doesn't scratch the itch you've got.

Though it will be some weeks (months?) until I receive the watch I already feel a little sick about it. Not sure why. I am certainly not anti-rep, and actually really appreciate what I am seeing from the rep community, especially the artistry of prematurely aging watches and the attention to detail. I may feel super excited about my purchase after I get my hands on the watch, and it may drive me to amass a collection of reps. Don't know.

You're dealing with uncertainty and asking yourself what it was that you were trying to buy - the name, the exact aesthetic? This may be the start of a hobby or it may simply be a question of getting the watch which scratched a particular itch.

My question is, did anyone else feel similarly right after purchase, and before receiving their first rep?

Can't speak for anyone else, but I absolutely did.

Or maybe the non-Amazon-like buying experience feels a little odd to me.

Buying products which are not available on Amazon et al is the bain of my existence but you may well find yourself enjoying it more as you go along.

Share your experience if you are cool with doing so.

14-15 year old me not long after the turn of the millenium trusted a guy met via Yahoo Auctions in another state in Australia to source a day-date from China, in between buying packs of smokes, butterfly knives and the like online, precocious troublemaking unsupervised child I was. The word "replica" hadn't yet entered my vocabulary, and I had no idea where to source them. Paid for things via money order, either Australia Post money orders or Western Union money orders you could buy at the post office for international purchases. So I ordered and paid up frontm he was only a couple of years my senior. No pictures at all, much less QC. Stressed out for weeks until he told me it had arrived and he posted it on to me. He no doubt did very well out of it, I wouldn't have the faintest idea what movement it was and the steel had a particularly unpleasant scent to it, so I'm betting it wasn't 904L, and it gave up within a day or two's wear. These days, and with the direct access you're enjoying to your vendor, things have changed. If you don't like it, re-sell it here. Just that simple.
 

baltalemule

You're Saying I Can Sell?
13/4/18
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precocious troublemaking unsupervised child I was.

Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed your response. Man, I am so glad the internet didn't exist when I was a child otherwise I am certain that instead of X-Ray glasses and other random back of the comic book offerings I would've gotten in a lot of trouble going after more "exotic" offerings.
 

gigi77

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Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed your response. Man, I am so glad the internet didn't exist when I was a child otherwise I am certain that instead of X-Ray glasses and other random back of the comic book offerings I would've gotten in a lot of trouble going after more "exotic" offerings.

Are you italian btw? :)
Or were those lastpageofthecomicbook offering present in other countries? :)
 

xray7

Renowned Member
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Are you italian btw? :)
Or were those lastpageofthecomicbook offering present in other countries? :)

That prompts a couple of memories...

Can't speak for OP but ads in the back of things were very much a source of intrigue in Australia still in the late 90s. I wrote away for dog tags in the back of an American comic book when I was about 11 from Australia and got nowhere.

The BB gun, knife and paintball slingshot selling business in another state of Australia which I wrote away to in the back of a slightly "blue" magazine when I was 12, however, led to an enduring business relationship of quite a few years standing. I've just looked at their website and they still sell the same plastic shoulder rig I bought all those years ago to carry a BB gun which, had I ever been caught with it, would've seen me charged with possessing a real handgun in my home state.

Getting access to the internet after the turn of the millenium led to something else entirerly. Ordered a butterfly knife from the states, quirk of law at the time in Australia meant that it was a prohibited item at the state level but not controlled by Customs. It arrived at a friend's P.O. box and he gave me a parcel with a strange looking computer part (looked like the external of a tower down one side, holding something in plastic with bent in metal claws) and a CD, with the green "Opened For Inspection By Australian Customs" tape. This apparently legitimate company, still very much around to this day per a quick googling, had taped up my butterfly knife, wrapped it in multiple layers of packing tape and put it inside a fake computer part. I found out years later a criminal lawyer 15 years my senior who became a friend was also a customer of theirs.
 

baltalemule

You're Saying I Can Sell?
13/4/18
64
27
0
That prompts a couple of memories...

Can't speak for OP but ads in the back of things were very much a source of intrigue in Australia still in the late 90s. I wrote away for dog tags in the back of an American comic book when I was about 11 from Australia and got nowhere.

The BB gun, knife and paintball slingshot selling business in another state of Australia which I wrote away to in the back of a slightly "blue" magazine when I was 12, however, led to an enduring business relationship of quite a few years standing. I've just looked at their website and they still sell the same plastic shoulder rig I bought all those years ago to carry a BB gun which, had I ever been caught with it, would've seen me charged with possessing a real handgun in my home state.

Getting access to the internet after the turn of the millenium led to something else entirerly. Ordered a butterfly knife from the states, quirk of law at the time in Australia meant that it was a prohibited item at the state level but not controlled by Customs. It arrived at a friend's P.O. box and he gave me a parcel with a strange looking computer part (looked like the external of a tower down one side, holding something in plastic with bent in metal claws) and a CD, with the green "Opened For Inspection By Australian Customs" tape. This apparently legitimate company, still very much around to this day per a quick googling, had taped up my butterfly knife, wrapped it in multiple layers of packing tape and put it inside a fake computer part. I found out years later a criminal lawyer 15 years my senior who became a friend was also a customer of theirs.

That was some serious cloak and daggering you did in your youth. well done.

xray7, Not Italian. American, though I imagine back of comic offerings from different countries might have varied geographically. hmm, I wonder. However, I imagine 11 year olds everywhere, even to this day, are the target demographic for x-ray glasses manufacturers. the second puberty kicks in a boy MUST have his x-ray specs.
 

baltalemule

You're Saying I Can Sell?
13/4/18
64
27
0
That was some serious cloak and daggering you did in your youth. well done.

xray7, Not Italian. American, though I imagine back of comic offerings from different countries might have varied geographically. hmm, I wonder. However, I imagine 11 year olds everywhere, even to this day, are the target demographic for x-ray glasses manufacturers. the second puberty kicks in a boy MUST have his x-ray specs.

oops, that second @ message was intended for gigi77. Am new at this. Sea monkeys. lol. love it.