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So I got scammed….twice here.....

capice

I'm Pretty Popular
12/12/07
2,715
558
113
Being in the rep scene for more then 10 years I thought I had my fair share of dealing with scammers....I normally don’t post about scams which hit me unless as a warning for fellow members as I feel it is all part of the game but last year I got scammed by two members here in a very wrong way.

The first was M42M42 who sold a SD in March this year, never delivered and went silent until 21-06 when he logged in again which surprised me as I thought he was kicked off the forum. Raddave told me that he is blocked from buying or selling so at least members are protected against this %^&hole.

The second scam was by a newbie called kkk12345m. I bought a FF for repair “in good cosmetic condition with 2 straps”. As the communication was far from smooth and the seller was a newbie with no feedback I requested normal paypal which the seller agreed.

Got a wrong tracking after 3 days at first but that can happen….When I received the watch there was only 1 strap and the watch had a dent on one of the lugs and scratches.

I informed the seller and send photos of the dent within a minute or 2 after unpacking…. I won't get into all the nasty details in pm's as you can imagine I wasn't calling him mate...

His answer was I was a pain in the ass, he would not contact me again….

I pointed out he sold a watch with 2 straps, not 1 and the watch was described as in “good cosmetic condition”, the dent and scratches were not mentioned in the salesthread so I said I wanted to return the watch and asked for a full refund.

The seller replied that “good by no means mean perfect. I took a gamble and I wanted to return the watch because it couldn’t be repaired” and more crap…he suggested I made the scratches and dent myself...lol.

Called in the help of the mods which was highly appreciated, after that an amount for partial refund was agreed. What struck me and I really couldn’t understand was that after some more whining of the seller the mod suggested to both take 50% of the damage and non delivered strap…... then the seller got second thoughts because he thought I was being rude(lol) and wanted to refund less then what was agreed on.
I feel that misdescribing and not delivering what was paid for (maybe he wanted to sell the 2nd strap to make an extra buck elsewhere?, who knows) and me providing evidence of the damaged lug from this scamming newbie is not good enough.….I don’t care about the money, I lost way more than that over the years but for me it is a matter of principle... The watch was not as described correctly, maybe not deliberately I thought at first but after knowing the seller now I think it was deliberately misdescribed and the 2nd strap was not delivered…. this is a bad signal to all members and a reward to all scammers to just try and get away with a very small amount for refund....Unacceptable for me so I am forced to go the other way.
 

csthe

I'm Pretty Popular
16/3/13
1,056
377
0
That is really sad to read. This is why I always check for sales reputation and prefer to sell or buy from supporters.
 

efajri

Put Some Respect On My Name
17/10/16
3,679
940
113
Midwest CONUS
I am sorry to hear what happened to you. That’s unacceptable.

I too got screwed twice here by long time members/serial rep flippers. One was an explorer 2 and the other one was an aquanut. I talked to the sellers about the issue but they accused me the one who tried to scam them.

There are members who knowingly sell a damaged good and not disclose it.

Totally unacceptable.




Sent from my iPhone using RWI
 
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whalejonah

Active Member
6/4/19
208
69
28
Sorry to hear about that. I agree this game is really dependent on trust and good faith all around and sadly you meet a few bad eggs here and there.
 

Dynaduck

Sales moderator
Advisor
6/4/11
2,881
575
0
I feel for you. And this just shows why a lot of the senior members don't want to deal with noobs, although efajri seems to have had issues with senior ones as well, but I believe the new members are more of a risk, both as seller and buyer. Too bad. It ruins a great hobby. And for the scammers, I don't think that they understand the power of this forum. It could and eventually will turn nasty. Way worse than they could ever imagine.
 
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Art Tic

Time Machine Collector
26/2/17
948
237
43
California
Sorry to hear about your bad sales transaction. Most of us who have been here long enough will likely have similar experience. Cretins are out there, intending to defraud or get a fat profit out of a sale. Certainly not the norm, but they are out there. Thanks to the Sales Mods who keep that to a minimum.

Buying here is kind of like buying on eBay... ask for lots of pics.
 

SupremeRep

Horology Curious
8/7/18
10
1
0
I usually get on the phone with potential buyers / sellers. Most of the time, I can tell if they seem like a scammer.
 

capice

I'm Pretty Popular
12/12/07
2,715
558
113
thanks for the support guys, it is sad indeed....these guys will be around, just stick with the old garde and avoid newbies...I don't use phone as I preferred pm so in case of trouble, mods could help out which normally was true....you can;t tell anything from a phonecall as scammers are smart
 
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mujidominic

Renowned Member
28/8/15
765
66
0
M2M is wonderful but then occasionally you get bitten, I was scammed out of over $1400 once when some guy (old time member too) sold the same Franken to a few people and never delivered to any of them.

As for cosmetic conditions, a general rule I myself follow (and something that M2M sellers may want to consider IMO) is that once I've posted a watch for sale, I stop wearing it to preserve it in the same condition as described - even if it take weeks or months to sell.

Overall we just have to be a bit more careful, stick to pros and keep an eye out for bad signs.
 

M_Hall

I'm Pretty Popular
8/10/15
2,123
817
0
Sorry to hear that, you do have to put trust in people but I guess sometimes that means getting done.

I’ve been so lucky all the members I’ve dealt with over the years have been pretty decent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

capice

I'm Pretty Popular
12/12/07
2,715
558
113
Been lucky too as 99% of the deals were smooth as they should be. But this sc;(&@bag kkk12345 looks like a pro scammer imo
 
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Mvmtaddict

You're Saying I Can Sell?
21/5/19
51
8
8
Even long time members get scammed by @ssh0les! Sorry to hear this...
 

AlphaProt

Put Some Respect On My Name
Advisor
24/3/19
3,209
1,668
113
New Zealand
I reckon that the scammers here are lowest of the lowest.

Feeding off other people’s passion and interest for personal gains is just pure wrong.

Scammers disgust me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Str1xt

Renowned Member
26/2/19
506
253
63
That sucks Capice! Maybe it's time for something on the lines of payment (trust)buddy for noobs. If a noob wants to sell you something ,you send him half he sends you the watch and the other half goes to a named buddy. When all is ok and the watch is passed by you, the remainder is released?just a thought.
 

Genera74

Active Member
29/12/14
379
91
28
Sorry to hear about your loss One question is how come the first seller didn't get an outright ban for (what appears) to be a scam? Or not enough proofs for mods to make such judgment?
 
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Genera74

Active Member
29/12/14
379
91
28
Btw, one suggestion is for RWI to have a escrow system whereby buyer deposit money into an escrow account (controlled by RWI mods) and funds only released when watches are received and happy with. RWI can take a cut - such funds can also be used to fund the forum. It'll be a nice option to have dealing with new members.
 

capice

I'm Pretty Popular
12/12/07
2,715
558
113
Sorry to hear about your loss One question is how come the first seller didn't get an outright ban for (what appears) to be a scam? Or not enough proofs for mods to make such judgment?

That was what I was wondering too m8,.....I have always appreciated the mods and their support when scams were addressed. Therefore I was really surprised that these two scambugs are still allowed on the forumFrench scambug M42M42 is can't buy or sell) and by the proposal of a mod on the 2nd scam by kkk12345 to "split" the loss for a misdesribed watch and not send strap....
 

Raddave

Most Delicious of all Nipples!
Staff member
Global Moderator
Administrator
Certified
24/12/11
66,114
17,072
113
That was what I was wondering too m8,.....I have always appreciated the mods and their support when scams were addressed. Therefore I was really surprised that these two scambugs are still allowed on the forumFrench scambug M42M42 is can't buy or sell) and by the proposal of a mod on the 2nd scam by kkk12345 to "split" the loss for a misdesribed watch and not send strap....

about , M42M42 , you want him banned ?

i can do that , no chance of reclamation once that happens , but hes gone now


as for the other one , you will need to contact bkg!
 

Raddave

Most Delicious of all Nipples!
Staff member
Global Moderator
Administrator
Certified
24/12/11
66,114
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Guys just for a heads up , sometimes we "walk light " to try to get things taken care of properly , and some times that takes time , we know what we are doing , and sometimes a no sale is way more effective than a ban , as the perps will want to clear their name and restore their account .

But in this case, im sure he will be back , under a different name now , so you wont know who he is ...