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Welcome to The Brig sgthuan
- Thread starter Steelfish
- Start date
@sgthuan
Ok smart arse.....aka.....
Txxxxx Nxxxxx
of
xxxxx Oxxxxxxx Rd
Sxxxxxxx, xx xxxxx-xxxx
Each day you continue to ignore both the queries raised in your sales thread and staff.....one portion of the "x's" will be completed.
Oh by the way.....it'd also be in your best interest to refund @netsub ASAP.
Ok smart arse.....aka.....
Txxxxx Nxxxxx
of
xxxxx Oxxxxxxx Rd
Sxxxxxxx, xx xxxxx-xxxx
Each day you continue to ignore both the queries raised in your sales thread and staff.....one portion of the "x's" will be completed.
Oh by the way.....it'd also be in your best interest to refund @netsub ASAP.
- 24/12/14
- 4,209
- 23
- 38
Ok I'm sorry to be such an ass. Call me whatever you want, and be happy about that when you don't know the whole story. I got really mad, my bad! I made a mistake and I don't ask for mercy. I will return the money to [MENTION=139103]netsub[/MENTION] as soon as I can. My account here was blocked so there is no way I can contact him but I will return it to him. No worry there!
About the thread, block it or close it if you want, I have nothing to say specifically about the thread but i felt i was treated wrongly by those high profile people here! so what should I do about that? I only can suck it up and shut up. I will post another one explaining.
I just want everything to stop here, I'm done with the rep game and this forum. I return the money, i am put in the brig to make all you guys happy. Plesae don't go around and ruin my life, it is not just worth it. All you guys and I work so hard to get something at life, I made a mistake and I want to put an end to all this. I return the money, i said sorry. Please end it here. OK
About the thread, block it or close it if you want, I have nothing to say specifically about the thread but i felt i was treated wrongly by those high profile people here! so what should I do about that? I only can suck it up and shut up. I will post another one explaining.
I just want everything to stop here, I'm done with the rep game and this forum. I return the money, i am put in the brig to make all you guys happy. Plesae don't go around and ruin my life, it is not just worth it. All you guys and I work so hard to get something at life, I made a mistake and I want to put an end to all this. I return the money, i said sorry. Please end it here. OK
I'm doubtful you would be welcomed back after what had happened; but with that said, people here are only looking to protect other members.
No one wants to ruin anyone's life and I'm sure if you do the right thing (as now you promised to do), there will be no further repercussions
We all got better things to do anyway
Sent from the RWI mobile app
You account was "blocked" a mere 6hrs ago.....we started "calling out" to you 28hrs ago.....you received each and every "call out".....all of which you chose to ignore.
None the less.....movin' right along for the time being..... [MENTION=139103]netsub[/MENTION] attempted to email you earlier today.....I'm sure he'll post when funds have been received.
My story and why I got to the brig:
- I love the PAM029 and after missing some sales here, I got desperate. So I pm'ed a seller here who sold many Panerai, his name is xxxx xxxxxxxx (don't remember his forum ID). He is a doctor, radiologist, a highly respected professional to put it that way! So i trusted him. He told me he got a very nice build blah blah blah and won't let it go with anything lower than $525. Finally he agreed to $475 and the ONLY thing why I bought it was because he said it was serviced 6 months ago by the high profile guy here mr. Strodda!!! and this watch should last a long time (i have all the emails as proof). By the way, he showed me a short clip of him adjusting the watch to show ... it works. I also paid $125 for an OEM band that he tried to sell to me.
- After getting the watch, I wore it less than 2 days and the watch can't be wound, the watch stopped at certain time every day. Ask him, send it back to xxxx, he said ... the hands are touching each other --> easy fix! he monitored it for 1 week or longer to make sure... Ok
- I got it back, wear it for 5 days (yes 5 days), the watch completely stopped! I was shocked. Ask Eric again, he told me to send it to strodda to fix. No idea if he will cover that for free or what! xxxx said it should be free! (side note: I am very gentle when it comes to watch, i even take it out while brushing my teeth, I never shook it too harsh. So there is no way I damage the watch and I guarantee it)
- Now the funny part here, send to strodda, try to ask him if he got it. He answered me after I had to ask xxxx (and xxxx asked him) 2 days later. Strodda kept my watch for a good 3 weeks with no words whatsoever!!! Nothing. And I kept emailing him almost daily to ask for the status. Then after 3 weeks, he asked me to send him $60 to get the watch back. I didn't know what was going on but sent him the fund anyway. Then I asked xxxx and xxxx told me strodda fixed a broken gear or something and that was what he charged me! it was cheap and i was lucky to be charged that way (email as proof). --> it seems to me Strodda only communicated with xxxx but not me at all for some strange reasons. I told Strodda I don't ask him to work on my watch for free, just tell me up front how much he would charge and I will pay it, just do a good job (email proof --> no answer)
- after 4 weeks from strodda, finally got a watch back. The watch is now working but I can't even adjust the date and gmt. Email to ask xxxx, he said it looks like a keyless problem. Ask me to send it back to strodda. I emailed [MENTION=35495]Strodda[/MENTION] to ask him. This is what he replied: " I'm sorry but you just have a bad luck!!!" and "it doesn't make me want to help to be honest". So a full service 6 months ago and now $60 for a bad luck!!! To be honest, don't you think after putting a watch together, should strodda at least wind the watch to make sure all the functions work??? something so obvious such as a date adjustment got overlooked like that! To me, Strodda didn't really want to help me out
In conclusion, I paid xxxx a hefty price and he promised me a really good watch!!! $475 and i only wear it less than 6 days! I offered him half price to return it to him. He said no! So was it all my problem here? Strodda serviced a watch less than 6 months ago for xxxx, now it is totally broken, he fixed it again for $60, still broken and he told me that i just have a bad luck!"
I'm out of this rep game forever. My words for all this are my disgust for the clone asian movement and the so-called rep-friendly watchsmith or whatever you guys called strodda!
But again, I blame a wrong person (@netsub --> sorry! your money back), wrong forum (sorry). But i'm not sorry for Strodda and xxxx.
- I love the PAM029 and after missing some sales here, I got desperate. So I pm'ed a seller here who sold many Panerai, his name is xxxx xxxxxxxx (don't remember his forum ID). He is a doctor, radiologist, a highly respected professional to put it that way! So i trusted him. He told me he got a very nice build blah blah blah and won't let it go with anything lower than $525. Finally he agreed to $475 and the ONLY thing why I bought it was because he said it was serviced 6 months ago by the high profile guy here mr. Strodda!!! and this watch should last a long time (i have all the emails as proof). By the way, he showed me a short clip of him adjusting the watch to show ... it works. I also paid $125 for an OEM band that he tried to sell to me.
- After getting the watch, I wore it less than 2 days and the watch can't be wound, the watch stopped at certain time every day. Ask him, send it back to xxxx, he said ... the hands are touching each other --> easy fix! he monitored it for 1 week or longer to make sure... Ok
- I got it back, wear it for 5 days (yes 5 days), the watch completely stopped! I was shocked. Ask Eric again, he told me to send it to strodda to fix. No idea if he will cover that for free or what! xxxx said it should be free! (side note: I am very gentle when it comes to watch, i even take it out while brushing my teeth, I never shook it too harsh. So there is no way I damage the watch and I guarantee it)
- Now the funny part here, send to strodda, try to ask him if he got it. He answered me after I had to ask xxxx (and xxxx asked him) 2 days later. Strodda kept my watch for a good 3 weeks with no words whatsoever!!! Nothing. And I kept emailing him almost daily to ask for the status. Then after 3 weeks, he asked me to send him $60 to get the watch back. I didn't know what was going on but sent him the fund anyway. Then I asked xxxx and xxxx told me strodda fixed a broken gear or something and that was what he charged me! it was cheap and i was lucky to be charged that way (email as proof). --> it seems to me Strodda only communicated with xxxx but not me at all for some strange reasons. I told Strodda I don't ask him to work on my watch for free, just tell me up front how much he would charge and I will pay it, just do a good job (email proof --> no answer)
- after 4 weeks from strodda, finally got a watch back. The watch is now working but I can't even adjust the date and gmt. Email to ask xxxx, he said it looks like a keyless problem. Ask me to send it back to strodda. I emailed [MENTION=35495]Strodda[/MENTION] to ask him. This is what he replied: " I'm sorry but you just have a bad luck!!!" and "it doesn't make me want to help to be honest". So a full service 6 months ago and now $60 for a bad luck!!! To be honest, don't you think after putting a watch together, should strodda at least wind the watch to make sure all the functions work??? something so obvious such as a date adjustment got overlooked like that! To me, Strodda didn't really want to help me out
In conclusion, I paid xxxx a hefty price and he promised me a really good watch!!! $475 and i only wear it less than 6 days! I offered him half price to return it to him. He said no! So was it all my problem here? Strodda serviced a watch less than 6 months ago for xxxx, now it is totally broken, he fixed it again for $60, still broken and he told me that i just have a bad luck!"
I'm out of this rep game forever. My words for all this are my disgust for the clone asian movement and the so-called rep-friendly watchsmith or whatever you guys called strodda!
But again, I blame a wrong person (@netsub --> sorry! your money back), wrong forum (sorry). But i'm not sorry for Strodda and xxxx.
who should I blame for my 475+60 and many $8 USPS shipping back and forth between xxxx and Strodda? i called it my stupidity! should the mod and admins here do something for me? or should i suck it up and move along?
Was this a back door sale? If not, why did you not raise a help desk ticket to try and get assistance getting your problems solved. As far as Strodda, I find that difficult to believe, as I have had him work on two watches and he was quick, thorough, and responsive. Perhaps the daily emails and whatever the content within them were too much for him to want to deal with you any more? I know that would annoy me and reduce my desire to help or work with you. Was there any confirmation that the movement had a complete service 6 months prior? I don't consider a part repair a service. This is not his primary job, so you have to be a bit patient. It's a shame that you did not disclose this in your sales thread, as I'm sure that any prospective buyers would like to have known that the watch was not functioning correctly.
First I am sorry I was mad so I didn't think clearly about the thread!
Second, I have all the email time stamp to prove he didn't even bother to reply my email (but he replied pretty quickly to xxx). Now my guess is he only deals with those like you or xxx because he serviced many watches for you guys! I'm just one nobody customer. The fact that he agreed to take my watch was because of xxx asking for it. And he was under the impression that he had to work on my watch for free.
About the full service, it was the exact words from xxx. He has 150+ watches at home (he showed me the pictures), he sold many watches here, he is a physician (who wouldn't believe a physician?). xxx said the lume was done by strodda too.
About the sale, it was a backdoor that was why I can't say a thing. I emailed xxx to ask about the protection from rwi, but he said even if it was official here, I couldn't do anything because he showed me the video that it works (he actually showed he wound and adjusted the watch for 20 seconds)
It was a backdoor sale so i thought it was not possible to ask for help here! But I did pm @tridog or [MENTION=48066]tripdog[/MENTION] for his advice because it looks like he knew a lot here. He told me to contact admin or mod but at that time xxx cooperated fully with me so I didn't feel the need until strodda stepped in and made the situation much worse. I lost money and got stuck with a broken watch and a broken promise that made me act stupid! that is all I can say.
I want to believe that you got stuck in a bad situation and made a series of poor decisions. Well time will tell. I hope you can get this fixed and continue to demonstrate good faith so hopefully you can get out of here in a reasonable time frame.
- 29/1/11
- 1,596
- 138
- 63
Thuan, I have every one our emails, as well as emails from Strodda.
Well, here's the unadulterated scoop:
I bought the watch head directly from Strodda, I believe it was $325. Basically it was a well worn Noob 29M that had some scratches/wear, a relumed DSN A series dial, and serviced Asian clone movement. I have known Strodda for a while and I can attest that he is honest and does high quality work. Anyway I received it and it was a nice piece so I made up some upgrades, specifically a thick A series caseback and NcChef A-E crownguard. I refinished the watch to where it looked brand new. I put it on a nice strap and wore it only a couple times - I have a large collection of franken/modded reps as well as gens, as some here are aware. I never had any issues with the watch.
Several months later, I was randomly contacted by Sgthuan asking if I had a 029 for sale. I mentioned that I only had a modded/serviced 029A that I was fond of and it was not planning to sell. But he wanted photos, which I sent. Ultimately he talked me into selling him the watch for a delivered price of $475, along with a couple straps and buckle. The $150 over my purchase price reflected the additions I made and the refinish work, which was about 90 minutes of my time along with the cost of the parts, and the straps and buckle. And my reluctance to sell it. I would guess no less than 50 emails and PMs were exchanged before the deal was finished; I attributed this to Sgthuan being a 'noob'... I was once one myself, and despite being busy with usual life stuff and wanting to give blunt responses, I really tried to answer all his myriad questions pleasantly and patiently.
I shipped the watch on a Saturday. I video all my watches prior to shipping, showing the movements running, the date changing, and the functions (chrono, GMT, power reserve, whatever) working. The watch kept good time for the 24+ hours it was running before I mailed it off and everything checked out fine. I generally do not send the videos to the buyer, unless requested, although sometimes I have.
The watch was delivered Monday. He seemed very pleased with it at first. But a few days later he emailed me and told me the watch was stopping at night and he could not wind it. That seemed odd to me since something like the crown not working should be obvious right away. I sent him the video at this point, which showed me winding it. Later he said he had a 'watchsmith' look at it, who detected all sorts of problems like buggered keyless, messed up movement, and hands touching each other with estimated repair cost $400-500. I told him a Swiss ETA movement was less than half that, and that someone was trying to rip him off. Knowing I sent a working watch, I told him to return it to me for inspection. I have had about 3 pieces out of several hundred that I have mailed get damaged shipping, so maybe something happened? I gave Strodda a heads up that this piece was coming back to me with problems, and asked if he'd be willing to help me out since i bought from him.
A few days later I received the watch in the mail. It arrived running and I had absolutely no issues setting the time or winding it. I informed Sgthuan of this and told him I was confused. He subsequently told me he was only winding the crown a couple times, which of course builds up no significant power reserve. Basically he never wound the watch. He would set it in the morning, turn the crown a couple times which would get it running, then it would continue to run during the day when he was wearing it. But would not build up sufficient power reserve to last through the night. In other words, it was doing what an automatic watch is designed to do. I explained to him that a full wind is probably at least 50 turns, not 2-3. Also I mentioned that Asian movements are often not terribly efficient and daily wear may only be enough to maintain power reserve, rather than accumulate it. And that the slightly rough crown feel was typical of Asian clone movements. We discussed the advantages of Swiss movements, i.e. smooth and more precise keyless operation, more efficient rotor winding, better power reserve, superior durability, etc. He mentioned that BK sells a Swiss ETA version of the 029 for only a little more than he paid. I told him that BK sells a 29M which is a different model. He seemed to understand.
In the process of checking the power reserve, I did notice that when exhausted the second hand would stop right over the minute hand suggesting there was minimal contact. Anyway I decased the watch and adjusted the second hand so it there was no contact; whether it was initially set slightly off-parallel or this happened in shipping, I cannot say, but it was a problem that would only manifest when the watch was about to run out of juice. I recased and gently installed a re-lubricated crown/stem and everything was good. The watch subsequently ran for 43 hours, keeping time within a couple seconds, with the second hand ultimately stopping in a random spot. Keyless was working perfectly, including date set and GMT which I specifically tested. I informed Strodda that I took care of the problem. Strodda, Sgthuan and myself were all pleased with the outcome. I returned the watch to Sgthuan about five days after I received it. I even kept an eye on the tracking and alerted him when there was an exception, because of a USPS mis-sort in his Sterling, Virginia (not Arizona, as shown in his profile) post office. He was able to call the post office and get the watch only a day late.
I subsequently heard nothing from Sgthuan. Several days later, I emailed him to make sure he got it and everything was okay. He said it was all good and keeping perfect time, and was pleased. So I thought this deal was finished, with a happy buyer and seller. We exchanged some pleasantries about our professional careers. He seemed it important to point out here, for some reason, that I was a physician/radiologist... well he is a pharmacist which was my father's career.
Alas, about two weeks later Sgthuan emails me again, now saying the watch just stopped abruptly and he could not get it running. I knew there were no loose screws or case tabs that could jam the balance. Been there and done that, so I am very careful in recasing and am not sloppy like some amateur. So I told him this sounded like some new problem, perhaps a failure of the Asian movement. At this point he asked me for a refund. I declined... while it is unfortunate he had these problems, I am a private seller/collector and not a dealer. I told him on replicas, I only offer a working on arrival 'warranty'; genuine watches are a different beast, and I do warranty those for a period of time typically. I explained to Sgthuan that a rep watch that breaks a couple weeks after you buy it is not something for which I'm willing to accept responsibility, since Asian movements have dubious reputations for reliability and I have no idea if the watch was dropped or otherwise abused. He expressed regret that this was a 'back door' deal and did not have RWI protection. I explained to him that while a recently purchased rep watch breaking after running for a few weeks really sucks, it is generally not an issue that would warrant a admin service ticket or mod intervention. At least that was my opinion, he could have contacted a mod if he felt the need, of course. To me it's bad luck, and it has happened to everyone who has bought and sold for a while here. I've had over a dozen M2M watches arrive fubar'd or damaged, and also have received my share of DOA wacthes from TDs. I have an entire drawer that is a watch graveyard, and have never felt the need to seek admin help.
Given that this sounded like a significant movement issue, I asked Strodda if he'd be wiling to look at it, and he kindly agreed. I sent mailing instructions to Sgthuan who got it out a couple days later. I was contacted by Strodda after Sgthuan emailed him several times in the days after receipt, complaining that he had not done the work yet, what was taking him so long, why isn't he replying etc. etc. I educated Sgthuan and told him how most watchsmiths/modders typically work - you send it a watch, you wait weeks if not months, and then it ends up on their workbench. You pay a lot more than you think you should, and then if you're lucky you get the piece back and it is fixed. At this point, Sgthuan offered to sell me the watch back at a sizeable discount; I declined as I had (1) moved on from it, and (2) didn't want him to lose money on my behalf. I told him to be patient, wait to get the watch back working, and sell it for at or near what he paid on the forum. Anyway, Strodda kept his word and had it back to Sgthuan in about two weeks. When I inquired what the issue was, he told me that he had to partially tear down the movement and replace the 4th gear in the main train; I'm not sure exactly what happened to the gear but presumably it was the usual situation where a crappy Chinese part breaks. He charged Sgthuan only $53 + $7 shipping, which was paid by Sgthuan after a lot of complaining and somewhat rude emails. I told Sgthuan that he should consider himself luckly that the watch got fixed and returned in about two weeks, at a cost well below what another forum watchsmith would charge for that work. Clearly, he expected Strodda to do it for free since he previously serviced the watch.
I thought, yet again, that this sale was resolved with a satisfactory outcome. But a few days later... I get a cc: of an email Sgthuan sent to Strodda, practically screaming that he could not set the date and GMT, that he got ripped off, and he wanted a refund. Oh and some very inappropriate personal insults were in there too. I do not believe that Strodda would send out a piece with a buggered keyless. But trying to help Sgthuan again, I practically beg Strodda to take another look at it, and he kindly agrees to do so, despite being on the receiving end of a bizarre tirade. Sgthuan told me he shipped the watch back to Strodda on Sat 11/12, which is the last I've heard from him.
I followed up with Strodda earlier this week to see if he got the watch. When he replied, he pointed me to Sgthuan's sales thread here on RWI. I had not seen the listing, as I have not been browsing the rep boards the past few weeks. At that point it was clear to me that he was either trying to scam Strodda into giving him a refund for the work previously done, if the watch was as described in the listing; or scam a unsuspecting seller into buying a broken watch, if the watch was not as described in the listing. Neither option is acceptable, and Strodda appropriately got a Mod/Admin involved at this point.
Sgthuan - I am very sorry that this transaction worked out poorly for you. Unfortunately you seem to have had very bad luck on your first dabble into the world of reps. It sounds like you blame me for what happened. While I did get paid for the piece, I feel I went way beyond the norm of what a private seller would do in terms of after-sales support and trying to help out. I've probably spent 12+ hours now dealing with the watch and communcations related to it. And I didn't even want to sell it in the first place. Regardless, trying to scam another RWI member or Strodda is completely unacceptable. Given the timing and deescription in your sales post, it has to be one or the other. Shame on you. Please do not contact me again.
Strodda - I am very sorry that you got dragged into the middle of this. I appreciate your willingness to help out.
Mods - I am very sorry your time is getting wasted dealing with this.
And that's all I will have to say about it.
Well, here's the unadulterated scoop:
I bought the watch head directly from Strodda, I believe it was $325. Basically it was a well worn Noob 29M that had some scratches/wear, a relumed DSN A series dial, and serviced Asian clone movement. I have known Strodda for a while and I can attest that he is honest and does high quality work. Anyway I received it and it was a nice piece so I made up some upgrades, specifically a thick A series caseback and NcChef A-E crownguard. I refinished the watch to where it looked brand new. I put it on a nice strap and wore it only a couple times - I have a large collection of franken/modded reps as well as gens, as some here are aware. I never had any issues with the watch.
Several months later, I was randomly contacted by Sgthuan asking if I had a 029 for sale. I mentioned that I only had a modded/serviced 029A that I was fond of and it was not planning to sell. But he wanted photos, which I sent. Ultimately he talked me into selling him the watch for a delivered price of $475, along with a couple straps and buckle. The $150 over my purchase price reflected the additions I made and the refinish work, which was about 90 minutes of my time along with the cost of the parts, and the straps and buckle. And my reluctance to sell it. I would guess no less than 50 emails and PMs were exchanged before the deal was finished; I attributed this to Sgthuan being a 'noob'... I was once one myself, and despite being busy with usual life stuff and wanting to give blunt responses, I really tried to answer all his myriad questions pleasantly and patiently.
I shipped the watch on a Saturday. I video all my watches prior to shipping, showing the movements running, the date changing, and the functions (chrono, GMT, power reserve, whatever) working. The watch kept good time for the 24+ hours it was running before I mailed it off and everything checked out fine. I generally do not send the videos to the buyer, unless requested, although sometimes I have.
The watch was delivered Monday. He seemed very pleased with it at first. But a few days later he emailed me and told me the watch was stopping at night and he could not wind it. That seemed odd to me since something like the crown not working should be obvious right away. I sent him the video at this point, which showed me winding it. Later he said he had a 'watchsmith' look at it, who detected all sorts of problems like buggered keyless, messed up movement, and hands touching each other with estimated repair cost $400-500. I told him a Swiss ETA movement was less than half that, and that someone was trying to rip him off. Knowing I sent a working watch, I told him to return it to me for inspection. I have had about 3 pieces out of several hundred that I have mailed get damaged shipping, so maybe something happened? I gave Strodda a heads up that this piece was coming back to me with problems, and asked if he'd be willing to help me out since i bought from him.
A few days later I received the watch in the mail. It arrived running and I had absolutely no issues setting the time or winding it. I informed Sgthuan of this and told him I was confused. He subsequently told me he was only winding the crown a couple times, which of course builds up no significant power reserve. Basically he never wound the watch. He would set it in the morning, turn the crown a couple times which would get it running, then it would continue to run during the day when he was wearing it. But would not build up sufficient power reserve to last through the night. In other words, it was doing what an automatic watch is designed to do. I explained to him that a full wind is probably at least 50 turns, not 2-3. Also I mentioned that Asian movements are often not terribly efficient and daily wear may only be enough to maintain power reserve, rather than accumulate it. And that the slightly rough crown feel was typical of Asian clone movements. We discussed the advantages of Swiss movements, i.e. smooth and more precise keyless operation, more efficient rotor winding, better power reserve, superior durability, etc. He mentioned that BK sells a Swiss ETA version of the 029 for only a little more than he paid. I told him that BK sells a 29M which is a different model. He seemed to understand.
In the process of checking the power reserve, I did notice that when exhausted the second hand would stop right over the minute hand suggesting there was minimal contact. Anyway I decased the watch and adjusted the second hand so it there was no contact; whether it was initially set slightly off-parallel or this happened in shipping, I cannot say, but it was a problem that would only manifest when the watch was about to run out of juice. I recased and gently installed a re-lubricated crown/stem and everything was good. The watch subsequently ran for 43 hours, keeping time within a couple seconds, with the second hand ultimately stopping in a random spot. Keyless was working perfectly, including date set and GMT which I specifically tested. I informed Strodda that I took care of the problem. Strodda, Sgthuan and myself were all pleased with the outcome. I returned the watch to Sgthuan about five days after I received it. I even kept an eye on the tracking and alerted him when there was an exception, because of a USPS mis-sort in his Sterling, Virginia (not Arizona, as shown in his profile) post office. He was able to call the post office and get the watch only a day late.
I subsequently heard nothing from Sgthuan. Several days later, I emailed him to make sure he got it and everything was okay. He said it was all good and keeping perfect time, and was pleased. So I thought this deal was finished, with a happy buyer and seller. We exchanged some pleasantries about our professional careers. He seemed it important to point out here, for some reason, that I was a physician/radiologist... well he is a pharmacist which was my father's career.
Alas, about two weeks later Sgthuan emails me again, now saying the watch just stopped abruptly and he could not get it running. I knew there were no loose screws or case tabs that could jam the balance. Been there and done that, so I am very careful in recasing and am not sloppy like some amateur. So I told him this sounded like some new problem, perhaps a failure of the Asian movement. At this point he asked me for a refund. I declined... while it is unfortunate he had these problems, I am a private seller/collector and not a dealer. I told him on replicas, I only offer a working on arrival 'warranty'; genuine watches are a different beast, and I do warranty those for a period of time typically. I explained to Sgthuan that a rep watch that breaks a couple weeks after you buy it is not something for which I'm willing to accept responsibility, since Asian movements have dubious reputations for reliability and I have no idea if the watch was dropped or otherwise abused. He expressed regret that this was a 'back door' deal and did not have RWI protection. I explained to him that while a recently purchased rep watch breaking after running for a few weeks really sucks, it is generally not an issue that would warrant a admin service ticket or mod intervention. At least that was my opinion, he could have contacted a mod if he felt the need, of course. To me it's bad luck, and it has happened to everyone who has bought and sold for a while here. I've had over a dozen M2M watches arrive fubar'd or damaged, and also have received my share of DOA wacthes from TDs. I have an entire drawer that is a watch graveyard, and have never felt the need to seek admin help.
Given that this sounded like a significant movement issue, I asked Strodda if he'd be wiling to look at it, and he kindly agreed. I sent mailing instructions to Sgthuan who got it out a couple days later. I was contacted by Strodda after Sgthuan emailed him several times in the days after receipt, complaining that he had not done the work yet, what was taking him so long, why isn't he replying etc. etc. I educated Sgthuan and told him how most watchsmiths/modders typically work - you send it a watch, you wait weeks if not months, and then it ends up on their workbench. You pay a lot more than you think you should, and then if you're lucky you get the piece back and it is fixed. At this point, Sgthuan offered to sell me the watch back at a sizeable discount; I declined as I had (1) moved on from it, and (2) didn't want him to lose money on my behalf. I told him to be patient, wait to get the watch back working, and sell it for at or near what he paid on the forum. Anyway, Strodda kept his word and had it back to Sgthuan in about two weeks. When I inquired what the issue was, he told me that he had to partially tear down the movement and replace the 4th gear in the main train; I'm not sure exactly what happened to the gear but presumably it was the usual situation where a crappy Chinese part breaks. He charged Sgthuan only $53 + $7 shipping, which was paid by Sgthuan after a lot of complaining and somewhat rude emails. I told Sgthuan that he should consider himself luckly that the watch got fixed and returned in about two weeks, at a cost well below what another forum watchsmith would charge for that work. Clearly, he expected Strodda to do it for free since he previously serviced the watch.
I thought, yet again, that this sale was resolved with a satisfactory outcome. But a few days later... I get a cc: of an email Sgthuan sent to Strodda, practically screaming that he could not set the date and GMT, that he got ripped off, and he wanted a refund. Oh and some very inappropriate personal insults were in there too. I do not believe that Strodda would send out a piece with a buggered keyless. But trying to help Sgthuan again, I practically beg Strodda to take another look at it, and he kindly agrees to do so, despite being on the receiving end of a bizarre tirade. Sgthuan told me he shipped the watch back to Strodda on Sat 11/12, which is the last I've heard from him.
I followed up with Strodda earlier this week to see if he got the watch. When he replied, he pointed me to Sgthuan's sales thread here on RWI. I had not seen the listing, as I have not been browsing the rep boards the past few weeks. At that point it was clear to me that he was either trying to scam Strodda into giving him a refund for the work previously done, if the watch was as described in the listing; or scam a unsuspecting seller into buying a broken watch, if the watch was not as described in the listing. Neither option is acceptable, and Strodda appropriately got a Mod/Admin involved at this point.
Sgthuan - I am very sorry that this transaction worked out poorly for you. Unfortunately you seem to have had very bad luck on your first dabble into the world of reps. It sounds like you blame me for what happened. While I did get paid for the piece, I feel I went way beyond the norm of what a private seller would do in terms of after-sales support and trying to help out. I've probably spent 12+ hours now dealing with the watch and communcations related to it. And I didn't even want to sell it in the first place. Regardless, trying to scam another RWI member or Strodda is completely unacceptable. Given the timing and deescription in your sales post, it has to be one or the other. Shame on you. Please do not contact me again.
Strodda - I am very sorry that you got dragged into the middle of this. I appreciate your willingness to help out.
Mods - I am very sorry your time is getting wasted dealing with this.
And that's all I will have to say about it.
[MENTION=13090]sgthuan[/MENTION] After reading the entire story there is still one thing i didn't understand - why selling a Non working watch to another member knowingly....!?
Sent you my PayPal details via email.
Awaiting refund.
Will update on this thread on the final outcome...
Thank you [MENTION=35495]Strodda[/MENTION] & the MODS for making dealing more honest here on the forum!
Sent you my PayPal details via email.
Awaiting refund.
Will update on this thread on the final outcome...
Thank you [MENTION=35495]Strodda[/MENTION] & the MODS for making dealing more honest here on the forum!