Disappointed with Puretime.

[wobbler]

Just have to say that I am very disappointed with Puretime.

I have been a customer of theirs before and was previously very happy with my purchases, however my last purchase was a PAM029 that I bought in June. Straight from the start I had issues with the GMT hand, I thought I had it solved by winding the watch forward through a couple of days as suggested by someone here on the forum but it would work for so long (a couple of days) and then stop again.

Now call me Mr Fussy but when I pay $298 for a watch I expect it to be perfect. We are not paying these people pocket-change for our reps these days.

Anyway I sent the watch off to them on August 16th and to be honest communications have been very sketchy. You shouldn't have to wait a week or more for an email reply, strangely when you are about to pay for a watch the comms are excellent.

According to the tracking the watch hasn't even reached them yet which is strange because I sent it airmail. This is now 5 1/2 weeks.

Anyway the bottom line is be careful with Puretime because my thoughts on this are that they are getting too big, and that breeds complacency, aftersales communication is very bad. Also, if they can't make a GMT watch that works properly don't sell the damn thing, this is not the first complaint about the 029 GMT hand not working properly.

Rant over.

 

[Bonesey]

1: the dealers do not make the watches
2: paying $xxx does not entitle you to a 'perfect' watch
3: shipping back to China is always risky and you're always better off sorting watches locally
4: your rant is fairly invalid as per the above statements responses
5: you've been here since 2009 you should know better

 

[Pannyforme]

come on its only $298 man..if you cant afford this hobby then its best to find another hobby..because no rep is perfect..want perfection?there's plenty of gens for that

 

[wobbler]

My main gripe is the speed of responses from them before you have paid and the speed of responses when something goes wrong.

So you would be happy to spend good money on a watch that doesn't work properly? Wherever they get the watch from the onus is on them to sell something that works properly. If it doesn't work properly, don't sell it.

As I have pointed out I am not the only person that has been having issues with a Puretime 029.

 

[wobbler]

come on its only $298 man..if you cant afford this hobby then its best to find another hobby..because no rep is perfect..want perfection?there's plenty of gens for that

I can afford this hobby, I just like to buy things that work properly.

 

[Rush2112]

There must be 50 threads here that says it takes MONTHS to get a watch to china, repaired, any returned to you. It's why most members will suggest getting it fixed in your home country and try to work deal with dealer on discount for your trouble. Also, +1 on the fact that angus doesn't make watches nor does he wear yours for a few days to make sure it's perfect.

 

[Cromag]

Hi @wobbler

Have you tried to reach Angus, the owner? He is very receptive to us on the forum. Easiest to reach on repgeek daily. Keep in mind they are just back from a weeklong Chinese vacation.

He has told us that rep forums are a very small part of their business but he is an excellent dealer. Just tell him your concerns and keep us posted. Let him know your on the forums. He'll take care of you for sure.

Cheers

 

[Mr. A.]

come on its only $298 man..if you cant afford this hobby then its best to find another hobby..because no rep is perfect..want perfection?there's plenty of gens for that

Picked my hbb v6 from PT and it's damn near perfection.

Only two things I've noticed is that the bezz pattern is too small and the markings on the movement are off.

That's it, everything on the watch including mov't is spot on!
(I own a gen hbb and constantly compare the two).

 

[Parabuteo]

So do I, BUT-

I can afford this hobby, I just like to buy things that work properly.

OK-lets cut to the chase. We are buying REP watches here-and I would submit that the old business 101 caveat- "don't risk more than you can afford to lose" always applies. Puretime is not out to scam you or supply you with a non-working watch, nor stonewall you when you have a complaint. They are supplying what the manufacturers make and trying to keep up with customers that want GEN like quality in a REP- guess what-you are not going to get that! This is just inherent in the Rep game and if you don't understand that-maybe you should stop buying reps and being dissapointed it does not work EXACTLY like a gen!

 

[Bonesey]

My main gripe is the speed of responses from them before you have paid and the speed of responses when something goes wrong.

So you would be happy to spend good money on a watch that doesn't work properly? Wherever they get the watch from the onus is on them to sell something that works properly. If it doesn't work properly, don't sell it.

As I have pointed out I am not the only person that has been having issues with a Puretime 029.

If you want a one to one personal touch kinda transaction then don't go with the big dealers.

Secondly. I have bought plenty of reps that have either issues. Or flaws or were DOA. But that is just part of the rep game so I fix them myself or send it to a watchsmith.

Thirdly. It's not a Puretime 029. They do not make them, just sell them. So anyone who bought an 029 from any other dealer could be having exactly the same issues.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[wat44]

The comms gripe is valid. We often hear about dealers replying to emails for new orders straight away and then when a post sales thread email comes in.... Things go quiet...

 

[wobbler]

Thanks for all the replies, positive and negative.

Not too keen on the one who said why not send it to a local watchsmith, I'm not keen on doing that. The reason we pay good money is for a quality rep is because we at least expect it to be working properly, why pay even more money to get it rectified when it is not?? That's why I have sent it back.

Also, why should I not expect the rep to work like a gen? The very name implies that it should replicate the gen. I am not talking about it being 100% like the gen, but I at least expect it to be working properly. So if it has a GMT function then the GMT function should work properly.

Anyway good to see that wat44 agrees with me on my main gripe, and that being poor comms after the money has changed hands. We are talking a less-than-one-day response to nothing for days. That is unacceptable customer service.

Anyway it's clear to me that some people are willing to put up with any old crap and will defend the vendor to the hilt, but not me, I'll call them out on it where they need calling out. It hopefully keeps them from getting too complacent.

 

[TESLA760]

You may not like the advice, but it's very accurate. As far as expecting rep to work like gen , I hope you're not serious about that. How can you expect something that is a fraction of the cost, to work the same as the gen ? You are not listening to the advice you're being given , and you will just run into more frustration.

 

[wobbler]

You may not like the advice, but it's very accurate. As far as expecting rep to work like gen , I hope you're not serious about that. How can you expect something that is a fraction of the cost, to work the same as the gen ? You are not listening to the advice you're being given , and you will just run into more frustration.

You're not understanding what I am saying so I will ask you this:

If you bought a rep with a GMT hand would you expect the GMT hand to work??

 

[jd01449]

You have been a member longer than I so I am surprised by your expectations. Angus is one of my favorite sellers because one time I had an issue with an AP and they repaired my watch. The process took almost 3 months, but come on it comes with this hobby. Be patient man.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[TESLA760]

You're not understanding what I am saying so I will ask you this:

If you bought a rep with a GMT hand would you expect the GMT hand to work??

Yes I would. But I didn't join this hobby last night. Therefore I am well aware of the abuse that packages go through during shipping from asia to my door step. If my watch arrived in non working condition, I would have to ask myself what is best. Wait 2-3 months to send the watch back, have it fixed and returned to me. Or, I could send it off to one of the modders and have it back within a week or so. I would rather do the latter.

There is no massive conspiracy in China to send you defective watches on purpose. You think these dealers want to be bothered by us after the sale ? No. Ultimately, it's your decision what to do. But don't get angry when other members are giving you the best option possible.

 

[ehhcl3537rwi]

The comms gripe is valid. We often hear about dealers replying to emails for new orders straight away and then when a post sales thread email comes in.... Things go quiet...

If you remove the word "perfect" and replace with, works as advertised and similar to other rep copies on this watch described on these forums.

and also remove words "works like a gen" and replace them with works as reliably as most other reps with the same clone movement.

Then I agree with you almost entirely, the watch doesn't work so send it back. Even my pre sales communications have been very slow with puretime so I went with another TD.

 

[jhericurls]

come on its only $298 man..if you cant afford this hobby then its best to find another hobby..because no rep is perfect..want perfection?there's plenty of gens for that

You make it sound like $300 is chump change. I bet if you was to buy a same priced Seiko watch it would be in perfect working order.

Reps have become a lot more expensive and I think it's normal to expect it to been to a certain standard. I don't expect it to perfect but bits shouldn't be hanging off and fundamental functions like time and date should at least work.

My watch came from Puretime with a faulty metal clasp which prevented me from wearing it, but didn't bother posting about it. I knew the response would be " its a rep, live with it"

I guess it a gamble and receiving faulty products you don't have a leg to stand on. Now I'm buying watch from a different TD, someone whom will at least check there's no faults before sending it out.

 

[ehhcl3537rwi]

You make it sound like $300 is champ change. I bet if you was to buy a same priced Seiko watch it would be in perfect working order.

Reps have become a lot more expensive and I think it's normal to expect it to been to a certain standard. I don't expect it to perfect but bits shouldn't be hanging off and fundamental functions like time and date should at least work.

My watch came from Puretime with a faulty metal clasp which prevented me from wearing it, but didn't bother posting about it. I knew the response would be " its a rep, live with it"

I guess it a gamble and receiving faulty products you don't have a leg to stand on. Now I'm buying watch from a different TD, someone whom will at least check there's no faults before sending it out.

Which dealer would that be?

 

[wobbler]

I have been thinking and I think I can say that the rep world is one of the only areas that when the product doesn't work as intended some people are just happy to suck it up and send it off to someone else to be fixed at their own expense. In every other niche the product would be sent back to the merchant for a working replacement.

And this of course is setting a dangerous president because if the retailer knows that people are likely to do this they are less likely to check that the item works exactly as it should do.

I think that the old Canal Street mentality "ah it's only a fake if it works then great if it doesn't then no big deal" applies, but we are not talking Canal Street prices, we are talking upwards of $300 here.