1st order with Puretime.. Not going so well

[jacobtjetton]

First of all, I know that Puretime is Legit, as I have done my research on this thread enough to know that. However, I ordered an ARF deep blue on December 14th, and still havent received it.

I confirmed before purchasing that this was was available. On the 15th, was told that it would take 2-3 weeks before the factory would supply the order. Completely understandable due to the holiday season. On the 27th, I had to reach out for an update, and was told that it was on its way, leaving the factory and headed to them. Sweet.

On January 3rd, I reached back out for an update, because I havent heard anything, and was given this response: "Sorry to delay your order again, your watch once arrived but we found movement defect during QC. COnsidering that ARF has already started their CNY holidays, it might take some weeks to get another new watch, is there another watch you interest in please?"

I told them that I would wait for a new one to come in.

On January 27th, I had to reach out once again. No response. ON the 29th, I reached out once again, No response until the 31st, and this is what they said:

"Today we urge them again but were told that the 3135 movement for this watch is unavailable, do you like the 2824 one instead please?"

I feel like I am a malleable person, so In the interest of getting a watch sooner, I said lets pivot and go with the seadweller baselworld instead. They responded: "ARF will return to work in 1-2 weeks, so we go ahead to order this one instead for you "

Yesterday, I followed up once again, and the said the following: "Unfortuantely ARF still hasnt delivered the watch to us, do you like this one from AR+F instead?

I dont know what to do at this point. I feel like I am going in circles.

 

[eBoy]

First of all, I know that Puretime is Legit, as I have done my research on this thread enough to know that. However, I ordered an ARF deep blue on December 14th, and still havent received it.

I confirmed before purchasing that this was was available. On the 15th, was told that it would take 2-3 weeks before the factory would supply the order. Completely understandable due to the holiday season. On the 27th, I had to reach out for an update, and was told that it was on its way, leaving the factory and headed to them. Sweet.

On January 3rd, I reached back out for an update, because I havent heard anything, and was given this response: "Sorry to delay your order again, your watch once arrived but we found movement defect during QC. COnsidering that ARF has already started their CNY holidays, it might take some weeks to get another new watch, is there another watch you interest in please?"

I told them that I would wait for a new one to come in.

On January 27th, I had to reach out once again. No response. ON the 29th, I reached out once again, No response until the 31st, and this is what they said:

"Today we urge them again but were told that the 3135 movement for this watch is unavailable, do you like the 2824 one instead please?"

I feel like I am a malleable person, so In the interest of getting a watch sooner, I said lets pivot and go with the seadweller baselworld instead. They responded: "ARF will return to work in 1-2 weeks, so we go ahead to order this one instead for you "

Yesterday, I followed up once again, and the said the following: "Unfortuantely ARF still hasnt delivered the watch to us, do you like this one from AR+F instead?

I dont know what to do at this point. I feel like I am going in circles.

Hi there,

I'm the section moderator along with @Feefo for the Newbies here on RWI.

I saw that this is your first post. Please don't take this as criticism, but simply as an explanation of the forum culture here: If a newbie's first post is a complaint about a TD, instead of going to the Newbie section first to introduce yourself, it is somewhat frowned upon, regardless of how legitimate the complaint is. It is what is considered "Not A Good Start".

Now to your problem: It is unfortunately possible for certain models to become unavailable, without the TD being aware of this when you ordered and paid.

It is even more unfortunate, if a different model that was picked as an alternative also becomes unavailable, but again, this is beyond the TDs control.

TDs rarely carry stock of watches, unless they are in extreme demand. So if they inquire about availability at the time of payment, the factory can suddenly decide to stop production and there's absolutely nothing a TD can do. The factory wears the trousers in the TD / factory relationship.

In your case, my suggestion would be to simply request a refund if no model to your liking can be sourced.

 

[eBoy]

PS: There's a simple explanation for the delays in communication with @puretime. During the dates you mentioned, Chinese New Year holiday was taking place which is the most major holiday in China. The entire country shuts down during CNY for several weeks.

Edit: I reread your post and realized that you are aware of CNY. Let me just add that it doesn't take place at the same time as our new year, but several weeks later, with changing dates according to Lunar calendar.

 

[Rx4Time]

@eBoy has said pretty much everything the most important being the chinese new year which unfortunately was bad timing with your order. Personally, I feel the 2824 movement is a better option in most cases, especially for people new to the hobby as they tend to be more reliable and easier to have repaired locally if needed. An alternative to consider is a different model. The DSSD is a substantial watch, and generally not good for daily use by most people due to it's size. I'd suggest you take this as an omen and consider an intermediate model such as the SD43 or a non deep sea seadweller. Still a large watch (SD43 moreso), but more wearable. I've owned them all in the past and the SD43 was on the border of what I would consider comfortable for regular use. Since I prefer Panerai if I want a larger presence, it did not get much use ( I tried twice and sold them off). Ultimately I have scaled down my Rolex selection and the largest I have is a 41mm sub from VSF now. If I want big, I have multiple other models like a Bretiing steelfish(es), Panerai(s), IWC, etc. To each their own, but I look at Rolex as a more eligant and refined brand vs the others I mentioned which are more rugged inspired. ARF makes a phenominal SD43 with a 2824 movement. Alternitively, VSF has arguibly the best clone movements but then you are looking at a 126610LN (41mm submariner). Just my two cents.

 

[puretime]

Sorry for that, ARF often only ships once in a while, and every time we don’t have what we ordered, they are thinking of ending the business gradually since 2021. We have been urging, after all, we also hope to complete the order as soon as possible to earn this For the money of an order, there is no reason for us to delay earning money.