Thank you to OP for this thread. Like many of you, I had used DHgate very successfully in the past and I felt more comfortable buying on there then with the TDs. The unsecured websites spooked me and lack of communication didn't help, although I've since learned that is part of the process) Now I'm wondering if I got "lucky" with my Navitimer, and wondering if I should be worried about my "mechanical" YM2 which is in the mail.
To my VERY UNTRAINED eyes, the Navitimer looks amazing. Sure its got issues regarding it being 1:1, but I feel like the differences at least work with the specific colors/materials/design used by whoever designed the rep. Its quartz so I didn't expect anything special on the movement front, but was really happy to have a 24-hr stopwatch function which actually works! (longest time I tested was 3 hours, but it didn't miss a beat). For me, the design and navitimer functions were my primary concerns, so the piece totally exceeded my expectations. I bought both from "traviswatch."
Am I just not experienced enough to determine quality, or are some of these DHgate reps really as good as they appear? Should I open up the watch to have a look at the hardware? Also, I totally get the logic behind "the forum keeps TDs accountable," but like paypal, I really like the fact that DHgate has a very good dispute function if things go south. Finally, I read through this whole tread (amazing info guys, I'm so glad I found this forum), and many people seem to be arguing that the savings on DHgate are negligible compared to the quality assurance of TDs. Granted I have not purchased from a TD yet, but given the prices on their sites, the difference seems to be massive. I actually started with the TD sites (google brought me here immediately), who were offering the watches I wanted for $300-$450, both of which I (supposedly) found on DH for right around $100.
My excitement regarding my YM2 has turned into anxiety after reading this tread, but I'm glad that at least my first purchase exceeded my expectations. As you can probably tell, I like the experience of purchasing on DHgate and have yet to be burned so I'm very bias, but I think that the buyer protection and price points are enough not to write off the whole platform carte blanche. Also, why do the TDs not sell on DHgate? Seems like it would be easy enough to get the best of both worlds (ie QC, buyer protection, and lower price points).
Just wanted to provide a noob prospective that wasn't so dreary. All that being said, I'll only be going with TDs from here on out as it seems like DHgate is like Russian roulette, and I'm long overdue for a losing hand. Cheers!