Lost my $ with hontwatch

[newcollector01]

Not here to bitch as I knew I was taking a huge chance wiring money to some unknown person. Anyway I found the whatsapp number (+86 13113307655) at https://hontwatch.ru/ and decided to give it a try after seeing mostly good reviews online. I wanted a Hublot Bigbang and sent a picture of the model. About a week later I got pictures and a video showing the watch. It all looked good so I wired approx $630 and got the watch about 2 weeks later. Great, I thought. However the watch would only run for about an hour. I only wound it about 10 turns to start and put it in my auto winder case. So I reached out and he said wind it more and "shake it". Same thing. Only would run about an hour so I repeated the steps again and noticed a peice of the dial had come loose and was floating around inside. It didn't seem to be jamming anything but eventually the watch stopped working completely. He said he may be able to have it shipped to a "friend" in the US to fix it and wait for an update. But after a week I just asked for the address to ship it back for repair/replacement. I was told to send it to

Address REMOVED BY MOD

Which I did using insurance and tracking that I paid for. It was delivered 2 weeks ago and I keep getting the runaround on getting it repaired. He just says it takes a long time.

Anyway, I have been more than patient and very cordial with him. To be clear he has been cordial and mostly responsive but I had to mention I was done waiting and would be posting reviews to get him to respond this last time.

So I figured the money was lost when I sent it so anything else is a plus. I told him I would be posting this review and will update it if I ever get a working watch. I have tons of pictures, messages and videos including the unboxing but will just post a couple here for now. I know I am preaching to the choir here but don't buy a watch from http://hontwatch.ru/ or any other grey market unless you can afford to lose your money!

 

[Reaps]

Not commenting on Hont or whatever as a dealer.

Last member that sent a watch to China for repair - turnaround time was 6-8 months. For me personally it was a 3-4 month turnaround. We always state to try and find a local watch maker to resolve the issue and that sending stuff back is ardous and very long.

 

[Reaps]

RWI Recommendation: DO NOT RETURN YOUR WATCH TO CHINA - A caution to the wind

Members, while this has been said for years, it begs to be refreshed. RWI fully recommends that you DO NOT SEND YOUR WATCHES BACK TO A TD. If your watch is broken, the wrong watch, or anything, I suggest the following: If it is broken, we have a whole section of trusted Watchmakers section...

forum.replica-watch.info

Recent member - 8 month turnaround time to repair.

Issue now resolved between the buyer and the TD. (Old title: Negative review) - read me!

Simple negative review guys, Not much to say. Ordered a watch, asked specifically for uk forwarding, was charged 60 usd for it but the watch was sent with EMS directly to me. :/ When i was given the tracking no. i felt something was wrong so i've asked them again to double check if they...

forum.replica-watch.info

 

[newcollector01]

Thanks for the info. Yeah I found the warning "Don't ever send a watch back to China" after I already shipped it. But honestly I didn't have an option. I checked with several repair shops and none would touch it. It is pretty simple though, if you can't repair it in a reasonable time, just send a replacement.

 

[Reaps]

Thanks for the info. Yeah I found the warning "Don't ever send a watch back to China" after I already shipped it. But honestly I didn't have an option. I checked with several repair shops and none would touch it. It is pretty simple though, if you can't repair it in a reasonable time, just send a replacement.

That's not how replica game works quite honestly and you'll struggle to find any dealer anywhere on the list with that kind of policy, even non TD will not do that. Situation sucks but that's life with replicas.

Pro tip : if you want good after sales service, don't skimp and use the cheapest dealer. Sorry but true with Hont.

 

[mclarendude]

if you can't repair it in a reasonable time, just send a replacement.

In another world, yeah.

In the rep world, nope.

 

[m5750]

That's not how replica game works quite honestly and you'll struggle to find any dealer anywhere on the list with that kind of policy, even non TD will not do that. Situation sucks but that's life with replicas.

Pro tip : if you want good after sales service, don't skimp and use the cheapest dealer. Sorry but true with Hont.

I haven't ever had issues with Hont, but also don't feel he's the cheapest. Elliot is by far cheaper than Hont, but guarantee he would follow a similar policy. As @Reaps said, it's not how the rep game works, unfortunately.

 

[newcollector01]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't looking for the cheapest. I thought Hontwatch was a higher end option. I actually bought another rep big bang for around $200 a few months back and although it isn't a perfect replica (it is a quartz for example), it showed up in working condition. I admit I found this site a bit too late and was going by info on reddit, which is where I found out about hontwatch as a "tusted" dealer. I will keep reading on this site and look for a better option. I don't mind spending the $ for a good rep and service.

 

[m5750]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't looking for the cheapest. I thought Hontwatch was a higher end option. I actually bought another rep big bang for around $200 a few months back and although it isn't a perfect replica (it is a quartz for example), it showed up in working condition. I admit I found this site a bit too late and was going by info on reddit, which is where I found out about hontwatch as a "tusted" dealer. I will keep reading on this site and look for a better option. I don't mind spending the $ for a good rep and service.

Let's be honest. A quartz watch isn't an easy bird to kill. I'm not surprised it is reliable.

 

[Reaps]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't looking for the cheapest. I thought Hontwatch was a higher end option. I actually bought another rep big bang for around $200 a few months back and although it isn't a perfect replica (it is a quartz for example), it showed up in working condition. I admit I found this site a bit too late and was going by info on reddit, which is where I found out about hontwatch as a "tusted" dealer. I will keep reading on this site and look for a better option. I don't mind spending the $ for a good rep and service.

Great attitude. Read the guides you were linked and my guide in my signature and welcome to the rep game.

 

[asusundevils1971]

Which I did using insurance and tracking that I paid for. It was delivered 2 weeks ago and I keep getting the runaround on getting it repaired. He just says it takes a long time.

Hont won't rip you off and he did say it is going to take time and two weeks isn't a long time to be waiting for a watch to get repaired.

Anyway, I have been more than patient and very cordial with him. To be clear he has been cordial and mostly responsive but I had to mention I was done waiting and would be posting reviews to get him to respond this last time.

I told him I would be posting this review and will update it if I ever get a working watch. I have tons of pictures, messages and videos including the unboxing but will just post a couple here for now.

It isn't a good idea to threaten a TD with "I am going to be making a review" either. You said above he has been cordial and mostly responsive. He will contact you when he has some information. So you just have to be patient.

 

[newcollector01]

I wasn't expecting to have it back in 2 weeks but just a nebulous "it tales a long time" is a bit too vague. To be clear he asked me to post a review when I received the watch. I refrained to give him time to correct the issue before posting. So I was just giving him a heads up that it was coming, good or bad.

 

[asusundevils1971]

I wasn't expecting to have it back in 2 weeks but just a nebulous "it tales a long time" is a bit too vague. To be clear he asked me to post a review when I received the watch. I refrained to give him time to correct the issue before posting. So I was just giving him a heads up that it was coming, good or bad.

We want honest reviews here as it helps the members out when choosing a TD. Should also leave a review after the whole process is done and not during.

If you would have done some research about getting a watch repaired you would have found out that it takes a few weeks. Remember yours isn't the only watch that is getting worked on.

Just be patient, while you are here take advantage of the wealth of information located on this beautiful forum.

 

[mclarendude]

The sad reality is that any first negative experience also serves as a reassessment of expectations.

We also must understand that TD don't master the language as we do and saying it will take time really sums it up best. They can't control a third party. Just like they can't control Customs, or a shipping company.

The only thing they can somewhat gauge when it comes to time are things they can actually control like QC and getting the watch shipped.

They can't control their watchmaker who probably has hundreds of watches to work on before yours.

I understand the frustration, but, we also have to lower the expectation.

 

[newcollector01]

This is an honest review. I already mentioned I wasn't aware of this site and relied on reddit initially. I did my due diligence and selected hontwatch due to recommendation on reddit. As far as I am concerned the process is complete and I am out $630. Otherwise with an un-ending "it takes a long time" I would never reach the point of "whole process is done". In fact, I wasn't even aware of this site until he mentioned it asking where I got his info and asked reddit/RWI and asked for me to provide a review before it was found to be defective.

Anyway, again, I am just reporting my experience and appreciate the info. Hopefully this ends up well (I will post whatever happens if there EVER is an update) and it helps others make an informed decision. And yes, I am also posting on reddit so it gets to that group as well.

To reiterate he has been very cordial and there hasn't seemed to be any language barrier issues. In my last correspondence he mentioned how much business he does with the factory and can't risk making them mad by asking for this to be addressed. I get it, if you can't use any pressure to get it addressed then you have to accept the repercussions. Or simply refund the $ and take it up with the factory yourself.

 

[Ghostrider757]

Not sure if you noticed, the bezel is not aligned properly, it needs to rotate 1 screw further to the right.

 

[m5750]

This is an honest review. I already mentioned I wasn't aware of this site and relied on reddit initially. I did my due diligence and selected hontwatch due to recommendation on reddit. As far as I am concerned the process is complete and I am out $630. Otherwise with an un-ending "it takes a long time" I would never reach the point of "whole process is done". In fact, I wasn't even aware of this site until he mentioned it asking where I got his info and asked reddit/RWI and asked for me to provide a review before it was found to be defective.

Anyway, again, I am just reporting my experience and appreciate the info. Hopefully this ends up well (I will post whatever happens if there EVER is an update) and it helps others make an informed decision. And yes, I am also posting on reddit so it gets to that group as well.

To reiterate he has been very cordial and there hasn't seemed to be any language barrier issues. In my last correspondence he mentioned how much business he does with the factory and can't risk making them mad by asking for this to be addressed. I get it, if you can't use any pressure to get it addressed then you have to accept the repercussions. Or simply refund the $ and take it up with the factory yourself.

I'm not saying that Reddit is a bad place to gather information, but it's harder to gauge who knows their sh*t and who's blowing rainbows out of their ass. I've picked up quite a few things from Reddit, but some suggestions need to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[vougeswear]

That's not how replica game works quite honestly and you'll struggle to find any dealer anywhere on the list with that kind of policy, even non TD will not do that. Situation sucks but that's life with replicas.

Pro tip : if you want good after sales service, don't skimp and use the cheapest dealer. Sorry but true with Hont.

True. Don’t skimp. I use Supermirror. Bought a VSF DAYTONA with the DD4140. Something went wrong with the movement after a couple of months. No local watchmaker would touch it, but I convinced one to open it to see what was going on. After having it diagnosed, I made contact with Supermirror and he offered me a repair. Sent it to a guy in Italy. Took forever, but the watch eventually got back to me in perfect running condition. Good thing I’m a patient guy and are able to see things from the dealers angle. Supermirror was doing everything in his power to sort things out, and things eventually turned out great. Two thumbs up for Supermirror.

 

[vougeswear]

DD4130