What is a Trusted Dealer?

[cybee]

That you receive what you order can not be the sole determination of a trusted dealer.... there are more ways to hurt our members than to not deliver...

tell me, the members of RWI, what do you consider to be a trusted dealer? And, should we find a dealer has been delivering the goods as promised, but has been affecting your experience in other ways.... what should we do about it?

How much do you trust and rely on our judgment as to who is and is not a trusted dealer?

How much does our advice affect your buying decision? If we were to tell you that a trusted dealer is not to be trusted anymore, would you still buy from them, as they have always delivered the goods...

LOS poses some good questions here. It's very difficult to narrow it down to a single reason for choosing a dealer because the requirements encompass all of the above. But I feel the reality of it is that many of our "silent" members would say that the main criteria in trusting a dealer is simply to receive what they order and in a timely manner and from a dealer that communicated with them. For first time buyers the communicating aspect is important since they generally tend to be a little leary about buying a replica.

For myself I always trust the staff to do what is right in determining who, based on their knowledge can be trusted as a dealer. Whatever decision they decide is usually the right one anyway, that is one reason RWI has been able to successfully exist.

The last one is tricky. I do believe there are many that use us for information gathering then purchase from outside sources not affiliated with RWI. Generally most will tend to be loyal to their particular dealer whether officially branded "trusted" or not. I'm of the opinion that most cannot tell the difference between sapphire or mineral crystal, swiss or cloned copy, and I have yet to find a dealer that does not fudge just a little on advertising. Some dealers are much more blatant than others then again some buyers may not care about these things anyway. If a certain dealer was proven to be price fixing and squeezing another smaller dealer that RWI endorses, then I would say do away with them in a heartbeat. If the staff was to brand a particular dealer as "untrusted," well, people will have to decide which is more important, the integrity of the board and abiding by their wisdom, or getting a watch from the dealer they choose no matter what business practices that dealer operates under.

Of course we all have the right to buy from whomever we choose. Even some veteran members have other sources outside of RWI...right?

 

[seanf]

OK, guys. We're tap dancing around the issue, but this is something that need to be discussed, and discussed openly.

Just to clear up ANY ambiguity, we're talking about Josh (Perfect Clones) and Andrew (Trusty Time).

For those of you unfamilar with the wacky antics of our resident big wig dealer duo, I would direct you to the thread that started it all, the "Little White Lies" thread:

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14975&p=127375&hilit=little+white+lies#p127375

For those of you who don't want to wade through pages of posts, basically, Jandrew (as Josh and Andrew are, for all practical purposes, one and the same, I'll just refer to them as "Jandrew" from now on) had a habit of posting things like "Perfect 1:1 Copy" and "Asian ETA" and things like that. Some members-- such as Pugwash-- called them on it. Jandrew still do it, but less frequently and less overtly.

More recently, Hontwatch, one of our new dealers, said that he received a letter from Andrew telling him that unless he increased his prices for several new watches, Andrew would take steps to make sure that the factory wouldn't supply Hont with anymore of these watches.

The main reason that D4M posted this, I think, is to clarify that just because a dealer is listed here as a "Trusted" dealer, that does not mean that we are endorsing them or telling you to buy from them. Rather, all we're saying is that these dealers have demonstrated that if you order a watch from them, you'll get that watch in a timely fashion, and if it breaks, they'll stand behind it (in general).

So if you purchase a watch from Jandrew, you should do so in the full knowledge of all the facts. Yes, you'll get your watch. But you'll also be paying a premium for it. And you need to decide for yourself whether these "trusted" dealers are people that you want to continue to support, given their business practices.

 

[supermanx]

Bottom line, it amounts to us the consumer paying $75-$100 (or 25% in some case) premium over and above the typical dealer markup on these watches because they are controlled by the cartel.

 

[watchbuff]

At this point Hont still can get ANYTHING Jandrew can get 40-50$ cheaper. So the high holy fox at the factory is not "in" The factory can sell to whoever they want' Unless Jandrew own the factory I cannot see it as a problem for us the consumer. I do not trust Jandrew and now they after this debacle it is not even a consideration to buy from them. Total Bullshit. A big collective FU to Jandrew and a post is in order at RepGeek to do the same.

 

[sconehead]

@ seanf, has Hont confirmed this openly on the board yet?

 

[watchbuff]

Yes confirmation is needed.

 

[cybee]

Rather, all we're saying is that these dealers have demonstrated that if you order a watch from them, you'll get that watch in a timely fashion, and if it breaks, they'll stand behind it (in general). .

and for most I would bet this is still the main criteria in choosing a dealer...you can call white lies until we're all blue in the face, did'nt change anything back then, and won't now in terms of how Joshdrewua operates. LIst them as dealers or not, they will survive and so will we...maybe a poll would clarify feelings of some members who tend to be a little reticent in posting their feelings about this.

Happy days are here again.
http://replica-watch.info/forum/viewtop ... 16&t=15411

 

[LegendofSpeed]

interesting idea cybee...

 

[R2D4]

Wow! Now if this is not a perfect example of what the Admin goes through to make us safe, I don't know what is. Any seller/dealer, who asks a competitor to raise their prices and blackmails them, is not to be trusted at all! If there is evidence of this, (I do believe there is) they should be held accountable and banished, period! Why should we put up with it? Send a message and an adios. They will live another day and so will we.

 

[daytona4me]

Well, he posted in the thread where Dave123 made the comment about Hont's source and ability to get AP (which is the specific source as quoted by Andrew that he would threaten) and Hont posted in this very same thread stating that his ability to obtain any watch will not be interrupted. If I did not have the knowledge that I have, I'd tell you that although he did not say "It's True.. It's True" truth in the story can be assumed, not to mention he directly addresses the comments by dave123 and by me that he is not worried about being interrupted.

Also, this information was originally told by Hont to someone highly respected on the Admin team, and then independently confirmed by me with Hont. In addition to this, the fact that Ruby had previously stated to staff and non staff alike as well as directly to me, that her source was tampered (lack of a better word) with by the same dealer / group as well, it certainly lends credibility to the story.

[RANT]Here is a big difference between RWI and other boards. We have pushed down this road before. We have been accused of back door dealing ???? yet.. hold these dealers feet to the fire to benefit the members. Do you see the same action taken elsewhere (outside of the little white lies thread)?

J&A have not posted a new watch here (with the exception of the Skyland.. but that in itself appears to have had an ulterior motive behind it) in 1/2 year.. yet actively update elsewhere.... the reason I have been told is because they dont think they can get a fair shake here. They feel anytime their names come up we are dealerbashing J&A ... which is crazy. We do not find problems to take to them... these problems present themselves and membership discusses them and I have to say that without any shadow of doubt.

If staff were not to discuss an issue like this presented to them.. and then bring it to the membership for their knowledge... what would that say about RWI staff ? Would you trust them.... YET... it is RWI staff that is being slandered by some members for performing their function... and that is to arm it's members with the best possible information.
Then I love to hear someone talk about a "negative attitude... or a negative vibe" here... WTF is wrong with you!
RWI could make it peaches and cream and we can sign all the live long day... and this be the happiest place in the world... never discuss anything that is offensive to anyone... and cover up anything that might upset the balance... in essence... we could run a giant flee market / garage sale where all we do is supply dealers with business. That would be perfect ... right?? Hell yes!! Then dealers would give us all kinds of watches to raffle...they would run all kinds of contests... and everyone would be merry! WAKE UP! Ever wonder why we purchase the watches out of our own money (most of the time with few exceptions)? It is because most dealers do not want to donate to a forum where we have held their feat to the fire.
(THIS IS WHERE I MUST SAY THAT THERE ARE ONLY A HAND FULL OF DEALERS THAT HAVE SOME MAJOR ISSUES THAT THEY ARE ACCUSED OF... others like Narikaa , PT, Wacko.. etc... really have not had issues like this brought up).

DIRECT QUESTION TO THE MEMBERSHIP.... AT WHAT POINT WILL SOMEONE STOP LISTENING TO THE HORSE SHIT THAT IS BEING SPREAD AND REALIZE THAT RWI HAS PAID AND STILL CONTINUES TO PAY A HEAVY PRICE FOR DEMANDING ANSWERS, FOR DRAWING ATTENTION TO PROBLEMS, FOR INFORMING IT'S MEMBERS OF SOMETHING THAT MIGHT UPSET THEM.
BUT IT IS RWI THAT CONTINUES TO BE CALLED BAD NAMES, "A JOKE", "MUPPETS".. I HAVE TO THINK THAT IT IS SOMEONE ELSE WITH A DEALERS HAND UP THEIR ASSES!

MAKE A DECISION FOLKS... DO YOU WANT EAR-CANDY... OR SOME TRUTH.. ?? [/RANT]

 

[supermanx]

At this point Hont still can get ANYTHING Jandrew can get 40-50$ cheaper. So the high holy fox at the factory is not "in" The factory can sell to whoever they want' Unless Jandrew own the factory I cannot see it as a problem for us the consumer. I do not trust Jandrew and now they after this debacle it is not even a consideration to buy from them. Total Bullshit. A big collective FU to Jandrew and a post is in order at RepGeek to do the same.

I can tell you not only will it become a problem for the customer, we are already paying a higher price on certain cartel controlled watches. They do not own the factory but through colusion control a large enough marketshare to make demands that are upheld by the manufacturers. Andrew by himself would not have as much influance as andrew+josh+king, and thats how cartel's control market conditions. Some dealers do not standup to the cartel and either get out of the way or join the cartel to continue to do business and make the cartel that much stronger.

 

[R2D4]

D4me, they say that the truth will set you free brotha!

I have no doubts that these bigger cartel dealers have pull with the factory, but there is always some sales directly from employees who are encouraged to sneak some stock behind the cartel's backs and sell them to other dealers right? Maybe my Disney nature wants to think that way anyway. I mean they probably make more profit on the smaller dealers anyway.

 

[seank]

@D4M if I say I completely agree with you would that mean I'm a muppet? I'm almost afraid to agree with you for fear that people will think we are being tampered with. The truth of the matter is everything said here is the truth. There are NO UNDERHANDED MOTIVES here people. I would love to open up the admin section for all to see to prove there is no back door dealing, no favorites, no bullshit. Would any other forum be confidant enough to make that claim? It drives me nuts to hear the bullshit from Dave and TTK chiming in that RepGeeks has been vaccinated of the BS. BTW this is not about cross forum bashing either we have different forums and different objectives. If you like at RWG fine, if you like it at RWI fine, if RepGeeks happens to be your place to hang thats cool too but don't ever accuse us of some subverted plot to favor one dealer or another, or steer business in a certain direction for any other reason than to protect our members. It's a flat out fucking lie.

BTW. If anyone wants to challenge me on that feel friggin free.




Sean K

 

[sconehead]

I'd love to see the admin pm's on the Hont issue now the cat's out the bag...

 

[trevor2079]

All I have to say...

 

[seank]

Thats the thing I would have no problem with making that public knowledge.





Sean K

 

[supermanx]

And another thing, on "another" forum its been said that Jandrew are under fire because they do not pay a dealer fee here. No dealer is required to pay a dealer fee here (or are the administrative members allowed to take free watches in exchange for favors).

 

[seank]

That is the type of shit I can't stand. Flat out lies. Bold face lies.





Sean K

 

[sconehead]

Thats the thing I would have no problem with making that public knowledge.





Sean K

See if you can sort it out then, I'd be interested in seeing how it was panning out before Dave let the cat out of the bag. It would also bolster the reputation of this forum with members who are unsure about the whole event...obviously I realise you would have to get all the parties involved to agree to it, but if you could it would be a great eye-opener... :wink:

 

[seank]

Let me see what I can do about that. Oh yeah we get free watches from the dealers so they can keep dealing, that's why I own a total of four reps. BTW if any of the dealers here are in a giving mode I'm real sweet on the Porsche Flat Six in dark gray.




Sean K