Well I learned the hard way....

[dkg1616]

So every once in a while I check the local craigslist listings for old watches (specifically Rolex’s) to see if there is some old timer or someone a little less educated on watches as we are.

I came across a two tone black and gold 16613 P serial (2000) submariner. The pictures all checked out. Photos of the bracelet, lugs, crown, warranty card, serial number, reference, etc. I was txting back and forth with the seller and everything seemed to check out. He answered all of my questions adequately and seemed knowledgeable about the watch. Said the reason the price was so low ($3,000) was because he knew the watch needed to be serviced as it has never been serviced and polished. He encouraged the transaction to take place via PayPal as it protects both buyer and seller.

I figured, hey, good opportunity for me to flip my first Rolex. Sent notes to my local AD who also said looks like everything checks out.

Finally I decided to pull the trigger. The seller responded he was on his way to ship and would send info soon. Well... after a couple follow up texts and no response I decided to check the status of the PayPal transaction.

That’s when I knew I was scammed. Somehow the transaction was rerouted to someone with a completely different name and email address. Let’s just say the name and picture related to this person said it all...

I immediately contacted PayPal and my bank to block the transaction. PayPal said it could take up to two week for me to get my money back!!! My bank said 2-3 days and they can go after PayPal. I figured it would have been much faster given the timeleyness I was able to identify the scam.

I will call PayPal again tomorrow. Bottom line...lesson learned. I will be sticking to the buy from an AD and hold tactic from here on out.

End rant.

P.S. if anyone has any experience with a PayPal transaction gone wrong I’d love you help!