I May Have Been Scammed Right Here On TRF

[520Matt]

Wow.... I just spent the the last hour and a half reading this thread, what at fantastic ending! Hard to believe it ended so well. i'm a fairly new member and currently have a watch in the FS section and would be willing to do just about anything to make the potential buyer feel more comfortable. I defninately learned a bit about buying and selling through this thread. i've had a couple offers and inquiries and to be honest I wanted to find out more about the buyer too. I researched their post history etc. One of the potential buyers ( it looked like we were close to a deal--- I sent him my final offer and his reply was how would I ship? And my reply was how would you like me to ship? After getting no reply to my question about how they would like me to ship. I sent a follow up email that my last offer was withdrawn. It just didn't make sense that they seemed so interested and we were within 50 bucks for him not to reply to my email. They did however immediately reply to my email that the offer had been withdrawn with a congrats on selling the watch to which i replied that the watch had not been sold but that i was uncomfortbable that i had not heard from them for 24 hours and therefore did not think the offer was serious, to which i have not received any reply.

[Earl Camembert]

Originally Posted by 520Matt

They did however immediately reply to my email that the offer had been withdrawn with a congrats on selling the watch to which i replied that the watch had not been sold but that i was uncomfortbable that i had not heard from them for 24 hours and therefore did not think the offer was serious, to which i have not received any reply.

If the buyer was in the north east US of A he could be like myself. I have been shoving for over a day and finally had to sleep about 2 AM. I'm getting ready to shovel again. I bought a watch a week ago and it took me three days to wire the money; that was last weeks blizzard.

I do understand your concern but no money or merchandise has changed hands; then I would worry about a day with no communication.

[JP500]

What an amazing story.

[mpkRolex]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Thanks, cronin, but I did recover the watches and cash with the help of my local PD and the Richland County Sheriff's Department. All is well now.

Good to know Joey..that you got everything back. A good lesson for all of us here on TRF..

[TSKDUS]

Sorry to hear of your loss and my heart goes out to you. Hope you are able to recover your loss.

[Earl Camembert]

Originally Posted by TSKDUS

Sorry to hear of your loss and my heart goes out to you. Hope you are able to recover your loss.

Oh my.

[520Matt]

good advice Camembert. I did here back, but have withdrawn the watch for sale for the time being. Was just offered a trade for the same watch but mine has a jubilee and his an Oyster band (what i prefer) waiting for photos etc. will let you know if i do it!

[thepowerful]

great story with a nice ending!

when you guys to reference checks what are some questions you ask

[thepowerful]

great story with a nice ending!

when you guys to reference checks what are some questions you ask

[thepowerful]

great story with a nice ending!

when you guys to reference checks what are some questions you ask?

[dieselophile]

Congrats on persevering and having your watches returned, and thank you for sharing your experience with the rest of us here!
I agree that a contract needs to be formalised so members rights are protected, not just for buying and selling but also for other services rendered eg watch oiling/servicing etc.

[joeychitwood]

Today, I emailed the lead detective on the case in Columbia to see if the perpetrator was ever charged, as we uncovered evidence that he was attempting similar scams both on TRF and on timezone.com. Here was his response this afternoon:

Unfortunately after discussing the case with our Assist Solicitor at that time, he would not authorize me getting an arrest warrant due to no actual loss of money or property from all parties involved. However, if future events should happen again, then I should be able to go against the subject. Thank you for inquiring and if there is anything else I can do for you, just let me know. Lt. *** *****

[Kemal]

Wow I´m so happy for you, I hope that you will find your gold Sub and wear it in good helath.

[jdub]

Fascinating read!

[Kimber418]

This is my first post as I am getting ready to buy my 3rd Rolex and
wanted to learn more about Rolex and the buying process through the internet. My first two were given as gifts--
one 20 years ago and the other 10 years ago. I read the entire post and I
have to say it makes me not want to buy from any other place but an AD!
I look forward to getting to know sellers on this forum and feeling more
comfortable with the process. I am thrilled this all worked out for Mark!

[straker]

Certainly an educational read this, perhaps required reading one might say.

I'm pleased to see this is a great forum with quite a community helping each other out. Hopefully not too many people will repeat such an experience as Joey's, and experiences like this teach everyone a lot.

I joined hoping to find out more info on my humble collection of a 1680 and a 16660 so I'll see you in the forums!

Straker

[joeychitwood]

I've certainly learned a great deal at TRF. I was educated royally by the scam and was lucky enough to get my watches and cash back. I've since purchased three more watches from extremely trustworthy TRF sellers.

The scammer was never charged with a crime, and the case is closed.

[jmin]

That is great to hear. I am so glad that you managed to recover everything.

[andrew79]

What a scary experience you've been through.... this is a lesson to anyone in the TRF.... too bad the guy can't be charged with crime he tried to do several times !!!!

[denzo]

Tenacity, Honesty and Integrity will always prevail.

I just read this whole thread and went through an emotional rollercoaster of feelings.

I am looking to purchase a rolex from TRF members ...

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by denzo

I am looking to purchase a rolex from TRF members ...

One would think after an experience like this that I would walk away from ever buying an expensive watch on the net, but in all honesty, I wouldn't buy a non-AD watch from anyone other than a trusted TRF seller.

[alpinab7]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

One would think after an experience like this that I would walk away from ever buying an expensive watch on the net, but in all honesty, I wouldn't buy a non-AD watch from anyone other than a trusted TRF seller.

Says a lot for TRF...

[pradeep]

I'm so happy for you Joey.. just read the thread and i am glad it ended this way.

[kiaora1]

I have just read this entire thread (phew) and a great outcome Joey - thru a combination of hard work on your and other members part plus some luck. While there is no foolproof method of ensuring a positive outcome to all sales (except perhaps when dealing with the well known long time members on this forum or by face to face meetings) another useful step in a transaction process may be for sellers/buyers to also make contact via a Skype video call which is free and easy to do. At least then there could be picture records of the participants. Also, if members were required to have an actual photo for their avatar (scary in some cases I know!), video footage of the transaction participants would assist buyers/sellers with identifuying who they are dealing with.
Anyway, well done Doc!

Peter

[GradyPhilpott]

If nothing else speaks to the power of the internet in the hands of good people, this story certainly does.

[darthmouse]

^ Indeed. There was a somewhat-famous animal abuse case in which a dedicated and skilled group of users on a forum found the criminal... Search "Dusty the cat" if you'd like to learn about it.

[DoubleRedRolex]

wow what a great story and im glad there was a happy ending for you. I too was dealing via email to purchase a 16610 off craigs list and the seller seemed great and returned my emails promptly and send personalized pictures... Until i said i would meet him at the Rolex AD that was very close to him in Vancouver for inspection and cash hand over... that was the last i heard from him... stupid scammers they deserve to have their legs broken!!

[Stuart_]

Just read this thread(well, most of it anyway!)
Well done for getting the money back.
I just dont really see the point in them trying to scam if they cant actually manage to pull it off, what a complete waste of everyones time!

I got totally ripped off on ebay about 8 years ago on a Rolex Daytona. Im based in the UK, bought it off an Irish bloke in Australia, wired the money via western union money transfer. He kept telling me that the watch was on its way, giving me dodgy fedex tracking numbers, and then one day his mobile phone was off forever!
I had a friend over there who went to his address, it was an empty workshop next to a filling station!
In a week he made around £30,000, i spoke to a German bloke who he took for £8k but none of us had any luck in finding him or getting the money back. The police over here at the time were not interested, ebay was just stating to get popular. Western Union didnt care, and the credit card companies did absolutley nothing either. Bad times! :(

[D O C]

Wow, what a read! I recently convinced my wife that buying online and specifially from a trusted seller on TRF can be safe and secure (though I have yet to do it). She would HAVE A COW if she read this thread!

[DCgator]

Wow! Very glad it all worked out Joey.