Do your dd! Even with trusted rolex botiques ! Almost lost $32k.

[Talon84]

Blimey! Fair play to the OP for not getting caught.

Reminds me of the credit card scam where the ‘bank’ rings you up to tell you youre being scammed, when you check the phone number its legit but its really scammers piggybacking on the phone number somehow.

Always best to put the phone down and call the local branch

[Calatrava r]

Originally Posted by hojlund

there are always risks of buying fake, or losing money trading with a grey dealer. buy your watch from an AD is the only safe way to go, and brings you peace of mind.

Perhaps, if more people referred to used watch dealers as used watch dealers, less people would be scammed. Using the incorrect term of grey dealer regarding used watches may give some a false sense of security. When you buy anything used, you always take a big gamble.

[L_S_SHOE]

Originally Posted by Deroya

When you sell watches to TDs, 99.9% of the time you need to ship them the watches first and they do not pay you until after they inspect them. I’ve done it this way before and that’s how most on this page do it as they won’t assume that risk until they do a proper inspection.


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Interesting.


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[Deroya]

Originally Posted by L_S_SHOE

Interesting.


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Has this not been your experience? I can’t imagine any dealer would send money before receiving a watch, esp if that person reached out to them to sell it.


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[gamingdoctor]

Great work, OP. You did your extra due diligence and it literally paid off!

[L_S_SHOE]

Originally Posted by Deroya

Has this not been your experience? I can’t imagine any dealer would send money before receiving a watch, esp if that person reached out to them to sell it.


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Never sold a watch to a dealer. I’m still buying more than I’m selling.

It’s interesting to me because the system seems to favor the dealer at all times. If I buy the watch, I pay first. If I want to sell my watch to a dealer, I’ve got to mail the watch first. In both instances, I take the risk. Not really knocking it, but surprised that their exposure is so minimal.


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[Robf52]

Buyer (and seller) beware always. A close call but very glad you dodged the scam.

[thesharkfactor]

The ONLY sure way to sell your Rolex and NOT become a victim is to sell it over the counter at a bricks 'n' mortar grey dealer store. You may take a few $ less, but that is the cost of the assurance the deal will work out fine.

[Deroya]

I guess a question I still have from this is -

Why are there still multiple inactive boutiques listed here on TRF as active?

2 of them haven’t listed a watch for sale on here in over 4 years.

Does this not pose an extensive security risk?


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[SlideRacker]

I will only sell F2F at a local trusted seller. Fortunately I’m in SoCal and there are several good ones here.

[wilsonpepper]

Interesting, as I have sold multiple watches, on TRF and other websites, the the buyer always sends the money first, then I send the watch.

So the OP was going to send 3 watches worth $32k to "someone" without any corresponding $$ deposited into his account ?

Even 50% would have been better than zero $$

[Deroya]

Originally Posted by wilsonpepper

Interesting, as I have sold multiple watches, on TRF and other websites, the the buyer always sends the money first, then I send the watch.

So the OP was going to send 3 watches worth $32k to "someone" without any corresponding $$ deposited into his account ?

Even 50% would have been better than zero $$

Do me a favor, go offer DSW or any of the other big names on here a watch for them to buy. And see if they send you the funds first.

Let me know how that goes.


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[Deroya]

Originally Posted by Deroya

Do me a favor, go offer DSW or any of the other big names on here a watch for them to buy. And see if they send you the funds first.

Let me know how that goes.


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Need I also mention that this “someone” you speak of is listed as a TRUSTED BOUTIQUE dealer on this forum? Not some random Joe Shmoe….


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[sombra]

This story drives home the significance of only selling a single watch on a first transaction with any buyer. Instead of going all in with 32k at risk for three watches test the buyer with say a single watch for 10k.

[springer]

Originally Posted by Deroya

Bottom line up front – The actual trusted boutique in question here (BODYBUMP aka Oscar/International Watch Vault) did NOT attempt to scam me.

Posting in 2 forums sections for awareness (general and watchout) as this is very serious.

I am still in a bit of shock since this happened last week but have taken time to reflect. I am a 10-year TRF member, bought and sold on here many times. I decided to sell a few of my personal watches as of late, and took it to TRF to post them, but also reach out to some trusted dealers listed as “boutiques” to see what they would offer for quick sale. I wrote a canned email with info on all my pieces to all of them. “Bodybump” was one of the several, who appeared to be a HIGHLY trusted seller on TRF as well as a heavy social media presence and active store. (Still listed as a boutique today).

I emailed the email on his most recent posting, but also the SAME email that matched his IG/FB business accounts. I was responded to normally with fair dealer prices to which I decided to move forward with. We agreed on a deal via email for him to buy 3 watches for $32.5K and I told him to text me to move forward with the label etc.

I boxed up the watches, and prepared them for shipment and before I sent the invoice for the label, I decided to do some extra DD. Regardless the fact he emailed me from his real account, and he was an established TD on TRF. It was here some things started to not add up. The biggest catch I had was the phone number he was texting me on was different than what was listed on his ad/social media pages, I would not have caught this if the area codes were the same. Further digging revealed his state for shipping was different than what I matched his business to.

I asked this person texting me, why is the # different? And they stated that was a business phone # and he was texting me on his personal line. I asked him to text me from the business phone to verify this and he stalled/diverted the conversation.

I then texted the business #, and the REAL Oscar verifies it was NOT him the whole time and his email must have been hacked? We exchanged a dozen or so emails over 2-3 days on his REAL business email account and the scammer I guess deleted everything in and out? The scammer also texted me fake drivers license info. I can share screenshots of all of it for anyone interested. I notified mods on the forum immediately and the dealer himself who apologized and said he would work out the hacking problem.

Regardless--- This SMALL detail prevented me from taking a $32.5K loss. The real Oscar seems awesome, but please….TRIPLE check everything, even if they are trusted “boutiques”. Do anything you can to ensure you are dealing with the actual dealer, because this would have been a catastrophic loss for me, and I would hate to hear it happened to someone else.

Stay safe out there.

Anyone needing tp do a deal with someone should, pick up the phone and have some face time with the dealer/seller. Thieves rely on these text messages and emails to scam people. Dial the seller up and engage him in some conversation and have him verify himself with a drivers license photo or some type of ID.

Don't rely on the sellers word about anything that seems out of the ordinary regarding his contact information.

[Deroya]

Originally Posted by springer

Anyone needing tp do a deal with someone should, pick up the phone and have some face time with the dealer/seller. Thieves rely on these text messages and emails to scam people. Dial the seller up and engage him in some conversation and have him verify himself with a drivers license photo or some type of ID.

Don't rely on the sellers word about anything that seems out of the ordinary regarding his contact information.

Fully agree


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[TheVision]

OP...damn lucky my friend..thats a LOT of money!

And this is one of the MAIN reasons why Rolex has opened up the "certified Rolex" program at most ADs now. I know their prices are somewhat lower than grey market sellers but ya are dealing with a REAL STOREFRONT, and real people.

A friend of mine also has had a rough experience with one of the grey market sellers endorsed by this forum ....he had sent in a DJ41 (mint) and the seller emailed him pictures afterwards saying watch was used and he has to spend $500 on polishing. Then the grey market buyer reduced the quote by $500 OR my friend had to pay $300 out of pocket for return shipping. He ended up taking the reduced price as he didnt take any pictures before mailing out the watch and he had only worn once and flipped it. The dealer had emailed him clasp pictures which showed heavy wear and my friend was completely shocked but again, he had no proof from this side.

There's no telling how any of these transactions can go south with grey market sellers. I've read similar horror stories with Bobs Watches (higher quote, then claim watch is too used and they knock off $1k of the quote).