Penmanship and handwriting

[wBrah]

So I'm sitting here examining the warranty card from a watch I purchased from a trusted seller last week. The seller has been courteous and answered a barrage of all my questions over a period of about a week as the transaction was in process. Not to mention that this seller has plenty of references on this forum as well as others.

However, something just hasn't sat right with me since I first glanced at it. Well, have a look for yourself and decide.



Does the warranty date year look altered to you? To me, it looks like it was originally 2015 which was later penned to look like 2016, but due to the age of the original ink, the markings written over stand out. Like I said, the seller has plenty of references and I've been bothering him for about a week now with questions, but, when spending several thousand dollars on something you kind of expect to get what you've agreed on which is a good reason to scrutinize everything closely. The watch is still sitting here in the shape it arrived: still stickered and untouched for now. What do you guys think? Am I looking at it too hard?

[Old Expat Beast]

Whose buyer name is on the card?
What country is the card from?
Did you get a green or red chronometer tag with the watch?

[DocHorton]

Looks altered to me...you can see where the "5" was before the year was re-traced. Nobody draws a "6" like that.

[racxcoon]

The year looks like it had been altered. Why did he post date the date of purchase? Is that allowed?

[Rolthai32]

How come its April?

[DJ TT 2002]

Altered to a date that has not yet occurred?
That's odd !!

Was the seller named John Connor ???

[wBrah]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Whose buyer name is on the card?
What country is the card from?
Did you get a green or red chronometer tag with the watch?

The name of the buy was some person's name (not my name).
The card is from the US (I'm assuming). The seller stated it was from a US AD. I've looked up the AD, it's a US AD and they are listed on Rolex's site. There are no country codes on the card. I got a red chrono tag with mine. Seller stated the AD had still shipped out watches to him with red chrono tags post the June 2015 switchover.

Originally Posted by DocHorton

Looks altered to me...you can see where the "5" was before the year was re-traced. Nobody draws a "6" like that.

That's what's been bothering me. I've been thinking about it for the past few days. Didn't know if I was thinking too much into it and seeing something that wasn't there. I didn't want to cry wolf if there was nothing there because like I said, the seller has a good reputation all around it would seem.

Originally Posted by racxcoon

The year looks like it had been altered. Why did he post date the date of purchase? Is that allowed?

Seller stated the card was dated in the future because sometimes it takes a bit to sell a certain model of watch and the AD would do that.

Originally Posted by Rolthai32

How come its April?

See post above.

Originally Posted by DJ TT 2002

Altered to a date that has not yet occurred?
That's odd !!

Was the seller named John Connor ???

Skynet is not responsible for this.
I've seen posts on this forum where a buyer had a future dated warranty card but a month or two from an AD. The month is not what bothers me. The year looking altered is what bothers me. I don't want to hold on to a watch with a voided warranty when I was promised a watch with a valid one.

[schwartz914]

looks altered for sure

[Etschell]

Originally Posted by wBrah

So I'm sitting here examining the warranty card from a watch I purchased from a trusted seller last week. The seller has been courteous and answered a barrage of all my questions over a period of about a week as the transaction was in process. Not to mention that this seller has plenty of references on this forum as well as others.

However, something just hasn't sat right with me since I first glanced at it. Well, have a look for yourself and decide.



Does the warranty date year look altered to you? To me, it looks like it was originally 2015 which was later penned to look like 2016, but due to the age of the original ink, the markings written over stand out. Like I said, the seller has plenty of references and I've been bothering him for about a week now with questions, but, when spending several thousand dollars on something you kind of expect to get what you've agreed on which is a good reason to scrutinize everything closely. The watch is still sitting here in the shape it arrived: still stickered and untouched for now. What do you guys think? Am I looking at it too hard?

looks to me like a left handed person filled it out and smudged the sharpie. happens to me all the time.

that said it was traced over and clearly was 2015 before. id return the watch if you dont like it.

[Old Expat Beast]

"I got a red chrono tag with mine. Seller stated the AD had still shipped out watches to him with red chrono tags post the June 2015 switchover."

Yeah, this also sounds wrong to me, specially for a card post dated to April 2016. Red tags were supposed to have been turned in for green ones last June. The year does look changed to me, too.

[wBrah]

All right. Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate all of your responses.

Let's talk ethics here. The deal was for a BNIB watch with a 2016 dated warranty card. On my end today, the watch has been unworn, still has all the stickers and tags on it just as the day it came in. I've been holding off doing anything with it until I had everything resolved 100% and was sure the purchase was on the up and up. The question is, should the seller have to pay for return shipping?

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by wBrah

All right. Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate all of your responses.

Let's talk ethics here. The deal was for a BNIB watch with a 2016 dated warranty card. The watch has been unworn, still has all the stickers and tags on it just as the day it came in. The question is, should the seller have to pay for return shipping?

Yes.

[Etschell]

i think if the seller actually changed the card his name needs to be revealed. I certainly dont think that is the case but I would not want to deal with anyone who would do so....

that said, unless you blow the card up it is hard to tell that it was altered so perhaps the seller had no idea. could have slipped past them. still they should take it back at no charge to you and cover your shipping costs.

[wBrah]

I'm waiting to see what the seller says regarding covering return shipping. I feel bad to have to do this because I've been asking the seller so many questions all week long. I just can't risk there being a problem at the service center because of the date should the need arise.

[DJ TT 2002]

Agree, send it back and seller picks up the tab, etc.

Sorry for your bother, kinda puts a damper on a new watch.
I'm sure it will all work out, in the long run.

TRF is a solid place and welcome to the site !!

[Robbie68]

The lettering under the the lettering so to speak still says 2016 however there are two other elements that show it being altered from the original. Whoever wrote the original used an italic marker, that's why the line thickness is different on the A of April, the year is written with a standard marker. The original writer curves the 2 down at the bottom which is unusual, the bottom of the 2 in the year curves up. Have you thought of calling the AD they might be able to explain it?

[wBrah]

Originally Posted by DJ TT 2002

Agree, send it back and seller picks up the tab, etc.

Sorry for your bother, kinda puts a damper on a new watch.
I'm sure it will all work out, in the long run.

TRF is a solid place and welcome to the site !!

It sure does, especially because this seller has been so courteous. Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm a long time lurker here.

[wBrah]

Originally Posted by Robbie68

The lettering under the the lettering so to speak still says 2016 however there are two other elements that show it being altered from the original. Whoever wrote the original used an italic marker, that's why the line thickness is different on the A of April, the year is written with a standard marker. The original writer curves the 2 down at the bottom which is unusual, the bottom of the 2 in the year curves up. Have you thought of calling the AD they might be able to explain it?

I have thought about it but I don't know the etiquette when it comes to resellers and their ADs. Do I call and ask about the warranty date and give them the watch's serial number? I thought about calling the RSC and asking them if they can look up the manufacture date of the watch using the serial but I haven't found any success stories googling so I don't know.

[Etschell]

Originally Posted by wBrah

I have thought about it but I don't know the etiquette when it comes to resellers and their ADs. Do i call and ask about the warranty date and give them the watch's serial number? I thought about calling the RSC and asking them if they can look up the manufacture date of the watch using the serial but I haven't found any success stories googling so I don't know.

i wouldnt do that. it is irrelevant if the seller is willing to accept the watch back at his cost.

[Hairdude1]

Send it back to the seller

[sco]

Return it, buy the new one from an AD and move on with peace of mind.

[salvadorsantana]

Or you can also keep the watch and ask for a "big" discount from the seller since I will consider that watch as new but with no papers since the warranty card looks altered and therefore it will be useless. It is not like a brand new Rolex will set to fail in the years to come, and if something happens usually it is a cheap fix and plenty of qualified watchmakers around the country...so either ask for a deep discount or ask him/her to provide a return label and refund. Hope all works out.

[RichM]

Forget the fact that we're still in March, if that warranty card were to be sent to Rolex for a watch under warranty, they (Rolex) would be telling you the same thing, the card had been altered.

Not sure but I would guess that they would ask to see the bill of sale. If you bought the watch used, that wouldn't be a problem. You could be the first used owner, the second, etc etc. and the bill of sale could be from an individual. If you bought BNIB, you should have a bill of sale from an AD. Which I assume you don't.

Yea, I know they have no right to ask for a bill of sale, but they do here in NYC. How do I know, they asked me for mine. On a card that appears to be altered, THEY WILL.

I'd still like to know who the seller is. That's just not right.

[breitlings]

That is Shady. I don't know if I would back out or ask for $500 off the agreed upon price. It is possible you lose everything if seller keeps the watch and holds the money.

[RichM]

If you go the discount route, I would base it on the cost of a complete RSC overhaul, just in case.

We have here on TRF a member whose brand new 3 hour old Daytona stopped working. I had a GMT that needed a full movement overhaul 6 months after my warranty expired. (Rolex serviced that watch at no cost as a courtesy)

It's not the norm, but it does happen.

[mmutte]

It was my understanding that the cards are swiped at the AD upon purchase; therefore, it shouldn't matter what is written on the card and based on this fact whether tampered with or not (which it looks to me as being tampered with) it should register the original sales date once swiped again.

I am correct in saying this??

[wBrah]

Originally Posted by breitlings

That is Shady. I don't know if I would back out or ask for $500 off the agreed upon price. It is possible you lose everything if seller keeps the watch and holds the money.

I doubt a reputable seller would consider going this route. This is a seller with many successful transactions and lots of "Who's Who" reviews.

Originally Posted by Rich Mickol

If you go the discount route, I would base it on the cost of a complete RSC overhaul, just in case.

We have here on TRF a member whose brand new 3 hour old Daytona stopped working. I had a GMT that needed a full movement overhaul 6 months after my warranty expired. (Rolex serviced that watch at no cost as a courtesy)

It's not the norm, but it does happen.

Yea I read that thread the other day. It appears that the seller has agreed to send a return label. I'm waiting on an email so I can proceed with the return. I will keep this thread updated with the outcome.

[RichM]

Thanks and good luck.

[UK.Watch.Addict]

Very naughty

[Chadridv]

Yeah that's all a bit too cloudy for me. I would return. Sounds like you're on the right track. This type of thing has happened to me and I know it's almost heartbreaking to have to return it but it will all be worth it once you get things in order and you get the RIGHT watch in hand! Good luck.