Theken

[drgoro]

Got a good deal on the Panerai 305 (the only saving grace of the deal, not the seller himself), however, I and my jeweler have serious doubts on the advertised condition of the new, unworn condition. Tread carfeully.

[Dan Pierce]

Mark Theken has been a trusted seller on TRF for years. Never heard any complaints, ever.

I have purchased from him and was extremely satisfied all the way around. I would highly recommend him to anyone without hesitation.
dP

[SWISSAHOLICS]

Mark is a trusted seller here and also a great guy to deal with.
I have personally done a very large transaction with him in the past and it was a flawless deal.

[LLPavorsky]

Mark is always A+++. Not sure what your problem was?

[drgoro]

I am relating my experience, I have purchased watches from numerous other trusted sellers; the other guys have described their watches exactly as they have it in their possession. If a watch is advertized as new and unworn then I guess I should not have let:
1- the obvious scratch across across the tang buckle bother me
2- scratch across the bezel bother me
3- pink residue (of some kind, polish?) lodged in the bezel pearl bother me
4- lack of any back sticker or wrong model bezel protector bother me

My concerns were given a blanket answer " that's the way I got it from the AD," maybe, maybe not, however, it was certainly not unworn, or in new condition.

The saving grace was the price, which was only a few hundred above lightly used, so I bit the bullet on that one, figuring the difference wasn't worth the hassle after shipping it back. Again this is my one experience with the seller, maybe one slipped through the crack.

I'm new to the forum, was this section only for good experiences? Mods please move it to the appropriate one if so!

[LLPavorsky]

Thank you for your explanation & clarification.

[drgoro]

No problem!

[theken]

After I was advised of this post by another TRF member, I contacted both a TRF moderator as well as several TRF friends and they advised me that I should add some essential facts to this thread.
That is my reason for making this post since I feel this thread is damaging to my reputation as a trusted TRF seller. My reputation on TRF is very important to me and I strive to do everything I reasonably can do to maintain it.
I have bought/sold/traded watches with more than 100 different TRF members including moderators, trusted sellers, TRF members and as well as "unknown" persons like Lyn with no feedback or TRF posts at the time they contact me. Reviewing my own TRF "who's who" feedback, I believe the consensus is that the watches I offer on TRF are in better condition that described.

Trevann Lyn (TRF user drgoro) first contacted me on 11/26/2014 via TRF PM after I posted a Panerai 305 for sale on 11/19/2014.
The PAM 305 was sold to me sight unseen by a Rolex/Panera AD located in Washington the previous week. It was described as new/unworn by the sales person and I was offered a very attractive discount from the list price. I agreed to purchase it, my name and the date of sale were entered on the warranty and the watch was shipped to me via overnight Fed Ex delivery. I have purchased about 10 watches, both new and used, from this AD. They are fantastic to deal with and I feel very fortunate to be on their contact list when they have watches such as this Panerai at "special" prices.
The PAM 305 was not a watch I planned to keep for my own collection and I bought it with the intention of reselling it at a significant discount from the $10,100 list price.
Lyn contacted me expressing an interest and offering a Bell & Ross watch in partial trade. After an exchange of emails, we made a agreement to trade watches with a cash balance due to me.
The watches were shipped and I did not hear from Lynn despite my request that he contact me upon delivery to confirm receipt of the Panerai.
Several days later, I received an email message in which Lyn mentioned a scratch on the buckle. Lyn mentioned none of the other issues that he now mentions in his post above.
Lynn requested at that time that I contact the Panerai AD and ask them to exchange the watch for a different Panerai 305. I considered his request unreasonable and offered him $75 to have his "jeweler" buff out the reported scratch on the buckle. When the watch was in my possession, I never noticed the scratch on the tang buckle that was the only reason at that time Lyn was expressing disatisfaction with our trade. He responded that my $75 refund offer was unnecessary. I then asked him to return the Panerai if he was not happy with our transaction and I would return his Bell & Ross watch and issue a cash full refund of the cash difference that he paid. Lynn replied that he preferred to keep the watch and at that point I considered our transaction to be final.
Since that time I have received no communication from Lynn. I was very surprised to read the above thread that he started 2 months after our transaction was completed.
I am not interested in creating a "he said-he said" exchange but instead simply want to provide some background information to anyone reading about this transaction.
In the past, I believe that I have helped many members of this community find watches they are searching for and they have reciprocated to our mutual benefit. In over 30 years of various business transactions, I am aware that it is not always possible to please everyone 100% regardless of my own desire and commitment to do exactly that. None the less, it saddens me that I was unable to make this transaction meet Lyn's expectations.

[m_allie]

Mark is an awesome seller and whatever this newbie is doing isn't even worth the time reading people who know you Mark as I do you are a great person as a seller and utmost honest
In all your transactions . Mark aka Theken is One of TRF Best final !

[mwasheikh]

I have dealt with Theken, he was a seller but is now a friend I trust him blindly and he is a man of his word. I would recommend him to anyone A+++++