Did my Rolex get stolen?

[Nissanzx1]

Time to go- At the time I originally started this thread, he had already pulled all his listings. So, clearly there was no harm to the public. If I thought someone else would be sending a watch to him, I would have spoken up with his username/ auction (listing) links/real name/real address, etc.

No reason to post on this public forum a "link" to his user name (which by the way is just like posting his username) unless we believe anyone else is in immediate danger of being scammed.

With that being said I am not trying to scold you. I see you have been on this forum for many years, and I am new here. I appreciate you taking the time to make suggestions and help me with ideas. After all, I was the one who posted this whole thread in a panic yesterday.

I truthfully believe that this older guy is just not good at communication. He comes from the school of "snail mail" where being gone from your work for a week (without email contact) to help out a family member is no big deal.

Someone like me, who is expected to reply to emails within the hour (work emails) thinks the world has come to an end if I loose communication for more than a couple days. Most folks in my generation are always in communication almost as if in an instant message. In this instance, I think I clearly jumped the gun.

In a few weeks I will post back with pics of the watch, or an insurance check. I pray its pics of the watch instead.

***Finally a word to those who only service/purchase at RSC or AD... I have nothing against your philosophy. If you can afford it, by all means its the way to go...
But, if you are like me (i.e. trying to build a watch collection on a low budget) you need to keep costs low. This means buying watches from various sales forums and ebay. Of course there are risks with that. I have bought dozens and dozens of Rolex's online and never had a problem until this hicup. If I only bought at AD and serviced at RSC, I would only have 2 Rolex's, not 9. I know some forum members will agree with my philosophy and some won't.

I took some risks in this situation, which in hindsight I would not relive. I did learn a lesson here so please don't flame me. I appreciate everyone who was genuinely trying to help me.

Grant

[Laszlo]

I don't know if there are any hardcore BMW enthusiast on this forum, but way back in 2008 when the new BMW M3 was being launched in the US, and they were impossible to get, a forum member on Bimmerpost bid on a new M3 on eBay, where the dealership assistant mistakenly put a Buy-it-Now for for the car at $60K. This car's MSRP was $70K+ and with dealer mark-ups, they were going for $85K. The buyer purchased the M3 and the dealership tried to cancel the transaction.

Well... the forum member went ahead and posted the frustration and story on the forum and shortly after, the entire community went completely ape $hit. To the point where the story got so out of hand that forum members started calling the dealership with death threats and even found the employee's home phone numbers where more death threats commenced. It became a witch hunt.

It boiled up so much that the auto journalists picked up the story and it ended up getting mass attention which fueled an out of control fire. In the end, after death treats, loss of business to the dealership, hazings, reputation, and so on, the dealership caved in and handed the M3 over to the owner, shipped it across the country for free, along with a $12,000+ plus loss. And a lot of people got hurt in the process. And a lot of lessons were learned.

[improviz]

Your reasoning here is ridiculous. The transaction count needed to rack up a ratings score like his could not have been achieved by someone who is uncomfortable with modern means of e-communication nor stupid enough not to utilize them properly in the conduct of his business, if legit.

Further, there are plenty of legitimate, well-known watchmakers out there who can service a watch with no worries of it disappearing for a few hundred dollars more than what this guy was advertising, meaning that even if he is "legit" and servicing these watches at this price, I doubt very seriously that he is doing it with authorized parts, which will hurt your watches' value far more than you would save by going on this misguided route.

Lastly, I would submit that if your budget is so tight that spending an extra two hundred dollars in servicing fees once every five years are going to stretch it to the breaking point, perhaps you should consider either a smaller watch collection or a less expensive hobby.

[polarinda]

The email he sent you is trackable to the location of the laptop/pc he used to sent it. You just need to report it.
Sorry to hear...but gotta move on. Bad people everywhere.

[salem65]

Originally Posted by Nissanzx1

I took some risks in this situation, which in hindsight I would not relive. I did learn a lesson here so please don't flame me. I appreciate everyone who was genuinely trying to help me.

Grant

If only you would have accepted their help. Oh well. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't drink it for them.
I really hope you get your watch back

[Baselman]

Unbeleivable - well I for one hope the dude has got himself a new mercedes now to roll around in lol

[Lgear080]

Soooooooo let me get this straight ... You're so hard up that you found a rando
Ebayer to service your Rolex, albeit one with a bunch of "good" eBay fb. That's
Completely ridiculous and unacceptable. I have no advice for someone that would
Believe this to be a well thought plan.

[lsettle]

Originally Posted by Lgear080

Soooooooo let me get this straight ... You're so hard up that you found a rando
Ebayer to service your Rolex, albeit one with a bunch of "good" eBay fb. That's
Completely ridiculous and unacceptable. I have no advice for someone that would
Believe this to be a well thought plan.

I am with Lgear080, if it were April 1st, I would say this thread is a joke....

Lawrence

[Baselman]

Wonder how it will end

[77T]

Grant - hope it all gets resolved soon.
IMHO, you may just have an eBayer who had a problem but should follow through with the service you paid for. The 1200+ positive feedbacks say a lot.

One or two people who jumped the gun and filed complaints due to same problem doesn't mean the seller is bad. His turnaround time is 3 weeks and he has had it for less than 2 weeks now.

Please post an outcome so this thread doesn't become the witch hunt Laszlo described from the BMW forum...

[improviz]

Originally Posted by Baselman

OP learn from this lesson also - Don't forget you came to us for advice & support and a lot of respected members gave you very very sound advice as well as their support which was then ignored and even criticized partly - that's just not good to do. This is a great community of experts, passionate members, a source for invaluable knowledge and a global forum that is second to none when it comes to all things Rolex.
I would when reaching out to this network always remember that in the future.

Exactly. In addition to just asking about the guy, one can easily search for info/references in the who's who section, on other similar sections on other sites, etc...also I would definitely have gotten in touch with the AD at which he claimed to have been employed, etc...simply cannot be too careful with stuff like this!

[Nissanzx1]

Originally Posted by Baselman View Post
"OP learn from this lesson also - Don't forget you came to us for advice & support and a lot of respected members gave you very very sound advice as well as their support which was then ignored and even criticized partly - that's just not good to do. This is a great community of experts, passionate members, a source for invaluable knowledge and a global forum that is second to none when it comes to all things Rolex.
I would when reaching out to this network always remember that in the future."

Baselman I come in peace. I mean no disrespect. I really enjoy this forum and hope to contribute. I don't remember criticizing anyone. I see your comment was edited.

"Unbeleivable - well I for one hope the dude has got himself a new mercedes now to roll around in lol"

So Baselman, you hope the watchmaker steals my watch and buys himself a newer Mercedes? I don't understand?

GH

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by MonBK

I don't think you'll have to eat anything Andreas!

Well to be honest, I'm not picky, but I hate to eat words.

[Baselman]

Yes I edited the post as I don't think its fair to add to the stress your already going through so I took it out and changed it to just I wonder how this will end. I think lets wait for an outcome now no bashing the OP continue to support him and understand if you was in his shoes - OP can you call and ask the guy if he will return your watch overnight and refund the money and tell us the outcome of that discussion. You can then always go to another person to get it serviced. This is the overwhelming advice being given to you here. Don't shy away ask and you'll get support from all of us but also listen to us too my friend.

[Errigle]

Don't feel stupid . We all make mistakes.The important thing is to learn from them.

[kleman]

I don’t understand why some forum members are upset for the OP not following forum recommendations.

The OP had a problem and rightfully came to here to ask for advice. He is free to follow the advice or not. In this particular case, the situation changed substantially, as the e-bayer responded and gave an explanation.

Would I send my Rolex to service to this (or other) e-bayer? No, certainly not. But the OP decided that it was wise. The same goes now: After collecting advices, he has decided to trust. That is ok. The OP collected the information, analyzed it and decided.

I think (hope) that it will end well. The guy has very good feedback on e-bay. Saying that, I’m far from certain, but that is just my view.

[Hairdude1]

I am hoping for a positive outcome

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

I don't know if there are any hardcore BMW enthusiast on this forum, but way back in 2008 when the new BMW M3 was being launched in the US, and they were impossible to get, a forum member on Bimmerpost bid on a new M3 on eBay, where the dealership assistant mistakenly put a Buy-it-Now for for the car at $60K. This car's MSRP was $70K+ and with dealer mark-ups, they were going for $85K. The buyer purchased the M3 and the dealership tried to cancel the transaction.

Well... the forum member went ahead and posted the frustration and story on the forum and shortly after, the entire community went completely ape $hit. To the point where the story got so out of hand that forum members started calling the dealership with death threats and even found the employee's home phone numbers where more death threats commenced. It became a witch hunt.

It boiled up so much that the auto journalists picked up the story and it ended up getting mass attention which fueled an out of control fire. In the end, after death treats, loss of business to the dealership, hazings, reputation, and so on, the dealership caved in and handed the M3 over to the owner, shipped it across the country for free, along with a $12,000+ plus loss. And a lot of people got hurt in the process. And a lot of lessons were learned.

Count me in as a BMW enthusiast.

Member since 2001 on M5board.com.

[Laszlo]

Originally Posted by bayerische

Count me in as a BMW enthusiast.

Member since 2001 on M5board.com.

Right on!

[jphj012]

Sorry to bash on you BMW enthusiasts, but I too was once a bmw enthusiasts until they recently had all of their cars run on turbo engines. (Except for the M series). Big mistake on their part.

[Silverfever]

Nissanzx1 aka Grant, IMHO this thread shows you are probably one of the most decent human beings here. I sincerely hope everything ends well.

Unlike some, who have chosen to ridicule you,

I salute you.

[improviz]

Originally Posted by jphj012

Sorry to bash on you BMW enthusiasts, but I too was once a bmw enthusiasts until they recently had all of their cars run on turbo engines. (Except for the M series). Big mistake on their part.

M series will all be turbos once M4 comes out, M5 & M6 already are.

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by jphj012

Sorry to bash on you BMW enthusiasts, but I too was once a bmw enthusiasts until they recently had all of their cars run on turbo engines. (Except for the M series). Big mistake on their part.

No turbo's on my BMW.

But we should probably do a different BMW thread on the Open forum.

[Jocke]

The funny thing is Grant drive Mercedes so please no BMW talk in this thread.

[Nissanzx1]

Jocke old buddy its okay. I also have a 528i :)

GH

[Rashid.bk]

This thread is disturbing. Op, good guys finish last, sometimes a good lesson comes of it.
I'm having a hard time seeing a good lesson here. Good luck.

[samsmart]

I have seen these ads on ebay before.

Just like buying the seller when buying a watch, you should also buy the watchmaker you are sending you watch too for repair...

Sorry man, this sounds like a bad deal.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[jbshaffer]

OK!!!!!! Who just bid against me on the Seiko???????

[DCgator]

I'm with Grant, and believe this will turn out positively for him.

[DiamondJack]

Well......I'm sure all our fingers are crossed......but just never even entered my mind to try to find a watch repairer on eBay.......I worry even when buying goods of a few hundred pounds never mind sending one of my watches and a few hundred quid......

Someone mentioned in an earlier post that TRF was a great tool which is clearly very true...... but surely your most valuable tool is your own common sense........but best of luck and here's hoping for a positive outcome........

Out of interest, what was the value of the watch?