Anyone got scammed before?

[Knappo 1307]

There was another thread on here not to long ago, where the potential buyer did the same thing. He took the watch out to his girlfriend to have her look at it, and she swapped out the real one for a fake. The buyer said he was going to think about it, gave the fake back to the seller, and left. The seller didn't realize it until the buyer was gone. That was probably going to be the scenario here...

[masyv6]

Originally Posted by FremStar

Horrible story, sorry this happened to you. Yes, I have been scammed before. Recently my wife tasked me with getting last minute tickets for Justin Bieber at the Prudential Center. Not wanting to pay $3,000 for 4 last minute tickets I turned to Craigslist and was able to negotiate 4 tickets for $1,000. Long story short my wife, our 2 nieces and my wife's sister get to the gate and were advised the tickets were fake. Needless to say they were able to get tickets at the box office. I can't comment on what transpired with the scammer but lets just say I will never use Craigslist ever again. JP Chestnut is right you avoided a home invasion type situation. I thought I was a savvy shopper but lets just say that there are scum humans in this world...

Pics of the fake tickets...


It's a tough pill to swallow with a watch, however, all will be well. What goes around comes around. You can turn that negative situation into a positive by helping unsuspecting people out.

Sorry that happened to you buddy. Those tickets look really good for fakes..

[watchenthusiast6]

Originally Posted by Tony64

I was thinking the same thing. Why not just wait to exchange watches when the deal could be completed? Nothing gained by doing the deal as described, you would need to meet up again to get the papers and finalize the cash terms regardless.

Also curious how the deal would have gone down if the OP had not eyed the Hulk. Was the guy planning to buy the OP's sub legitimately and just saw an opportunity when the OP wanted the buyer's watch? If I understand the way the deal went down, it was the OP who initiated the trade, not the buyer of the Sub?

I don't know much about the "Hulk" but a quick search seems like it should sell around 3k over the OP's Sub? Getting a genuine Hulk for the sub plus $1500 seems a little like an opportunistic trade, if it had been legit. A lot of lessons learned from this one.

Yup got caught up in the moment. Well i guess we live and learn but there will be no next time in doing this kind of transaction.

[watchenthusiast6]

Originally Posted by dt32886@gmail.com

The clasp on the bracelet looks iffy. So do the white gold engravings on the bezel.
Main reason i wanted to see pics was to see if the dial was anything like the original.
Do you mind taking a pic in the light. Also, have you held a real Hulk up close and personal? The dial is the hardest part to bootleg.

It's a good fake though unfortunately

Yep i will take a picture once I get home. To answer your question yes I have multiple times already. I know what you mean about the dial. As far as the clasp goes, what part did you see that looks iffy and the white gold engravings? Maybe for my own future references

[DeeTee]

The bezel insert is written in white gold on the ceramics.
In real life it always looks perfect and bright.

The clasp itself doesn't look flush. Gaps look off.

[improviz]

Odd that the watchmaker who proclaimed the watch to be fake would then be complacent enough to be fooled into thinking that the bracelet was genuine. I mean, if I knew the head of the watch is fake, the bracelet would instantly have fake until proven otherwise status in my book.

[ememon]

thank you for sure, really sorry about what had happened. I read you story and than took the dog for a walk...thought about if i would have done the same - yes. I believe i would have. Today, I most drive 1.5 hour for a SDDS i saw on Craigslist with a divorce story.. Thanks to TRF here, it was spotted as a fake right away. I was not aware there are fake out there can look so real and across all Rolex's model. Reason i also make my pledge today.
know its must be painful and glad that you have move and share this with us.

[Navy Sailor]

The thief did what's called "building a story". Some of you may see it plainly from the outside as he tells the story but a good thief builds trust by relying on your wants. He let you bring up the conversation about the watch, he didn't come in trying to sell it. He brought a woman and some kids (actual or not). He probably emphasized that he trusted YOU, whenever you took his watch and he took yours plus $800 for collateral. They weren't forceful, his "wife" said "it's up to you." All those things together built a strong case for you to make quick deal.

Being impulsive on anything can be dangerous. Hopefully you've already made contact with police. There's a large chance you can get your watch back or even have insurance pay for it. Sorry for the loss brother.

[Knappo 1307]

Originally Posted by Navy Sailor

The thief did what's called "building a story". Some of you may see it plainly from the outside as he tells the story but a good thief builds trust by relying on your wants. He let you bring up the conversation about the watch, he didn't come in trying to sell it. He brought a woman and some kids (actual or not). He probably emphasized that he trusted YOU, whenever you took his watch and he took yours plus $800 for collateral. They weren't forceful, his "wife" said "it's up to you." All those things together built a strong case for you to make quick deal.

Being impulsive on anything can be dangerous. Hopefully you've already made contact with police. There's a large chance you can get your watch back or even have insurance pay for it. Sorry for the loss brother.

Doubt that very much, unfortunately.

[Navy Sailor]

Originally Posted by Knappo 1307

Doubt that very much, unfortunately.

Worth a try though...

[usrudiver932]

Actually the police may not take report depending exactly how it went down and depending on what exactly was said, if OP originally initiated and assumed the Hulk original and the scammer did not hold it out to be real then no crime. It's a civil matter/a contract agreed to by both parties. One cud even say the OP ripped the scammer off by not paying the full amount.

[skydriver]

That sux. But seriously if I am going to do a transaction like you did I would insist of taking a photograph of him and his license. And if he said no then you know he is not legit. I would also expect him to want to do the same with your license. Sorry but you were not that smart. And if you have not notified the police even though it happened 3 weeks ago, then you deserve what you got. I am sorry but I will not hold back on something like this.

[Farang]

^
Yep, it is always easy to be wise after the fact!

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Knappo 1307

There was another thread on here not to long ago, where the potential buyer did the same thing. He took the watch out to his girlfriend to have her look at it, and she swapped out the real one for a fake. The buyer said he was going to think about it, gave the fake back to the seller, and left. The seller didn't realize it until the buyer was gone. That was probably going to be the scenario here...

This one? From post 33. www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=457884

[patrolmi]

Hi- sorry that happened and definitely thank you for the info. I too am under the impression that with luxury goods, Craigslist is not for amateurs anymore. It's a magnet to the entire world of criminals who get slicker all the time. I'm not saying buy new at an AD... but strangers with no references or way to backtrack is just too dangerous.

Scary stuff! Like others have said, be thankful no one was hurt.

[patrolmi]

Oh, I was thinking if you didn't go thru with the sale - the "wife" may have been ready to go with the old switcheroo..... I guess this is also a reason not to put any personal information in an ad -- such as "I'm trading up to a Hulk" so my sub needs to go.... not that you did that- just saying.