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21 March 2019, 01:33 PM | #1 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2008
Real Name: Jon
Location: seattle
Watch: Rolex GMT BLNR
Posts: 301
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Am I being Overly Cautious?
I’m selling a few watches here on the forums and I’ve been getting a lot of offers from members who are brand new to TRF with no posts. I just got an offer that I’m considering accepting from a longtime member, however they have zero previous posts or activity. They want to pay via PayPal. When I asked for their user name, they sent me two separate account names. I was only able to find one of them on TRF. Am I being overly cautious by asking them to pay via bank wire? I’ve heard horror stories about sellers who got screwed over by buyers after selling through PayPal. I want to sell the watch but at the same time I hope I’m not over thinking this. Curious what others here think. Any input would be appreciated!
Thanks! |
21 March 2019, 01:45 PM | #2 |
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 2,410
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horror stories are true.... Selling is not easy...people will find ways to screw the sellers..and it happens... My advice is....make sure you protect yourself and treat every transaction as if they're going rogue on you. You heard about "buy the seller", it's the same for seller... "sell the buyer". Don't trust anyone. Good luck.
PS..someone got screw through bank wires too :) |
21 March 2019, 02:05 PM | #3 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York, NY
Watch: 5513
Posts: 1,169
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I usually try to talk to the person on the phone, and if they have a work email they can email me with. If they are a real buyer, they shouldn't have a problem talking on the phone or sending an email for a large purchase.
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21 March 2019, 02:30 PM | #4 |
2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Real Name: Wes
Location: California
Watch: Varies
Posts: 1,323
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If your gut is telling you that there are issues, there are probably issues.
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21 March 2019, 08:02 PM | #5 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: West Midlands, UK
Watch: This space
Posts: 283
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Quote:
If they have no activity or posts then I can’t rule them out being a lurker, but I do want to know whom I selling to. Your gut feeling is nearly always right |
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21 March 2019, 09:17 PM | #6 |
2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: North Carolina
Watch: Rolex/Others
Posts: 44,641
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I have sold watches in the past on various platforms and have always had the feeling that the other shoe is about to fall. Never been burned but you do hear and read about nightmares. I have been selling my watches back to DavidSW if I am not going to trade. He is great about giving you fair market value. This also helps when you start buying as you can figure out any future gain/loss. Costs nothing to check with him and all it would take is one loss on a watch to a scammer and all would be equal except all the stress you would go through. Good luck.
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21 March 2019, 11:49 PM | #7 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 227
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I'm a long time member, but don't post a lot. I always come equipped with references, though. I'd ask your potential buyer if they have any references from past transactions that you can check (more than one).
As others have said, if you've got a funny feeling about someone, better to just walk away. |
22 March 2019, 12:41 AM | #8 |
2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Real Name: Jason
Location: USA
Watch: Sea Dweller
Posts: 8,557
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You can never be to cautious...
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22 March 2019, 01:11 AM | #9 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Canada
Posts: 158
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This. And some of us just surf for years and years before registering That said, if you have a suspicious feeling.... there’s likely a reason. I think I have been visiting TRF since 2008 but only registered recently It happens Last edited by VonSlingshot; 22 March 2019 at 01:12 AM.. Reason: 2 years!!! Happy Anniversary TRF |
22 March 2019, 05:57 AM | #10 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Watch Town
Posts: 305
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PayPal is a bad way to go. Bank wire only. I have been burned by PayPal before on some other things. Would never use them for a watch transaction. Especially when the buyer uses a credit card. That is how they get you.
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22 March 2019, 08:05 AM | #11 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Real Name: David
Location: australia
Posts: 20,157
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Bank wire only to an unknown buyer
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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watches many |
22 March 2019, 11:18 AM | #12 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Real Name: Joe
Location: CONUS
Watch: Rolex 116710
Posts: 994
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I’ve sold a lot on eBay and used PayPal a lot and in my experience they usually favor the buyer especially for a high value item which is usually anything over 1k. I would only use it for anything costing a few hundred dollars. Proceed with caution and listen to your gut.
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22 March 2019, 11:29 AM | #13 |
2024 ROLEX DATE-JUST41 Pledge Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Tampa
Watch: SD4K
Posts: 2,674
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If the member hasn't posted in a while, chances are their account got hacked.
Be very careful. If your gut is telling you it doesn't sound right, it probably is not. I wanna say I am careful and I've read the horror stories, yet I almost bought a jubilee bracelet half a year ago. I was logged in to my PayPal account and something told me to dig deeper. Found that the photos in the post were made by Chad (trusted here) who sold the bracelet a long time ago. So the photos were stolen. Sure enough i backed off. Last minute. Be careful! Sell to active members with references. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
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Sea-Dweller 116600 - the manly one GMT II 16710 - the manly one Daytona 116500 - the manly-womanly one Yacht-Master 268622 - the chick version Speedy Mitsukoshi <3 Tag Heuer Aquaracer WAF141C.BA0824 - the chick version Thank you logan5tx!!! Have to link it. Too long for the signature. https://www.rolexforums.com/showpost...0&postcount=14 |
22 March 2019, 02:14 PM | #14 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2008
Real Name: Jon
Location: seattle
Watch: Rolex GMT BLNR
Posts: 301
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Ok here is an update on where I’m at with this potential buyer.
He gave me his full name and occupation. I was able to match his name and email address to his Tapatalk user name by googling his phone number. He had also given me a TRF userid as well. Both his Tapatalk and TRF accounts have been active for a number of years but no previous activity. When I asked him to send me a PM on TRF, he instead sent me a PM through Tapatalk using the other userid that he has. Maybe he decided to do it that way out of laziness but it’s another potential red flag for me. I also asked him if he would be open to a bank wire transaction. He said no because he has a credit with PayPal. Basically he’s passing if it has to be bank wire. Curious what others here think now that I have further details. |
22 March 2019, 03:01 PM | #15 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: San Francisco, CA
Watch: this space
Posts: 1,867
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Quote:
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22 March 2019, 11:38 PM | #16 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Virginia
Posts: 253
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Big Pass, whenever I get large credits on my PayPal account I just transfer to my bank account.
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23 March 2019, 02:16 AM | #17 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Texas
Posts: 34
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23 March 2019, 04:08 AM | #18 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Costa
Posts: 255
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Tapatalk info can be faked if needed. It's only a link to forums and is never policed. That's why some there have been increased scams by fraudsters being done on forums associated with Tapatalk.
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23 March 2019, 04:56 PM | #19 |
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 2,410
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You're the seller....you set your term...not him. His lost..not yours..move on.
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29 May 2019, 05:43 AM | #20 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2019
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 165
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As a seller every time I’ve been scammed I’ve had a gut feeling something was off, yet continued despite it for the price that seemed too get or I was getting over the value
Walk away. No PayPal as a seller, huge risk Get their License ID before as well |
29 May 2019, 01:31 PM | #21 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2019
Location: chicago
Watch: Explorer
Posts: 18
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As a seller, are bank wires safe?
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29 May 2019, 01:50 PM | #22 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Canada
Watch: Explorer
Posts: 1,748
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Quote:
Firstly they exchanged the usd to cad at 1.29 when it was at 1.35 that day. Where do you think that difference goes......they keep it (about $650 in this case) on top of the $700 they took in fees. Then they froze my paypal account and the cash. They asked for ID, receipts, etc. That took about a week. Then once that cleared and tried to transfer MY money to my bank account they put it on hold and took another week. All in all they took about 1300 bucks of mine, made me jump through countless hoops and phone calls, and took more than 2 weeks to allow me to access my own money. Lesson learned here. Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk |
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29 May 2019, 11:36 PM | #23 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Halifax
Posts: 518
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I would have to agree with Sunset... you make the rule, they are not going to dictate how this is going to work...
Paypal is nice as you are protected however we have seen so many stories where the seller is at lost... Tell them to transfer the money to their bank acct and do a wire - if not, then move on my friend, they are plenty of buyers out there. |
30 May 2019, 12:29 AM | #24 |
Banned
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: NYC
Posts: 3,506
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No wire no watch very very simple.
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30 May 2019, 10:04 AM | #25 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Real Name: Rob
Location: US
Watch: Rolex Daytona
Posts: 233
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Pass, unless you want to risk losing the watch.
It's in this guys best interest, if he's a scammer, to keep this up and try to make it happen. That's the way they make out in the end and will keep on doing this. Keep at it and be patient. Also, check WTB threads. I found a buyer for my Daytona on a WTB thread from a reseller in the UK. The entire transaction went off without a hitch. I literally dropped off the watch and had it certified as legit in NYC at a watch dealer he's been working with for years (had about 20 watches come through them). I did further background checks on the watch dealer in NYC and they are stand up guys. Don't get desperate. That's when things go wrong. |
30 May 2019, 01:02 PM | #26 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Real Name: Jim
Location: SE NH
Watch: DSSD
Posts: 388
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Quote:
https://www.watchrecon.com/?brand=rolex Find any watch that says "xx minutes/hours ago on Rolex Forums" and click on it. You'll link directly to the listing here on TRF. Of course, anyone on earth can do this - no TRF membership required. Far as I know, there's nothing a TRF member can do to set up a sale listing exclusively for TRF, i.e. not also appearing on WatchRecon. Perhaps I'm wrong. Last year I sold four of my lower-end pieces here - Doxa, Seiko, Laco and Ball. None of the buyers was initially a TRF member, but unless they joined, they couldn't view the photos I'd uploaded within my listings. For these non-Rolex pieces, the WatchRecon connection worked to my benefit. I had four successful sales, all using PayPal. I encouraged and exchanged "buy the seller" emails with each buyer. Sort of a "buy the buyer" strategy, for my own protection. Perhaps I was extraordinarily lucky, too. It's possible some of the potential buyers contacting you found your watches through WatchRecon. It's possible there are other sites similar to WatchRecon, as well. Best of luck with your sales!
__________________
Jim Explorer 214270. Sea-Dweller 126600. Sea-Dweller Deepsea 126660 Black. Submariner 5512. PAM 514 Radiomir 1940. Railmaster XXL 2806.52.37. Speedmaster Moonphase 304.33.44.52.01.001. RIP JJ |
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30 May 2019, 11:54 PM | #27 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: FL
Posts: 663
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Pass on the buyer, too many red flags.
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