Day-Date Moisture Issue... Possible Buyer Beware

[Chozn1]

I didn't say that I've been made whole (I haven't), only that we have now communicated. I didn't make the thread in haste, and I'm going to hear him out. If the delay was indeed related to a natural disaster beyond his control, I'm not going to be unreasonable. If I find I'm being lied to or there's a hesitation to handle the matter appropriately now that I know he IS aware of it, it will be bad. Part of my reason for making this thread was also to see what was the appropriate action given the issue with the watch. I understand your concern and my responsibility to report back what happens for the greater good is not something I take lightly, I assure you.

[PAULBYU]

Did the seller have a return policy? I would simply ask for a refund and purchase from one of the many reputable dealers on this forum...my 2 cents!

[NKflyer]

I know who the seller is and Superstorm Sandy hasn't stopped him from placing many new ads since then and bumping them every couple of days. So I don't know if the "natural disaster" excuse will hold much weight...

Personally, because of the moisture issue, I would either ask to be compensated for the approximate cost of a full service (up front) or otherwise return the watch for a refund. Pretty simple, really.

[waQstar]

Seller id starts with a P ?

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by waqstar

Seller id starts with a P ?

Really, I thought it was J?

[Chozn1]

Originally Posted by NKflyer

I know who the seller is and Superstorm Sandy hasn't stopped him from placing many new ads since then and bumping them every couple of days. So I don't know if the "natural disaster" excuse will hold much weight...

Personally, because of the moisture issue, I would either ask to be compensated for the approximate cost of a full service (up front) or otherwise return the watch for a refund. Pretty simple, really.

I agree and nothing in my research or the comments from those who have seen it now have suggested this is something I want to be stuck with. And while I'm sympathetic to anyone who goes through a natural disaster since I've been rendered homeless by two floods in the past, I'm not to the point that I'm willing to take on a watch that had issues out of the gate. He requested to have the watch back and let his watchmaker handle it... No. I've requested a refund and that's the only thing I'm willing to accept to handle the situation. I'll report back.

[Angrypuppy]

A little input from a new member.

I'm in the process of picking a trusted seller. The cryptic messages about hurricane sandy will at this point have me avoid anyone caught in the path of that storm.

Whether you name the person you dealt with or not is your business, and I don't really care. This is though, a person I want to avoid, and now I have just enough information to geographically isolate him. A number of possibly good sellers will get caught up in that as well.

Just a thought.

[Chozn1]

If anyone is genuinely looking to pull the trigger on something and wants the name, I'll speak with them privately. I've received PM's, answered them candidly, and have reached out to the new member I referenced in the original post who was seeking a referral. I've also kept him informed as things have progressed. I'm really not trying to be coy here. I just want to do the right thing.

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by Chozn1

If anyone is genuinely looking to pull the trigger on something and wants the name, I'll speak with them privately. I've received PM's, answered them candidly, and have reached out to the new member I referenced in the original post who was seeking a referral. I've also kept him informed as things have progressed. I'm really not trying to be coy here. I just want to do the right thing.

I may have missed this information while reading (I do apologize if this is the case) but is the seller aware of this thread? Perhaps that would help you to get things done.

[Chozn1]

Originally Posted by FeelingTheBlues

I may have missed this information while reading (I do apologize if this is the case) but is the seller aware of this thread? Perhaps that would help you to get things done.

I sent him a link. That's when he responded. In short, this is going downhill via PM with the seller. I've got a date night with the wife, but I'll be in touch later.

[brian8121]

Originally Posted by NKflyer

I know who the seller is and Superstorm Sandy hasn't stopped him from placing many new ads since then and bumping them every couple of days. So I don't know if the "natural disaster" excuse will hold much.

True.

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by Chozn1

I sent him a link. That's when he responded. In short, this is going downhill via PM with the seller. I've got a date night with the wife, but I'll be in touch later.

I certainly hope this will end well despite the way things seem to have turned right now. Please keep us updated and don't let that ruin your evening with your princess.

[andromeda160]

no offense, but if your letting a watch sit for months with moisture in it, your going to need thousands in repair. sure a servicing cost sucks but if he isn't going to do anything to compensate, the $400 from a decent watchmaker to get it cleaned and lubed is going to save you big money in the long run

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by andromeda160

no offense, but if your letting a watch sit for months with moisture in it, your going to need thousands in repair. sure a servicing cost sucks but if he isn't going to do anything to compensate, the $400 from a decent watchmaker to get it cleaned and lubed is going to save you big money in the long run

I think it's a little too late for a $400 service.

[Chozn1]

I've tried to handle the matter privately and researched it as well, including his claims that communication was cut off due to the hurricane. The dates don't jive and his attitude has gone downhill. I'm putting this out there and the members of the forum and decide if they're willing to deal with the seller, who is daneebee on this forum.

After my request for a refund,
daneebee wrote:

Re: 18238
You can send the watch back for repair if youd like.. A refund six months later is not an option. you could have called me at the time that this had happened in October. I had told you to immediately go to a local repair shop and have it fixed, and did not hear back from you until six months later.. You could have simply called me at any time, and my jeweler would have taken care of it. The same option im giving to you now. .. Your emails obviously went to my spam folder if they were sent to me, and like i said you had my number available to you at all times.. All of my customers throughout the years simply pick up the phone and call me direct when there is any kind of repair issue.. Anyway six months later i am not responsible for any damages associated with water..I spoke to all of my friends in the business, and not one of them would deal with a water issue six moths later.. However, i am a fair guy and in the spirit of you telling me that you honestly tried getting in touch and could not, i would have my jeweler take a look for us and see whats going on.. I do no have any such policy in place for refunds.. You should in future only buy new watches, or buy from stores like Macys in which have such liberal return policies.. When buying used, we do our best to give you quality at a discounted price.. And that is precisely what i did. You paid $8k for a Rolex Quickset 18038, which when new went for twenty something thousands, and even now have gone up in price and are averaging ten thousand used. Even now after all this time i have been a sport and given you the chance to speak to me in person and work this out. .I even called you several times with no reply on your end. So again, if you would like my help just call me. Dan.

Then he followed it up with:

Part II. I will go as far as backing up the repair completely at my expense through my jeweler.. That is above and beyond the call of duty on my part. I just spoke to my jeweler and he does these reseal jobs all the time. So if there is a part inside the movmt that needs replacing, we will do it for you at no charge. So in essence your watch will be better off at the end of the day. A win win for you. I cant be any fairer than that. Call me direct at 732 996 6222.. Dan.

Then I wrote him back yesterday with the following...

Re: 18238
Dan, I let you know very soon that we had an issue, within days. Beyond that, it has not been 6 months since our transaction. It hasn't even been 4 months, but that type of exaggeration is exactly why we're discussing this in writing. We're in dispute over an $8k item, and verbal communication which can be construed to fit one's own version of events, is out. I have no idea what you told your friends in the biz about our situation, but I doubt you told them I have the emails with dates and times which I can provide screen shots of to show that it was well before the hurricane hit that you stopped correspondence. That email address had zero issues prior to and during the sale and I bet it's been the vehicle for many more in the meantime. It was a stretch to believe a hurricane affected your gmail account to begin with (the precise reason I use gmail and Google Drive for business being they save my data and contacts to their servers regardless of where I am in the world)... especially when your sudden stop in communication coincided with my balking at the idea of just taking it and having the seal replaced. To be clear, it is not the relatively inexpensive seal that concerns me. It's the moisture. Also, your ad clearly stated that the watch came with a 1 year in-store warranty, so the suggestion that you're doing me a favor at this point by offering in-store repair of an issue the watch came with is not exactly going above and beyond. If there is major damage to the movement of the watch, how am I going to know you've rectified the issue without then taking it and paying for the watch to be opened after I get it back? Then what if my watchmaker disagrees with yours? Even with its issues, at least right now I have the watch, but if I ship it back I have no leverage with you whatsoever. This is only going to lead to more problems, and frankly wasting of our time. And I really don't need your advice on future purchases. I only need you to make this one right. Thanks for the recommendations though.

There has been no communication or response from him since. The mods can of course decide whether to keep this here or move it to another section of the board...

[Knappo 1307]

Tough call, I actually have talked to this seller before. When I did I felt like I was talking to a used car salesman. If the emails went to the the sellers spam mail, that is not the buyers fault. However the biggest problem I have is the buyer did not pick up the phone. For whatever reason he has not stated why at any point in this thread, as far as I can tell. If there is a 1 year store guarantee, then this should really not be an issue. It's within the year of purchase, and IMHO this issue should be fixed at the sellers expense.

[Chozn1]

Originally Posted by Knappo 1307

Tough call, I actually have talked to this seller before. When I did I felt like I was talking to a used car salesman. If the emails went to the the sellers spam mail, that is not the buyers fault. However the biggest problem I have is the buyer did not pick up the phone. For whatever reason he has not stated why at any point in this thread, as far as I can tell. If there is a 1 year store guarantee, then this should really not be an issue. It's within the year of purchase, and IMHO this issue should be fixed at the sellers expense.

You say yourself he sounded like a used car salesman... but you wonder why I wanted to make damn sure the answer was in black and white? I'm not trying to demean the guy, but you pretty much hit the nail on the head so I'll just say, I agree, and am VERY glad I've kept things in writing rather than hearsay from phone conversations being thrown around.

[NKflyer]

Originally Posted by Knappo 1307

Tough call, I actually have talked to this seller before. When I did I felt like I was talking to a used car salesman. If the emails went to the the sellers spam mail, that is not the buyers fault. However the biggest problem I have is the buyer did not pick up the phone. For whatever reason he has not stated why at any point in this thread, as far as I can tell. If there is a 1 year store guarantee, then this should really not be an issue. It's within the year of purchase, and IMHO this issue should be fixed at the sellers expense.

Yeah, this really is a tough one. Like the buyer, I vastly prefer email (or even texts) over phone calls but after several days lapse in communication, I would have bit the bullet and called. Four months later is an insanely long time after the sale to finally be resolving this.

The seller has offered to make good on his 1 year store warranty to repair the watch. The buyer is worried that the watch will be repaired as inexpensively as possible and he will forever be concerned about the quality of the repair and possible damage to the movement.

How about a compromise?? How about splitting the approximate cost of a service? The seller can refund the buyer $200-300 and they are both happy. They buyer can go get a full service from whomever he wants and while the seller will be out $200-300, he would have had to pay his local watchmaker something approaching that amount for the repair anyway.

[Knappo 1307]

You needed to do both. Keep it in black and white, and call. Talking to someone one on one is the best way to get things resolved. I'm not going to beat you up, I trend to agree with you. However next time you are tempted to buy a watch here or anywhere, call before you pull the trigger. Get a feel for what the person is like you are dealing with. Just my 2 cents. I'm going to keep following this thread, but my comments are exhausted. Best of luck...

[fitter_happier]

I must be missing something. Written communication worked fine up to and during OP's transaction. Written communication also worked fine just now, as indicated in the quotes posted above. What happened in the middle, where written communication mysteriously did not work?

Just trying to understand this better. OP, thanks for the warning. I was considering a purchase from daneebee.

[Chozn1]

Originally Posted by Knappo 1307

You needed to do both. Keep it in black and white, and call. Talking to someone one on one is the best way to get things resolved. I'm not going to beat you up, I trend to agree with you. However next time you are tempted to buy a watch here or anywhere, call before you pull the trigger. Get a feel for what the person is like you are dealing with. Just my 2 cents. I'm going to keep following this thread, but my comments are exhausted. Best of luck...

I appreciate your comments and understand where you're coming from. If I'd called him it would have been my word against his, plain and simple. If I'd come onto this forum and told you "This seller just said "No biggie... just a 123 $20 fix from any watchmaker" after I'd sent him a picture of a watch so fogged up I couldn't read it just 2 days after receiving, at least some of you would be thinking I was exaggerating to make my point. And he could claim I was exaggerating for that matter because I'd have nothing to back it up. That can't be said now. Why would I communicate on his terms and throw that variable into the mix? I wouldn't have been ok with sending him the watch then given the flippant attitude toward possible movement damage, and I'm not now unless a refund is made. I was willing to overlook certain things, but anything affecting that movement is a deal breaker and I would NEVER have purchased it had I known its true condition.

In the end I decided on laying out facts backed by dates and cut/paste content so that others can decide if this is someone they want to deal with. Hell, people may look back on this and not want to deal with me. That's their call. I'll just say I've not had a problem buying or selling on the forum to this point, and have at least one recommendation for helping someone on a matter (related to my profession outside the forum) for which I didn't request a dime as I believe in the communal aspects of this board. If I'd made money on that, or any other transaction, I'd sure as hell be acting a lot better than this seller. Bottom line, he stopped communication and blamed it on a natural disaster. I did my due diligence in researching the dates he might have been affected and call bull****. He can answer himself for that if he so desires.

[MonBK]

I find it odd that he hasn't replied yet, not good.

[Chozn1]

Originally Posted by MonBK

I find it odd that he hasn't replied yet, not good.

I don't, unfortunately. His tone yesterday changed rather dramatically. Which, mine did as well in all fairness. I am not one that likes to hear excuses in business. But when he suggested the hurricane did him in, it hit a weak spot with me because floods destroyed my home twice when I was a teenager. What was suppose to be a 500 year flood in 1994... Came around again in 1998 and took out the house for good that time. As one who's been through such a thing, seeing someone use it as an excuse for bad business doesn't sit well... Especially when their dates don't line up.

[mfnj]

Late to the party here and I think all the bases have been covered. Hopefully the seller will step up to the plate. FWIW, if I spent some serious money on a watch not only would I want to document everything I would also want to give the seller a piece of mind via phone. BTW, I don't think I live to far from the seller and would be happy to assist any way possible if this helps.

[porschejeff]

I'm sorry the customer is always right. Sorry Daneebee, the Hall of Shame for you. Throwing out that this is an $8000 piece at a deep discount from a 20 something Thousand dollar watch is not anexcuse. I'm sorry.

[rolexgiants]

Originally Posted by MonBK

I find it odd that he hasn't replied yet, not good.

The storm was very bad... He can only answer PM's that involve the possibility of selling another watch!!

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by rolexgiants

The storm was very bad... He can only answer PM's that involve the possibility of selling another watch!!

The way I'm reading this thread I think you're right.

[rolexgiants]

Originally Posted by MonBK

The way I'm reading this thread I think you're right.

Someone told me I know nothing.. So.. That's that. Lol

[Chozn1]

Ok, the seller and I just had a meeting of the minds on the phone after he responded to me via PM. He wants the watch sent back up for his watchmaker to handle. We're working toward a solution. I conceded to him, and now to everyone here, that I should have called before now. He conceded he shouldn't have done anything to compromise his receiving emails from existing clients and apologized, so there's that.

[fitter_happier]

There are 2 sides to every story. Amazing that seller doesn't want to tell his side here.