Story of a Private Rolex Sale Gone Bad in Canada

[TickTockChuck]

Hello fellow TRF members. I just wanted to share a recent Canadian story (March) about a private Rolex sale that went bad due to some "magic" trickery from an in-person buyer. Thought it would help warn folks potentially faced with the same situation in other parts of the world. See following CBC link:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...olex-1.7156871

Apologies if this story was already shared here.

Enjoy your Sunday. Cheers!

[Brenngun]

I would never invite a stranger into my home to buy a high value luxury item of any kind. I've sold a number of watches in person. The transaction always takes place at my local bank branch. The buyer hands the money to the teller who counts it and deposits it directly in my account. Then and only then the watch changes hands. If for some reason the buyer is not satisfied with the watch they hand it back, I inspect it and then and only then and the teller will withdraw the money and hand it back to the buyer. This process also protects against counterfeit money issues. Once the bank accepts it it's their responsibility not mine. In fact I also ask the teller to check the money to ensure there are no issues. Sad to see this happen but people must be more aware when doing this.

[faimag]

i've heard a few similar stories. scary.

[Giovannibravo]

This sounds like a very stupid story. In Canada, most people meet up at a bank or police station.

[Carguy87]

All the more reason to just sell the watch to one of our trusted sellers here. A few extra dollars if it all goes perfectly aren’t worth the safety and scamming risks of trying to deal with strangers off of facebook marketplace, Craigslist etc. It’s not a used BBQ for $100 or something.

[996marty]

Another reason to never do a transaction like this especially at home

[DVR4]

Didn't click the link. Assuming it's the switch the envelope guy.
He's been all over the US pulling this stunt.
Discussed here in the recent past.

[omar-rye]

By the way, he’s been caught. Two fellow watch collectors set him up, and he was arrested recently, about a week ago.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by omar-rye

By the way, he’s been caught. Two fellow watch collectors set him up, and he was arrested recently, about a week ago.

Nice. Is there a news story link to that? These two watch fellows should get free Rolex’s

[omar-rye]

https://torontosun.com/news/local-ne...rketplace-scam

[Calatrava r]

Originally Posted by Brenngun

I would never invite a stranger into my home to buy a high value luxury item of any kind. I've sold a number of watches in person. The transaction always takes place at my local bank branch. The buyer hands the money to the teller who counts it and deposits it directly in my account. Then and only then the watch changes hands. If for some reason the buyer is not satisfied with the watch they hand it back, I inspect it and then and only then and the teller will withdraw the money and hand it back to the buyer. This process also protects against counterfeit money issues. Once the bank accepts it it's their responsibility not mine. In fact I also ask the teller to check the money to ensure there are no issues. Sad to see this happen but people must be more aware when doing this.

Surprised your bank would agree to be involved. There is no upside to them and if there is an issue later, they could be in the middle of a mess.

[Giovannibravo]

Very good to hear that they have been caught. I don't look for it too much, but are there lots of watch thefts in Canada these days? I am talking about the major cities (i.e., Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal). I remember there was an OP who had his James Cameron stolen on the TTC. We mostly see articles like this in LA, NY, Spain, Italy and London.

[GGGMT]

This is 100% invited risk. Hard to be horrified because very, very, very, very, very, very, very, few people would invite a stranger into their home under the circumstances.


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