scam ain't disappeared

hATeAndLovewaTCheS

Well-known member
Hi, guys…
I thought it would be welcome to remind you about the scam risks we all run with every new replica watch purchase. It’s disappointing hearing people talking about previous bad experiences related to scams. All of us, like it or not, are involved in a hobby that is not quite legal, after all. And a lot of dealers take advantage of the weaknesses of this field. The point is that it’s critical to remember that the risk of coming across a scam-my dealer is everywhere.
Who takes responsibility for a wrong purchase? Is it us because we don’t check enough information about the watch quality? Or, is it the dealers who disrespectfully are fouling people around, profiting from our naivety and lack of deep knowledge?


Honestly speaking, since I had my personal bad experiences with scammers, I became far more responsible. The idea is that the main responsibility falls on our own shoulders. We can never be sure of the person selling us a replica watch without checking the veracity of the information he gives to us about the fake item. Any m2m sale can’t be based on trust unless you proved for yourself the responsible attitude of the dealer. And it’s US who must conduct research, investigation, and validation each time we intend to buy a fake watch.

Unfortunately, many people tell me about plenty of bad experiences. Either they got an awful watch that by far doesn’t resemble the model they ordered, or the Chinese movement is breaking extremely fast, even though they had paid for a Swiss-made movement. And each time it happens, I wonder to myself: what did these people omit?!

When I’m trying to find out more info on the matter, most of them simply tell me that they never would have thought of being a scam victim. And that’s so sad that people haven’t realized yet that the scam existed and still exists at every corner.

So, what can every one of us do to prevent potential fraud? Yes, all of us have a bit of guilt in participating in the selling-buying process of replica goods purchase, which is not the most “legal” thing. But, considering that the replica industry is an existing fact and many of us accept being part of it, there must be something to protect us from being deceived.
The major step to make towards avoiding a potential scam is to do the biggest research possible. The more we know, the more armed we are. Be it forums, online stores, or websites, we always must dig as deep as possible about the person/dealer that offers us a replica watch for sale. Don’t stick to only the profile picture or the promising messages. Find out about the warehouse of the watches he is proposing. Ask for additional pictures every time you deal with a website offering fake watches for sale. Read as many reviews as possible. Maybe not all of them are real, but there sure might be some red flags suggesting us a potential scam.

Even on this forum, I have come across messages suggesting some bad previous experiences. It might sound tough, but don’t blame the scam dealer only. Try to answer yourself if u did enough investigation about it before ordering the watch. I know it’s painful to hear but in most cases, it’s us who rush into making an order without even checking some basic information about the store/dealer.

Take your time to dedicatedly investigate. And always make a purchase ONLY after answering ALL of the following questions:
-what’s the history of the dealer/online store?
-did u chat with a customer care representative? How did he/she respond to u?
-any hesitations in answering about the warranty?
-any hesitations in answering about the country of origin of the watch and its technical specs?
-did the additional photos of real watches satisfy you?
-is the price too cheap for the “extraordinary” watch?

Remember that you carry full responsibility for what you will get. And never forget that nowadays dealers are really trained in selling techniques. So, their primary goal is to make you BUY, regardless of what exactly you intend to buy. Be morally prepared to lose the money for the watch u plan to buy. This is another painful truth we have to accept once we accept being part of the replica industry. If you cannot afford a financial loss and think you won’t be able to get over it, then u better don’t do it. Because the risk is always present. Lucky those who buy indeed great imitations. But, I don’t think it’s only luck. It’s a good investigation of the source providing the watch behind the happy ending. So, if you want a happy ending too, be wiser than scammers and educate yourself on the matter.
Hope for no scams in your future purchases!
 

vingNEgy

Well-known member
thanks for the subject @hATeAndLovewaTCheS!!!
indeed helpful and actual!!!
The rep industry is both great and risky. the more people seek rep items, the bigger the scam octopus becomes with its tentacles. Scammers find millions of ways to deceive customers. some time ago, online marketplaces seemed to be reliable enough. Not anymore now. I personally know many cases when customers ordered reps, paid for them, and received terrible pieces. the attempts of getting in touch with the online dealers failed because they simply disappeared from the radar.
you are totally right. it's only our own responsibility and we have to be prepared for the worst scenarios each time we buy a rep. there is no law regulating the industry and it has a lot of loopholes and shortcomings. not trying to scare the newish members here :D, just suggesting a little more prudence. with prudence and education, everything has a happy ending
 

AdESTORn

Active member
Nice and helpful information. I frequently come across different ads on my social media proposing reps for sale. The pictures look fabulous and according to the websites, the prices are very attractive and I wonder how such “great” watches cost so cheap. I didn’t have experience with buying reps but I suppose there are a lot of underwater rocks. Too bad for those who have bad experiences and come across scammers. And, the author is right in saying that it is our responsibility to check everything about him before placing an order. It’s impossible to prevent a potential scam by 100%, but the risk can be significantly reduced if educating ourselves
 

DanielDJZI

Well-known member
gut to know all that info @hATeAndLovewaTCheS , thanks for the reminder... in the same train of ideas... @all take care with your watches, gens and reps.. 2 days ago one of my fellows has been robbed in a pub. He was wearing a rep Pam 372 and he just had his watch taken off the wrist while he was picking the beers off the bar. Without any provocations. He was not hurt as he didn’t try to get the watch back, it was a rep, and had no big value. But, the point is that many thieves might think your reps are genuine watches and the risk is imminent. Maybe the case is not quite fitting the thread topic but simply, take care!!!
 

Ghosterry

Well-known member
oooohhhhh that's my topic))
I got scammed with my first rep purchase, unfortunately. I thought I would never buy a rep watch in my life. I saw a Tudor watch on the wrist of my CEO and I really liked it so I began looking for a rep. I made no investigation about the seller at all, only got attracted by the cheap price and good-looking pics on the internet store. When I received it it was of extremely poor quality. The distance between the crown and the watch case was about some visible millimeters. The watch was too light making me think it was not 904 steel as promised by the dealer. The sapphire crystal was in fact acrylic. Oh my God, what a terrible rep I got. Obviously, I tried to reach the dealer to ask for a refund but I never got an answer by email. Within a couple of weeks, the site wasn’t available anymore as the vendor simply disappeared. so sorry for not having the watch with me anymore to provide some pics...
In fact, it was totally my fault, as I realized after some time. I didn’t investigate anything from the criteria @hATeAndLovewaTCheS mentioned. I was simply fooled by the cheap price. And a good watch can’t be too cheap.
The point is that not all stores are scummy. Not at all. After some time I had the chance to discuss with my CEO his Tudor watch and I found out then that it was a replica too. ”How can that be possible?” It looked great and was nothing close to what I had received. He suggested to me the store he bought from and indeed, the store was incomparable to what I have ordered from. Clear warranty policy, transparent contact details, reviews, qualitative customer support, everything was professional. So, I realized how important it is to dig deeper under the dealer.
My message is to not discourage people from buying reps. Like in any industry, there are good products and bad products. Even in the food industry. It’s only up to us where we buy and what we buy. What really matters is to do deep research and not believe in everything we come across. Double-check every piece of information about the dealer and be attentive to every red flag.
My following purchases of rep watches were all with a happy ending))
 

Ghosterry

Well-known member
gut to know all that info @hATeAndLovewaTCheS , thanks for the reminder... in the same train of ideas... @all take care with your watches, gens and reps.. 2 days ago one of my fellows has been robbed in a pub. He was wearing a rep Pam 372 and he just had his watch taken off the wrist while he was picking the beers off the bar. Without any provocations. He was not hurt as he didn’t try to get the watch back, it was a rep, and had no big value. But, the point is that many thieves might think your reps are genuine watches and the risk is imminent. Maybe the case is not quite fitting the thread topic but simply, take care!!!
I know similar cases took place with Rolex reps... replica manufacturers do imitations pretty well currently and many thieves take them as gens. But never thought it could have happened with other watches 🥺
 

CasPer$$hunteR

Well-known member
That's the road that every buyer of a rep should pass through… I’ve been present at a discussion in our working office regarding reps and many of them were saying that they would never buy a rep because of the scam risk… the risk is always existent I agree, but if taking the right steps, it is minimal. All persons that are prudent during the buying process (and I know many of them) have had no bad experiences with their reps. When u know what to buy and where to buy from, the scenario can be pretty positive. And if you’re attentive to all the red flags, and there are many of them, you can prevent being scammed.
Educating in this matter is an absolute must
 

CasPer$$hunteR

Well-known member
gut to know all that info @hATeAndLovewaTCheS , thanks for the reminder... in the same train of ideas... @all take care with your watches, gens and reps.. 2 days ago one of my fellows has been robbed in a pub. He was wearing a rep Pam 372 and he just had his watch taken off the wrist while he was picking the beers off the bar. Without any provocations. He was not hurt as he didn’t try to get the watch back, it was a rep, and had no big value. But, the point is that many thieves might think your reps are genuine watches and the risk is imminent. Maybe the case is not quite fitting the thread topic but simply, take care!!!
thieves don't really observe what they steal)) they just grab what they manage and pray for it to be a genuine :D
 

sEVENDEM

Well-known member
Great article, and very useful. Honestly speaking, when I got my first rep, I checked none of the mentioned, unfortunately. Luckily, I bought it from a trusted source recommended to me by my good old buddy and had no problems. But, I also know cases when scams affected naive customers, and that’s a pity, indeed.


I never thought that the customer care department could be a criterion, honestly. Do u really consider it an important aspect?

For the rest criteria, totally agree. And thanks once again. This “to-do” list should be present in front of any rep buyer. Scammers evolve along with the rep industry and find new methods of inducing credible customers into confusion. Be very prudent!
 

Nobbing

Well-known member
nice piece of info... it's soo interactive talking to a dealer that is trying to fool you when you are familiarized with all possible threats :D its very interesting looking at him how he loses arguments with each counter-argument you you throw in his face :D so, yes, getting educated is getting completely armed...

@sEVENDEM a trusted online store will always have a professional customer support team behind, with a stand customer oriented attitude. you can't imagine how disgusting it is reading an email from the vendor saying "hi dude..." instead of "Hello, mrs/ms..." which is a huge difference. Not to mention how stressful it is when the customer care department has no idea about the quality of watches the store sells

😤😡🤬
 

fishwoddy12

Active member
so true... luckily, didn't have bad experiences with reps purchase. though many of my close friends paid for them and didn't get the reps, or received awful pieces. I observed that the more questions I give to a potential dealer, the more frustrated he becomes. they don't like educated people in the field and are tempted to quit the discussion once they see that their interlocutor knows a thing or two about reps.

I recommend ask as many things as possible to put the scammer back against the wall. once he sees you're difficult to fool, he will retire his offer.
 

NETEriuM

Active member
Thanks for the great post!!!

I was about to be scammed a couple of times.
Each time the dealer tried to obtain my credit card details, details that other persons shouldn’t ever know.

Even though the replica industry is not the most legal hobby, it doesn’t mean we don’t have to protect ourselves from being scammed.

And watch out! Scammers educate themselves and find new and new scamming systems! So double check each information you come across
 
Good point, indeed this hobby is not secure and it’s our responsibility to be vigilant. Don’t ever buy from sources you are insecure about. Check the phone numbers and the address of the vendor. Don’t rely only on Email addresses available in online stores. Many of them lately include WhatsApp contact numbers, so know that is NOT ENOUGH!!! Avoid them!!!


Make sure about the “https” fragment in the web address. Lacking this fragment suggests that the store hasn’t been checked for its veracity.

No dealer must ever ask for your passwords, credit card details, or pin codes!!! And credit cards are usually more secure than debit ones. Also, it would be great to write some emails to the store BEFORE placing the order. If the answer never arrives, it might suggest that you’re dealing with a scam store.
Buy safely 🙏🤞
 

igivente

Well-known member
Honestly, I was thinking about writing a similar post here, as a reminder about how important it is to be prudent. This hobby is associated with scams at a high level and all that are engaged in it aren’t protected by no means. It is easy to think that “it won’t happen to be” but believe me that no-one is void of risk. Scammers target absolutely everyone. Always beware of any suspicious requests for your money details, especially when scammers suggest some unusual payment methods.

Reps that are too good and too cheap to be true AREN’T TRUE. Good reps can’t be ever cheap, even with incredible discounts.
 

VioletteLonGoRIA

Active member
nice post, ill invite all my friends that are so sure that this could never happen to them t read it... ive explained them millions times that the risk is always eminent in this hobby, but they still refuse to thing that it might affect them... hope they will realize it before being caught in scammers' trap
 
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