It seems that posters with the fewest posts get the most reaction here. He has posted 12 times in three months (1 per week) yet he has people here filling three pages, so far, with opinions on how to proceed. Yet he has now gone into hiding. Weird-o-rama.

 

Noob != troll and not posting for 36 hours is hardly "in hiding"

 

C24 enforcement squad got to him!

 

any updates from the OP?

 

Nope.

 

I recently made a mistake where I posted pics inline in my post and then deleted “attachments” when I noticed they repeated at the end. And my browser showed everything as alright.

Thanks to members who clarified I re-uploaded... (still have no idea but why the pics repeat at end though).

Anyhow to give some benefit of the doubt I direct messaged the OP just now.

 

Note that the same post was made on WUS, and the OP disappeared there also...

https://forums.watchuseek.com/f2/arguing-private-seller-chrono24-advice-wanted-4976755.html

Makes me wonder if the OP didn't notify within the 14 day period, and that's why Chrono24 isn't doing more.

 

I did have similar problem on C24. I put money in escrow but no watch was sent. C24 would not release escrow to me even though they agreed that the watch was not sent. My credit card company backed me up. I would never use them without a credit card.

 

From everything I am reading, I don’t think I would use them ever. eBay, OF and WUS (and TRF if you enjoy a little abuse) has more then enough for anyone’s needs...there is an endless stream of this stuff- it’s not like C24 is the only place to find watches

 

Hey guys, apologies for going MIA. I currently work as a junior banker and the hours for guys at my level are no joke. I didn’t realize my absence would cause such an uproar but anyway sorry again and here are the pics/description/seller info as promised.

The condition described originally was “mint condition without any signs of wear.” When presented the finding of water damage in the movement the seller responded that it was impossible and that “The caliber was new like the exterior and stored in a bank safe.”

I attached the three images from my watchmaker - the gears actually don’t look ghastly to me (and I would value opinions on how it looks optically from more experienced members here) but I talked to Steve on the phone and he said when he looked through his lens there was a lot of corrosion from what he suspected to be water. The scratch on the hand is easy to see. I also circled a large dent on the outside of the watch case which is admittedly hard to see in the photographs. This wouldn’t have bothered me given it’s age (barring the other issues), but again it was described as no signs of wear and in person it’s a lot more noticeable.

The Seller still has several open ads on Chrono24 so I took a picture of his page as well. I’m not really keen to post a picture of our chat with my name in it but it deteriorated pretty fast like I described before. Not an enjoyable experience.

Funny enough, this is actually the watch I asked about a few months ago that people warned me against overpaying for. I thought the story with the brand would make a really cool vintage watch to pass down one day so I was happy to pay a little extra but I suppose this is my noob tax and a lesson well learnt. Thanks again for the plethora of help and support and sorry again for ghosting you all, forgive me!

Ps for those curious, I have since purchased a vintage soccer timer that Steve is servicing for me and my offer to pay return shipping on the Cortébert stands (though at this point I would only ship it to Chrono24 or a third party and not directly to the seller).

 

I looked back at the original post, and the watch is in nice condition, but it clearly was never NOS. There was an obvious small scratch on the dial by the 3 o'clock marker and many fine scratches on the case, etc. Yes, it's in great condition for a watch of its age, and the minor flaws you have found don't really change that fact.

More to the point ... now that I know what watch we are talking about, this seems like much ado about nothing. NOS condition only matters for really desirable investment pieces that you plan to put in a safe and save for the future. You don't wear NOS watches. A gold-plated Cortebert is just not in this category. So maybe a mint gold-plated Cortebert is worth $150 and yours is worth $125, it's just not worth getting worked up about. The crime is that you paid $1k, regardless of condition.

Now I understand why the seller doesn't really care if he gets the watch back. The upside isn't very high for him, and he'd rather take his chances on getting your $1k.

 

https://omegaforums.net/threads/cortébert-authenticity.92684/

Yes... I would classify this as a case of noob tax...

Edit: noob tax we normally use for people who dont know and bought something bad and then come here when it's too late. But you bought after getting the advice not to buy from very experience collectors. That's not very wise I must say.

Good luck anyway. But to be honest, I dont think your case is the most sympathetic I've ever seen.

 

And a pretty steep one at this moment.... but live and learn!!! Good luck to OP.

 

Dented, scratched and containing pubes. How is the seller justifying NOS?
I once bought from a Greek seller on eBay and found the photos had hidden an over polished case. That was my noob tax.

 

Wait... this is all over a Cortebert?

 

Disagree. NOS is NOS, or should be anyway. I seek out NOS watches and wear them with a grin on my face. Unscrupulous sellers are trying to change the meaning of NOS---to something like "looks unworn," or "no visible flaws." The seller here was dishonest, and the buyer should not be expected to pay a "noob tax."

 

https://omegaforums.net/threads/cortébert-authenticity.92684/

Did the seller describe it as NOS... the OP seems to say it is described as unpolished and original which is different.

 

I based my comment on the first post in the current thread. Here's a quote:

"The watch was advertised as NOS (so I paid a premium) and I had it taken to a watchmaker who determined it was definitely not NOS (scratched hands, significant water damage internally, damaged case) and that the pictures were intentionally misleading. He even took pictures so I could use as proof for my return."

 

Sorry that it perhaps wasn’t clear, but I just wondered if the C24 advert did in fact state it was NOS. I haven’t read every post but in this thread the OP says NOS, but then in the original thread about the Cortabert talks about “original”, “not refurbished or polished” and so on. Is there a link to the advert ?