Hopefully my recent experience buying a watch from Brazil will save some readers time and trouble. I'll also try me best to show restraint and not go off on a tangent about how this issue is related to the severe stresses of economies worldwide.

In early October, I agreed to buy a watch from someone in Brazil. Unfortunately he had no Paypal account, so even though the amount due was modest in size, I agreed to make a bank transfer. Rather than boring you with all of the gory details, I will summarize what transpired.

Over the course of the next several weeks, the funds were held by "an intermediary", and further details relating to the recipient were occasionally requested. Complete address, tax ID#, phone number, purpose of payment(!), etc. The "intermediary" was obviously a Government proxy of some sort.

The seller was as helpful as could be expected, but eventually (and understandably) became fed up when a request for a notarized document was made. I agreed that it had gone way past the point of being remotely reasonable, and the money was immediately returned to my account. That was six weeks after the transfer had been initiated!

The seller then made a suggestion which I never would have considered under normal circumstances: Western Union. I made the payment that way, and in 24 hours the deal was done.

Let me add that my bank is excellent, and I have made countless transfers through them, both business and personal, over the past 20 years. This is the first time that anything like this has occurred, and there is no doubt that the Brazilian government was the problem.

The obvious practical point is that you should use Paypal or Western Union if you are buying from Brazil, with the caveat that the former is obviously much safer. i.e. do not use WU unless you are very sure that you are dealing with an honest seller, as there is no recourse once the funds have been claimed.

The broader point is that the Brazilian government, like so many around the world, is increasingly desperate for revenues, and as that desperation escalates, their action become more and more onerous, and often ridiculous. It's easy to feel sorry for those living in such countries, but don't make the mistake of thinking that your own isn't heading in the very same direction. It almost certainly is...

Tony C.

 

So did you get the watch after all above?

 

It's in transit (and trackable). I completely trust the seller, as we communicated extensively during the process. It's a parts watch, but a useful one, and I expect that it will arrive safely.

 

Back in the days of pre WIS naivety I used WU twice for international watch purchases.

On neither occasion did I receive the watch.

I rest my case m'lord.

 

Tony, I live in Brazil (and I'm Brazilian myself!) and while I'm not familiar with the particulars of the transaction it is generally true that wire transfers headed to Brazil can be a headache, especially due to tax-related issues.

Brazil can be very liberal in many ways, but if there's *one* thing the government takes incredibly (and annoyingly) seriously is taxation and, quite frankly, as honest as the seller might be, he might have had previous problems with our IRS and this would almost certainly make anyone's life trying to receive foreign funds a bit of a nightmare. PP or WU are less subject to bank bureaucracy and obviously the transfer of funds is much quicker.

I've bought and sold several watches ever since I started collecting (and the origins of this disease can definitely be tracked to OF) and most of my transactions have been international, especially when selling. I've never had any problems other than being scammed one (a guy from Peru) and the usual post-office delay. While I tend to prefer PP despite the 4% fee, I have received bank transfers with no problems.

Let's hope this was a one-off thing

 

Yes, I would never use WU except for a small amount, and/or to someone who I really trusted.

 

Interesting Tony. Probably cost you both a lot of time and frustration. Good to know.