A buddy who is impatient as hell wanted a vintage Sub...after a very short period of time he found a 16800 at a dealer in NYC.

He sent me the listing, and it looked ok, so I gave a thumbs up...although I warned him that it was not a good idea.

He got the watch, and after a week decided that vintage wasn't for him...he wanted lume that glowed

I offered to sell the Sub for him, and he sent it to me.

Holy cow! That watch I received was the biggest POS 16800...there was an obvious flaw on the dial above the "S", the case was all sorts of polished wrong with one lug totally messed up, the case back looked quasimodo brushed it, and the bracelet was incorrectly polished and beat to hell.

I let me buddy know, and sent him the laundry list of issues...the seller took the watch back on trade.

Here is the listing
https://www.collectors1946.com/prod...e-16800-stainless-matte-black-40mm-dive-watch

They do not mention the dial flaw ando purposely hide it in photos, they photoshopped the case finish to hide the awful polish job.

Yet another reason I never look on Chrono24, what a joke.

Amazing how many people get raked over the coals everyday.

 

To my eye you can see the dial has a problem. To me , if it states "view pictures carefully" there will be lots of problems to find. You are obviously too used to dealing with the honest folk on here and not scrapping around with the dross on Chrono24. That said, it does make you mad that innocent people are getting fleeced.

 

You are totally right, not used to dealing with the sharks...in the initial listing, the flaw on the dial was clearly hidden and not mentioned.

 

Every time i hassle @STANDY about a watch I've seen on eBay he tells me "wait until one comes up here" Im slowly learning to listen

 

First thing is cutting my eyes is different lumes on the second hand and rest of the watch, never mind digging deeper).

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

This hobby is growing.

The cost of vintage watches is skyrocketing.

Put those two facts together and you get a juicy crop of potential victims for scammers and and sharks.

 

While Chrono24 is not my favorite venue, can we please stop with the ridiculous broad-brush criticisms? There are hundreds of sellers on that site, many of which/whom are honest. The central point is that buyers should learn to do their due diligence so that they can vet possible purchases wherever they may be available for sale.

 

+1. Have done one very good deal on Chrono24. You should always, always judge each watch on its own merit, no matter if you are purchasing from eBay, a Chrono24 dealer, Hodinkee or some auction house.

 

Glad to hear the watch was taken back. Not my favorite site, in fact, I do not even look there.
Great to hear you were able to help him out!

 

I've purchased some wonderful watches from honest dealers and private individuals on Chrono24.
I've also dealt with borderline scammers who look to deceive.
You need to protect yourself (paypal) and/or know exactly who you are dealing with.

 

He was lucky. He is a car dealer, and I told him that watch was the equivalent of a car with a big dent in the door, and an awful paint job...asked him if he would have disclosed those flaws to a potential buyer of a car.

He said yes...and then realized how shady the dealer was. I will give them credit, they did take it back, and put him into a perfect Batman GMT at a fair price. They are playing the game of seeing which watches will come back, and which ones will go to clueless buyers.

@gemini4 Chrono24 is just like ebay, some good and some bad, and yes, if you don't have knowledge you can get screwed. The main issue I have with Chrono24 is a appearance of legitimacy...will you get flat out scammed? Probably not, but based on some of the dealers on there, it is a real crapshoot. Private sellers are another ballgame.

 

Hi I work for the company that had the pleasure of selling and subsequently taking back the vintage sub in question. As watch enthusiasts, we all know the vintage market is a fun space to be in as every piece is unique in its wear, history, and condition.

Without going into every detail, the customer got to inspect and return the watch, and was put into a great modern GMT Batman without issue.
For the people speaking negatively about our watch, I welcome you to come in and check it out in person. Even if you do not buy that watch, I will offer $200 off any watch that I have on our website or in store in the hopes to earn your trust and future business.

Every vintage watch will sell, and we look forward to selling this one to a collector, but do disagree with the exaggerated comments in this thread about its condition. We strive to take very realistic photos, but of course like buying a car, sometimes it's best to see it in person and decide. This is the reason for our no hassle return policy. All of our clients all end up happy one way or another.

www.collectors1946.com

 

First off, Welcome to OF and responding to this thread.
I personally have mentioned in the past and will mention again, have never and will doubt ever purchase on the site (Chrono24). Nothing against you personally.
I do, however, believe you are a stand up dealer that backs their product and is evident by accepting the product back for an exchange.
I think the negativity you refer to on this thread is the lack of disclosure of faults of the watch, which are clearly evident in the pictures. To a novice collector, these are clearly overseen when getting hung up with a particular brand and year of production (birth) or transitional piece.
If I may offer an advise, if you are aware of these shortcomings, do point them out in your description.
You seem like a true gentleman and proud of your business.
Cheers..

 

I always go into the purchase of a used item with low expectations that way I am not disappointed with it when there is a problem and happy when it functions well. Watches get used and some get treated better than others over the years. A vintage (not nos) watch will never be a new watch and chances are it has seen wear and tear over the years. Your mileage may vary.

 

Wise advice.