Chrono24 is very cool, no doubt. But with all the recent reports of scamming sellers it scares the bajeezes out of me. I myself am always scouting around, looking for a good deal on a certain Speedmaster I'd like. I missed on on eBay earlier this year while on vacation that sold for a very reasonable price. I'm seeing on Chrono24 now that looks good, but I'd no clue how to research Chrono24 sellers. The model in Question is the Galaxy Train limited edition from 1999. I've yet to purchase anything from Chrono24 so I'm looking for suggestions and safe practices. I would also appreciate shipping advice from Europe to America. How to avoid problems and huge customs fees (if that is possible). Thanks.
Remember that you are buying from the seller, not Chrono24. Most reputable dealers include URLs to their own websites which can then be checked fairly easily for suspicion of fraud. It is also relatively easy to compare a given street address to the business name. Dealing with individual sellers is more or less the same as any other forum: Ensure there is clear, consistent communication. Probably the best way to check on Chrono24 sellers is to do exactly what you are doing, posting a question on a forum. Unfortunately, you might not find anyone else who knows that seller. Chrono24 has been trying to make itself seem a bit more legitimate recently, but I have not seen much result yet. If something does not seem right, drop it. You probably can find another watch later.
Couple of things you can do that will help----nothing is guaranteed of course: 1. Ask the seller for custom pics of the watch, just to make sure they have it. 2. Always insist on PayPal, which will help you recover funds in the event of fraud.
Chrono 24 to me is at the same level as ebay in terms of being able to trust sellers. I wouldn't send a penny to any one of them without having a lot of comfort in terms of their legitimacy. There are obviously various avenues to figuring that out, including references, requested pix (as mentioned above), posting on watch boards, etc. When in doubt, pass. Better safe than sorry.
What I constantly see in regards to Chrono24 is "Bank wire transfer." Hell no. No flipping way. What's the aversion to Pay-Pal?
This just in: ordered a straight text Speedmaster from a private seller in Romania via chrono24. Asked for and got custom pictures; PayPal was accepted. Watch just arrived, and it's a beauty. 1039 bracelet with 9 sprung links, all intact, and 516 end pieces. Nice performance on the Timegrapher too: with lift angle set at 50, I'm getting 250+ amplitude, .2ms beat error, -1 second/day. Sometimes it works out...