Hello OF users. For my inaugural post, i would like to reach out regarding an international purchase i am thinking if making. I have purchased many watches online, through Chrono24 and forums over the years and (knock on wood) for the most part, they've all gone through without a hitch.

For my latest purchase, I'm considering buying a fairly high ticket item from a user on an online watch forum (not omegaforums). He is a new user on the forum but has a few posts in which he's joined in on discussions. He does not have any seller references. The seller is based in Scandinavia. Since I'm based in Asia, and we're in the midst of a global pandemic, a face to face deal is out of the question due to travel restrictions. We discussed numerous payment options but the seller is insisting on either a face to face trade, or a direct wire transfer.

I normally wouldn't consider sending funds without any prior references however there are a few things which are making me consider an exception to the rule. Firstly, his name is on the certificate of the watch, and the name also tallies with his username on the online forum. Secondly, he has provided me with a copy of his Identification card, (the name on his ID also tallies with the name on the watch cert) along with a signed declaration of our purchase agreement. Finally, he was able to provide me with extra pictures of the timepiece and also a video of the watch functions as per my request (i asked him to show me the Chronograph functions working past one minute followed by start, stop and reset).

He's been very forthcoming with communications and has been prompt in his replies so far. I'm really thinking of pulling the trigger and sending him the funds but am slightly concerned with the lack of references and also, the price of the watch is about 20% lower than what other people are offering for the same piece.

What are you guys' experience on these sorts of things. Any advice?

 

In my case:

1- i will never ever do an overseas deal even with 50% discount via wire transfer with someone i dont know.
2- if the watch is over 10k , i will only do face to face.
3- if i buy, i prefer to buy from the boutique and spend more , rather than thinking alot about what will happen if...and...if......etc
4 or u can have the deal via paypal...

lets see wat others can say

GL

 

Is the model reference hard to find? Might be worth it to wait for another to pop up.

 

It's a discontinued model. It's hard to find at the moment which is why the examples that are available online are all going for a very hefty premium.

 

I am generally quite trusting with other established members of the watch collecting community, but if this person is a newbie with no references, and is asking 20% less than other sellers, I would not be sending him my money. It just seems suspicious. If he's willing to sell it so cheaply, why not just put it on eBay. Forum sales listings are absolutely full of scams.

 

We have both bought and sold shipping from and receiving in the Philippines with no problems but we are reasonably known as well as those we dealt with. Your deal sounds too risky to me. If you are established on whatever forum you are talking about you might try appealing to another Scandinavian member to assist in the transaction so you might give that a shot as a last ditch effort.

 

Read this thread, it will put things in perspective. Obviously it's not the same situation, but it just shows what some of these people are willing to do.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/scammed-from-iceland.101482/

 

Bear in mind there are plenty of watch enthusiasts in the seller's neck of the woods in Scandinavia who would certainly want whatever is highly sought after, so if the guy is asking 20% below market you best be on your toes.

 

If we knew the watch in question it would add a lot to the conversation. Context is important.

 

Where in Scandinavia? If it's in Denmark I might be able to have a look at it.

 

Good grief this is the most compelling thread I’ve read in a long time, and I am barely halfway through reading this saga. And i blame you for my suddenly unproductive morning.

edit: reading the follow up thread
https://omegaforums.net/threads/ice...tefansson-and-magnus-sigurdsson.103187/page-9

 

buy the seller, if not a ton of feedback, check references. Get on the phone and talk to the seller, ask questions.

 

Really appreciate the valuable input by all the members who've contributed. The main thing that's keeping me on my toes is the lack of feedback, and also the significantly lower price. However to be fair, his asking price was more like 10% less than the regular market premium, i managed to bargain the price down by approximately a further 10%.

The only things that are giving me sleepless nights are firstly that his name is on the cert, and this name corroborates with his ID card. Secondly, he was able to provide me with a video with my exact requirements. He wouldn't have been able to do that if the watch wasn't actually in his possession. I've spoken to him over the phone a couple of times and he's insistent on sending the watch fully insured. These are the factors that give me some sort of peace of mind. But then again i don't know if I'm trying to overly convince myself because it's such a good deal.

I understand context is important however i don't really want to mention names or specifics in the fear of putting the seller on blast. He hasn't scammed me yet so i don't think it would be nice to mention particulars of his ad on a thread with this kind of topic. Also i don't want anyone to steal a special deal out from under my nose! But all joking aside, I'll add more details as things progress.

@Dan S thank you for linking the thread. I will give it a good read. Thanks everyone for your input so far.

 

Seller is based in Sweden according to his phone number and profile page

 

You've said "fairly high ticket", but maybe you'd like to give us an idea of what that means to you. As @gatorcpa mentioned much earlier, we really have no idea of what type of money we're talking about. Is there some reason that you don't want to give that information?

 

All of the above advice is excellent.

The first time I bought a watch from overseas was in the early 1990s. I was using a new website called Timezone and the seller was an American who worked for the American Embassy in China at the time. The watch was a Rolex 5512 from 1961 in mint condition with the original expandable bracelet, asking price was $2,200. Times were different, no one really thought about being scammed, although I'm sure it still happened. I asked that he photograph the watch on a local newspaper showing the date. (1. Proof of ownership of the watch). I didn't personally know the seller, but, I posted on the site for references and a couple of other members responded and gave positive replies. (2. Get references, buy the seller, not the watch). We agreed on a price and I bank wired the funds to the seller. In those days there was no PayPal which I understand offers you buyer's protection or escrow services which also can provide protection when buying an expensive watch.
(3. Protect your funds, by using PayPal or an escrow service such as escrow.com).
It was a great buy and I still have the watch today.

Link:
https://www.escrow.com/buy/watches

 

We're talking a smidge over 40,000euros

 

Dude, for that kind of money, I'd definitely take a little vacation to Sweden, but, considering the pandemic, that is out of the question for now. Only other option would be to use an escrow service... it will cost money, but offer piece of mind if you truly wish to go thru with the transaction.

 

Yeah, that's helpful, and explains why the 20% discount is so meaningful.