Mistakes I have made...

I got burnt a few times with some early purchases, including a "lost in transit" Speedmaster Mark 4.5 which, I strongly suspect, never actually left the seller's home in Australia. I was not as discriminating then as I am now, obviously.

But by far my most unpleasant experience came from the combination of a clueless seller in South America and a deeply stubborn fellow buyer based in New York City. I had bought through eBay a rare Venezuelan Air Force Orfina Porsche Design chronograph which, at the time, was destined to be my second Lemania 5100 chronograph. The price was right, and I was over the Moon about getting this particular watch. However when the package came, my disappointment was quite brutal: inside it was a solid gold Eterna dress watch.

I immediately contacted the seller, and I was told that they had made a mistake and sent me a watch meant to be sent to its rightful buyer in New York City. And obviously, he got my Orfina instead of his Eterna. The seller then suggested that the other buyer and I get in touch to send each other our rightful watch. But they never specified how they intended to cover the additional shipping expenses that were the result of their initial mistake. I exchanged e-mails, and even got on the phone once, with the other victim of their idiocy, and we agreed to proceed anyway. Or so I thought, because as soon as I sent the watch and sent his owner the relevant tracking information, he insisted that he wanted to be sent beforehand the money for shipping my watch to me, and that he wouldn't do so before receiving his. I was livid.

Unfortunately, this was not the end of it. Because a few days later, the other buyer sent a message to the seller and to myself stating the watch he received was not as nice as expected and that he considered that he was being scammed. Worse, he saw me was an accessory, a complicit participant whose role was apparently to muddy the waters. From then on, he rejected any attempts at direct contact, and the seller just stopped being involved and disappeared. After all, he had been paid, and he seemed pretty casual about the mess his shipping mistake had created. By that time, I was beyond mad.

So, without truly measuring the scope of my challenge, I proceeded to find from France(!) a NYC-based lawyer who could approach the other guy and assert my desire to get my watch at last. I did, and her first attempt proved unsuccessful. By that time, the guy had apparently fully convinced himself that I was one of the scammers, and that he wouldn't fall for that, ever. So, through my new-found lawyer, I proceeded to sue him through NYC's Small Claims Court. I knew I was unlikely to achieve anything of note, but I was so angry that I had to express some of that anger somehow. So, after an almost year long saga, he finally lost and was condemned to pay me the price I had paid for my watch. I also left him the option of actually sending me the damn thing, but he once again refused. I suspect that by that time he no longer had it.

So there I was, with my money, ignoring the fact that legal fees had cost me more than I got back. It was technically a victory, but a very hollow one that left me extremely bitter about the whole saga. And the saddest part is that my nemesis was apparently a pretty well known and respected Eterna collector, in other words someone I could probably have enjoyed having a beer with in other circumstances. To this day, I bet he still believes I was a scammer...

I understand your point, but the guy sounds like a complete and utter asshole! 🫨

He certainly was from my perspective!

But I also reasoned that a great deal of his behavior might have been based on his flawed perception of my role in this story. If he felt like a victim about to be fleeced, I sort of understand where his "last stand" approach is coming from, even if ultimately his whole attitude was wrong.

I often wonder if he sometimes reads posts of mine on watch forums and realizes how misguided he had been. I know that he had been a WUS member at some point, but I have no idea if he is still active in online watch communities.

Wow! This has to be one of the craziest stories I’ve ever heard. Thanks for sharing that - I feel your pain.

Edit: Holy long quote. I removed some of it 👍

I'm glad this thread is limited to "mistakes I have made [buying watches]". Otherwise, I'd probably triple my post count just relaying my mistakes buying cars. And dating. OMG, don't get me started on dating.

The only real watch mistakes I have made was selling one of my Seamasters and perhaps one or two Speedmasters that I miss now.

Making mistakes in dating is the rule. Avoiding them is therefore the exception. 😉

Well with the number of avenues available today (including this brilliant forum) and speed of information i find a newbie tax completely avoidable. Unless of course doing so for the thrill of it fully aware of the risk involved. I have done so myself but was fully aware and willing to risk the newbie tax!

Research is key not just on authenticity but also on market value. I find many dealers today clueless on how to price watches especially the "limited edition" microbrands. They never get the memo when prices fall after the initial IG frenzy!