Leaderboard

I have like most guys here been reading a few threads about guys getting scammed or mis-sold watches and services etc and the question I guess most of us ask is how could this happen on such a great forum like this ? I thought that myself and I would like to think that I am savvy enough to avoid those same pitfalls that most guys seem to have in those threads... I am sure most us do think that... But it can happen..it happens in life and outside this forum in all sorts of ways.. So I thought ...Would it help if there was a sticky thread setting out guidelines or advice..I even thought maybe I should write one and post it and guys could add points or improve points I made and together we could create something that would help ..maybe But then I thought if I did that then it would need to be short and concise and readable and indeed read... So if you consider all that you end up realising that you cannot do that and be certain that your aim in writing it will be of any use.... The fact is - There is plenty of good advice and info already here on this forum and in addition elsewhere .... from advice to buying on ebay or on other forums and generally on the web...plus most importantly simple common sense.. It is like guys moaning that dealers links are wrong and 'we' can be scammed...but surely if you have read the advice and you know how this game is legally speaking then you would know from common sense that they would change regularly so its reasonable to do a check that the link is current especially if you then look at dates of threads etc.. So IMHO the idea of a guide is pretty pointless... I say that because... as most of us can see most new guys really dont read the info already available on the forum so why would they read a guide? You can see that most new guys just post a thread or question that has been asked a dozen times before and in most cases dont even post it in the correct section so clearly they havent as they claim searched... maybe they might do better to ask how to search rather than ask the question they do.. as the search tool does take some getting used to especially in terms of what you ask it to search.... But then you consider guys that say I aint new.. I aint a noob... what about me? But the truth is we are all noobs ....its just we are noobs in different areas...for example if I wanted a Rolex I would be a noob ..if i wanted to buy an IWC I would be a noob.... it goes on for all of us... you see so many guys with say a year here referring to noobs... but they are just a noob as those guys...we all are in different ways... I still considered myself a noob after a few years here... and for the most part I still am a noob... If you have only bought one watch or 3 watches you are a noob... if you have only sold one watch or 5 watches you are still a noob..... if you get my point? If you ahve been here 5 years or 2 months you can be a noob..if you have 5 posts or 6000 posts you can still be a noob... Your feedback or length of membership or post count entitles you to expect nothing and nor should you... and no one dealing with a guy based on that alone should use that to judge them either... Even now I still read stuff that was stickied for new guys... it helps and in turn I use it to move me forward..it isnt always the answer but it sends me in the right direction to get the answer...it requires me to use my own head and take it forward..it is not there as the onladvice needed..it is to guide and get you on the right wavelength to investigate more.. Even now as I write this I know most guys wont read this or read it through as its too long and wordy... most guys that will already know the score or most of it when it comes to these sorts of issues.. The truth is any of us can get scammed..its just the more experienced you are the more experienced the scammer needs to be.... We can make all the guidelines, scamlists and advice we want..but if no one reads it or takes the basic advice and uses their own initiative to use that and take it forward then scammers will continue to succeed... Then if you factor in the reasons why we get scammed... With money you get scammed because you are greedy... that is a fact..it is your greed that feeds a scam and its success... Its very similar in the rep game.. If you are a seller...and you need to sell to buy your next wish list rep..and the watch isnt budging and been there a while then you are more easily caught in a scam ...same if you are trading etc etc If you are a buyer you see a watch you really want ..you want to be first to get it and not miss it then you are more easily scammed..same as if its a great price or its a rare piece etc etc Because of that you dont necessarily follow the considered approach...to do your due diligence, check feedback, here elsewhere (other forums etc), ask suitable questions, get to know the seller/buyer, consider location (customs risks, Shipping risks etc), consider methods of payment, (PP with fees never as gift or Bankwire)... etc etc... and if any of these questions raise a concern then you should really dig back into everything again..not just that part of your concern.. For example... someone may say they want it as gift... that immediately should make you question everything...not just the payment... If that still leaves some uncertainty then contact members, post a feedback reference question here or elsewhere... And ultimately if you have any doubt dont buy it dont sell it..... because even though you may have doubt ultimately it is that 'greed' part of you that is allowing yourself to be open to being scammed and no amount of advice or guidelines is going to help you avoid that...

I'm a new guy. This thread is an example of one reason I signed up. There are a lot of other, technical and artisan reasons to be here. But as the comments here indicate, there is a lot of professionalism even in how constructive criticism is handed out. I've seen it many places on the forum. I like that people want each other to survive. Want each other to be within the rules. And want each other to enjoy this world.

it's the same behavior as with porn and masturbation, you quickly learn to do it hidden, it's written in our genes ! welcome to Fun land!

Hi everyone I've been on the forums for almost a year now, i've read a lot of your threads, i'm getting to know the guys well without anyone knowing who i am but that doesnt matter. Anyhow, i've never really worn watches untill early this year (2013) i don't know what struc me but ever since i must spend about 4-10 hours a day looking at watches, staring at mechanism, movements that facinate me, triple axis tourbillons to replicas that have almost 100% the same movement as GENS. So everytime my wife comes downstairs to the computer room, she finds me sitting starring at watches, 20 tabs opened in the browser, meticulously comparing reps to gens and trying to figure which one will be my new favorite. And she just can't believe ive been contemplating the same watches for over a year LOL. (neither can i to be honest.. time fliesssss lol) Unfortunately at 500$ a piece its not like i can get 1 every month. I also made the mistake of buying my first watches around 100$ a piece and found them to be pretty cheap and almost gave up on reps untill my first quality rep (graham oversize chronofighter carbon) id put some pics up but.... the top reset button fell appart (which makes me want to cry to be honest) 1st rep : U_boat 1001 : disapointed the mechanism broke after 2 days... it won't really wind (maybe i over wind it.. who knows) about 130$ 2nd rep : Hublot Big bang all black with see through glass at the back for the movement (definately the watch i wear the most since my graham is not in service) about 150$ 3rd rep : Audemars Piguet (bad rep can'T wear it.. keep noticing the fakeness) +/- 140$ 4th rep : Graham oversized Chronofighter carbon V3 (my favorite watch and the one that made me believe reps are worth it!) +/- 350$ Now that i've started to realise what a real rep should be, i have a list of about 10 i reallllly want in the next year i've also started to admire custom made straps and i am amazed at some people's work! (love stingray, ostrich, thick calf leather, shark, and elephant (although wife says im not aloud to get the elephant If anyone else has a wife wondering how brain washed her husband is at looking over and over at watches please feel free to comment! ohh... not to mention everytime i pass by the mont blanc store we have around my place (its the only decent store ) Here's a list of my next watches i have in mind 1 . Hublot Diver 4000m (i'm scared i won't wear it cause of the size and thickness... my wrist is a 6.5) 2. AP Royal Oak 15400 (black dial) love the accurate movement 3. Hublot Big Bang (like the one i have but SS and high quality) 4. Panerai 312 (i'm still trying to figure out which is the right pan for me) 5. Panerai 305 submersible diver (with neon strap to make it more *divey* 6. U_boat Flightdeck 50mm (ss and white) 7. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 8. Mont Blanc Time Walker 9. Patek Philippe Nautilus 10. Hublot Ferrari Limited Ed 11. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chrono @ 12 There are many more but this will do for a year or 2 LOL Oh If by any chance some of you fans could give me some of your top choices for my new collection including the following criteria, i would be very happy to take a look at them and make some place into my collection 1. Although most of the watches i listed don't have see through backs i do enjoy very much fine detailed see through movements 2. Also i am trying to find a PAM with movement at the back (preferably autowind not hand wind) with the most accurate movement (so far 312 is my favorite) 3. I haven't found my interest in rolex yet... but i'm sure it will come with time. (no hard feelings for the rolex lovers) Hope to get to talk to you all Iyan The french Canadian

Gen 7787

6265

I bet your Mrs told you that ....

I shall upgrade you now mate..... You should walk out of your house and find the nearest large public space and stand in the middle of it ....I then want you to get on bended knee and hold your rep in your hand aloft.... I then want you to say out loud.... "This rep shall restore my soul and mind; this great forum of the RWG shall guide me in the path of righteous reps For RWG name's sake. And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of gen wearers , I shall fear no evil, for RWG art with me; Your reps and Your advice, they shall comfort me. RWG members shall prepare a table or list of great reps before me in the presence of all and lay asunder those who consider us charlatans; RWG shall have anointed my head and my wrist with light clock oil; And my reps shall overflow in the land of the gens..." Now once you have repeated this twice...once on a Wednesday and once on a Sunday outside church...then you shall be upgraded my son and shall arise from your bended knee a man of reps and RWG... honest !!

oh, my wife wouldn't say anything about it as long as I don't spend too much money it... and welcome to the board and mate compared to that hobby, I think the watch is quite normal...

Now that's just sick. SICK! In a good way. Now let's talk about thousand dollar 8mm Brevet crowns.

Wow dude way to be great! Welcome aboard! Twenty year watch lover here and my wife think I'm crazy as well! I compare my watch addiction to her purse fetish so we have an understanding. Go for the Hublot diver 4000 dude! I own one and it's a beast my wrist is a modest 6.8 and it fits well. Enjoy to the max!!!!

Kernow, have you seen cc33's latest pics of his Daytona build? Utter, unadulterated smut.

Yes I know what you mean. I try to hide it a bit from my wife, if she walks in I try not to look guilty but she just thinks I'm a 'normal' guy looking at porn. So I just let her think that!

Alo Lyon mon fracaphone. Welcome aboard! My wife got used to my quirky hobbies after my few years of serious flashlight collecting. I had a get together at my house and people came from all over northern and central California! Had about 40 people and about $50k+ dollars in flashlights sitting on every available surface in the living room dining room area. Wifey said she was going to go out with the girlfriends while I had my little friends over to play with our toys. Funniest thing was when she dropped by with the girlfriends to find cars lined down the street and a Lambourghini Mercialago parked in our driveway next to the Turbo Porsche. Their jaws dropped when they walked in the house. We were all having a blast checking out the latest and greatest custom modified and designed flashlights! LOL The looks on their faces was priceless. So anyway, the watches are pretty easily accepted if they can accept freak thousand dollar+ flashlights. She even sneaks into my watch box to snag a watch when she has a big meeting at work now. LOL she wore my prized PAM 42mm today!! Sheesh! Take heart my friend. We're complicated cromagnons

Now THAT is how a newbie introduces himself to the gang! Iyan my man, you ROCK. I predict a long, satisfying and poverty-stricken relationship with RWG in your future. Welcome aboard, you've already got The Sickness and apparently, a wife (God bless her) that can tolerate us. Does it get better than that?!

GREAT piece of advice here. I do this when buying member to member.

intime label bp.but just look at the pics and you will see its a bp.do a little bit of research

great pics, found your another hobby, lol...

Here is a nice video over one winter, this is all <5 miles from my house http://vimeo.com/45105667

Picture update: