fotoman

Who was arguing? Its all about what yooou like very nice strap selection. Enjoy

As one of the most senior counsel 1. Escrow, nice idea but dead on start for offshore's reasons. 2. I was thinking more of rules like on rwi they have that picture rule. Not specifically that, but just a recommendation of "best practices". We would be in no more legal jeopardy than we are currently. 3. Re dealers not taking pp. that has been an issue for the ages. For a few years dealers couldnt do paypal cause they kept getting their accounts shut down. But, remember that 95% of forum members dint post. Dealers would leave way to much $$ on the table to lose paypal again. But thats a paypal issue not a dealer one. My other thought was 1 step removed from the best practices which is the horror story thread. That removes any hint of liability (at least no more than now) cause someone who was [censored] can't say, well I followed the rules. As a business plan, I think your own escrow is a bad idea. For 1, you need to live in an undeveloped country to keep it 2. Banks will not be cool with it. 3. Having see what happens with group buys, group AR, and other group activities, they turn out bad more often than not. For at least someone. And, the margins are not there to make it make any sense, unless your in an undeveloped country and 50$ a day is worth the risk.

Excellent work Where did you get the red strap?looks nice

Almost all the new pams would be outstanding by back in the day standards. It's just really picky stuff best I can say. I got 2 last year, they are perfect as far as I'm concerned. Take a look at sinn. They are all awesome, the regulators are amazing. I really like the APs and some breitlings

Should we be brainstorming some ideas as recommendations to minimize the risk? I suppose it's also a handbook for scammers. Or should we create a paypal horror stories thread so others can figure out their own risk management ?

Nice review- corner I have the black and the blue. They are both amazing. At the top of my rep list. The AR is as good as it gets out of the box. HKTAN working on straps for mine. I'm not selling either one of em ever . I prefer the white dial, you can see more detail, it looks more special. But these are def keepers. And considering the price, IMHO they are must have. I

I would look in the dealers section

Selling on amazon isn't cheap. And you are mandated a 60 day return policy. But the quality of customer is better.

I don't know if I ever ordered one. I know his site was the only way to check out stuff, and sometimes king, until josh changed the buying universe. I also remember many of us thinking there were many "paul's" and that was just the name that successive buyers of his business kept.

And remember always fear the Pam 666 http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/8444/pam666jp5.jpg

No worries man, we all do. That's why I wrote the article. We all are a bit nutty just to spend all this time for the 2nd most accurate timekeeper we wear on our person (phone) Even us "old timers" go overboard. And I can tell you from personal experience and observation, it takes a few years before you stop camping out at the mailbox. . That's what makes this fun. Soooo many people looking at soooo small things. Nothing gets by us. Maybe not the first day. But in short time, we catch every little tiny detail. there is no reasonably available watch brand (gen) that is not owned by someone here. We all contribute. As self titled "chief pontificator" I blather on about random crap every once and awhile it's useful. It's funny you said someone to bring you back down, I thought if that scene in Airplane, calm down, get ahold of yourself slap slap. I just spent at least 6 hrs in the last 24 (can't sleep) tracking down every variation of a croc pilot style strap up and down the internets. What I realized again is, although I have to pay a little more up front, I'm best off stickin with my dude HKTAN. You learn lessons with time. A wise forum elder once said quality over quantity. The current rep world is a garden of Eden. There is so much great stuff out there, your head will spin. And inevitably whenever you get a watch 2 weeks later something else hits that you want. Especially Pam, those hit every 32.5 seconds. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Also - note I said The Zigmeister. The Zigmeister is the # 1 source and authority on rep movements in all of the rep universe bar none. If The Zigmeister says it, might as well be Moses with tablets. Ok, I saved you 2 weeks of research - enjoy

Ok, - check out the thoughts on collecting thread in my sig. Tell me if your following down the thought path I did. Rules I looked for that I now find useless 1. Stay under 5 k to keep ownership more reasonable - nobody give a [censored]. Not 1. Get what you like f-ck everyone else. 2. Service watches - screw it, when the movement is half the price of servicing. Play the odds. My experience says you have a 1 in 50 chance of movt failure and a 99% chance you will sell the watch your buying in the next 6 mo cause your bored. 3. Expect Chinese factories make simple fixes - might as well pull your hair now. They are more likely to screw it up more rather than make simple fixes. 4. Spend whatever it takes to get the "best" rep as a newb - slow down there tonto, buy 1,2,3 reps first, wear them on your wrist instead of looking at 600x magnified super light managed photos. If you don't. Like your 111 or whatever, then go for your grail, and put $$ into "mods" 5. Put $$ into Swiss movt. No Get Asians if the beat rate is correct. They are as reliable as Chinese "Swiss" - put the money into straps and AR coatings. No comparison relating to the $/ value you can spend. Give me a 100$ rep throw a strap and AR on it, it will look like a 20k watch

I tend to take breaks, 3 mo n average a year. My recent hiatus was long but that was beyond my control. it's healthy to take time off and it's more exciting to comeback to something interesting. Also, it helps from "jumping on the first release befor they fix flaws" disease

FYI, I've chieftanged both my rueben barichello and rubber clad. It increased their awesomeness dramatically. For those with a good gen AP collection, is the Un ar'd crystal clearer than the rep crystal? Of my friends with ap's and rolex, it seems to be Better than the rep crystal. Closer to an AR look, but def not as good as AR and I know dial color has a lot to do with it. I need to start an AR thread The AR on rubber clad makes it dreamy. The AR on barichello totally changes the look of the watch. At first I wasn't sure if I liked it, but I do it kinda widens the dial. It's almost as if you stretch the dial without stretching the bezel. The crystal just disappears. I need AR on all my pieces, more important than the watch and probably on par with a good strap

Hey man. If you get a minute, give me a rig. I have to stay in BROWARD/ Miami. I'm divorced and have an awesome 5 yr old. I'm a lawyer/ lobbyist/ pr advertising/ government procurements. But, I just need a job. I don't remember how long ago we had the lunch. But, i had a few ruff years. Back got worse, wife didn't want to deal with it. So divorced. Had a fusion in my neck and micro in my lower back. Neck was 10 mo ago. Doing much now. But, ithe middle of this, the political scandals of BROWARD caused an avalanche which killed local lobbying, so my industry is gone. Which is fine, but, the economy tanked and everyone I know is laying people off. So, I'm in a ruff spot. Super competition for even 40k/ yr. Because my direct experience is in a field that is gone, when I apply I'm either over qualified or under. There is 1 ji. I'm up for that is perfect. Liveable pay, in line with my talents. The dude tells me, I'm afraid you will get bored. Ehhhhh. If I could choose, I'd teach under Grad law classes at a second rate college. But I can do sales, I can travel, I'm good at presentations, writing giving graphics. I don't want to do law, but I will, I'm not cut for big firms, not my style. I'd love to do entry level family law or wills and trusts. I'm actually in a bad situation. My parents have hit the limit of a slow financial collapse. they are out of $$ to help me and last time I took in a check was 10 mo ago. I can pay my bills at 50-60k but I'm not picky. Somehow the time I had to draw down on their credit card was cut a few months short. Ive been applying to everything since august. -I thought had stuff lined up for post surgery. But everything fell through. I'm not kidding, best buys is starting to look like a way to go

Meaning you love the rep, or you have tried on other el primero based pieces.

Looks great. I'd take the brightness down a bit, but focus is good, colors look good. I like the angle its very low to the watch and gives a larger than life look up effect. Most photos are taken looking down. I think you might be onto something. Not sure is the color at the bezel at 3 is from maximizing to much or being to bright, but there is a little pixelation. You want to make sure you color transitions are smooth. Excellent work! Fun isn't it

The Zigmeister says 6497 with no running seconds is a ticking time bomb due to the chopped off seconds needle. Don't bother having it serviced. Learn to like running seconds.

You underestimate the scale of the issue. Big brands would shut down fakes if they could, and china would make fakes even if the production factories weren't over there. The real question is, what china will emerge. They majority of it's population live in squalor. They have the world by the financial balls. The have a huge pollution problem. Will the govt figure out a way to springboard this success to raise the country into a sustainable middle class? Or will they implode due to mis management. This chapter has yet to be written. I have heard convincing arguments both ways

I knew nothing. When you see my old photos ( exhibit of collections 2005-2012) you will laugh. But, you need a tripod and to know how to change the shutter speed. From there you experiment. White balance depth of field focus (portrait mode) makes the background blurry to focus the eye to where you want it. Photoshop 5 is a must, you can fix white balance issues obviously cropping, - sometimes, you have stuff in the shot, like supports or seems in the floor or the edge of your lightbox instead of the background your shooting. The. You can clone. Or better in ps5 there is a smart fill option that is amazing. Huge time saver - then resizing and save for web. Basic ps stuff. In the lightbox you have 100% control over the environment. Then it's up to your creativity. But those are easy things to pick up, you tube is full of tutorials. I'm sure there are some from pug wash or TTK laying around here. If your willing to experiment, for little investment you can do ALOT.

Light box makes those amazing larger than life photos. Basically it's a light diffuser. It softens the light so you don't get those harsh tones. It's how you make the photos that you see on eBay and in magazines. You can buy one for cheap. Like 50$ or less. You can just shoot simple like you see on dealer sites, or, you can get creative. I got some fabrics and wood and materials to do some fun stuff. I built this new one based on what I learned last time. Thinner white cloth so I can use less wattage. A structure that is more flexible relating to photo graph angles. Built in black roof. TTK taught me about "reflecting black back at your watch" which made no sense till I did it. Basically you need a black surface to hold over the watch dial so even with AR you can see the top of the light box. If you find where the reflection is coming from and put the black there. The crystal disappears. Yes this is how everyone does it. Here is with light box and without. Same watch http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/4743/skylandee5.jpg http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/6585/aveng3.jpg

I'm here, call me if your in town. I'm Also looking for an employment situation If you know anyone hiring. Everyone I known is barely keeping afloat

I like it. What do you think of your zenith xt? Have you tried on the gen? It's one of my fav all tome pieces. But, they are killin me not making the 44

As I have commented in various threads, I'm working on Getting the useful information, tips and tricks, classic photos and PHOtos of my new pieces. the watches you know well But, the straps will make the show. I went to a craft store to buy a few things to build a new lightbox based on my previous experiences. I got fabric for 3$ and a cloth organizing basket square and a little smaller than a laundry basket. - Perfect, cut some holes, lay the cloth over the holes - put your light source to the white area - I'm using the new swirly bulbs. - They have a "natural sunlight" bulb. Its dreadful as room lighting, but, Should be the best for a light box. I'm still building small light guiding light covers out of cardboard and tin foil. So the light gets directed into the box and not diffused into the room. Its a design that cost less than 20$ and can be made mostly from stuff around the house. However, at the craft store, I went nuts getting a few fabrics, a few synthetic materials, some creative ways to put texture into the photos. And, on a whim i got some wood to make PHO letters. Worked on those last night for a couple hours. They came out awesome, I want to feature them in my photos. I needed a new sweeeet reflective wood to make sweet buttery photos of my babies. I searched the net high and low i came up with 2 options. Using Veneer or getting a small 6x6 piece of wood i can polish. After i picked a few out to start narrowing down - I forgot that I still have some in my pen shop. So i have a few things from the old pen shop to help put together my new setup. I litterally have a pile of new experiments. Over the next couple weeks I'm hoping to roll out all of this content and new ideas i have been gathering. Its a bit daunting at the moment. And its the 3rd daunting task i'm taking on - wait 4th - Not sure why, but, I keep seeing the work from 3 yrs ago, and its killing me not to continue. I had a permentant box seutp so it was easy to snap a few shots. But, alas, my DSLR has a wide angle lens and it HATES closeups. So, I had to make Lightbox 2.o and borrow and normal pocket sized point and shoot and build it out. Its coming along. Much work to do. I snapped a few quick photos that I will share here. Wood Old Box \ New Box