therooster

eh eh, fair enough!

No, that's the implication. I nominate you as sensitive RWG member of the week. But seriously, I'm not here to argue with anyone. So we can keep this nice and respectful. I do wonder nonetheless why threads like these often attract people who don't seem to have much to do with the issue to begin with. It would be nice to hear from some more people who are directly affected or involved. Especially if they have any news from Rocketeer. I just tried to call him again on his mobile and landline, with no success.

Couldn't agree more. I never sent Rocketeer full watches just for an AR job. I only sent him crystals. I got them back last week and one of them was screwed (it's the green/yellow one on the UPO that Chief was talking about). But surely we must appreciate the fact that some people simply don't have the skill or opportunity to learn how to remove a crystal. I really don't see how we can blame them. Having said that, I did send Rocketeer movements and dials for servicing and relume. Failure rate so far has been 100% (meaning none of the jobs that I entrusted him with have either turned out well or turned up at all).

@lanikai: I didn't think you were defending Rocketeer. Also, I didn't want to imply that Rocketeer was an RWG service provider. He's just a service provider full stop, i.e. someone who provides a service. And I merely see RWG as a communication channel, not as a retailer or agent. In a nutshell, my point was that criticising members for trusting service providers (wether endorsed or not by the forum) is pointless, especially when based on very limited knowledge of the events in question (without implying that that's what you did!). Besides, it just fuels more frustration in the people who got ripped off. It's really as useful as [censored] on a bull. I personally did all I could before sending my stuff to Rocketeer. I considered all of his posts very carefully, talked to him on the phone, researched his gen watch business, looked up his addresses, got his full name, details etc, requested a landline and mobile number, looked at samples of his work, and so forth. No one can tell me I didn't do my due diligence. The guy started off well and then things turned pear shaped very quickly. Simple as that. A final thought for the other poster up there who called people who send their stuff to watchmakers lazy. Are you for real? Sounds to me like if one messes up a watch by working on it himself, and then spends more money and time to get it fixed, he gets laughed at for being an idiot. If someone avoids such problems by sending it to a modder of some sort before screwing it up himself, he gets called lazy. You've got to be shitting me.

Guys, let's not over-simplify things. For example, don't forget the people who already had watches for service with Rocketeer and upon hearing of the AR run just thought "what the heck... he might as well send the crystal to Chief while he's already got my watches"... And the people whose watches came back ruined, half done, not working, over-oiled, etc... And the people whose watches still haven't been returned for mysterious reasons after months, and whose communication with Rocketeer has virtuallty stopped.... People who had used Rocketeer before and had a positive experience but were burnt the second time around... And people who have sent lots of money and got nothing in return... And all of this while Rocketeer was making posts left right and centre showing what an expert he was. I don't think it was unreasonable to trust him and the problems are not limited to the AR run... There'a lot more. So please, before you start telling people that it's their fault, think carefully about how much you really know about what was going on, and more importanty, ask yourself how much it matters whether members are 10, 20 or whatever percent responsible for their problems. It doesn't help, and it doesn't make things better. What puzzles me when things like these happen is the speed with which people come out in defence of the service provider rather than the trusted members, the speed with which blame is shifted (unnecessaily I believe, and with no clear purpose) towards the buyer, and the tendency to oversimplify matters. I don't need to bring up old stories to make my point, but I'm sure people can remember previous instances when this happened. Anyway, I do hope this gets resolved quickly. I'm starting to think that, given that Rocketeer has now disappeared, we shold perhaps start a thread soon listing any unresolved issues with him.

Land line goes straight to answering machine. Mobile phone remains unanswered and rings out. Text messages on mobile phone are ignored. Emails have not been successful either. I'm going to try pigeons and smoke singnals tomorrow.

He said rocketeer has had his stuff since February. Mine since January. I think the two weeks issue is just one of the many drops in an ocean of BS...

Can I just say that Pix has good reason to complain? Many of the responses so far do remind me of the first replies to worried posts about Jakub. "the poor thing just had a death in the family"... "he's an honest guy, so stop bugging him"... "be patient, he's a straight up bloke"... "his entire family was eaten by a pack of wolves, so chill out and stop being insensitive", etc... Let's just accept the fact that a good member here is concerned, and let's chime in if anyone else can either help or is similarly worried. Pix, you know most of my issues with Rocketeer I am sure, so I do join you in hoping that everything will be sorted out quickly and smoothly.

Milton Keynes

Hi, I have ordered loads of watches from the far east and never had a watch held at customs in the UK. And if it is ever held, most dealers here will just send you another one. Also, note that although some dealers are UK-based, they usually have limited stock in the UK, so your watch will still need to come from Asia, with an added extra stop at the dealer's joint (e.g., China --> Dealer in the UK --> you). So buying from a EU dealer has its advantages (they take on any customs risks and do a quality check) and disadvantages (it may take a few days more for you to get your watch and you may pay a premium). I usually recommend the EU-based dealers to buyers living in high-risk countries (from a customs point of view), such as Italy, Germany, Switzerland, etc. For a UK buyer, I don't think it matters so much.

back here after a long time... so, he got away with it... or some of it. I'm amazed.

The one on the left is actually a V1. It has the first DW before any updates.

LOL that's hilarious!!

Well, I don't know if he's still making new DWs... We had been exchanging PMs until last month about an old order, and then silence. I never asked him for his email address, so I can't contact him that way. If anyone has it, it would be appreciated if you could PM it to me. I have his mailing address but writing him a letter is very 20th century...

His inbox is full and he hasn't logged in for a month or so. Does anyone have any news? This is not like him. I really hope he's ok.

Tom, while you're at it, please respond to my PMs too... Sent you a few over the last few weeks. Thanks.

Guys, I got all my watches back but would like to help you out with a donation towards the funds to pay the agency. I just really hope everyone gets their stuff back like I did. Let me know if you are going ahead with this and I'd be happy to donate something.

My understanding is that there was a V1 with a super-crappy DW... Then came the V2, with an updated DW that was slightly better but not perfect. I have the V2 and the DW is actually not too bad. The DW on the V3 is close to perfect and there are also other improvements (I think the bezel, the pearl, and a few other small things).

That's so sad... I can't believe this is the end of it. And at this stage, even if we assume that maybe he's the one who got scammed (e.g., his watchmaker took off with the watches), he should have at least come here and explained himself. What a complete, careless SOB. I think I gave you guys all the info I had already... did I also mention his family has a restaurant in Warsaw? Don't know whether that may help tracking him down. I think at this point what is needed is a couple of polish guys to go knock on his door and ask a few questions. But because there's no pole here with a dog in this race (J ensured they got their stuff back, so they'd leave him alone), this is never going to happen. Truly, truly sad.

I used both TomHighway and Michael Allen in the past. I can recommend both of them. It's true that TH will take his time, but he he does a good job and I have been very satisfied with him. Michael is also very good. I had an emergency once (needed a watch fixed in a very short time for a gift) and he turned it around in 5 or 6 days!! Now, I'm sure he can't do that all the time, and it was a lucky exception, but that's what I call responsiveness! Both TH and Michael are doing more stuff for me at the moment. I plan to post a review of their services soon, but in the meantime, you can approach either of them with no worries.

Although my watches were returned, my thoughts are still with you guys who are still waiting... this really sucks. really hope it works out for everyone.

Don't care, really. Happy to tell the entire world it's a fake. I wear reps because I like the look of these watches and like to have lots of them without going bust. Never seen them as a way of showing off.

done. good luck to her.

Essex, UK.

Yay, finally a sign of life... thanks for posting. So I'm not the only one... mmhhh... wonder what's going on.. He was online this morning. But no replies to my numerous PMs... I really just want to know how to pay him for his work and get the finished watches back.