kitersoze

boy you sure are making this easy for us cherries... i think of how much hard-earned experience and knowledge you've just passed onto us in one brief memo. n how much brain-damage and frustration you've saved us from. it's almost unfair... i can't thank you enough for the kind generosity...

wow, that's very helpful and puts me and i'm sure alot of other noob's a bit more at ease. thanx a bunch.

wow, thanx for the post and advice. sorry i had posted several times before i saw toad's guide, which linked me to this post. oh, btw, so who's got the best rep's? i just couldn't help myself...

never mind. just got an email from joshua. he says it's just down for maintenance.

hey all, joshwatch.com doesn't seem to be up and running. anyone know what's up?

yeah, that's right. makes sense. didn't think it all the way through...

like many others i've read about here, i was just this close to buying a rep from a scam site. i was (still am) brand new to the market, knew nothing, trying to get information, and essentially was at the mercy of 'googling' for knowledge. all of the upfront hits are what i now know to be scams. even the rep watch reviews and guides that are supposed to be neutral are scams. none of them felt right to me, or always there was some tiny tingle of a red flag in the back of my mind, but damn some of those really slick sites are persuasive to cherries like me. it was only through continued due diligence that i stumbled upon rwg through one of my correspondents (thanx imranbecks!), but i saw dozens and dozens of complaint boards of poor unfortunates who did pull the trigger and got screwed. i feel badly for those people, whom i could've easily turned out to be one of, and i loathe those people who have profited from their dishonesty, seemingly unchecked. i was wondering how other experienced members, admin, mod's in this forum feel about the idea of me, all of us, occasionally sending a message to the complaint boards or consumerwatch sites that this exists and there IS a place where fair and accurate information and experience can be sought, found, and exchanged. and then having them pass it on, etc. you all know the power of exponential reach. if we all inform someone, and ask them to inform someone, we could make them real happy, swell our numbers, and prevent some $ going to these a$$holes. i'm unfamiliar with rep community ethics or this forum's philosophy regarding such, so i'm humbly putting it out there for discussion and opinion. it was just a thought i was having as i was considering making my first rep buy ever, and how different an experience i was expecting now (happy anticipation) versus what i would've been in for had i not been as cautious and lucky. kitersoze

thank you all for your kind welcome and friendly advice!!

omg i can't believe how repetitive and similar so many of our stories are. i didn't know so many others had gone down the same road i had. i went in looking for a gen, discovered hi-end reps, got interested, did due diligence, nothing 'felt' right. looked into "neutral" review sites; they didn't feel right. did more digging, found all the complaint boards of so many unfortunate individuals who got ripped off from sights i almost bought from. then corresponded with some more commenters, who sent me here, thank god! now i'm looking forward to making a buy again!

greetings and salutations all! as you can see this is my very first post and i'd like to first thank imranbecks for introducing me to this forum. it's been an eye-opening experience in the short time i've been looking around. i had no idea there was such a subculture of such depth and expanse, with so much technical expertise combined with an eagerness to be friendly. like many others it seems, i just love watches (no expertise though, just an appreciation of their aesthetic and functional beauty) and have several gen's. i was looking for another purchase and stumbled upon this whole rep market. it seemed at first very interesting that i could possibly purchase many different styles for pure "wearing enjoyment" without having to be ludicrously indulgent or frivolous in spending gobs of money on things that really weren't crucial to living a happy life. that excitement turned, however, to disappointment and mistrust as i began to do due diligence on the purchase of these replicas. every company, every site, no matter how professional and corporate, eventually turned out to be a scam in consumer watchlists. every neutral review site and guide site, turned out to be a front of the same scam artists just trying to dupe more people. by the time i was done, i'd pretty much written the whole thing off as hopeless, there being no real way to determine a reputable rep seller from the scams. i knew i hadn't delved as far as i could go, but i was just too busy to really find my way on my own. my last ditch effort was to scan the vids, look for sellers, see if there were favorable customer reviews, contact those customers, hope they weren't "shell" reviewers, and possibly make a first leap of faith. but after stumbling my way into this forum, my excitement has returned; i believe i will and can confidently make a purchase with one or several of the reputable sellers, and start enjoying this interest for what it should be about: the watches. i look forward to asking a few questions, getting a bit more knowledge, making some more new friends, and buying my very first rep! warmest regards, kiter p.s. HEY! I've got my first question (hopefully not too terribly foolish one)! from reading one of his movement reviews, The Zigmeister essentially says that asian 7750 movements are quite good technically (and reliability-wise, which is my primary concern), but just come from the manufacturers poorly serviced and often dirty. He recommends that you always get your rep serviced and cleaned. is that something the reputable sellers already do from the get-go in their own QC or is that something you have to request of them before sending you a watch you buy? if so, which sellers do this and do members recommend? is that even an option w/ sellers? or is that something you have to find someone locally to do once you get your new rep? thanks in advance to all.