I also remember the "old times".
I have never been posting too much. But I always have been an avid reader at last.
The reps became so much better over the years and so has the board become "cleaner".
TTK and Cousteau, the so called "Maria" aka. "luckyyy" aka. just some big german guy living in Thailand.
It may have been more exciting, but there was also a much higher risk of getting scammed back then.
It may be more "civilized" or "boring" right now.
But it's also much safer for buyers.
I always have been more the buyer and collector. Not so much the poster.
So if I would be asked today if I would trade in the present quality of the watches for the attitude back then....
I would say "No... thanks!"
There have been good times and we had lots of fun.
But maybe today it's more the time to sit back and enjoy the results.
I also agree with Rolexman.
I owned the so called Honpo-187 some years ago. Don't ask what I paid for it.
People were absolutely drooling over it. Nowadays the new 187 is bashed for "faults" that I can't hardly
notice on a side-by-side comparison with the gen.
If we had that current model back then, we would not have believed it was a rep.
Maybe some of the newer members would do good with a bit knowledge of the way we - the older members - went
before we got here.
5 years ago we would have been HAPPILY paying five, six, seven or maybe even eight times the money for a 111 of the quality
our dealers offer right now.
Yes. The boards have gone through some changes.
But for me the current watches are worth the sacrifice.