seanf

I experienced some issues with a recent order I placed with Silix, but I've been informed this was due largely to the fact that Jay was travelling for the past couple of weeks, and this made communication difficult. Given my past experiences with Silix, which have all been good, I'm certainly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Have you received your watches yet?

Silix-- thanks for the response. I'm really not trying to be difficult or unreasonable about this. It's just that this has been a pretty frustrating transaction. And, given my positive experiences with you in the past, I wasn't expecting these types of problems from you. I'll let you--and the board--know when I receive the watches. Still not terribly happy about not being able to cancel, however.

Richard -- thanks for you comments. I am fully aware of the delays and issues that can come up with ordering reps. And, as I mentioned, I've previously ordered from Silix before and had no problems. The entire point of this thread, initially, was to ask whether anyone else has been experiencing similar problems with Silix recently. And, from what I've been able to gather from information here and over at RWI, some people have. I'm not slamming Silix, and I'm not questioning whether I'll get my watches. That's not my concern. My concern is that it's taken me going on six weeks to order some pretty standard watches, and when I attempted--repeatedly--to cancel a portion of my order, that's when I was told the watches had already shipped. I'm not saying I wouldn't buy from Silix again. I very well might, depending on the price. But it would have to be a pretty good price. Because if I can get the same watch for about the same money from another dealer, I'll probably go with them. And for the record, I'm not saying anything here that I haven't said to Silix directly via email. One final point-- you state that two months is not unusual to get a rep. In my experience, it is highly unusual. I've ordered from many, albeit not all, of the dealers around here, and I've never had a delay of more than 3 weeks. Unless you're ordering a special watch that has to be sourced, or there are some unusual issues that come up (customs, wrong address, etc.), I would think that two months is extremely unusual, and I, personally, would think twice about ordering from a dealer that routinely takes two months to ship.

OK, more weirdness. About a day after I posted this, Silix responds asking for my shipping address. I sent him back an email giving it to him (again), and asked him why he needed my shipping address if he had shipped the watches three weeks ago. I also asked if I could cancel part of my order. Three days and no response. Then I get a response saying that the watches will be shipped on Monday. As these were birthday presents, and the birthday has already passed, I asked him if I can cancel at least a portion of my order. Then I get another email saying the watches have already shipped. Huh? Gets weirder. I get yet another email a day later apologizing for the delay and saying the watches will be shipped in a few days. Again, I write back, telling him that someone else already told me the watches were on the way, and I'd like to cancel a portion of my order. I get another email a day later saying that there was a mix-up with his "workers," and the watches have already been shipped, and I should get them sometime this week. Silix offers a small discount on my next order. So, really not happy with the situation at all. I ordered the watches more than a month ago, thinking this would give me plenty of time for the birthday. In every single email I sent to Silix, I stressed that these were birthday presents, and it was important that I get them in time. Very surprising, as I've dealt with Silix before and had no problems.

What the hell is that rocket thing? Looks like something you'd get in Burger King meal.

You may want to check this thread: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=24400&hl=

If all you're looking for is a bracelet to replace your orange strap, you may want to try this place: hxxp://stores.ebay.com/The-Bandstand-Express NOTE-- you'll have to cut and paste the link-- I've intentionally replaced the http: with hxxp: This place has got some pretty good deals on some cheaper straps and bracelets. Obviously not brand specific, but it may get you what you want. They carry a SS Michele bracelet that looks pretty similar to the one on the Omega SMP.

Not to confuse you any further, but if I'm not mistaken, it may depend on where you got your PO from. If you got it from Andrew or Josh, the only 20mm rubber strap that will fit perfectly is the gen. But the PO that Silix offers is actually from a different factory and may actually be able to handle a rep rubber strap. Not 100% sure, so be sure and ask silix. Bet you had no idea how complicated this would be, huh?

Still better than the real "Zebra" Rolex. Although I do love the rubies. Nothing says class like rubies and leopard together.

More of a metaphysical "mmmmmm" for exaggerated comedic effect. Funnier if you imagine the sound of Homer Simpson dreaming about a donut. I have no first hand (or any other appendage, for that matter) knowledge of any Thai Ladyboys.

Mmmmmmm..... Thai ladyboys......

So no one is going to post the obligatory, "So, TTK, I guess you're really in to water sports, huh?" Sigh. OK, I guess I'll do it since no one else is willing. So, TTK, I guess you're really into water sports, huh? There. I did it. I'm not proud about it, but it had to be done.

You may want to send silix an email. He may have some available. I know he's got the 22mm for sale as a separate item, but, if I'm not mistaken, I think he offered the 20mm at one point as well. No idea where you could get these in US. Even if you were willing to spend the money for a real strap at an AD (which is over $200), I've heard that before selling you one, the AD will ask for the serial number on your PO. Which may be slightly problematic. May be able to find one on eBay.

@sam-- Very interesting and valuable advice. Only thing I would add to that is that this is precisely the same strategy that the RIAA and MPAA used to take down Napster and Kazaa. As I understand it, the test is whether the primary purpose of the forum is to faciliate illegal activity (in our case, as was the case in Napster and Kazaa, the illegal activity would be facilitating copyright infringements). If there is a legal and valid purpose behind the forum, then it's OK. Here, I don't think there's anything wrong with discussing and analyzing reps. But hosting a dedicated dealers' section is obviously more problematic. But I would, once again, raise the question as to whether the mods and admin think it's OK for us to discuss this on this thread.

As I said, this is only a suggestion. Mods and admin should feel free to use or ignore it as they see fit. Ultimately, it's their decision--not ours. If they feel that our discussion crosses the line, they should just close this thread.

One thought that I had was a better attempt to educate newbies on the front end. If the Hublot and Rolex lawyers make the decision to target this forum, there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop them. VIP, non-VIP, restricted access, number of posts..... doesn't matter. They'll find a way in. So I don't think there's anything we can really do to prevent those types of unfriendlies. But I think we can do something about newbies making newbie mistakes. I think a lot of newbies get caught up in the newness and excitement of our little hobby, and make some really stupid mistakes without fully realizing the consequences. Things like trips to the AD, posting on TZ, etc. I don't think these actions are necessarily taken with a bad intent-- just an excess of hubris and a lack of common sense as to the realities of our hobby. What I've seen done on some torrent boards is that when you initially register, you're taken immediately to a PM that lays out the rules of the forum. Not a big document-- really just a "Top Ten" list of things to do and not to do. Personally, I think something like that could be useful--and educational--for the newbies. Just a suggestion.

In general, I agree with what TTK said. I don't think there's any question that we need to be a bit more cautious in future. That being said, I feel there has to be a balance. As I understand it, one of the original purposes of this and the related forums was to provide information for rep collectors not wanting to get scammed by places like replicahouse.com. This place saved me--and I'm sure, many others--hundreds if not thousands of dollars. But once you start talking about restricting access and refusing to deal with newbies, doesn't that defeat the very idea of a forum like this? Namely, to provide good information for people interested in rep collecting? I'm all for some kind of changes in the future, but I just think we need to bear in mind that there are lots of newbies out there who are just looking for good information about buying a good rep.

As I said, I've ordered from him before and never had this type of problem. Just wondering if there's something else going on with Silix at the moment.

Just wondering if anyone had been experiencing any recent communication problems with Silix. It took me 2 1/2 weeks to place my order with him, and now, 3 1/2 weeks after that, I still haven't received confirmation that my order has shipped. Tried emailing him multiple times. I've gotten sporadic correspondence from him, but never an order confirmation. I'm concerned, as these watches were intended to be birthday presents. BTW, I previously ordered from him in December, and didn't experience any problems at all. Just wondering if this is something new or something that others are experiencing.

Great pics, TeeJay. I've been contemplating getting a 42 mm PO for a while now. I have freakishly small and dainty wrists, so I can't wear the 45mm Ultimate. Unlike others on this forum (and yes, I'm looking at all you Paneristi with 6 inch wrists wearing Fiddy's), I try to be realistic about which watches I can comfortably wear. If you don't mind me asking, where'd you get yours? Happy with the deal?

My pleasure, TeeJay. Least I could do after gaining so much information from you and other frequent posters here. Just trying to make it clear that I'm not trying to force my opinions down anyone's throat. Nor am I trying to tell the admins and mods how to do their jobs. All I'm suggesting is that if any non-VIPs were ever considering making a donation to any of the forums, now would probably be an ideal time to do so.

I'm confident that the admin team will find a good and workable solution here. But I do want to just clarify something that bothered me a little. I guess I am guilty of "hassling" people into making a donation. As I've said before, I don't believe in mandatory VIPs or contributions, as it really defeats the entire purpose of a forum like this. If this board had been pay only, I would have never joined to begin with. I made the decision earlier today that this forum is valuable to me and it is worth supporting financially. And I certainly respect the opinions of people like Andreww and TeeJay who have, for the own reasons, decided not to donate. And I wouldn't try to convince them otherwise. But my point-- and this is irrespective of any solutions the admins may be considering--is that all non-contributing members should take a look at their own situation, ask themselves how much they value RWG and The-Site-That-Dare-Not-Bare-Its-Name-But-Rhymes-With-Bark-Hide. If they find that they check the site routinely, and that they've gained some important information about reps, and maybe even saved some money, then I would suggest that maybe now would be a good time to make a donation. I don't know what the admin and mods are planning, but I'm sure they could use our financial support to do it.

Andrew-- what do you think about jfreeman's suggestion about restricting access to dealer forums to VIPs? I don't believe that this or the other-forum-that-dare-not-bare-its-name should be mandatory VIP, but I do believe that admins of both groups are going to need our financial support now, more than ever.

jfreeman-- I think it's an excellent suggestion to keep the discussion areas of the forum open but restrict the dealer's forums to only VIPs. Of course, we would actually need to have dealer forums to make this work. @K4TJP-- We are NEVER going to be able to keep people that determined out. All we can do is try to reduce the risks to our admins and dealers. We can't eliminate it. Plus, upgrading to VIP gives the admins the financial freedom to take whatever steps they feel are necessary in order to protect the forum.

@rob_s-- I don't think the big dealers like Josh, Andrew, etc. have much to worry about. They've got their websites up and I would imagine that's where they get most of their purchases. I do, however, wonder what this is going to do to smaller dealers like Ruby, Neil, River, Trevor, etc. Physher007-- the suggestion has been made to take rwg private and restrict ongoing memberships to invite only. The mods and admins have asked us to refrain from discussing these types of suggestions on this thread. But I would expect some kind of announcement from the mods shortly. But I would seriously encourage any members who may currently be on the fence about donating to think about it very seriously now. I would imagine that the continued survival of this and the other forums may depend on how financially sound they are. And again, to reiteriate, I can certainly see TeeJay's point about not wanting to donate because of personal reasons. On this point, Physher007, I've read and enjoyed many of TeeJay's (and other non-VIP member's) posts. Do you believe that the forum would be served best by banning people like TeeJay who contribute in the form of many valuable postings? Don't you think there is a place for non-VIP members?