Rockarep and G.S.W

[civic4982]

Interesting.. I bought a few parts from this company before on the bay.... Good service there... Too bad about this fiasco.

[Guest G.S.W.]

This is ROCKAREP typing.

This account is not mine but started by two people months ago me and my brother. How he handles himself on here is his business. That is all i have to say on that.

I will respond to Marlin22 in a minute but for those that have not bought from me or talked to me saying I have no morals or integrity is empty words. Dishonestly from the outset you say Docblackrock? This is garbage talk and if you bought from me or knew who I was you would not say this. There will always be some accidental errors made in a listing if someone sells a lot of items even by someone you think is golden. I see ZIGMIESTER commented on your statement about me and this is interesting because I seen him accuse a guy with a gen hamilton movement calling him out saying its a fake when it was not. This was an honest mistake by him made in the open. Your mistakes Docbackrock maybe have not been made public but you have made some and does that make you trash? The reason there are people coming to my defense is becasue they have dealt with me and you have not. You are entitled to your opinion but I would ask you to go find ONE single cocky remark I made while selling on here please find me ONE from RockaRep. .....I find it intersting that those who have not done a tramsaction with me can speak so sure of themselves.

To Marlin22; You are correct that the dagger was not OEM and I would have swapped it with the many I have here that are OEM if you "rocked the boat"

The main plate of the 127 watch for 3K was Asian not ETA and I never claimed it to be ETA. You say this depletes the point of the watch but why? fake is fake and real is real. Having and ETA plate like you use with a very poor added finsh is better then an asian plate with the proper OEM finsh? This is right and wrong either way so I say who cares and even if I had a swiss plate in there the price would be the same. I can make the movement run strong without using and ETA plate befcasue I can change the jeweles and not just the balance jeweles. This is advanced work that has been done on some of my builds. I do not buy complete movements 6497-1 from ebay and pay $285 for them to mod a watch. I order parts from ETA or I get them my own private way from Panerai. I have demonstrated I can get real OEM many times and its interesting to see how one part can make you say I lie or embelish my builds. Honored to see you followed so close. If this is enougg to get all second guessing me as a person and questioning all my builds let me point out a mistake by you Marlin22. Fair is Fair right?

in Your builds you claim to use and "ETA balance to look more gen" but this is not true. I will not do the fancy John Madden graphics but I will use some simple pics

This is an ETA 6497-1 balance wheel. Notice the spokes are different then the others that are OEM or ETA 6492-2 wheels. This first pic is one of the two wheels ETA uses on the 6497.

second wheel is ETA 6497-2 or also OEM panerai balance ( yes one clip is off) . Notice the copper center color to it. This is OEM. THese are no sold anymore by ETA and panerai will not sell them and they are Very hard to get if you are not licensed to buy them. The spokes are very different shape hen the ETA 6497-1 shown in first pic but the color is the same copper in all ETA wheels for 6497.

Last is the Asian 6497 wheel ( bottom pic). This is what all your build pics have and you claim is swiss Marlin22. Notice the bright yellow comparred to the copper OEM/ETA. I have looked at close-ups of all your builds Marlin22 and its very clear you are not using OEM/ETA balance parts but your saying ETA. ETA NEVER made a balance like this ever. So here you are making a huge point about me and you are doing the same thing.

I pointed this error or fabrication out to my brother who made this into a huge deal even though I asked him not to when he called you out in the open. He is not me Mr Marlin and you have attacked me who is someone who you have asked for help from a week ago. The dial you asked me to get you just came in and I will think about what to do with it.

My point was not to throw you under the bus and I do not care about any responses made to this as I am not trying to battle with anyone. You maybe did not know this was not ETA or maybe you were embelishing your sales. What punishement should you give yourself?

I had about 20 positive feedbacks and about 40 sales on here. The truth about a seller comes from their customers not the peanut gallery who knows nothing about me or my builds.

I have come on here and made this point because a moderator emailed me today and told me I should come on to read what Marlin22 has said about me. Other then this I will not spend more time on this anymore.

For those that want to contact me about builds you can PM my brother here and give him your phone number and I will call you or email you if you give that. Please be patient with the responses as I am not checking these and will rely on him to get me the info.

This could have been handeled better and with more class with a phone call or email to me in private to first get to the bottom of this before wrongly trashing me due to a grudge you have with someone you thought was me. But I guess the power is with you and when you wnat the last laugh you shall have it regaurdless of the bystanders in the way. I am not mad at you Andy but I can only hope the next person would get the benifit of the doubt first.

I truly enjpyed this forum and the people I was lucky to meet on it. I am sure you will alll see me somewhere else. I wish you all nothing but the best.

[montrealer08]

Wow...

None of my business but the man has good points. I was an avid fan of the builds he was showing in the trade forum. Too bad this whole mess/mis-interpretation/feud happened, he seemed like a ressourceful and knowledgeable member.

[marlin22]

Still embellishing, I see...

Here is what I clearly posted on the sales thread:

"7. Changed ETA balance wheel for rep. for more gen. look"

I think it clearly states I changed the ETA balance for a REP!! Where are the lies man! READ READ READ!!!!

Read my response to your brother and you about the balance, where you are clearly, again, misleading people and post crapping! On here:http://www.rwg.cc/to...’s/page__st__40

Read my post on the Panerai section of this forum and all others ( http://www.rwg.cc/to...anerai-watches/ ), THE BALANCE IS NOT MADE BY PANERAI! It is a Glucydur licences to Panerai, it is also used on the ETA 6497-2

The Rep world is a very small and tight nit community and I believe where ever you go you WILL BE CALLED OUT!

[GBOGH]

Wow...

None of my business but the man has good points. I was an avid fan of the builds he was showing in the trade forum. Too bad this whole mess/mis-interpretation/feud happened, he seemed like a ressourceful and knowledgeable member.

+1, but if rules were broken regarding shared/multiple iDs, then I get why the action was taken.

But also just seems like, looking at it with fresh eyes on the outside as a newer member here (member on other rep boards 2+ years), that there's a bit of jealousy or knit picking from old established members and a talented new guy, whom is evidently very talented in doing complicated watch builds. You have to admit that you should judge his M2M sales behavior by satisfied buyers (which 20 seems like more than enough validation data points) and not speculative insights from those that have not had any M2M activity with him. Again, rules are rules and I understand the action taken, but from the outside looking in, seems like a bit of old establishment keeping the talented new guy out of the mix. Not taking sides but making an observation and just IMO of course.

Please don't ban me.

Edited July 18, 2012 by GBOGH

[KB]

It must be remembered that the action taken here has nothing to do with the quality of work, in fact all reports suggest under different circumstances Rockarep would have been a welcomed addition to our board.

It also has nothing to do with what any 'old timer' has to say on the matter.

The Admin team was simply left no other choice as our rules were not only broken by one but there was in fact a planned action to do so.

Maybe if there was an ounce of regret we could have looked at it again but the above post shows that is not the case.

Ken

[marlin22]

I have come on here and made this point because a moderator emailed me today and told me I should come on to read what Marlin22 has said about me. Other then this I will not spend more time on this anymore.

Can this be true, are certain members of the admin staff, fanning the flames on this matter?

[rogerthat]

Bad attitude about the whole issue by rockarep / GSW

Obviously very knowledgable and could have been a valuable member but saw this forum as a place to sell not a community to share information and help fellow members

IMO if he was innocent he would have realized how it could look suspicious to any moderator worth their salt

Overall great job by the mod team here

[TwoTone]

Can this be true, are certain members of the admin staff, fanning the flames on this matter?

Actually no, we are not...

But we are growing weary and tiresome of you Marlin...

I would suggest you STFU at this point...

Coming to the end of my patience...

TT

[docblackrock]

This is ROCKAREP typing.

Dishonestly from the outset you say Docblackrock? This is garbage talk and if you bought from me or knew who I was you would not say this. There will always be some accidental errors made in a listing if someone sells a lot of items even by someone you think is golden. I see ZIGMIESTER commented on your statement about me and this is interesting because I seen him accuse a guy with a gen hamilton movement calling him out saying its a fake when it was not.  This was an honest mistake by him made in the open. Your mistakes Docbackrock maybe have not been made public but you have made some and does that make you trash? The reason there are people coming to my defense is becasue they have dealt with me and you have not. You are entitled to your opinion but I would ask you to go find ONE single cocky remark I made while selling on here please find me ONE from RockaRep. .....I find it intersting that those who have not done a tramsaction with me can speak so sure of themselves.

This could have been handeled better and with more class with a phone call or email to me in private to first get to the bottom of this before wrongly trashing me due to a grudge you have with someone you thought was me. But I guess the power is with you and when you wnat the last laugh you shall have it regaurdless of the bystanders in the way. I am not mad at you Andy but I can only hope the next person would get the benifit of the doubt first.

I truly enjpyed this forum and the people I was lucky to meet on it. I am sure you will alll see me somewhere else. I wish you all nothing but the best.

*I apolgise in advance to the watching/involved mods here for picking at a scab here, but I've just seen this and I can't let this go unanswered I'm afraid, as much as I don't want to waste my time responding*

Dear Rockarep/GSW/brother/associate/whomever (let's not forget there's been the odd member or two with personality disorders, even multiple ones)....

As with others, I don't need to have had transactions with your 'product' to form an impression of you. In fact, in this game, impressions are crucial in deciding who you do decide to do business with. I think most members would agree that when they started out, they were advised to choose their seller carefully, establish a dialogue and go from there. You're right in a sense I can't comment about your interpersonal skills or other sale-srelated behaviour. My point was, as you're still refusing to acknowledge never mind show remorse over, is that you or your associate/alter ego, wilfully engaged in unethical practices that ran contrary to the rules of this forum. That's what you got pulled up over and I'm sorry but simply whining about it isn't doing yourself any favours.

As for "my mistakes", well I've sold a few pieces here and there but don't recall any mistakes. I've certainly never embellished sales for monetary gain that's for sure. But you say I've made them so I'm all ears, please tell me, go on, I can take it. Of course, given you've been here less than 6 months, and until a couple of weeks ago, I've been AWOL for over 2 years with zero posts, I'd be fascinated to see what you're referring to. Mistakes in life maybe you meant? Sure, plenty, but I don't think that's what you were driving at 

Yes, maybe some of us have judged you harshly, but what you have to remember and appreciate is that we've seen it all before. The road to success is paved with good intentions and I and others have said as much in previous posts. It's an all-too-familiar path unfortunately. Clearly, you feel aggrieved, but then what you refuse to see is that you've raised red flags, and instead of showing understanding and seeing it from the other side, saying "hey, I see why you may think that but I'm not like those other guys, and I'll prove it" like a recalcitrant child caught with his hand in the sweetie jar, you're just crying foul and throwing a temper tantrum. I can't speak of course as to the manner in which this was dealt with in terms of personal contact with the mod team, but even if what you say is true, I think your unrepentent and frankly dislikeable attitude in general suggests that any such outreach to try and smooth this over without fuss, would have fallen on deaf ears anyway. You're proving their point in other words.

I'm not even *that* interested in your work, much as I have collected PAMs, both gen and rep, so I don't have any axe to grind there, unlike this Marlin22 guy you have a problem with. You clearly have some ability, but then maybe I'm resistant to your obvious self-regard. See, I've seen ex-marque watchmakers in their 70s strip El Primero's with their eyes closed and fashion/create custom parts for movements with (almost) their bare hands. So, sorry I don't go 'wow', this guy knows people that can source "OEM" parts cheaply and can open shiny new blister packs and install them. Oh, and I don't think I need to expand on the skills of Zig here, so a needless and petty dig at him doesn't win you any brownie points with anyone.

And that's essentially the crux here. You. Your manner. Questions of integrity and character that this place exists only because of. You were asked to clarify. You had the opportunity to apologise and explain. To bridge that gap between commercially-focused seller and passionate hobbyist. You chose another road.

I have no doubt you enjoyed it here, not like most members do in terms of sharing info and advice, but purely in commercial terms. A willing populace I think I called it, and it really was for you...the proverbial fish in a barrel. I'd wish you luck elsewhere, but sadly I don't think you'll need it.

Yours sincerely,

DBR

[Rolexman]

What a great post doc! Very well put.

[PeteM]

Nice post Doc...

But blimey!!! OEM Dial blowing and polishing? Brilliant.... and the irony of the name .... Thumb!!

Now theres a thread/post I wouldnt mind reading....

:)

[PaneraiFan315]

Wow! What an incredible thread/read this was. Lots of interesting topics and philosophies were discussed by some heavy hitters. I think I must have read the thread 4 times and still feel I have not captured the complete essence of these posts.

My 3 main opinions/takeaways at this point are:

1. FxrAndy did the right thing by banning Rockarep. Ignoring the technicalities of breaking forum rules #9 or what have you, the fact remains there was an active intent by G.S.W. to generate and increase sales for a related party. Clearly, G.S.W.'s intentions were not for the members' benefit, but to shill his brother’s watches.

I cannot speak on the abilities of Rockarep since I am just someone who likes watches and nothing more; but in my mind, Rockarep demonstrated his lack of integrity by going along with the actions of G.S.W. Cavalierly stating his brother's actions on this forum was up to G.S.W. does not absolve Rockarep of his responsibilities. If Rockarep feels his watches are superior, then they should outsell the competition based on its own quality. As the saying goes, buy the seller and not the product. Based on your conduct Rockarep, I will not buy from you. And yes, I realize I am using the words "integrity" and "responsibility" on a fake watch forum.

2. There have been multiple instances of in this thread where the phrase "not to rock the boat" was used. I am disappointed by this thought process. Not acknowledging inconsistencies between the actual watch and the marketing behind it encourages these people to continue their questionable behavior. I am not suggesting this forum turn into a warzone, but as frankt has previously posted it is not helping the "newer guys who haven't been around long enough to develop a "sense of smell" when reading F/S ads..." when legitimate negative feedback is not made known.

I am partially guilty of not providing negative feedback as well. I had engaged the services of a well-known and highly respected modder and the experience was so ridiculous and amateurish, I swore I would learn how to mod watches myself than go through that process again. But I did not take it further than telling him exactly how I felt about his “services”. Luckily, I only spent about 200 and I see it as a learning experience.

3. Docblackrock is a very good writer!

Edited July 26, 2012 by PaneraiFan315

[PaneraiFan315]

Update to:

I am partially guilty of not providing negative feedback as well. I had engaged the services of a well-known and highly respected modder and the experience was so ridiculous and amateurish, I swore I would learn how to mod watches myself than go through that process again. But I did not take it further than telling him exactly how I felt about his “services”.

I did call him out... Oh boy, I am feeling frisky today! I expect I am going to be bruised soon by his loyal supporters!

Edited July 27, 2012 by PaneraiFan315