fcefalu Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Hi everyone, as per my intro post i am new in here, and honestly having a lot of fun reading all the posts and trying to get some understanding of the replica world. I after weeks of reading around i now have a doubt, a curiosity.... You all guys talk about "trusted sellers", semms like these guys can source decent quality replicas. I never bought from trusted sellers, was initiate into the replica world in a holiday trip in thailand and then continued in istanbul. If i compare what i got (daytona rose gold sec@6, daytona white gold sec@6, AP ROO chrono passion sec@12, acquanaut rose gold, AP rose gold, all supposed to be ETA) and what's offered from the trusted dealers, it seems to me that trusted dealers are offering watches at very expensive prices vs what you can get in thailand/turkey. I paid on average 350$ for my replicas. I understand not everybody travels to thailand or turkey constantly, but the same watches (should be the same) are offered at close to 2x what i paid @ trusted dealers... Now the question is? why paying more? service?? clients not easily sourcing it from thailand/turkey? or simply maybe what i got is lower quality than what it is offered from trusted sellers? Any advice and omment is more than welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astonjenks Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Welcome to RWG, it's great that you found us. I live just outside London and joined as it says circa a year and a half ago having spent many £tens of thousands on gens I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Like you I bought a few along the way in Thailand, Turkey, New York and so on, however can guarantee that the Trusted Dealers (TD's) is the place to buy from with some really great watches. After a while you might, like I and many others before me go Franken, ie modding the replicas to an even higher/closer spec utilizing gen parts. This is quite the norm sequence of events and is great fun if not a tad expensive, my latest PAM 127 will owe me $2k however has gen parts including crystal, JV strap and amazing sweet Swiss movement. Enjoy your time and prepare to learn heeps from some really knowledgeable experts, I have and am very grateful, they know who they are. Regards AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcefalu Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Astonjenks... thanks! and seems like we have a similar background... spent my £tens on gens... now having so much fun to explore the replica world... what i got seems to me already very good... wondering what TD's can offer more!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astonjenks Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Have a look at my PAM 029 in the sales page, this watch owes me nearly $1200 (compared to gen it is really inexpensive) however in the rep world its towards the upper end cost wise for sale at $1000. The way I look at it is this, if the watch, ie case, dial, hands etc are very good and you get a great, serviced Swiss movement and put her on an OEM strap or similar you're well on your way to a great timepiece inexpensively. In truth, if we took a standard £5k Rolex for example, sure you'll get good quality however that price is greatly inflated by the various levels and costs of manufacture, middle men, marketing, shop overheads, sales staff and profit, the real cost will be a small percentage of the sale price.I guess one pays their money and makes their choice.Dont get me wrong, if I could have my several Roger Dubuis and IWC's including minuter repeater back I would, cut the cloth to fit currently Regards AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightwatch Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Hi and welcome. Some large pictures of the ones You have, would be very welcome so we get an idea of the looks. If You paid on average 350$ each it doesn´t seem too much off from what TD offer (depending on the exact models, most AP´s are too expensive). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Hi everyone, as per my intro post i am new in here, and honestly having a lot of fun reading all the posts and trying to get some understanding of the replica world. I after weeks of reading around i now have a doubt, a curiosity.... You all guys talk about "trusted sellers", semms like these guys can source decent quality replicas. I never bought from trusted sellers, was initiate into the replica world in a holiday trip in thailand and then continued in istanbul. If i compare what i got (daytona rose gold sec@6, daytona white gold sec@6, AP ROO chrono passion sec@12, acquanaut rose gold, AP rose gold, all supposed to be ETA) and what's offered from the trusted dealers, it seems to me that trusted dealers are offering watches at very expensive prices vs what you can get in thailand/turkey. I paid on average 350$ for my replicas. I understand not everybody travels to thailand or turkey constantly, but the same watches (should be the same) are offered at close to 2x what i paid @ trusted dealers... Now the question is? why paying more? service?? clients not easily sourcing it from thailand/turkey? or simply maybe what i got is lower quality than what it is offered from trusted sellers? Any advice and omment is more than welcome! Hello and welcome! Firstly, I really doubt that most of what you got (daytonas sec@6 and AP ROOs sec@12) are ETA powered movements. ETA is a Swiss company that manufactures watch movements and the movements they produced are often named ETA-xxxx, where xxxx denotes a series of numbers to identify the movement. I daresay that for $350, what you are getting would be the Asian modified movements, altered to have the sec@6 and sec@12 respectively. Now to answer your question regarding the trusted dealers. Firstly, the dealers do not produce the watches. Most of them would source the same watch from the same factory. Second, buying from a trusted dealer does not automatically make the watch a problem free one. They are trusted because of the information they provide regarding the watches they sell (you would not for example, find ROOs with sec@12 and swiss ETA movements listed), and the fact they would communicate with the buyer to a reasonable extent, and get the orders delivered. In my opinion, buying from a trusted dealer has nothing to do with getting a better quality watch. You do however, get a better quality buying process. Understand and assimilate the difference here. I do not understand the rep industries in Turkey or Thailand, but chances are, you get a lot of reps of chinese origins in those markets as well. Price wise, they could be cheaper, but do not expect the street vendor holding their child in one hand and handing the watch you are interested in with the other to tell you about the movement and specifications of the watch. To them, it would be more a case of "see? Heavy heavy. Like the original Lolex. Good watch!" while flashing you a huckster's grin. So, I would like to say in brevity that buying from the trusted dealers here does not mean that you get watches with spanking new shiny ETA movements in them, ticking flawlessly when they reach you. But in most cases, you get reasonably accurate details about the watch you are getting on their sites, and you get pre-shipment pictures as confirmation, and you mostly receive the same watch you ordered. Where the trusted dealer sites leave gaps in the details of the watches, that is where experts and members in forums like RWG step forth to advise and help. Oh yes, speaking of which, RWG is a great place to be for anyone who loves their watches. Welcome, and I wish you a happy and fruitful stay here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcefalu Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 @Nightwatch thanks for getting back, i will take pics indeed... will try to find the time during the weekend... in what section should i post it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcefalu Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 @ Legend, your thoughts are fair, that's why i keep saying "supposed ETA". Let's say i bought it from showroom street dealer, they had hundreds of replicas at every price and quality, and i picked what they were selling for ETA, and looked to me the most accurate. The only watch i can really talk about is the Daytona RG, owning 2 SS gens i can compare to a good extend... and that's pretty damn good... Honestly, at this stage i struggle to believe that a TD with thousands of watches listed would have the time to deal with myself asking questions, details, price negotiation, emails back and forth... but i will give it a try soon... Thanks everybody for welcoming on-board 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightwatch Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 @Nightwatch thanks for getting back, i will take pics indeed... will try to find the time during the weekend... in what section should i post it? Hi, great, there are sections for each brand so best would be to post details there under Rolex and AP. You could also put some pics here in the general discussion forum: Watches bought in Thailand or something.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcefalu Posted March 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 ok thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 Welcome to the forum, and a very well written and thought out first post. It would be hard to add anything to the posts by some of the members who posted before me, but suffice to say those guys have some wonderful modded watches that would make any of us drool with envy. Read and look at the photos in the brand sections, and you will get a great education, and a good source of comparison between what you have and what else is available. And if you get hooked, these modded beauties are like crack for a crack addict, once you get one, partner, you are hooked!) Welcome aboard this crazy train!!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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