Buying from members VS. Buying from dealers

[spikey]

I had a discussion with a friend about buying from members vs. buying from dealers (browse website, add to cart, etc).

I basically said I prefer buying from members since I know they don't drop ship and they have inspected the watch, took good care of it and will be upfront with any defect. They are collectors like me and contributor to the forum, passionately involved, respected by others not necessarily for their trades but for the content they contribute. Also, they are not selling to make a profit - most of them will take a loss when they sell on top of the original customs risk.

My friend says he likes to buy from dealers because they stand more too loose if they get bad reviews - plus they have a diversity of watches to choose from and they are generally readily available when you want them - you don't have to hunt 3 forums for a month to get what you want.

What do you think?

[fakemaster]

Well your friend is one of the many who for some crazy reason believes that dealers stock anything. Not that there's anything wrong with buying from dealers. Expecially if you are looking for something weird or uncommon. I tend to side with you in a situation where you have found something you like and you don't want to deal with customs.

[Sir-Lancelot]

I have bought my last 4 reps from other members and have had nothing but excellent transactions each time.

I have also saved a little bit of $$ which lately has been hard to come by.

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

Buyers over "collectors" every time... Unless I am in a real hurry and cant talk someone into selling me what I want.

Then begin a relationship with a dealer and try to stick with them...

[Nightstroker]

I have given up buying from dealers for the time being....

I am only going to spend my money on modded watches....no more OTB for me....

Also....there was a recent debate concerning child labor/slavery in china and our replica watches....obviously this is a problem....it is hard for me to just walk away from the hobby....so I decided to purchase from members only....

Also....if there is an issue with a dealer bought watch you will have to spend money on shipping it back to china....you wont have that problem if you buy from local members....for me that is CONUS....

Another point....when you buy from a member you are getting what is advertised....so no more watches with the wrong movements in em....or other variances that differ from the photos our dealers are using....

[vric]

Only + from dealer, is if your watch get lost in shipping, you *might* have another one shipped to you. (depending of the dealer)

If you don't have any custom problem, then member, good dealer.. it's all the same

[dabom]

My only transaction with a member didn't go too well. The movement wasn't an ETA 2824, but some 6 beat clone of something. Furthermore the quality of the MBW watch was a little off. It was supposed to be an MBW, but it didn't have the finish of say the SSD. If there are any problems with a member, there is no recourse.

I personally wouldn't have any problems dealing with a member, given the right watch came along, but I will be sure I know what is the base watch and I will be sure to ask many more questions.

[k2222]

Members:

1 rare watches

2 moded

Dealers:

1 brand new

2 if it's mia you get a replacement

So if you look for some special pice or disc. reps check the sales corner, if you need regular stuff go for dealers

[RVD]

I haven't had very good luck with dealers so I'm leaning more towards members these days.

Pros for dealing with a member:

1) watch has been inspected and is usually in good working order

2) detailed descriptions and reputation of the member can sometimes ensure that you're getting a good watch from the bunch

3) usually a little cheaper

4) may include some cool mods

Cons for dealing with a member:

1) a member with no reputation may decide to unload bad watches because he/she didn't like them

2) usually older generation watches that don't have the upgrades and improvements of the newest stock

3) if the member isn't skilled, the mods might suck

Pros for dealing with a dealer:

1) Latest stock, latest technology, latest improvements

2) Brand new, never worn or used by another person

Cons for dealing with a dealer:

1) QC is not good some you may get a bad watch. I've received a bad watch over 70% (yes that's right) of the time. One watch stopped running a week later. One watch had the clasp break within 5 minutes of putting it on. One watch has a strap that comes loose within 48 hours so the strap falls out. etc.

2) customs since they all seem to drop ship from asia

I'm going to stick with reputable members who mod well.

RVD.

[jkerouac]

I have had good success with both members and collectors... that is no problems with members, and where I have encountered problems with collectors, they promptly addressed the problem to my satisfaction.

Having said that, I have only purchased from members with good reputations. Some of the used offerings on the board seem either barely credible, overpriced, or both, so I've resisted making offers even when the watch being offered was something I might like.

Sure, collectors also overprice and sometimes overpromise. But at least with collectors there is the promise that they will be around tomorrow, and have a bit more to lose if the transaction is substandard.

[Richard Tracy]

Why choose ?

The best deals are usually from private sales, but if you cannot wait for a watch to arrive on the secondary

market, or require security of replacement that a private seller cannot offer, then the right dealer is necessary.

[cdv]

I haven't had very good luck with dealers so I'm leaning more towards members these days.

Pros for dealing with a member:

1) watch has been inspected and is usually in good working order

2) detailed descriptions and reputation of the member can sometimes ensure that you're getting a good watch from the bunch

3) usually a little cheaper

4) may include some cool mods

Cons for dealing with a member:

1) a member with no reputation may decide to unload bad watches because he/she didn't like them

2) usually older generation watches that don't have the upgrades and improvements of the newest stock

3) if the member isn't skilled, the mods might suck

Pros for dealing with a dealer:

1) Latest stock, latest technology, latest improvements

2) Brand new, never worn or used by another person

Cons for dealing with a dealer:

1) QC is not good some you may get a bad watch. I've received a bad watch over 70% (yes that's right) of the time. One watch stopped running a week later. One watch had the clasp break within 5 minutes of putting it on. One watch has a strap that comes loose within 48 hours so the strap falls out. etc.

2) customs since they all seem to drop ship from asia

I'm going to stick with reputable members who mod well.

RVD.

I think this sums it up nicely.

[By-Tor]

I buy from both. Haven't been buying much lately though...

What is better QC than a watch that has been worn by a mamber for a few months... or even a year? Every single member transaction I've had have been excellent. Every single of them. Buying from longtime members is the best option of course.

I wouldn't mind buying from the best dealers... Joshua et al... he has always been perfect to me. But I have a terrible customs track record so I'll stick with the ones in the EU (Narikaa, Precious Time and Eurotimez). All excellent dealers.

PS: Have you noticed that the prices have gone up in the member sales too? I mean relatively as well. In the old RWG you occasionally found some real bargains. That doesn't happen much anymore.

[capice]

must say that I only have had one lesser experience with a dealer, all my other buys from collectors as well as members were 100% satisfactory, but for what I have been reading, it can be a disaster both ways.....guess I'm still lucky

[spikey]

It seems that buying from members is a lot more work and the good deals go fast - so you really need to watch the trade section... My dealer purchases have been ok... one watch was inexpensive to begin with so I didn't expect much in quality, the other was excellent but the hands were crooked - never got that fixed but plan to - of course I would have spotted that in the pictures had I seen the pictures of the watch being sent.

[supermanx]

Only problem with members is you often can't tell if they have good trade feedback by the number of posts they have. I've bought probably 25 watches from members, and at least 10 had some issue or another that weren't disclosed or they were not as described... Most were not major and I dealt with it and very few of my transactions were with new or unknown members (ironically of those I think I only had 1 issue).