Patek Philippe

I believe that alexxs, is the same person as Turboale...

Can anyone else confirm or deny this?

... the guys claims that its his watch, bought in 2004, and still double sealed... AND its comes like 24h after a guy posts a "Want to buy" a 5070R. Simple coincidence?
K.

He claims his name is Alex Shen in an email he sent me.  He also gives a NY cell number.

The guy is ridiculous.  But listen people unwillingly wire tens of thousands of dollars across the globe for these watches, you always get these predators.

Again, he is trying to piggyback off of the real Alex Shen......

Alex Shen beware, people are using your name.

thanks guys

this is alex shen,i go by turboalex, my email are turboalex@hotmail,[Email address suppressed for privacy],i am in socal,i dont even have that many post,lol sad he is trying use my name.


thanks
alex

No message body

nt

But can you stop this crap ? Can't the person make a new login every 5 minutes ?

he will have to use cyber cafes... no more connecting from the same spot. Anyway, as we said before, there is no fullproof system. All we can do is keep our eye open. Most of us won't fall for this, the danger is for newcomers. I am astonished at how much ppl have their eyes open, chances are we'll catch the scammers before the they can scam ( skin ) someone

K.

I just looked at the CM and noticed the same thing. Its a real shame that this guy is tarnishing the CM and its real sellers.  I talked on of my friends out of a transaction with this seller. The seller used refs that would have worked for Turboalex and passed them off as his. I really feel bad for Turboalex whom I've completed a flawless transaction with and Alex in California is a class act.

We need to put a stop to the madness.

thanks you!!!

 

alex

...and that will never be changed and is password protected and once the name is taken, no one else can register it - wouldn't that prevent imposters from pretending to be someone else?

Before you do anything it is good to get a phone number at their place of business along with the main business number of his place of business.  Then, call the place of business and verify his position and title.  VPs, CEOs, etc are all believable owners of 5970s; guys at the bottom of the food chain are less likely (unless they got in early and have lots of options).

I don't have any experience selling, but if I were to sell, I'd go to the bank where the buyer got his cashier's check and ask the bank to verify that they issued it.  Then, I'd exchange it in person.  When we're talking about something that expensive, there is no excuse not to do the transaction in person.
Eric von Schonberg

.... and not jst target a category of ppl. There are people that herited or received a watch as a present, or retired ppl, etc... There is all kind of people that might genuinely want to sell a watch. This kind of check up might offense people without being really efficient. Questioning is very tricky as it can easily swip into investigating them. Even if it might not be completly hermetic, improvement on CM should be as close as possible to  covering most of the cases, without being rude of offensive.
Reminder that most of us that are here and that would pay so much money to buy a watch, we'll go without hesitation to do a face to face deal. We will want to see the watch with our own  eyes, check the pushers, the crown, the strap, buckle, etc... Price of an airplane ticket will often be ridiculous compare to the price we are paying and especially the peace of mind of getting what we are expecting.
Not that easy
I still think Puristspro should be the 3rd party that deal the transaction to avoid scams, fraud, etc... Watch can be sent to them for verification, a report on the watch will follow ( that it is as mentioned in the description ) and then takes the money from the buyer, transfers it to the seller, and mails the watch to the buyer. Of course that's a new business for Puristspro , but i think that like auction houses charge a premium on items they sell, so should Puristspro.
Opinions?

Karim

The thought has occurred to me before too that PuristSPro would have a tremendous business opportunity in being the mediator of such deals.  I know for certain that if I owned PuristSPro I'd be building on this business opportunity.  The auction house which take too much of a cut, and which only offer watches once a quarter would not be able to compete.  But this wouldn't be the first time I've recognized a tremendous business opportunity which others could take, but don't.

As for the subject of checking out the seller/buyer.  I didn't have in mind that kind of investigation that might offend the person.  But, it's perfectly reasonable to call the person at his place of business as in "Hello, I'd like to speak with the V.P. of Marketing, a Mr. Fred Johnson"  If the front desk puts me through to his secretary, there's a good chance he really is who he says he is.  But, if I hear "I'm sorry, don't you mean Mr. Sam Jones"  I'll then know to suspect Fred Johnson may not be who he says he is.  But, if he is really the V.P. of Marketing, that's a good indication he is not running watch scams on the side.  As for the possibility of retirees selling watches, I'd obviously have to have another means of getting comfortable.
Eric von Schonberg

I would never accept a bank check. I have found the best way is to meet in person at my bank which has a private room for good clients. I would then put the watch back in the safety deposit box and go to that persons bank and have a bank wire sent. I would then treat the buyer to lunch and some drinks or perhaps a sight seeing trip until my bank could verify the funds have been received. Once a transfer is pending It is extremely hard to overturn. I believe it can only be drawn back if there is fraud involved. Once the transfer is received we could go back to my bank and I would release the watch.

For anyone doing a transaction of this nature, I would think these are reasonable terms and if they find that they are not i would walk away.

Yes, I wouldn't accept a cashier's check for such a large transaction from just anyone either.  But, if I've already checked out the guy enough to be comfortable that his occupation is something respectable and not running watch scams, I might accept a cashier's check.

I don't follow why you would put the watch you plan to sell in your safe deposit box.  I'd simply bring it with me on my wrist while I entertained the buyer, while waiting for the funds to close.  I'd think the buyer would be a lot more comfortable seeing the watch right in front of him, while the funds are getting transferred.  Otherwise, he's sent money, but and the watch he thought he was going to receive is locked away somewhere where he may never see it.

All this goes back to checking out the person, so you have reasonable assurance they are not running a watch scam.
Eric von Schonberg

Reading your post convince me even more of  the business opportunity there is for PuritsPRo to be handle the transaction ( like i described above ). Some ppl can handle a transaction as you've mentioned, and honestly, when we are talking about expensive watches, its maybe the safest way. But i think that the process of buying the watch is part of the pleasure you get from the watch. There is 3 things that should imperatively IMO exist in such transaction:
1st Simplicity : I want to go out with the watch asap, having to wait confirmation from a bank employee that might have other matters to handle, if  it takes more time then expected, i'd start to be nervous, i'd start trying to contact the CEO of the Bank  ... etc... personally, i think it spoils the pleasure.
 2nd friendly: Imagine the seller is a pain in the ass, the process can very easily become hell, naguing about every single detail, etc... the waiting ( tour in car, lunch or drink ) could be the purgatory. If its quickly done, its ok, but if for some reason, the process start dragging in time or if complications comes up,... Awch! Personally, i might crack at this level, and drop the transaction. However i want the watch, i have another rule : Not torture myself... if i must, at least let it be by a gorgeous lady ( don't misunderstand me, I am not a maso ) Sales people in luxury shops are carefully chosen to 1st have something natural : Sympathie
3rd luxurious touch: You want to feel that you are buying something precious, unless the salon of your bank is one of those exquisite room, with chesterfield leather couches, wooden covered walls, with nice thick carpet, with a good bottle of cognac wait with a good cigar ... Kind of treat you can find in some high end private banks where the minimum entry is a 1,000,000$.

Bottom line, there is an opportunity for PuristsPro ,... and the luxury watch dealers that have shops in the nicest most expensive streets of big cities, still have a great futur ahead of them.

Karim

I shy away from posts that are not US based, sadly

 

For a large transaction, its worth it to me to spend a few hundred bucks on a plane ticket, but a 3rd party mediator would be a much better solution.

I also think it would make US based buyers more comfortable with overseas transactions and vice versa.