In the early days of VWM circa 2014, with just a handful of vintage watch sellers online, I would often get asked:
Buyer: How do I know that what you are selling is authentic?
Also a Buyer: What if you take my money and don’t send the watch?
And when I started the auctions/bidding in FB: How do we know you don’t have multiple accounts artificially jacking up the price?
My response would be: “ I’m not really a professional seller, I am a watch enthusiast and I will never pull a fast one on you. I hope you can give me a chance to earn your trust”
Well, 8 years after , I guess I AM a professional seller ( I do have a secret corporate job) 😊 So, though I don’t think My old response applies anymore, it has quite the colorful backstory that I’d like to share.
I’ve been a watchlover since I was 6 , but never dreamed of selling until PWC came along (Philippine Watch Club). In the past, It was quite a longshot to bump into fellow watch nerds in any setting (school, work, family, etc) so most of the passion and fire was self stoked, rather than fueled by crazy peers 😊 The great PWC community changed all that!
When I enlisted in PWC circa 2010, selling just naturally happened. The close knit members took the opportunity to move pieces they weren’t using as much anymore to justify going after the next coveted grail. I may be wrong, and fellow PWC members can chime in please, but that was how it felt for me.
As I gained more knowledge about horology, so too did my network and sourcing. I used to join field trips to this particular street in manila where all watch sellers converged to sell their pieces sourced from all over the country. I hung out with a lot of them guys, went there religiously every week, excited to get my hands on another rare find. Trips abroad always included a visit to local watch shops and connecting with new sources 🙂
When I started selling those pieces in PWC, I felt such a high everytime people bought and enjoyed the watches I personally curated! Even today, while of course there’s good money to be made, this is still the biggest reason why I sell! As some of you have experienced, many times I am even more excited than you guys when I send a watch over!
But then sometime 2012, I fell victim to an elaborate scam. Partly because I got used to the security and trust around PWC where all my experiences were pleasant, (all buyers and sellers were like buddies) but largely because I refused to listen to all the red flags that I actually had about the deal.
Quickly, here’s how it went down: I found an online professional selling site (like Jomashop) where watches were discounted (not too heavily that youd find it hard to believe), just enough to make it a good deal. It was a very well presented page, complete with guarantees and testimonials too. Payment was exclusively via Paypal only, so what could go wrong right?
The catch was, once you start paying via Paypal, your payment will not push through because of a temporary technical glitch. They will not reach out to you! Instead they will wait for You to reach out to them. Begrudgingly, they will offer a wire transfer option just so you don’t need to wait anymore, but they would still in fact recommend that you wait till their Paypal system was up. They had a customer service department, and also had a 3rd party agency guarantee that they were a safe and secure merchant. So this Fish took the lure, purchased 2 Longines watches, and cried real tears like an 8 year old the next day. Hahahaha, you’re right, wow was I dumb!
SO back to the old response I give when asked about selling: “I am not a professional seller (I have nothing against professional sellers just to be clear) I am an enthusiast and I’ll never pull a fast one on you. I hope You give me a chance to gain your trust”
That’s why 😊
