The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Here is a link to the sales posting. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26773

Also notice the first reply giving him a great recommendation.

Conrad posted a bunch of watches for sale and most sold and shipped before I even made an offer. Along with the recommendation from fear I assumed this was going to be a safe bet.

Conrad responded to all my concerns about the watch but grew annoyed as I asked more questions. Anyone spending this kind of money should feel secure about the watch they're making an offer on. One question was about the date not being fully changed even though it was 4:15 on the watch. He gave an answer about the watch not being "fully charged" which didn't make much sense but followed up with more pictures on my request.

He didn't like my initial offer and countered with the fact that "you're getting TWO straps." He never mentioned that one was a counterfeit strap along with a counter fit deployant.

I submitted another offer which I guess he agreed to because his response was a curt "send payment to ... and I'll ship monday for tuesday delivery.

Payment was sent Friday night along with an e-mail asking that he confirm the receipt of it.

There was no response from him until Monday evening which consisted only of the tracking number. Mind you this guy had my money but was too busy to send a courtesy e-mail.

The watch came that Tuesday as it should have.

I opened the box, which was recorded because I always wanted a box opening video and because I had bad feelings by now.

The watch looked ok but was not running. I unscrewed the crown wound the watch pushed the crown in and ... nothing. I wound it a bit more and this time made sure the crown was pushed all the way in and still .. nothing.

Once I pressed the cronograph the watch started working. Sometimes it would continue to run after stopping the chronograph other times it didn't.

As soon as I took the watch out of the travel case I immediately noticed the croc was fake and the deployant was chinsy. The strap was really thin, the back wasn't leather, the sides looked like every bad knock-off hand bag.

I e-mailed Conrad pictures of the strap telling him why I thought it was fake and the situation with the watch. He assured me that he has 8 Breitling straps on deployant and he never had any reason to be suspicious of the strap.

As far as the watch was concerned, he said either I could send to to BUSA since it's under warranty or I could send it back to him and he would send it in for repair and re-list the watch. I thought it was fair enough -- he DID offer a refund and the watch was still under warranty. All I asked for is that if Breitling said the watch was a fake, stollen or messed with I don't want to deal with it.

He didn't want to work with me on the strap though. I got a great deal on the watch but once you include the purchase price of a new strap and deployant it becomes an ok deal only.

His friend Fear was nice and generous enough to give a discount on a new strap and possibly deployant once he saw the fake one. He recommended that we both contribute to the cost but Conrad wanted nothing to do with it.

The watch is now at BUSA and hopefully there wont be anymore surprises. I'll post an update once I get it back.

I wasn't going to post anything but a few people requested that I do.

Here are some pictures of the strap. Draw your own conclusions. It was determined by the AD that it's fake - a "bad" fake. They said the deployant wasn't real either.


Notice the "brushed" finish and uneven stitching on the fake strap. The other strap is real and for reference.




Notice how thin this strap is compared to a real one and the color of the side compared to the real one. Notice how it's "crinckled" at the end. Also, notice how thin and poorly finished the deployant is.

Have you ever seen a strap fit like this in a deployant??

If Conrad offered a partial refund toward a new strap I would have been fully satisfied but he offered NOTHING. Just an offer to return the watch so he can file a USPS claim even though the box it shipped in was fully intact with out any damage on it.

_________________
Regards,

Peter

BREITLING for Bentley Motors T & Mark VI, Aerospace
ROLEX Submariner Ceramic116610LN
OMEGA Plantet Ocean 8500 42mm Orange arabics
OCEAN7 LM-3

He did say on NUMEROUS occasions, " send it back for a full immediate refund". I understand your situation, but let's not make it worse than it has to be. He was more than willing to refund you every cent and you decided you wanted to keep it and try to get it fixed. To try to keep peace in the universe, my offer for a strap and deployant at cost stands for you, and in will try to do what I can to keep everyone happy.

The man has more watches than sharkman, it wouldn't surprise me if hen wore that thing 2 times, I'm sure if the strap is not real it was sold to him that way and he would never try to misrepresent a watch on purpose.

The accusation is that a seller sold a fake strap - I'm not sure about "let's not make it worse than it has to be" - that's as bad as it gets.

A little research on my part raises some additional questions as well. Conrad27, please contact me as soon as possible with an explanation on the fake strap and to find out my other questions.

For everyone else, this does not need to turn into another "I think this", or "in a totally different transaction I found this". This is the feedback forum and people need to feel free to provide feedback.

An update from my perspective..............

The question that I had that was unconnected to this transaction has been answered satisfactorily with independent confirmation so there are no issues remaining there.

I received more PMs telling me to mind my own business and that this had nothing to do with me than anything else, and I am sorry but I moderate this forum to the best of my ability and when accusations are made about the sale of fake goods I am going to get involved whether that upsets some people or not.

I have no reason to believe that Conrad27 knew that the strap was fake, so will not be taking action, but obviously this feedback will remain and be available for all concerned in future transactions.

The issue of the watch not working, and the willingness or otherwise of the seller to contribute to the purchase of a genuine strap and deployant are issues between the buyer and the seller. My opinion has not been asked for and will not be offered.

I note that the seller offered a refund, and don't need to be advised of that multiple times by PM.

I also note that FEAR offered a replacement at cost through Provident - a generous offer, but not directly relevant to a transaction to which he was not a party, again I don't need multiple PMs telling me about the offer.

im just trying to keep the peace in the crazy world of ours, first Egypt, then breitling source....

i know both parties, and just trying to make em all happy, no i had nothing to do with it, but it doesnt mean i can try to help if i can a little.

Fear,
Thanks for your help through out this matter. It's greatly appreciated.

Your offer to sell me a strap and deployant for cost is very generous and one I'll take you up on as soon BUSA says all is fine with the watch. Although, I'd be even happier if Conrad paid for it.

I also appreciate your advice encouraging me to send the watch to BUSA for repair. You're right, once the watch is repaired, I'll have a great watch for a great price even though I got screwed on the strap and deployant.

As far as the sale of the strap is concerned I never accused Conrad of knowingly selling me a fake strap. Although, I was looking at his eBay feed back, which Conrad listed as a reference on his initial sales posting, and noticed he purchased a non-authentic "Bretiling Style" strap on 12/25/2010 form watch_bits. http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d ... llFeedback That strap looks very similar to the one he sold me and nothing like an authentic one when compared side by side. Of course this strap is a 20mm and the one he sold me was a 22mm. By his own admission he owns several authentic Breitling straps so I'm sure he's had an opportunity to compare them to the "non-authentic" one purchased in December. He also bought an item from wholesaleoutlet990 on the same day. That store seems to carry lots of fake omega bracelets as well as "Breitling style" straps.

Now this doesn't "prove" that he "knew" he was selling me a badly imitated Bretiling strap and deployant but it makes you wonder........

_________________
Regards,

Peter

BREITLING for Bentley Motors T & Mark VI, Aerospace
ROLEX Submariner Ceramic116610LN
OMEGA Plantet Ocean 8500 42mm Orange arabics
OCEAN7 LM-3

Makes you wonder what?

If whether or not I offered you a full refund on at least three occasions? You know I did. In fact I said something along the lines of, "It doesn't have to be defective, if you don't like the color of the box return it for a full refund." I could not have possibly been more willing to refund every single nickel of your money. I don't "need" to sell the watch. I certainly didn't "need" to sell it at the price you got the watch for. After I paid for a new strap and deployment, it was a real money loser for me. I'd much rather just have my watch back, get my refund straightened out on the strap I purchased, and file an insurance claim if it was indeed damaged during shipping. Even though I requested that multiple times, you don't want to do that. Why? Because you know, I know, and everyone reading this knows you got a steal on the watch.

You were looking for a reason to be negative about this purchase and we both know it. Yet rather than be "happy" with all of your money back, you want to get on here and post this garbage. And that is just what it is. You have very, very little experience purchasing used watches and that's evident by your 4,037 emails about this piece. I'm sorry, but your email correspondence was enough for me to know better than to sell you this watch from the start. I learned my lesson the hard way on this one. I mean what else could I possibly offer you than a full refund?

And here's the deal, FEAR knows better. I've bought a bunch of watches from him. I do what I say I'm going to do. If you're not happy, dude please send it back. What else can I offer?

You asked for me to split a new strap and I agreed. Then you asked for for a deployment after I agreed and only at that point did I suggest a full refund. After I paid for both of those items, this was a money loser. And the idea that you would suggest I knowingly sold you a fake is ridiculous. I mean if I believed that, why would I offer a full refund? I don't need your money. You got a steal. That's why you kept the watch. Tell the truth: I offered you a full refund several times. But you won't do that will you? Because you have nothing better to do and talking smack on this message board makes you feel better about yourself.

The offer still stands today, if you feel you got an "okay" deal and not a "great" deal, please send it back for 100% refund.

Somehow I just know that watch isn't coming back.

I acknowledged this in my initial posting.



But you did. You asked for an offer, I gave you one, you accepted.



I'm not sure that $4000.00 is a "steal." It certainly is a great deal. Although the deal isn't so great after you include a new croc on deployant, shipping to and from BUSA and a repair bill from BUSA if there in fact will be one.



Don't speak for me. All I know is that I was looking forward to enjoying a watch I always wanted. The negatives about this transaction are the watch not functioning properly, the FAKE strap and deployant, and your lack of communication.



Trust me, I have other things I'd rather be doing. Several forum members asked me to write a feedback after discussing the situation with me. I did it for the greater good of the forum as I'm getting NO personal satisfaction from this.




4,037 e-mails. Really? I counted three I sent you prior to making an offer. My correspondences, that you say should have kept you from selling me the watch, were the following:

Email 1.
1. Describe the blemish on the bottom of the case back.
2. What is the conidion of the watch? Any scratches, dings, or swirlies?
3. Condition of strap and deployant?
4. Was it purchased from and AD?
5. Does it function properly? Any issues with the chronograph, date change, etc?
6. What kind of shipping will you include?

Email 2.
1. Did the Gray Market Dealer provide you with a warranty Booklet and what is the date written on it?
2. Will the shipping be insured?
3. Is PayPal ok?

Email 3.
1. Why is the date not changed at 4:45? provide a head-on picture of the date.
2. Provide a picture of the case back showing there's no blemish.

I don't think these correspondences show I'm inexperienced or would indicate to a seller to "stay away." I've gotten a lot more questions from buyers myself and they even asked for personal information. I was happy to comply. I'm spending several thousands of dollars here. I'd like to be comfortable doing so.

I've had several transactions on the boards and ALL were flawless.

Although, after speaking with some MORE experienced buyers than myself I was told by them that "This guy gives me the willies." "I don't trust him." "Nothing adds up."



Your statement "After I paid for a new strap and deployment, it was a real money loser for me. I'd much rather just have my watch back, get my refund straightened out on the strap I purchased, and file an insurance claim if it was indeed damaged during shipping." contradicts this.

At one point I thought you were willing to do so but when I asked for clarification I got a response of "send the watch back."

If YOU ARE saying you are willing to split the costs for a new strap lets stop the BS and do it Here and Now. Fear very generously offered a discount where you pay $200.00 and I pay $130.00 towards an new croc. He offered the same deal toward a new deployant as well. The same break down works for me. How about you?

Tell you what... I'll even go as step further, if you agree to pay towards a new strap and deployant I'll send you the fake ones back. If you can't tell the difference or believe they're authentic you can use it for yourself. OR.. you can send it back the the seller that sold it to you for a "FULL REFUND."



Thanks, The watch is at BUSA right now. If they tell me something crazy like the watch is fake or stollen or has been abused or tinkered with then I'll take you up on the offer.

_________________
Regards,

Peter

BREITLING for Bentley Motors T & Mark VI, Aerospace
ROLEX Submariner Ceramic116610LN
OMEGA Plantet Ocean 8500 42mm Orange arabics
OCEAN7 LM-3

Just an update...

I finally got the watch back from Breitling. It took two tries but BUSA finally got everything working properly.

As far as Conrad is concerned, I e-mailed him twice, after he posted here that he would contribute towards a new croc, but he never responded.

Fear kept his word, and was willing to give me a break on a new croc and deployant. Thanks Fear!!

_________________
Regards,

Peter

BREITLING for Bentley Motors T & Mark VI, Aerospace
ROLEX Submariner Ceramic116610LN
OMEGA Plantet Ocean 8500 42mm Orange arabics
OCEAN7 LM-3