Recovering after being scammed on Reddit
My first reaction was disbelief while I held on to that shred of hope that I wasn't being scammed and that I could get my bank to make me whole on the $2k I sent to a seller on Reddit.
Yes I saw Max's video on the fake Panerai he received, but at least he was able to make a coffee table out of his replica. I bought the feeling of a sucker and owned only an empty hole left in my hard earned bank account.
I knew the signs, I knew the advice, buy the seller, and yet I was a victim.
For the past 3 weeks I have been in a watch coma and cut myself from all watch enthusiasm. I didn't want anything to do with watches. Maybe I still don't. When will this feeling go away?
Love to hear how other victims recovered amd what remedies you used.
Welcome to my WatchCrunch profile.
Sorry to hear about your experience. There are scumbags everywhere.
Sorry you got scammed
Happened to me once on a billiard cue (I also collect billiards paraphernalia and found a “too good to be true” deal on a cue). Lesson learned, and now I only buy from trusted sellers.
Like @SpecKTator said, there are scumbags everywhere. I ask for references now on anything I buy that’s not a trusted site/seller.
Sorry that happened to you. Tough pill to swallow, but it’s a mistake you’ll only make once.
Happened to me once on a billiard cue (I also collect billiards paraphernalia and found a “too good to be true” deal on a cue). Lesson learned, and now I only buy from trusted sellers.
Like @SpecKTator said, there are scumbags everywhere. I ask for references now on anything I buy that’s not a trusted site/seller.
Sorry that happened to you. Tough pill to swallow, but it’s a mistake you’ll only make once.
Oh yeah I used to play 8 ball competitively. So cool to run into folks with similar interests.
Thankfully they’ve cleaned up pool halls cause there are lots of shady people there too.
Oh yeah I used to play 8 ball competitively. So cool to run into folks with similar interests.
Thankfully they’ve cleaned up pool halls cause there are lots of shady people there too.
If you can even find a pool hall anymore! I play on an 1890’s era Brunswick table that is a family heirloom. I used to play competitively but time and eyesight have eroded my skills. I have an AP Royal Oak worth of lumber on display in my cues but can’t seem to part with any… just like my watch box, lol.
Can you explain what happened? What were the red flags? How did he try to make himself look legit? I have bought and sold a few watches on Reddit and I'm always worried about getting scammed. It'd be good to hear what happened to you so we can all learn from it.
Lift yourself up, brush yourself off and give yourself a break for being human. The sting will subside but with luck the education will remain plus a sincere congratulations if it's the biggest mistake you make in life.
The watch, an Oris ProPilot X had been posted for awhile and was posted alongside several other sellers for similar pricing. I offered a few hundred dollars less than others were offering and he accepted the offer. He only had one other transaction but had participated in other reddit chats. He was fairly responsive in the beginning and I even reached out to the other buyer before moving forward. The buyer mentioned the seller was a bit slow to ship, but he did receive the watch being sold.
So the red flags went up when I tried to send him Zelle and the transaction failed, probably because his email had been flagged by the system. So he said to try PayPal and sure enough it went through! But then he responded that PayPal was only distributing the money to him $200/month and he was refunding my money. My money was instantly refunded. He then asked me to try and send it to his relatives paypal email as a Paypal FF. Same thing happened and he refunded me a second time.
I finally was able to send the money via Zelle to his relatives email over the course of 2 days.
After 24hrs of not responding but saying he got the money and will try to mail it out on the weekend after his school finals were done he stop responding and I reported it to Reddit moderators. Zelle also reported to me the email recipient had deleted their email on Zelle.
Lessons:
Never send money via Zelle. It is not protected for refund. It's like giving the money away with a hope and a prayer.
Always buy through a 3rd party. Chrono24, ebay, etc.
Any deal isnt worth it if you don't receive what you paid for.
Sellers or bad actors exist and will say or do anything to scam you.
I got an Olive drab casioak on eBay that was too good to be true, ended up being a decent fake, but a fake none the less. I've made similar gambles in the past and it paid off (or it was such a good fake, I simply haven't noticed.) In the end I realized I didn't actually want a casioak, the proportions weren't a good fit for me, it's not actually all that legible and I was just giving into the hype. So I gave it to my wife and it broke after like three months. Bought an Olive drab DW 5600 instead a few months later. I realize my situation pales in comparison but maybe you just need to find that you wanted and just save up again and get it. Screw reddit, you deserve to have what you wanted. I'm sorry this happened to you. "blame reddit, not watches" should be a new bumper sticker.
This is why I’m terrified to sell online and have turned down several offers on watches I’m trying to move — think I have watch ptsd as I’ve also been scammed once, and had an attempted mugging by a supposed buyer.
The watch, an Oris ProPilot X had been posted for awhile and was posted alongside several other sellers for similar pricing. I offered a few hundred dollars less than others were offering and he accepted the offer. He only had one other transaction but had participated in other reddit chats. He was fairly responsive in the beginning and I even reached out to the other buyer before moving forward. The buyer mentioned the seller was a bit slow to ship, but he did receive the watch being sold.
So the red flags went up when I tried to send him Zelle and the transaction failed, probably because his email had been flagged by the system. So he said to try PayPal and sure enough it went through! But then he responded that PayPal was only distributing the money to him $200/month and he was refunding my money. My money was instantly refunded. He then asked me to try and send it to his relatives paypal email as a Paypal FF. Same thing happened and he refunded me a second time.
I finally was able to send the money via Zelle to his relatives email over the course of 2 days.
After 24hrs of not responding but saying he got the money and will try to mail it out on the weekend after his school finals were done he stop responding and I reported it to Reddit moderators. Zelle also reported to me the email recipient had deleted their email on Zelle.
Lessons:
Never send money via Zelle. It is not protected for refund. It's like giving the money away with a hope and a prayer.
Always buy through a 3rd party. Chrono24, ebay, etc.
Any deal isnt worth it if you don't receive what you paid for.
Sellers or bad actors exist and will say or do anything to scam you.
Thanks you for sharing.... Man it must be tough, can't believe he went all the effort to get you to trust him and force you to use Zelle.
I've just been burned once. It wasn't a fake or scam per se but the seller said the watch, a quartz, works (I asked and was told it keeps perfect time), I paid around 400€ I believe, and it didn't work. Then I changed the battery to see of it would help. It didn't. Then I contacted the seller who asked if I changed the battery, like he knew 🤬... I said yes to which his reply was "then I must have broken it then" and he wouldn't take it back (not that I expected it but had to try). Service was prohibitively expensive so I sold it for parts and got 25€ om eBay and paid 5€ shipping and 4€ in fees 😑
It happens, I guess... truth is, I'm still pissed at that guy but you just move on with your life.