12,000 posts doesn't make anyone legit. It just speaks to how they spend their day. I think Aaron White spent a lot of time on here making posts and stalking his victims, if I remember correctly. Anyways, the point is that you never know and actions speak louder than post counts.
Post counts and credibility are completely independent. The ability to hit <return> is not a particularly relevant part of anyone's professional CV or personal credit/trust worthiness. Lots of good folks with high post counts, but also all other combinations.
You tried to sell a watch to us that could be fake. Then you said it was authentic and sold. Why not tell us how it was authenticated? That would go a long way in restoring credibility.
The original poster is not motivated by establishing or recovering credibility. Not sure what he's motivated by but that doesn't seem to be it.
No reason to at this time. An OP's request is always given strong consideration by the mods, however it its not the sole determining factor. Other factors include what is in the interests of other participants and of the community as a whole. Threads relating to the credibility of a seller within the community touch on the latter.
That's a great call in my eyes. As I mentioned in a previous post, I really feel like we've been punked in what appears to have been an attempted possibly fraudulent business transaction. Given the way some people have used Fchat to run scams in the past - befriending owners over time, inserting themselves into certain parts of their circle, offering to help with certain transactions, then making the switch to offering to sell something or invest in something or something along those lines - I think that this needs to stay open. I don't want to make this sound dramatic or anything but that is basically the exact m.o. of some of Fchats biggest frauds. Similarly, I don't mean to jump to conclusions either because there is a lot of the story that remains hidden and unanswered but until those questions are answered in a transparent and honest way, the whole thing just reeks of bad stuff.
I agree and the electronic footprints of this thread are a good warning to protect the community in the future.
If I was the OP I'd want this closed so I wouldn't want even more people to figure out I'm a horse's patootie.
I'll say... and many of the comments are pretty bewildering; almost like a witch hunt. So maybe someone goofed? Big deal... no harm done to anyone at all. What's the point of keeping the thread open? What purpose will it serve?
I suppose if your not a watch collecter you may read this thread different. A non watch collector may think a watch can be authenticated by looking at it. It can't. You can't call a buddy and have him stop by your home to authenticate a Rolex. He said the Rolex daytona was authentic. He said it was sold as authentic. Authenticated means the back was opened and movement was examined. This requires equipment most people don't have. To test the luminance requires special equipment. These are just two tests that are done. There are more tests. An AD would also pressure test the watch. This takes more equipment. The reason is because the watch was opened and you need to know it is properly closed. It takes 5 minutes to do, but you can't do it without the correct tools and equipment. This is why I asked him how he had the watch authenticated. He posted a friend was stopping by his home to look at the watch. It doesn't ring true. He could have easily gone to any Rolex AD and had the watch authenticated. If you found a $70,000 Rolex, would you have it authenticated? The ONLY 2 reasons not to take it to Rolex is if it's stolen or its a fake. Authentication is very fast. If he told them his garage find story they may have authenticated for free. They would have checked the serial number to see if it is stolen.
Did your friend brought all the required equipment to your home? If not, then you did not authenticate the watch. You only have the opinion of a friend.
Chris is a watch dealer, he is one of a few on Fchat who could get a watch authenticated in 5 minutes.
GatorFL, some fakes are good replicas that look identical to an authentic watch from the outside. They can't be authenticated without opening the watch. I take issue with people who say they can authenticate without opening the watch. The movements from asia that imitate Rolex are so good it's difficult to know unless looking directly at the parts. Rolex does some things different you can't see without examining the movement. This is more than just opening the back and reading what is stamped on the movement. As I wrote, this requires opening the watch and then pressure testing after closing. If you wanted to test a memory stick, would you call your friend and have him bring over a computer and monitor to your house so you could test the memory in his PC? Or would you go to his house and have him plug it in? It doesn't sound correct that a watch friend would pack his car filled with equipment and bring it to your home for a 5 minute test, when it is much easier for you to take the watch to him.
Except Chris is actually well known to us FChatters as a watch dealer. I have no doubts that he has friends that can quickly verify a Rolex. I stopped by an Estate sale yesterday and found a 288 GTO. I was going to offer it to you guys, but before I could, I got it authenticated and sold it. I only had my cell phone though, so I couldn't take any pics. Sorry you all missed it.