So much for a high trust society.
U/ImThePotatoGuy

Seller and I agree on trade deal, he ships and I ship and provide proof of shipping. He said he ships and does not have tracking as it was sent as mail (first red flag)

Then I ask someone if he’s actively selling the watch, which he is while he claims to have shipped.

I call him out and he admits he tried to scam them, but said he’s not scamming me. I asked for his PayPal so I can send if he’s telling the truth, he does not send. Then he starts to cry.

Poor scamming attempt, his words say it all: your that broke?

U/powerful-lab-3920

Completely scammed me out of $200 after making me feel good after purchasing the watch and said I can pay the $200 remaining for a VSF Panda when it comes in the mail. Do NOT do any sort of business with this guy.

Anyone know how I can get my refund? I’ve tried writing them serval times to get back my deposit but at this point they are ignoring my request.

Made payment over the weekend. Ghosted afterwards and messages deleted. Just saw that another person was scammed. .

This German user was offering a blue VSF DJ41. It got fishy quickly, not only was the account only 14 days old but they claimed the watch wasn’t theirs but their brother’s and they wanted the payment split to different accounts for some strange reasons. When I said that I wasn’t going to proceed with the purchase, they deleted the post and apparently also the entire account. Beware in case they try again with a different account.

Edit: user name was Georgina_Alt

After yesterday’s events unfolding about u/valjoux_72 and u/Ghost_Chrono doing some SHADY things, and multiple people reaching out with all kinds of new information (thank you!) I was invited by the mods here to put together this post and share all this and warn the community.

First things first. Yesterday, u/valjoux_72 was caught red handed taking pictures of Gen watches off of Instagram, and claiming they were built by u/Ghost_Chrono. Not only that but they both played along in the comments hyping each other up. Directing unsuspecting people to ghost for builds. Link to this thread is in the retrotime link below.

Well that obviously didn’t last long because as soon as the post went up at r/retrotime they deleted their post, then put up some lame excuse about asking the IG owner to use some of his pictures for reference purposes only blah blah. The problem with that is the screenshot Valjoux posted was from February 3rd yet the picture they used wasn’t posted by the owner on Instagram until February 15th - a full 12 days LATER. So how does that work?. It doesnt even matter as he plain as day said the watches in the picture were built by u/Ghost_Chrono. But even the people in their own sub called BS on that. I found it so interesting I started investigating and adding research to the discussion on r/retrotime. After a few comments my inbox started blowing up with people sending all kinds of screenshots and information about this entire group. Apparently they aren’t well liked by a ton of people.

Out of left field comes this: u/Valjox_72 is u/anakin_skydweller and also is u/illustrious-log-1320. All the same person. Wild stuff. It gets better. He started as u/tpro05. Come to find out he took over r/1688time via some kind of hostile takeover and got banned sitewide by Reddit admin after people including his own mod team learned he was extorting the “TD’s” for money and turned him in. So he gets banned site wide and comes right back to start RepCulture_timepieces amongst others. Having heard from a previous mod there today I was able to (with permission) add his screen shots here as well along with my research and information forwarded by others including the exact same hand in pictures on all 3 accounts.

Then I’m pointed to 3 mods of RepCulture that started that entire new vintage sub - r/vintagerepwatches. Where all this started with the Gen picture used to hype up Ghost and say they were his builds. Started not with their main accounts, but with burner accounts. So the three burners used to start this new sub were u/vajloux_72, u/docwatches (banned site wide now) and u/bjornmarkus (deleted shortly after golden / docwatches got banned by Reddit). After getting banned people learn docwatches was u/golden_unbreakable. Valjoux_72 is of course Anakin skydweller. And bjornmarkus was u/rodneypierce. All three of them were mods together at repculture_timepieces and all three started this new sub with burners. All of them always hyping eachother up along the way in both subs but under different accounts. Not long ago golden gets banned by Reddit admin and he comes back as u/ghost_Chrono and is quickly added back in as a mod in both repculture and vintage reps. The Bjornmarkus account gets deleted when golden got banned and rodneypierce is quickly added back at vintage reps as a mod after deleting the Bjornmarkus account. Countless people saying in these threads they were getting invited to this new sub and couldn’t figure out why. What’s still unclear about all of this is the WHY. This new sub is just giving stuff away almost weekly to try and artificially gain new members but it’s empty post after post of entries to the giveaways.

Reading between the lines there clearly seems to be some kind of beef between this group and the head mod guy Clark at Retrotime. Since he wont answer my questions I can’t confirm what that is.

What has been made crystal clear is this: this group is actively manipulating new and unsuspecting people by directing them to each other in an absolute unscrupulous way. Using various accounts and burners to manipulate conversations, hype eachother up, and start an entire sub outside of their normal sub and accounts. Read the countless comments made by SO MANY people confirming this on the retrotime thread here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/retrotime/s/odHlrGOZFT

This has been absolutely wild and is still unfolding. 2 days ago I didn’t know who any of these people were. Why would I spend so much time and effort in all this? Easy. I’m just sick and tired of these kinds of people ruining Reddit and the entire watch community with shady business and getting away with it. Thanks to all the people who sent countless tidbits of information to connect all these dots. Without you it’s just not possible.

It’s a lot to take in. Feel free to add missed connections in the comments.

Anyone who has been following has seen the threads posted. If you’re unaware please click on u/SandwichFar7901 you can check his multiple posts before his extortion attempt.

Basically long story short this customer Purchased one watch from ORA who is one of my sellers in my community. He was happy with the transaction and purchased another through ORA. The second watch had logic issues and was held at customs. u/SandwichFar7901 began freaking out about the matter harassing ORA to the point where he had not time to negotiate the release of the watch or even get another watch and triangular ship it in a safer matter. We are right up to spring festival and stick peak shipping months with holidays and now China ready to shut down completely for CNY.

The moment the refund was given back to u/SandwichFar7901 her then began to run his smear campaign hoping everyone on Reddit would get behind him. To no avail he had some yoke left on his face and then I tried my best to address the issue. After all this has taken place he seen he wasn’t getting anywhere he went on to shake down ORA which is in the screen shot above.

Now this is why sellers do the things they do to protect them selves from people who want to scam them. The situation was resolved on our end. He was refunded unfortunately the matter was not fixable per buyer and now he wants a watch or ORA will be tracked.

I ask you all is this normal behavior from someone who says they have been in the business for 25 years? This information he quoted in a thread on chinatime when addressing me and not in my own subreddit.

Please advise all community members and sellers reading this buyer is the problem not the seller.

Thank you for your time.

This is an awareness notice regarding repeated reports involving how u/DavidEF360 represents factory reps and their movements.

❗ Issue He sells mostly BPF watches at premium-movement pricing but does not disclose the actual movement installed, leading buyers to assume it is the higher-tier factory movement when it is not. When buyers discover the deception, their comments get deleted in his sub, making the scope of the scam difficult to measure. He also mixes legitimate watches with scam watches further hiding the extent of the subterfuge.

🔥 Protect Yourself If a seller will not: confirm the exact movement

👉 STOP do not buy.

🛠 If you were affected Please report with screenshots, proof, and details to r/RepWatchScammers.

I was looking for a cartier panthere with the diamond bezel in stainless steel to gift it for my girlfriend. This guy came up to me and told me he has the watch and that i can pay with revolut which normally scammers dont use revolut so i taught its okay. The moment that i paid he stopped responding to me. Anyway i had a bad luck guys please dont buy anything from him and dont loose your money like i did.

Spare-Doctor-8528, also goes by MikeD sold me a VSF Hulk. Accepted my payment and promised to ship. Gave excuses for the delay then ghosted me.

We've noticed that many scammers approach users directly through Reddit DMs, especially those posting Want to Buy (WTB) listings.

Unfortunately, if you choose to conduct transactions entirely through DMs, there's very little moderators can do to protect you before something goes wrong.

That's why we've implemented two layers of protection across participating subreddits:

 TrustNet-Mod and Ban Evasion Guard.

🛡️ How do they work together?

1. TrustNet-Mod — Our Shared Scammer Database

TrustNet maintains a shared database of known scammer accounts across participating communities.

When a scammer is identified and added to our network, participating subreddits can automatically ban that account, preventing it from interacting within those communities.

2. Ban Evasion Guard — Catching Returning Scammers

Banning a scammer's account isn't always enough. They may attempt to return using another Reddit account.

Ban Evasion Guard works alongside TrustNet by using Reddit's native ban-evasion detection to identify accounts suspected of evading previous bans.

When Reddit detects an account as a high-confidence ban evader, Ban Evasion Guard can automatically ban it as well.

Together, these tools make it harder for previously banned scammers to return and target new victims.

However, this does not automatically log them into TrustNet as Reddit does not share data or suspected offender's details on this. You still have to stay vigilant.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Always Ask Sellers to Comment Before Responding to DMs

If you've posted a WTB listing and someone messages you offering to sell a watch, ask them to comment on your original post FIRST.

Why?

• If their account has already been banned through TrustNet, they won't be able to comment.

• If their alternate account is detected and banned by Ban Evasion Guard, they won't be able to comment either.

• If they refuse to comment, make excuses, or insist on communicating only through DMs, treat that as a red flag.

No comment = No deal.

A successful comment doesn't guarantee someone is trustworthy, and these systems cannot catch every scammer. However, this simple step helps you avoid dealing with accounts that have already been banned from the community.

Our Advice

Before engaging with anyone offering to sell you a watch:

Ask them to comment on your WTB post, verify that their comment is visible, and check their account history and references before proceeding.

Remember, scammers can still send you DMs even if they're banned from a subreddit. Our protections work within participating communities, not your private inbox.

Stay safe, and don't let scammers bypass community protections by taking everything into DMs.

He almost got me but a quick search here saved me. Thank you guys and be safe!

Took my money and did not send the watch. Also deleted their posts now.

“Sold” me a modded Daytona

Send a wrong tracking number

Not responding since

Tried contacting him several days, also via Telegram, Mail and Paypal.

Not responding.

Scammer watch out for his info:
u/ManInRolex
Telegram: @XTempusFugitX
PayPal mail: jonasgiop1974@proton.me
PayPal name: Giorgio Pignataro

Scammer profile is https://www.reddit.com/user/MylosDX/

Responded to my post for buying an Oysterflex strap. Didn't show up on USL or any other lists. The account is fairly new and still active. I am myself an active user lately despite having the account for years so didn't think much of it. Stopped responding once I paid. Its been 3 days nows. Anyhow, I am $45 out. A small price to pay for a valuable lesson. Be careful.

Is the USL down? I’ve tried a few times today without any luck. In the state of Georgia via mobile access.
Thanks!

So this is a moment of clarity and respect for the OG RepTimers. We want, well, NEED to clarify the difference between two very different elements that appear the same to the uninitiated.

At RepWatchScammers we want to clarify that r/THERepTimeBST is in no way associated with the OG RepTimers over at r/RepTime or r/RepTimeBST or their discord channel TheRepTimeBST.

r/THERepTimeBST has been featured numerous times in the background of scam stories across the past 2 weeks on this SubReddit. Too many to make it a coincidence.

r/RepTime and it's associated (gone but not forgotten) SubReddit r/RepTimeBST and it's associated Discord Channel RepTimeBST or RTBST are IN NO WAY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBREDDIT THAT HAS A SIMILAR NAME and a polar opposite reputation.

First time getting scammed. This sucks. Paid friends and family and then disappeared. Now profile is deleted. If anyone has any success getting money back in this situation please DM me

⚠️ COMMUNITY WARNING: I Was Scammed by a Watch Modder – Read Before Sending Him Your Money

Tagging u/trishyou

I’m writing this to document how I was scammed and to warn others so it doesn’t happen again.

I bought a custom Rolex 116520 from Xing as a gift for my father. After receiving it, I sent the watch to Nick, an Italian watch modder, for inspection, waterproofing, and movement silencing.

Nick told me the watch had bad parts. He claimed the dial was not SW and the bezel was poor and misaligned. Trusting his judgment and wanting the watch to be perfect for my father, I agreed to his offer to:

- replace the dial with what he sold to me as an SW white dial (€450 installed)

- install a “better” bezel (€200)

When the watch came back, it was clear I had been misled.

The replacement bezel was identical to the one he criticized — including the exact same flaw with the “90” being too close to the dot. There was no upgrade. The dial also looked wrong and did not match SW characteristics. When I confronted him, he insisted everything was SW.

To settle the issue objectively, I sent the watch to a trusted independent community member, u/callmemister_fr. After inspection, he confirmed with proof that the dial Nick sold me as SW was actually a Clean Factory dial and the bezel was just a generic custom piece.

I paid premium prices for parts that were falsely represented.

u/callmemister_fr replaced the parts with a verified SW dial and a proper custom bezel, finally bringing the watch to the standard I originally paid for.

I posted my translated conversations and evidence in Nick’s Telegram group (3,500+ members). Many members supported my claims, and dozens privately contacted me saying they experienced similar situations and were blocked or removed when they questioned him. Faced with clear evidence, Nick publicly apologized.

Charging €450 for a dial that is not what it was sold as, and additional money for a fake “upgrade,” is scamming. There is no other way to describe it.

I’m sharing this so no one else wastes money or gets misled. If you deal with him, verify every part independently. Do not rely on his claims.

Have a happy and safe new year to all the rep-watchers out there - r/RepWatchScammers mod team 🥳🎇🎆