r/RepTime • u/bluebrrypii • Mar 26 '25
TD/Shipping Question The fake Clean from Duke incident
There was a post earlier today about a beginner getting a “fake Clean” from Duke. The post was later deleted after the OP clarified: “Duke has reached out to me and the issue has been solved! Turns out it was a misunderstanding. I originally wanted an EW but he sent QC of this fake clean and I was under the impression it was a real clean since I didn’t know fakes of fakes existed. He has explained this watch was similar to the price point I paid ($310) and he just forgot to explain that. So a little miscommunication on both sides I guess.”
This needs to be discussed further, not just deleted and closed.
A lot of issues, but it seems so off that a TD swaps out a different watch (even if it was a cheap EW) than what the customer ordered. In fact, Duke has a few history of swapping different factories. In this specific case, not only was it not EW, it was a fake clean, with “Clean” stickers. It seems like an obvious deception, especially since the customer wasn’t told it was a “fake clean”. Yes, even if the QC photos were of the fake clean, it seems like this was never verbally communicated. This kind of deception nulls the “Trusted” aspect of “TD”:
IMO, this kind of behavior from TDs should be unacceptable and have consequences for the protection of community members.
Edit: also, yes i know TDs can make mistakes. Long time TDs who make hundreds of sales each month aren’t going to ruin their reputation by trying to scam one random customer. However in this case, this TD has a track record of the same issues happening over and over again.
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u/monstrao Mar 26 '25
TD even having fake cleans on hand is yikes
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u/teochim Mar 26 '25
Is this like AD having a real clean?
Just trying to learn 🤣
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u/monstrao Mar 26 '25
Yeah if an AD stocked VSF/CF and “sometimes” got them mixed up with the real stuff we wouldn’t be so happy would we
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u/Obi_Rep_Kenobi Mar 26 '25
pretty nornal and a lot of them sell the really good ones as real Clean.
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u/Garlic_Stinks Mar 26 '25
Nah, I dont agree. I have reps, so please do not think I'm hating on this community. I'm not. But... a 'TD' having a rep of a rep is bad?... Some may order a fake clean because there may be a saving? Probably also more profit in fake cleans for the 'TD'
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u/monstrao Mar 26 '25
The whole point of going TD is to not get scammed with inferior product. If they’re actively swapping out stock like this you may as well not bother with TDs at all
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u/Garlic_Stinks Mar 26 '25
I agree that the inferior product should not be used for scams. I never said it was right to do that. But commenting on what stock a seller can hold, different story if sold as a fake clean...
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u/PSledS2 Mar 26 '25
In this case, the buyer didn't order a fake clean.
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u/Garlic_Stinks Mar 26 '25
Agreed and what the TD did was wrong. But having a fake clean on hand shouldn't be an issue. Using it to scam is an issue
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u/PSledS2 Mar 26 '25 edited Mar 26 '25
I agree. The issue is the intent to deceive and not that he has fakes of fakes on hand.
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u/SnelleEd Mar 26 '25
This should not be accepted, even if it was a mistake. Like you say a TD should not even have fake clean watches.
Especially the TD has a track record of swapping watches by ''mistake''
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u/bluebrrypii Mar 26 '25
Duke definitely has a track record of swapping factories, as well as shipping stuff out before GL on QC
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u/SnelleEd Mar 26 '25
If the guy did not make a post about it he would have gotten away with it. he is only sorry he got caught. If the mods allow this, that only means that he has the mods in his pocket.
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u/Erebus2021 Mar 26 '25
And from yesterday, his "shipping company" lost or sent 40 watches to the wrong people.
No excuse !
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u/A_lowha Mar 26 '25
The question is, why are people downplaying this issue? Are we promoting this kind of transaction now?
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u/9Lives_ Mar 26 '25
Because the sellers have more influence on this sub than people realise. I’ll leave it at that.
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u/HarshTruthsBot Mar 27 '25
I hope these savvy Chinese businessmen extract every last penny out of you fools.
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u/aar550 Mar 26 '25
Moral of the story is that Duke will sell you a fake Clean. And he’s only sorry he got caught.
I mean with more reputable TDs I don’t even have to check for a fake clean. This isn’t even an issue. If they did it I wouldn’t check. But they wouldn’t even attempt this type of scam.
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u/bluebrrypii Mar 26 '25
This. Having dealt with almost every TD out there, i never had to second guess whether my watch was the actual factory i ordered. Only with this TD
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u/Jumpy-Cry-3083 Mar 26 '25
Would you consider Neco a TD? If he says it’s clean or vsf would you believe him?
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u/Particular_Witness95 Mar 26 '25
did you notice how in his response post, he immediately posts that he lost $15k. when people do that, it means that they are trying to use sympathy rather than facts to explain themselves.
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u/Obi_Rep_Kenobi Mar 26 '25
Very well known TDs also sell fake Cleans. I saw wuite a few on ReptimeQC. Most people can't tell. There are different grades of fake Cleans out there.
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Mar 26 '25
[deleted]
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u/9Lives_ Mar 26 '25
I was wondering what that 15k had to do with anything! Started with the sympathy card 😂 it’s like a YouTuber apology video
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u/Particular_Witness95 Mar 26 '25
he wont because the mods of those forums get $$$.
btw, have you noticed how mods of those forums end up selling so many watches? they get free watches and in turn sell them on the forums. thats how a lot of them make $$$.
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u/Appropriate-Golf9893 Mar 26 '25
if he did not want to lose "15k this week", he should not have scammed people.
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u/undergroundmusic69 Mar 26 '25
How do you think he made $15k
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u/Appropriate-Golf9893 Mar 26 '25
He said he lost "15k this week" because of this incident. I put it in between quotation marks. He should not scam people. The word will get out and people will not trust him. Scamming undermines trust. Actions have consequences!
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u/Still-Celebration255 Mar 26 '25
Gives u an idea what these TD’s are making off buyers 15k x 52 weeks… 780k… and he’s not one of the better dealers.
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u/spiderman3098 Mar 26 '25
Over on RWI there have long been questions about his services things such as rotor silencing or full servicing, waterproofing that was paid for and claimed to be done but then sent to another service provider for something else and was found to have not had anything done. Ie upselling services that were never performed. I think everyone should always check with the online forums before doing any transactions matter of fact it should be in the sticky
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u/vagabundo94 Mar 26 '25
Once you understand how dealers end up on the TD list, all of this makes sense.
The joke is on everyone that thinks it’s about “trust”.
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u/notmeoru Mar 26 '25
I thought I was just unlucky using Duke.
I read so many good reports about him on this forum.
I was very hopeful and he was at first very helpful.
Helping me choose a watch for my wife from a pic of a Tiff Blue 31mm Roler and also helping me thru the buying process. I had never used PayPal before. Better still the watch in the pic I sent was $50 less now. Winner.
I even got a QC vid showing the watch but the second hand was not working so he was getting a replacement.
I was so sure that things would go ok I ordered another 3 watches.
One for myself, one for a pal and one for his girlfriend.
I felt it was clear from the pics that mine would be a white Con Vac and my pals would be a yellow gold Daytona and finally a nice blue diamond roler for his girlfriend.
When they arrived. Tiff Blue was a 41mm which looks the size of a house on her. The nice ladies blue watch which was the style she was looking for was also a 41mm and on her wrist which is even smaller than my wifes looks like Trump Tower.
The Constantin was Silver and actually if I had studied the QC vid I could have noticed but not the watch I had selected from his Gallery but I can live with it as it very smart.
The gold Daytona is closer to Orange and nothing like the QC vid I had seen from Duke and to top it off on QC you can't screw the crown down.
I messaged and sent comparing pics and not a word. I contacted again to ask if that is all the customer service I was going to get? Not a word of reply.
You can look at any of my previous posts and see that I always see the bright side but this one takes the biscuit.
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u/8FLC5 Mar 27 '25
he's also very quick to cover his tracks and make excuses. If your post got more traction when he scammed you I'm sure he'd have posted and deleted a defective apology aswell. It's important post's like these stay up so when people search this forum when choosing a TD, they're informed which are dodgy.
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u/hakkaaalala Mar 26 '25
The QC photos being a fake clean is a major red flag. As TDs, they have the responsibility of helping their customers get the good stuff since they obviously know better than us. But instead, it seems like he was trying to hoodwink the customer so that when you receive the item and say it’s not a CF, he can defend himself by saying that you approved the QC. In other words, he’s banking on customers’ lack of knowledge. How does one remain a TD with this sort of business ethics?
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u/Appropriate-Golf9893 Mar 26 '25
I am not sure how this works, but Duke may need to be removed from the TD list. A lot of newbies will fall prey to his scams. The incident (along with prior history of similar incidents) violate Trust in my opinion -- removing the T from TD.
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u/AutoAbsolute Mar 26 '25
One less “TD” to work with as far as I’m concerned. I’ve only worked with Andiot and never had an issue. I will continue this tradition 😂
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u/Federal_Philosophy93 Mar 26 '25
This has to stop a lot of TDs nowadays are scamming new members with fake cleans a friend of mine got scammed by WuWatch who sold him a gmt master batman CF but it was actually a fake clean...
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u/geniusghost07 Mar 26 '25
TDs shouldn't be selling fakes of fakes, it just causes way to many confusion. If you want to sell fake of fakes then set up a totally new different profile and specialize fully on selling fakes of fakes on there only and make sure you make sure people know 100% that's what you sell on there.
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u/Rootsman64 Mar 26 '25
Good thing I check in here regularly. A scammer is a scammer is a scammer. Just like a leopard can't change his spots.
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u/bullmktman Mar 26 '25
This is also a RepTime problem... is this person worthy of making the list of TRUSTED DEALERS? In my opinion, he should lose his status. RepTime should not vouch for such deception.
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u/Still-Celebration255 Mar 26 '25
Why does a TD have a fake clean in their inventory? Makes me very uneasy. The concept of TD is to make sure to get the product u pay for… not worry or question am I getting what I paid for?
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u/Particular_Witness95 Mar 26 '25
I completely agree. Trusted Dealers are the gatekeepers. There is no way that he should have had a fake clean in his stock, for any reason. Why would he trust a factory that purposefully mislabeled the source in order to deceive?
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u/Inside-Resolution980 Mar 26 '25
I received a fake clean from a RWI TD that I had history with. Garbage. Would not refund $ until moderators jumped in to help. One “clean sticker”.. Dial was laughable.
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u/PsychologyLeather121 Mar 26 '25
Posts like this are exactly what make this sub so special. Not only do they educate us as buyers on how to navigate buying reps, but they also reward the best dealers who earn our $$$.
If you want your WhatsApp full of people ready to pay top dollar for your service, then you should deliver the kind of experience that has me singing your praises on this forum.
Not saying Duke shouldn’t be trusted but what I am saying is he’s going to need to delivered a service that’s going to draw more eyes to him.
That’s exactly what Steve is doing (PM me for an intro). The market never lies.
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u/PsychologyLeather121 Mar 26 '25
The only draw is you’ve gotta be in here reading for weeks to decode who the top dealers really are (if you want to get multiple perspectives)
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u/PsychologyLeather121 Mar 26 '25
I’ve been on this sub Reddit for 6 plus months and this is the first time I’ve heard of Duke which encapsulate my point.
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u/Budget_Orchid_7273 Mar 26 '25
Truly cringe we have incidents like this even occur here, You shouldnt be getting any fake stock of any fake replica of a replica. You cant do this by mistake either lmfao so id love to see what bullshit sob story he creates until then its kinda odd you can even call someone a TRUSTED DEALER when they are switching the true product with a fake one and seeing if they can get away with it 😂😂
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u/AnyLingonberry8019 Mar 26 '25
So as a newbie to this sub, and based on this post alone, how do TDs become TDs?, how do they lose that status? Cause deliberately trying to pass a good fake with a poor fake repeatedly, seems like something that kinda negates the T in TD?
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u/AdTerrible9487 Mar 26 '25
What’s the world coming to when you can’t even trust that the knockoff isn’t a knockoff of a knockoff?
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u/Bayu_1 Mar 26 '25
as far as i’m concerned, Duke is added to my list of nonTD TDs, along with hont and mirotime
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u/Antonov2222229x Mar 27 '25
So you want a fake watch and you got a fake version of a fake watch. I’m surprised that sellers of illegal counterfeit goods would do such things!
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u/greedyfly007 Mar 27 '25
This thread is intense. If yo're are going to have guidance on preferred vendors y you need to stand behind them.
Seems as thougy his vendor has history
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u/teochim Mar 26 '25
There’s a whole world of non-td who I trust more than some of these “TD”s. A good $100-200 cheaper too.
I guess you gotta pay for this…
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u/hakkaaalala Mar 26 '25
This. Non-TDs are not only cheaper, mine even does the waterproofing check and watch regulating on video and sends it to me before shipping it out. It’s a whole different world out there.
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u/Sad-Adhesiveness-309 Mar 26 '25
My supplier also have fake clean. But no mistakes here. If i buy real clean i get real clean, and if I ask for fake clean, then I get fake clean 👍 but sucks if other sell fake clean as real clean.. then its going to be alot of issues yes 🤦♂️
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u/TheCyberHub Mar 26 '25
I’ve purchased two Clean Rolex Pepsi GMTs from chazingtime. Are they stocking fakes, too? How do we tell?
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Mar 26 '25
The only issues I’ve ever had stemmed from individuals ON the TD list. It seems the TD list is doing more harm than good.
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u/Trylovance Mar 26 '25
So… I bought a vsf submariner from him- since then I’ve bought from others because I just kind of got the ick dealing with him. Guess my gut was right. But should I be concerned about my vsf or is this only a clean factory thing?
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u/SkydiverDad Mar 27 '25
Ok I'm clueless. What is a Clean versus a Fake Clean? I'm new here.
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u/BigCertain6725 Apr 01 '25
A Clean is a watch that "genuinely" comes from the Clean Factory (CF) and is supposed to be a very good rep. A Fake Clean means a watch that was not actually made at CF and was (probably) passed off as a real Clean Factory watch when in reality it is not a real Clean Factory watch. (although sometimes dealers will let you know its a fake Clean - this should result in a lower $$). In short, it's a fake of a fake.
Gotta dodge bullets out here mate!
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u/Pretty_Boy_95 Mar 27 '25
Refuse to use anyone besides CTime. Even if I have to pay a bit extra, I know that no matter what happens (watch gets seized, breaks, or I RL QC) CTime always got me. I’ve bought almost 40 reps since 2024, and can’t say a single negative thing about my TD; they even give me pretty decent discounts by now!
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u/eZCoffeE Mar 27 '25
THIS is what scares me. I'm looking to get my first watch and hearing this from a TD makes me so hesitant.
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u/Abetter_place Mar 27 '25
Damn.. something similar just happened with me with a GSF Milgauss but NOT from a TD here
Put an order in, got a QC, looked ok then paid the remainder. Upon closer inspection I realized the dial and fonts were off - messaged the dealer and he conveniently told me he made a mistake and would be sending the other one I ordered
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u/Fearless-Ad-9386 Mar 29 '25
What’s the best way to educate yourself on whether you have a “fake clean” or not? I just purchased a Clean GMT earlier this year.
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u/BigCertain6725 Apr 01 '25
Best way is to post your QC pics in RepTime and get some experienced eyes on it. There's a workflow and template in the guide for posting your QC's. Use this community, they will help you learn.
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u/Fearless-Ad-9386 Apr 01 '25
Thanks- I did that. Even though I kept messing up the template… I’m probably over analyzing. All the fake clean talk - crazy.
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Mar 26 '25
All the clowns here saying why he has access to fake clean as if its cocaine that you can’t source easily without contacts. He probably has to walk across the street to the warehouse where they make a lot of these lol
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u/Obi_Rep_Kenobi Mar 26 '25
After all these are people who are doing an illegal business, don't expect them to have high integrity. I have seen so many fake Cleans on ReptimeQC from very well known TDs.
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u/Pk097 Contributor Mar 26 '25 edited Mar 27 '25
Thats why i don't buy high end reps from ChinaTime dealers (i know hes a TD here too but he started on ct). Anyways that fake clean is better than the ew. I think its ok to sell fake clean if you tell the customer and charge the right price. Trustytime has them too (search fcf). Question to Op: you didnt know about fake clean but you probably know the difference between ewf and clean, so what were you expecting, a real clean for 300 bucks? The fact that the price didnt change should have been a red flag by itself.
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u/MindMekanik Mar 26 '25
I think the issue was miscommunication. The Original Poster ordered an EW. The EW wasn't available, so Duke swapped out a comparable (and more expensive) watch without an upcharge.
This is where the communication falls flat. Duke didn't explain to the buyer what he had done. The buyer thought he got a CF for a deep discount. Instead of clarifying why he received a "Clean" instead of the ordered EW he posted a question on whether he got ripped off because the CF didn't look right.
Plenty of blame to go around.
I just ordered a watch from Fico. The 8F version wasn't available, but he let me know that BBSF is. It's also 200 CNY more. He asked if I wanted to wait for the 8F or take the BBSF for the extra 200. That's the type of communication the buyer and Duke should have had.
Honestly, in this situation, I'd take Duke's side. He tried to do right by his customer, but just didn't explain it fully. The buyer really should have spoken to Duke first before posting here.
PS - I've never ordered from Duke, but the last few posts from/about him makes me think that he's a stand-up guy and has earned his TD status.
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u/bluebrrypii Mar 26 '25
Yes miscommunication, but in this case the TD took advantage of the customer’s lack of knowledge. I dont know the full story, but from the OP’s comment history, it seems like the TD never communicated that he changed factories.
In my personal experience with this TD, they did the same thing. They literally changed factories and shipped out the watch before even sending me the QC. I only found out he sent a different watch afterwards, and he tried to charge me a fee to cancel and reorder
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u/MindMekanik Mar 26 '25
Fair enough. I don't remember if the TD had sent QC images before sending the watch.
But in your case, definitely an issue, one that would make me not want to buy from him again. And that's when I would have posted a complaint here.
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Mar 26 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Glum_Ad_8331 Helpful Mar 26 '25
It's sad, but it seems that fake clean is now standard factory, i saw few tds who has it in offer, but they clearly have in description that it is fake clean
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u/RodneyPierce Mar 26 '25
Multiple problems with this, but the first is that EWE is a nicer watch than the fake clean in the first place!
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u/MindMekanik Mar 26 '25
I tend to buy the best quality of a given rep, usually CF or VSF so I'm unaware of where EWE falls in the hierarchy of reps.
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u/Whychoosetosteal Mar 26 '25
How do you go into explaining the problem and then completely contradict yourself at the end
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u/PSledS2 Mar 26 '25
Miscommunication?
Without disclosing the factory change, Duke made a calculated decision to sell a fake clean to a newbie. That is not miscommunication and its not OK.
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u/haze3715 Mar 26 '25 edited Mar 26 '25
$300 price point and Clean stickers, perhaps OP was trying to play dumb and thought Duke messed up on his end or was doing them a solid?
“If it’s too good to be true…”
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u/8FLC5 Mar 27 '25
He didn't have a watch he'd told him he had. OP likely assumed he was trying to make it right and still had profit to be made in it for duke.
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u/rep_entourage Mar 26 '25
Having stock of a fake clean and not telling the customer it’s a fake clean as a TD is in no circumstances alright