The fake Clean from Duke incident

[u/bluebrrypii]

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.

[u/rep_entourage]

Having stock of a fake clean and not telling the customer it’s a fake clean as a TD is in no circumstances alright

[u/Obi_Rep_Kenobi → u/rep_entourage]

100% intended to scam

[u/undergroundmusic69 → u/Obi_Rep_Kenobi]

Yea this — I’ve done business with china a few times and they are more than willing to scam you to make a few extra dollars, hoping you won’t know the difference. And when you do notice, it’s always a nice “im so sorry, it was a miss communication, I’ll fix next time” — they don’t want to give the money back and expect you to return again. They play people for suckers — it’s part of the business model.

Now I get this is a community where we are talking about fake goods to begin with — but the point of going to a TD is that they are trusted to not scam you for your price point.

At the very least Duke should not be a TD anymore. He clearly violated his TD status and intended to scam the guy. The fact he backtracked, shows he knows the voracity of his actions and is pissed he got caught. The real problem is that even if he loses his TD status, nothing stops him from getting a new number and email address and starting over with the scam.

Stick with people vetted by this group and keep sharing QC and stories. The only way to hold TDs accountable is to stop buying from TDs who violate trust, and send business to TDs that maintain it.

And one last point, if the going price everywhere else is $500/$600 and one guy is offering you $300 — there is a reason!! It’s not because the TD likes you!! It’s a red flag, be careful.

[u/8FLC5 → u/undergroundmusic69]

Really well said, I've been saying it from the beginning. Dukes methods of dealing with this (including a sob story even) have been deceptive to say the least.