Bait & Switched by SEA WAVE DIAMONDS NYC -- What would you do?

[1William]

Good deal. Keep us posted.

[Humble michael]

Don’t believe a word of it . Sadly. Just get a refund ! Wish you the best

[Dr.Stu]

Is there any follow-up on this? I was in Sea Wave Diamonds a few days ago looking at a piece & would like to know what the final outcome was.

It seems like going with highly trusted sellers on here is the most reliable & least stressful way to go. I haven't had a bad experience with any of the TS on this site & whenever I do consider expanding my shopping options stories like this come up.

[GGGMT]

Did you even check the reviews on these guys before you did business with them? Buyer beware.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[huncho]

Originally Posted by GGGMT

Did you even check the reviews on these guys before you did business with them? Buyer beware.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

they have a 4.9/5 with 200+ reviews on google so there's no reason to shame the OP here. not like it's some random nobodies, it's a legit jeweler in the diamond district

[tekno]

So what happened?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GGGMT]

Originally Posted by huncho

they have a 4.9/5 with 200+ reviews on google so there's no reason to shame the OP here. not like it's some random nobodies, it's a legit jeweler in the diamond district

Who’s talking about Google? For a $40,000 watch, seems like a diligent buyer would probe at least some Sophisticated watch sites, like “who’s who” here. And doing that, I noticed like 3 people here asking whether anybody who has dealt with the seller, and no responses; one noting that the seller seems to use different names, and most importantly one positive review from 18 months ago. Would you buy a $40k watch on that record? That’s insufficient in my view regardless of hundreds of Google reviews for a seller that sells all sorts of stuff, other than watches, including jewelry and diamonds.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[huncho]

Originally Posted by GGGMT

Who’s talking about Google? For a $40,000 watch, seems like a diligent buyer would probe at least some Sophisticated watch sites, like “who’s who” here. And doing that, I noticed like 3 people here asking whether anybody who has dealt with the seller, and no responses; one noting that the seller seems to use different names, and most importantly one positive review from 18 months ago. Would you buy a $40k watch on that record? That’s insufficient in my view regardless of hundreds of Google reviews for a seller that sells all sorts of stuff, other than watches, including jewelry and diamonds.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

the who's who here doesn't have anything about a lot of big/well known greys/jewelers with store fronts and massive social media presences (crm jewelers, TPT, avi & co, etc). it's a great place to start but it's mostly full of threads about trusted sellers or users on this site

you're right though - would i have bought a watch that expensive from these guys? i don't think so, especially if i'm on the other side of the country. if i'm doing something online it's strictly with the few sellers here that have massive amounts of feedback and ones that everyone loves. with the diamond district you gotta do business in person imo. but still don't think OP is to blame here, they're a legit shop at the end of the day and even then he did get a good price on a watch that's in good shape (just unfortunate the way it happened)

anyway, also curious to know how this all ended

[TMore9]

Originally Posted by tekno

So what happened?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It turned into a whole argument, and they weren't willing to accept responsibility. They agreed the piece sold was not the one advertised on Chrono24, but didn't offer much beyond that.

I dropped the watch off w/ Edvi & Beau at LA Watch Works. They checked everything and told me the watch checks out. They quoted me what it would cost for a full refinish, including laser welding the little ding at the 1 o clock area of the bracelet.

Now I argued and fought as hard as I could with Xenon (Manager/Sales Person) and Alex (Owner of SEA Wave). Alex was a total POS. Arguing and not willing to hear that they bait and switched me and sold me a piece that wasn't new. He kept insisting that the price I paid was well below market value even for a used piece.

I kept threatening legal action and Alex asked me what LA Watch Works wanted for the repair. I quoted high because at this point I shouldn't even have to accept the watch. They argued and wanted to negotiate on that.

I guess Alex felt like I wasn't worth his time and just left the phone call, and I was left with Xenon again who wasn't authorized to do anything.

I then unfortunately lost my temper and started yelling at Xenon... told him to refund me for the watch and send me a label to send it back immediately or he will hear from my lawyer. He says he's going to go back to Alex and see what they can do. Hangs up. Next thing I know I get an email from Xenon and they sent me the money LA Watch Works asked for a full refinish of the piece.

I go back to LA Watch Works and Edvi tells me that Beau says I shouldn't refinish the whole piece. There are no scratches or signs of wear on any area of the watch except for that one little ding. He says he can laser weld that one area and clean up the screws/case for a fraction of the cost of a full refinishing. I'll have the watch back in 2-3 weeks and post pictures here.

All to say, I learned my lesson dealing with SEA Wave. They aren't an honest store. They did bait and switch me. But as far as scams go I think I walked away pretty lucky. The watch is authentic, even with the minor repair by Beau, I walk away having paid below market. Once I get it back, I'll wear it and scratch it up some more and forget about the morons running SEA Wave.

If you're unfortunate enough to deal with them and their shady business practices, don't believe a single thing they say. They are LIARS through and through. They'll make up anything to sell you a watch.

Buyer beware.

Originally Posted by Dr.Stu

Is there any follow-up on this? I was in Sea Wave Diamonds a few days ago looking at a piece & would like to know what the final outcome was.

It seems like going with highly trusted sellers on here is the most reliable & least stressful way to go. I haven't had a bad experience with any of the TS on this site & whenever I do consider expanding my shopping options stories like this come up.

Please please please do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy from them.

Originally Posted by huncho

they have a 4.9/5 with 200+ reviews on google so there's no reason to shame the OP here. not like it's some random nobodies, it's a legit jeweler in the diamond district

The reviews are what gave me confidence and I was so wrong to believe them.

Till now I've only ever bought watches from either the AD or through trusted sellers on TRF. This is the first time I deviated and learned a harsh lesson.

[huncho]

Originally Posted by TMore9

It turned into a whole argument, and they weren't willing to accept responsibility. They agreed the piece sold was not the one advertised on Chrono24, but didn't offer much beyond that.

I dropped the watch off w/ Edvi & Beau at LA Watch Works. They checked everything and told me the watch checks out. They quoted me what it would cost for a full refinish, including laser welding the little ding at the 1 o clock area of the bracelet.

Now I argued and fought as hard as I could with Xenon (Manager/Sales Person) and Alex (Owner of SEA Wave). Alex was a total POS. Arguing and not willing to hear that they bait and switched me and sold me a piece that wasn't new. He kept insisting that the price I paid was well below market value even for a used piece.

I kept threatening legal action and Alex asked me what LA Watch Works wanted for the repair. I quoted high because at this point I shouldn't even have to accept the watch. They argued and wanted to negotiate on that.

I guess Alex felt like I wasn't worth his time and just left the phone call, and I was left with Xenon again who wasn't authorized to do anything.

I then unfortunately lost my temper and started yelling at Xenon... told him to refund me for the watch and send me a label to send it back immediately or he will hear from my lawyer. He says he's going to go back to Alex and see what they can do. Hangs up. Next thing I know I get an email from Xenon and they sent me the money LA Watch Works asked for a full refinish of the piece.

I go back to LA Watch Works and Edvi tells me that Beau says I shouldn't refinish the whole piece. There are no scratches or signs of wear on any area of the watch except for that one little ding. He says he can laser weld that one area and clean up the screws/case for a fraction of the cost of a full refinishing. I'll have the watch back in 2-3 weeks and post pictures here.

All to say, I learned my lesson dealing with SEA Wave. They aren't an honest store. They did bait and switch me. But as far as scams go I think I walked away pretty lucky. The watch is authentic, even with the minor repair by Beau, I walk away having paid below market. Once I get it back, I'll wear it and scratch it up some more and forget about the morons running SEA Wave.

If you're unfortunate enough to deal with them and their shady business practices, don't believe a single thing they say. They are LIARS through and through. They'll make up anything to sell you a watch.

Buyer beware.



Please please please do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy from them.



The reviews are what gave me confidence and I was so wrong to believe them.

Till now I've only ever bought watches from either the AD or through trusted sellers on TRF. This is the first time I deviated and learned a harsh lesson.

i think it's a good idea you decided not to polish the entire watch and just fix the small ding. unfortunate situation all around but i guess it could be way worse. at the end of the day you got a good watch at a good price so don't beat yourself up over this

make sure to leave them a bad google review though, stores really do care about those and it'll ruin their day. really surprised they fought that hard to not refund tbh, that kinda behavior only comes from the worst of the worst stores

[TMore9]

Originally Posted by huncho

i think it's a good idea you decided not to polish the entire watch and just fix the small ding. unfortunate situation all around but i guess it could be way worse. at the end of the day you got a good watch at a good price so don't beat yourself up over this

make sure to leave them a bad google review though, stores really do care about those and it'll ruin their day. really surprised they fought that hard to not refund tbh, that kinda behavior only comes from the worst of the worst stores

That's what I'm focusing on here. Despite having to deal with them and all the nonsense, I got the watch I wanted below the price I wanted.

I will 100% write a bad review. I'm just waiting to get my watch back all fixed up and will post on google and yelp.

During my discussions with them I must have mentioned at least 5 or 6 times that if they were a respectable business and there seemed to be issues with the watch instead of questioning my watch maker and their ability to assess damage, they should just take it back, refund my money and call it a day. But the fact that they refused and didn't immediately want to make it right was a huge red flag.

On top of that when things started getting a little ugly in our discussion, Xenon had the guts to say "I have been responsive, I haven't gone dark, I answer every text message and phone call. I could just ignore you and you wouldn't be able to do anything". Which goes to show their character. The only pro there is if they did that, they have an actual storefront that I could show up to and call law enforcement.

[fozzyf18]

What an awful experience and I can sympathize, but I'm glad that it ended in the best possible outcome despite all of the hassle.

This reminds me of my first car-buying experience when I was young and green, a used 1989 Ford Mustang GT that I bought from Hackensack Ford in NJ. The car's electrical system had been hacked to pieces when an aftermarket alarm and stereo installer must have used a dull butterknife as a primary tool. No catalytic converters which made passing an emissions test to register the vehicle quite challenging. Not something I was knowledgeable enough at the time to recognize when I was buying the car.

I bought the car in NJ and traveled back to MD, and when I called them about the lack of catalytic converters, they wouldn't accept responsibility. This was in the mid-90s, so well before stealing catalytic converters was a popular source of income. Of course I wanted them to take the car back and they refused. I threatened legal action and they doubled-down. I was stuck, out of options, and ended up paying to have a new exhaust system installed.

It was a painful and expensive life lesson for me and although it left me very jaded, it certainly made me a much better consumer after that experience. When an unsavory business has your money and you have their product, they will not willingly give back the funds and take their product back.

To this day, I keep the bill of sale and remember the salesman's name in the ridiculously off chance that I ever run into him again. Bottom line, I know what you went through and I'm sure that the experience was stressful and unpleasant, but thank you for sharing it with the community.

[TMore9]

Originally Posted by fozzyf18

What an awful experience and I can sympathize, but I'm glad that it ended in the best possible outcome despite all of the hassle.

This reminds me of my first car-buying experience when I was young and green, a used 1989 Ford Mustang GT that I bought from Hackensack Ford in NJ. The car's electrical system had been hacked to pieces when an aftermarket alarm and stereo installer must have used a dull butterknife as a primary tool. No catalytic converters which made passing an emissions test to register the vehicle quite challenging. Not something I was knowledgeable enough at the time to recognize when I was buying the car.

I bought the car in NJ and traveled back to MD, and when I called them about the lack of catalytic converters, they wouldn't accept responsibility. This was in the mid-90s, so well before stealing catalytic converters was a popular source of income. Of course I wanted them to take the car back and they refused. I threatened legal action and they doubled-down. I was stuck, out of options, and ended up paying to have a new exhaust system installed.

It was a painful and expensive life lesson for me and although it left me very jaded, it certainly made me a much better consumer after that experience. When an unsavory business has your money and you have their product, they will not willingly give back the funds and take their product back.

To this day, I keep the bill of sale and remember the salesman's name in the ridiculously off chance that I ever run into him again. Bottom line, I know what you went through and I'm sure that the experience was stressful and unpleasant, but thank you for sharing it with the community.

I feel your pain. Huge car guy myself and I've (luckily only) almost gotten myself into awful financial situations over fun cars.

This will stand as a life lesson. I appreciate your comment and sharing my pain. I've definitely felt very stupid over the last week and am glad that this is over.

Also a huge thanks to this community, I don't know how much it impacted the way they handled things, but at the time Xenon did seem to get a little spooked/thrown off by this thread and the responses by the community.

[offrdmania]

Most of those NY shops never have the watches they advertise in stock, they source them when an order comes in.

[TMore9]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

Most of those NY shops never have the watches they advertise in stock, they source them when an order comes in.

That's what these guys are doing. They don't have the new watch that's listed on Chrono24. I didn't (naively) know this was even a thing. But glad I do now.

Had my BIL call the store asking about the Chrono24 listing and they told him they could get a new one within 24 hours. But the Chrono24 listing is still up. They use it to bait customers.

[PRSWILL]

Well this is a bummer of a story- but seriously for the expense of that watch, WHY wouldn't you fly to New York and put your hands on it? Doing a sale of this size it would seem like good insurance.

[Law52]

Any dealing with the 47st scam bags is a shot in the dark at most. My last dealings with one of them showed their complete incompetents.

[GGGMT]

Originally Posted by PRSWILL

Well this is a bummer of a story- but seriously for the expense of that watch, WHY wouldn't you fly to New York and put your hands on it? Doing a sale of this size it would seem like good insurance.

Exactly. Or just buy from a proven reputable seller.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BillA]

Typical 47th Street. These guys are slime. Have you ever watched their youtube videos.
After you leave the store you need to take a shower to get the slime off.

[ATHOS]

Hello Tushar,
Xenon here from Sea Wave. Seeing this i am very surprised!. I work as a salesperson and take full responsibility for the fact upon agreeing to sell you the watch, I was unaware the watch had scratches prior to shipping. To be clear, Emanuel quoted you correctly when you spoke to him initially. The company should not take the blame for this as it was my error. I am new to the company and as mentioned did not see the watch had some markings. On the Contrary to your statements above. We reimbursed you $1500 generously based on the fact there was slight ,scratches, and you said in good faith you would not review us as we settled on the fact. Our company has an outstanding record of customer service. I say this so the other viewers understand the situation in full.

[omar10213245]

Originally Posted by ATHOS

Hello Tushar,
Xenon here from Sea Wave. Seeing this i am very surprised!. I work as a salesperson and take full responsibility for the fact upon agreeing to sell you the watch, I was unaware the watch had scratches prior to shipping. To be clear, Emanuel quoted you correctly when you spoke to him initially. The company should not take the blame for this as it was my error. I am new to the company and as mentioned did not see the watch had some markings. On the Contrary to your statements above. We reimbursed you $1500 generously based on the fact there was slight ,scratches, and you said in good faith you would not review us as we settled on the fact. Our company has an outstanding record of customer service. I say this so the other viewers understand the situation in full.

[TMore9]

Originally Posted by ATHOS

Hello Tushar,
Xenon here from Sea Wave. Seeing this i am very surprised!. I work as a salesperson and take full responsibility for the fact upon agreeing to sell you the watch, I was unaware the watch had scratches prior to shipping. To be clear, Emanuel quoted you correctly when you spoke to him initially. The company should not take the blame for this as it was my error. I am new to the company and as mentioned did not see the watch had some markings. On the Contrary to your statements above. We reimbursed you $1500 generously based on the fact there was slight ,scratches, and you said in good faith you would not review us as we settled on the fact. Our company has an outstanding record of customer service. I say this so the other viewers understand the situation in full.

Ah yes, the same Xenon who insisted this was the same brand new watch from Chrono24... Same old lies...

Xenon, maybe you didn't read clearly, I did clearly state that you refused to refund me the money for the watch and the best I could get out of you was the cost to refinish the watch. Which still was a negotiation from your end and had me pulling teeth to get you do to.

Regardless, STAY AWAY from them.

Got the watch back from LA Watch Works yesterday and it now looks brand new.

[bay_area_kid]

Sadly, this is common practice for 47th street dealers. The script usually goes like this:

1. Create a listing on Chrono24 on a brand new watch they most likely don't have in stock or the one they do have in stock have some flaws.
2. Get an inquiry about the "brand new" watch.
3. Salesperson's job is to nail down the sale ASAP. They will say absolutely anything to get the client to wire the money (repeatedly reassuring the watch is "brand new", "unworn", etc).

Once the money is wired, then the game begins! (yes, I really meant when I say "begins")

4(a). The actual watch is sourced from somewhere else (likely flawed as well) and that third party will ship directly to client, or
4(b). A similar watch with flaws is shipped from their inventory, they're essentially rolling the dice (or flipping a coin, as they're well known to do in TikTok videos) and crossing their fingers that the client will be fine with the flawed watch.
5. If client is newbie, they won't notice the watch is not as described and everyone goes home happy (ideal scenario for shady dealers -- sale is concluded, you can stop reading now).
6. If client notices the watch is not as advertised, they contact the salesperson. (This is where the actual negotiations begin!)

After that, the real negotiation is about what will make the client happy and keep the watch. Taking back the watch is a very, very, very last resort. 47th street dealers will usually start with offering $100-$200 as a form of apology for the "miscommunication". If the client still unhappy, 47th street dealers will then offer to fix the watch. If they're local, the client will leave the watch with them and they'll find various cheap ways to "fix" it. If the client is not local, then they'll either send out a label to ship the watch or they'll reach out to their network and hope there is someone closer to the client to "fix" the watch on their behalf.

If none of those options work, then the negotiations will go to reimbursements. And this will go back and forth even longer. The 47th street dealer will start with a low reimbursement amount. And it will be a long, drawn out process in hopes the client will get tired of it and accept the lower reimbursement. Every step of the way, the 47th street dealer will have an exhausting number of rationales on why that amount is very fair ("we're already losing money on this", "our guy can refinish the watch for only $$$ amount", "no way it costs $$$ amount to refinish, LA Watch Works is ripping you off", etc).

This whole negotiations back-and-forth will be where the salesperson truly earns their commission.

The manager/owner will be more than happy to let things play out and only get involved when the words "legal", "lawyer", or "cops" start to get mentioned.

[TMore9]

Originally Posted by bay_area_kid

Sadly, this is common practice for 47th street dealers. The script usually goes like this:

1. Create a listing on Chrono24 on a brand new watch they most likely don't have in stock or the one they do have in stock have some flaws.
2. Get an inquiry about the "brand new" watch.
3. Salesperson's job is to nail down the sale ASAP. They will say absolutely anything to get the client to wire the money (repeatedly reassuring the watch is "brand new", "unworn", etc).

Once the money is wired, then the game begins! (yes, I really meant when I say "begins")

4(a). The actual watch is sourced from somewhere else (likely flawed as well) and that third party will ship directly to client, or
4(b). A similar watch with flaws is shipped from their inventory, they're essentially rolling the dice (or flipping a coin, as they're well known to do in TikTok videos) and crossing their fingers that the client will be fine with the flawed watch.
5. If client is newbie, they won't notice the watch is not as described and everyone goes home happy (ideal scenario for shady dealers -- sale is concluded, you can stop reading now).
6. If client notices the watch is not as advertised, they contact the salesperson. (This is where the actual negotiations begin!)

After that, the real negotiation is about what will make the client happy and keep the watch. Taking back the watch is a very, very, very last resort. 47th street dealers will usually start with offering $100-$200 as a form of apology for the "miscommunication". If the client still unhappy, 47th street dealers will then offer to fix the watch. If they're local, the client will leave the watch with them and they'll find various cheap ways to "fix" it. If the client is not local, then they'll either send out a label to ship the watch or they'll reach out to their network and hope there is someone closer to the client to "fix" the watch on their behalf.

If none of those options work, then the negotiations will go to reimbursements. And this will go back and forth even longer. The 47th street dealer will start with a low reimbursement amount. And it will be a long, drawn out process in hopes the client will get tired of it and accept the lower reimbursement. Every step of the way, the 47th street dealer will have an exhausting number of rationales on why that amount is very fair ("we're already losing money on this", "our guy can refinish the watch for only $$$ amount", "no way it costs $$$ amount to refinish, LA Watch Works is ripping you off", etc).

This whole negotiations back-and-forth will be where the salesperson truly earns their commission.

The manager/owner will be more than happy to let things play out and only get involved when the words "legal", "lawyer", or "cops" start to get mentioned.

You hit the nail on the head. That’s exactly what happened in this scenario. Luckily the movement checked out and keeps great time and the damage was very minimal. Also grateful to LA Watch Works. They worked some magic on it and gave me back a brand new piece for a fraction of a full refinish.

[1William]

Originally Posted by bay_area_kid

Sadly, this is common practice for 47th street dealers. The script usually goes like this:

1. Create a listing on Chrono24 on a brand new watch they most likely don't have in stock or the one they do have in stock have some flaws.
2. Get an inquiry about the "brand new" watch.
3. Salesperson's job is to nail down the sale ASAP. They will say absolutely anything to get the client to wire the money (repeatedly reassuring the watch is "brand new", "unworn", etc).

Once the money is wired, then the game begins! (yes, I really meant when I say "begins")

4(a). The actual watch is sourced from somewhere else (likely flawed as well) and that third party will ship directly to client, or
4(b). A similar watch with flaws is shipped from their inventory, they're essentially rolling the dice (or flipping a coin, as they're well known to do in TikTok videos) and crossing their fingers that the client will be fine with the flawed watch.
5. If client is newbie, they won't notice the watch is not as described and everyone goes home happy (ideal scenario for shady dealers -- sale is concluded, you can stop reading now).
6. If client notices the watch is not as advertised, they contact the salesperson. (This is where the actual negotiations begin!)

After that, the real negotiation is about what will make the client happy and keep the watch. Taking back the watch is a very, very, very last resort. 47th street dealers will usually start with offering $100-$200 as a form of apology for the "miscommunication". If the client still unhappy, 47th street dealers will then offer to fix the watch. If they're local, the client will leave the watch with them and they'll find various cheap ways to "fix" it. If the client is not local, then they'll either send out a label to ship the watch or they'll reach out to their network and hope there is someone closer to the client to "fix" the watch on their behalf.

If none of those options work, then the negotiations will go to reimbursements. And this will go back and forth even longer. The 47th street dealer will start with a low reimbursement amount. And it will be a long, drawn out process in hopes the client will get tired of it and accept the lower reimbursement. Every step of the way, the 47th street dealer will have an exhausting number of rationales on why that amount is very fair ("we're already losing money on this", "our guy can refinish the watch for only $$$ amount", "no way it costs $$$ amount to refinish, LA Watch Works is ripping you off", etc).

This whole negotiations back-and-forth will be where the salesperson truly earns their commission.

The manager/owner will be more than happy to let things play out and only get involved when the words "legal", "lawyer", or "cops" start to get mentioned.

Great summary. This is the script.

[brandrea]

I wondered why this thread was still going … thank you for the update.