20/08/2026
⚠️ WARNING TO FELLOW WATCH DEALERS: THIRD-PARTY / MIDDLEMAN SCAM ATTEMPT
Abigai Santos / John Jimmy Valencia
I want to share what happened to me recently so fellow watch dealers can be extra careful when dealing with buyers through Facebook Marketplace.
The buyer contacted me directly through Facebook Marketplace and we agreed on a price for the watch. I had the watch authenticated before proceeding with the transaction.
We then arranged a meetup. The buyer told me that his "representatives" would meet me first to inspect the watch, and that once they gave him the go-signal, he would proceed with the payment.
I initially felt safe because I was never going to release the watch without receiving and verifying the payment. From my perspective, there was no way for them to get the watch without paying me.
I went to the agreed meetup location and met these supposed representatives. They inspected the watch as instructed.
It was only during the meetup that we realized something was seriously wrong.
The people I was meeting were apparently the actual buyers, not simply representatives of the person I had been dealing with. The arrangement appeared to be that these people would pay John, while John would then supposedly pay me.
This is where the danger became clear.
If the actual buyers had paid John and John disappeared, they could have been left believing that I was involved with him or that I had knowingly participated in the transaction. At the same time, I would have had no payment and no idea where their money went.
Thankfully, we were able to identify the issue before the watch was released and before any payment was made.
What made this situation especially convincing to me was that I genuinely thought he was a good and legitimate buyer. He was very easy to talk to, our conversations felt natural, and he even mentioned that he attended my high school. We discovered that we had some mutual connections, which naturally made me feel more comfortable dealing with him.
He also spoke Hokkien/Chinese, which further made me feel that he was someone I could trust and that the transaction was legitimate.
Looking back, those things made the transaction feel much more genuine, but they obviously should not be treated as proof that someone is legitimate.
To my fellow dealers and collectors, please be extremely careful when:
• The person you're talking to online is not the person attending the meetup
• A buyer sends "representatives" or third parties to inspect the watch
• Payment is supposed to pass through another person
• The actual buyer and seller are not directly communicating with each other
• Someone asks you to release the watch based on a payment or confirmation from a third party
Always verify who you're actually dealing with, who is actually paying you, and where the money is coming from. Do not release the watch until the payment is directly verified.
I'm posting this as a warning to the community and will tag the fellow dealers who were involved in uncovering this situation so others can be aware of this method.
Please share this with fellow watch dealers. These scams can easily create a situation where both the seller and the legitimate buyer become victims.
Stay safe, everyone. 🙏
