The Accutron Place Marcus Martin Accutron214.com RIP-OFF by The Accutron Place & Marcus of accutron214.com, almost, BUT,Thank God,We Got A 2nd Opinion ! Marblehead Massachusetts

Martin Marcus at Accutron214.com has been and continues to be a very helpful person of integrity who prides himself on the quality of his work at a fair price!

I believe this report is 100% "pure fiction" and I don't doubt Martin for a second when he thinks "Old Father Time" is most likely behind this in some way because when I was first looking for someone to service the first Accutron I ever bought years ago I contacted "Old Father Time" and asked if they could service my Accutron and replace a few of the movement parts with the NOS Bulova factory parts that were still sealed that I had bought while looking for the right first Accutron to buy, Old Father Time's repliy was rude and chastiving as they said "We don't do piecemeal work, WE ARE PROFESSIONAL WATCH MAKERS, We will only use our inhouse parts if parts are needed and at our set prices!

Those "set prices" turn out to be at a 200% to 300% markup of the going rate a person could locate the same Bulova factory watch parts for! The very next day is when I decided if I'm going to start collecting Accutron watches I was going to learn how to work on them my self, And I did!

Back then Martin Marcus didn't know me from a hole in the wall and to this day he still doesn't but I use to e-mail him quite often and ask him to look at an Accutron 214 that I was thinking about buying and even though he is a VERY BUSY man he would always get back to me quickly and explain to me why I should or shouldn't buy whatever watch I was thinking about buying at the time and he always did so in a friendly, honest, and noncondensing fashion and god bless him for that! I learned a lot about Accutron 214 from Martin and I can't and don't believe a single word of this so-called "Rip-Off Attempt"! It's clearly an attempt at a "hatchet job" on Mr Marcus and anyone who reads it should disregard every word of it!    

Intersting feedback on The Accutraon Place. I've had a few Spaceview watches repaired by Martin and I was very happy with the results - happy with the process to request the repair, the quality of the repair, and the price. I felt he was a very organized person. He kept me informed every step of the way. I have 10 of these watches - one for each year of the 1960's. The only watches in the collection that have exactly the correct time over a long period are the watches serviced by Martin. The only thing I am disappointed in with him is that (after having a few wathes repaired and referring others to his serice) he refused a recent request for repair. He said he is too busy. I also belive he will not work on EBay watches. THat said, I'm glad business is so good for him. While I am dissapointed be refused to work on a recent request of mine, I thought I'd do the the right thing and point out that i disagree with the original complaint. His work is excelt.

Joe

These photos show that Jeffrey added a $15 item to his invoice, increasing the total from $485 to $500. I apologize for missing that detail in my original rebuttle.

These photos are additional documentation

 Pardon my late response to this attack; I only became aware of it this week.

The author of this anonymous report claims that I tried to charge a ridiculous amount for repairs and she states that I received a $200 non-refundable deposit. Those claims and all that followed are an absolute fiction.

The average cost of my repairs is $350 to $450 and I only require a $50 deposit which covers inspection and insured return shipping. I regularly sell fully restored Accutrons for as little as $950 with a 2 year guaranty and any claim that I charge 50% more for a repair than I do for a totally restored Spaceview is profoundly stupid, to put it kindly.

It’s clear to me that Greta of Bolivia, NC is only a surrogate who filed the report on behalf of Old Father Time, the shop in Virginia. They concocted quite a commercial at my expense, but try as I might, I can’t understand why they would be so foolish as to accuse me of doing something that they are notoriously famous for. Perhaps they thought that I would publish the information below and in a panic, used this tactic to discredit me. I had no such intension, but since I can’t possibly defend myself against “Greta”, who I have never heard of prior to this event, I have no choice other than to defend myself against OFT.

I have several of OFT’s documents in my possession. They were sent to me by 214 owners who were shocked at OFT’s prices. The most recent is a 2 page Service order dated 8/8/12 that was sent to me by a very worried guy from Grandville, MI. His repair according to the Service Order he received would cost him $1,815.91. After many pointless phone calls to OFT, he not only cancelled the repair, but he had them ship the watch directly to me. I still have the FedEx shipping label dated 8/23/12 in my files and I have the emails that passed between me and the incredibly relieved owner. The watch was in pretty bad shape when I received it, but the owner was quite happy with my $485 repair. I’ll try to upload photos with this report, but if I’m not successful, please email me. The email address can be found on my web site.

These are just a few of the items on the above document:
Their basic service charge was $346.50 plus an additional $65 for the hack spring adjustment. My basic service charge is $225 total for hacked 214’s.

Their charge for a coil assembly is $485 and their 6 month repair guaranty doesn’t cover coils.  My coils are priced at $175 and all parts replaced by me are included in my 1 year service guaranty or my 2 year restoration guaranty.

I love this one; they charged $17.50 for a screw. I don’t charge for screws.

The above statements are backed up with documentation which I will make available on request.

The attack narrative goes on and on for 10 paragraphs in which they make a great deal of the fact that I work out of my home. While true, it’s a distinction without a difference. How many brick and mortar repairers have a complete machine shop that can make its own customized repair tools and fixtures? (photos are on my web site)

Regarding the use of e-mails for all correspondence, I never get up from my microscope to answer the phone which rings constantly, even on weekends. Most of the callers are well meaning folks who are just looking for information that can easily be found on my web site. Unlike phone calls, an e-mail can transmit photographs and I take detailed photos of every watch as a regular part of my inspection. The pics are a really big advantage when there’s a question that would be hard to explain verbally or in print.

And finally, lacking any restraint, the attacker described my repair process as Gestapo-like. Seriously?

 Through many revisions over the last 16 years, I have developed an efficient repair procedure which has served my customers well. It's a process that allows me to spend as much time as necessary on each repair and guarantees quality work at fixed published prices.

It seems to me that the best way to debunk fictional statements is to examine them under a bright light. To that end I am publishing the six relevant e-mails that I have been sending to potential customers for years. They document the process from beginning to end. Please view them at accutron214.com/Introduction.htm and judge for yourself.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,
Martin Marcus

On 4/8/14 Barbara Williams of Old Father Time sent me an e-mail in which she wrote, and I quote her exact words: “I have no customer named Gretta, and have never had a single customer in Bolivia, NC.“

This lady who has been characterizing me and other internet based Accutron repairers as “hobbyists” for years, also denied that she posted the lies, but I remain unconvinced. The word “hobbyist” as used by her on her web site is intended to warn my potential customers not to do business with me and that’s a hostile act.

I could have responded by accurately derided her as a “shopkeeper who knows nothing about repairing Accutrons" on my web site, but I avoided that right up until this ugly business happened, because I didn’t want to offend every honest shopkeeper who saw it and the fact that she doesn’t see it that way says something about who she is and what she might be capable of.

Martin Marcus
The Accutron Place