FAQ Buying watches online

[bing]

hi,

thanx for the feedback, would go to US, transit via london.. any bros can share his experience there?

[Hary]

FAQ Buying watches online

Last night during my kopi session with Triton, Kenny and James, we shared our experiences buying watches online. I thought, it's good idea to compile some advices to prevent negative experience. Hope it's helpful to the watch community here and feel free to add if you have additional advices.

Q1: How trustworthy is my seller?
A1: “Buy the seller, don’t buy the watch”. Don’t get too excited if you see a very good deal. It’s worth to do a proper check. Depending on your source:

• Ebay: check the seller’s rating. Even the seller has many positive ratings, check the items that he/she has sold. Seller can have many positive ratings by selling cheap stuffs, but if he/she never sell expensive watches, be careful.

• Watch forums: check the historical postings of the seller, ask for referral, check the seller’s reputation in the forums

• Online shop: check the shop’s reputation in the watch forums.

Q2: I checked the seller status, but not much information I could get from forums and I really like his item and he sounds honest. Can I trust him?
A2: The German has saying: “Vertrauen ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser” = it’s ok to trust, but do verify. Few tricks to ensure you are dealing with honest seller:

• Ask for seller location/address. Once you get it, tell him you have a friend living in that area and whether your friend could deal face to face with him. If you sense he’s hesitant, be careful.

• Ask the seller to post the picture of the watch with today newspaper. This is to ensure he really posses the item, not using someone else pictures

• Ask for the seller’s telephone number. Give him a call to ask any questions about the watch. From your conversation if can have better feeling about the seller.

Q3: I checked the seller status, everything is ok. Can I be sure the watch is genuine?
A3: No, nothing is 100%. The seller may be honest, but he may have bought the watch from other sources before. Ask the seller whether he’s the first hand owner and where did he get it. Once you received the watch, bring it for verification at the official service centre. It’s advisable to tell the seller, you are going to bring the watch for verification and agree beforehand with him, in case the verification fails, you reserve the right to return the watch and get refund.

Q4: My seller is annoyed that I ask so many questions. Should I just trust him?
A4: If the seller is not reputable, and annoyed if you ask questions, find another seller. No matter how rare the watch is and how good the deal is, one day you will come across similar item again. It’s better to be careful than losing your money.

Q5: I want to avoid paying high shipping costs. Should I ask the seller to use normal post?
A5: If you can afford buying expensive watches, don’t save on shipping. It’s an important step to ensure the watch arrives safely. Opt for reputable freight forwarder (Fedex, DHL, UPS, etc). EMS is also fine, but the tracking is not as sophisticated as the above mentioned forwarder. Also opt for insurance, it gives you piece of mind. Fedex, DHL, UPS etc cannot guarantee you for 100% safety. They must have reason not to accept watches/jewelries as part of their insurance claim. Instead of labeling it as “watch’, ask the seller to write ‘horological equipment”. The word ‘watch’ would attract attention.

Q6: I want to avoid paying GST. Any tricks?
A6: There are few common tricks, such as the seller to declare low value, label it as watch returned for/from servicing, etc. However, I don’t recommend these methods. Custom is not stupid; they could/would challenge you if the descriptions of the items don’t fit their view. It would end up more trouble for you and still have to pay GST.

Conclusion: for only purchase, caveat emptor is the first rule to be applied. If the price difference is not much and you can get the item locally, then better save the hassles of online purchase. Buy and support local

[triton]

another reason why you should consider carefully when purchasing online is that you can never be too sure if the watch is genuine or not.

my rule. never buy online for a watch which cost you more than SGD1000. i rather feel the watch, examine the watch. the savings of 500 which could lead you to be 6000 poorer.

some of you would have heard me saying this, it takes me about 2 months to buy a watch. why? this is to allow me time to see if i really like the watch or not. in the meantime, it also allows me to do research to compare prices. usually, i dont see more than 500 savings.

also note that, when a deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

[abbm]

Buying online recommended?

I'm looking for a submariner. I think it's a good choice, I've tried a few on and really like them.

I was thinking about buying online from this site (link at the bottom) but wanted to know if anyone has heard of the buyer (hobbylink) before.

If this is'nt the best place does anyone know other good online retailers on Singapore? I find I'm so busy at work it's a lot easier to purchase online somethings.

http://www.cannla.com/Auctions/Jewel...-V-Series.html

[Darkangel]

No problems with Watch link. But always be cautious when you are shopping online. You can actually buy from our garage No problems

[abbm]

thanks for the vote on the seller . i will check out your garage too. ta

[tomcatf]

Why Online? Go to Hobbylink at Far East Plaza isn't much better? You can check on site the condition until you are happy and satisfied before part with your money.

[Daytonalover]

Ya, i agree...Or if u choose to buy it from the forumers here...Can meet up with them to check the condition of the watch...Good luck!

[SamGMT]

I have no issue, purchased from member here before...meet up and check the condition of the watch...to be 101% sure go to RSC for verification, since I’m paying 6K to 7k, paying another $75 for verification why not, it’s just 1% of the purchase price.

[jazz_samz]

TS, while I too acredit that Hobbylink is reliable like most atest to that, u should still exercise due diligence by contacting hobbylink and ask Sam if this is a site he used to market his watches before u part with yr cash.
In the cyberworld today, u can never be too sure as there maybe imposters and they try to take advantage of a successful merchant's or business' creditability.

[tomcatf]

With rising of IT crimes, we can't be sure about the correct identity of any websites, while you thought you are buying or trading with "A" company, but the actual transaction are going to B company's account, any problem that surface with the worse case scenario that goods not received, "A" company has the legal advantage over you in denying your claim, hence, before you exercise any options or clicking on the buy buttom.... think twice.

Just to share experience, last week, my rapidshare account was hijacked by someone without me knowing, which I thought I was downloading something from rapidshare server that need me to re-verify my login name and password... Just imagine if that is my online bank account or paypal....

[Darkangel]

With rising of IT crimes, we can't be sure about the correct identity of any websites, while you thought you are buying or trading with "A" company, but the actual transaction are going to B company's account, any problem that surface with the worse case scenario that goods not received, "A" company has the legal advantage over you in denying your claim, hence, before you exercise any options or clicking on the buy buttom.... think twice.

Just to share experience, last week, my rapidshare account was hijacked by someone without me knowing, which I thought I was downloading something from rapidshare server that need me to re-verify my login name and password... Just imagine if that is my online bank account or paypal....

Rapid share....hmmm...unlimited downloads and faster downloads for videos?

[tomcatf]

Rapid share....hmmm...unlimited downloads and faster downloads for videos?

He he... Darkie, you know I know.... there some Robinhood out there and many poor guys like me....

[prawny]

Buying Watch at Overseas?

Hi,i am wandering buying watch at overseas worth it?let say i bought one at the overseas AO at a 10% discount and claim tax rebate,possible??

[Muachee]

Yes. Is possible. You need to do some legwork to find out worth or not worth..