A luxury watch is a great status symbol: it’s functional and can hold its value – or even appreciate – over time. That’s something that’s hard to say about other luxury items you can wear. The downside is that a fine, Swiss-made watch is usually quite expensive. But luxury watches don’t have to cost an arm and a leg if you know how to shop for them. You can save a fair amount of money by going to the cheapest retailer, but you need to know the risks involved. I’ll take a look at some of the popular ways to buy luxury watches and highlight the good and bad for each method.
Authorized Retailers
This is the most expensive route when buying a luxury watch. Most local jewelry stores that sell the brand you’re looking for will be an authorized dealer. Be sure and look for the sign announcing this. Going to an authorized dealer near you not only allows you to see the merchandise up close, it usually means that there will be a full manufacturer’s warranty and some method of recourse should you need to return the watch or have it serviced.
An authorized retailer doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get a luxury watch for less. There are plenty of authorized dealers for many brands on the Internet, so you might be able to identify what you want and get it from one of these retailers.
Most high-end luxury watch brands like Rolex, Omega, Ebel, etc. will insist that there are no authorized dealers who sell their watches online; you simply must visit a store. If a real manufacturer’s warranty is important to you with one of these brands, you will likely have to pay top dollar at a brick-and-mortar shop.
The Grey Market
You may have heard the term “grey market” before. It’s not an illegal “black market,” but rather a method of importing goods legally that is not supported by the manufacturer. That means you won’t likely get a factory warranty, but you will get a luxury watch for significantly less than through your local store.
The grey market path encompasses a wide variety of options, some less risky than others. Some of the reliable grey market retailers like Overstock.com, Ashford.com, Jomashop have numerous satisfied customers. Their luxury watches are authentic, have intact serial numbers and are much less expensive than authorized dealers. The warranties they offer, however, are provided by themselves, not the manufacturer. Still, many customers are comfortable with these retailers’ warranties and feel the savings more than make up for the chance they are taking. Keep an eye out for discounts on Overstock.com. They often have 10-20%-off sales on watches to reduce the cost even further.
Note that most of these retailers do not have the latest styles. In fact, the luxury watches cost less because they are often discontinued models – brand new, but discontinued. There are also brands that just are not wholesaled, so they never show up on sites like these. If you want a cheap Rolex, for instance, you won’t find it here. With arguably more prestigious luxury watch brands such as Vacheron Constantin, Girard-Perregaux, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Ulysse Nardin on offer, you may not really care.
eBay – New
Mention that you bought a luxury watch for a lot less on eBay and many people will look at you like you’re a giant sucker. We’ve all heard the story about fakes, and that is something to be concerned with. I would steer clear of the big luxury names on eBay – Rolex, Omega, Breitling and the like – because these are the bread and butter of counterfeiters. Plus, the amount of money you need to pay for these watches makes it just too risky.
There are, however, bargains to be had on the near-luxury watches, such as Hamilton, Mido, Rado and Tissot brands. If you know a lot about Swiss watches, you’ll notice that these brands are made by the same manufacturer: the Swatch Group, which also owns Omega and the ETA movement manufacturer. There are a lot of people who believe that that Swatch Group tolerates the selling of their watches on the grey market – how else to account for the large amount that makes it to such retailers?
As with anything on eBay, feedback is everything. There are quite a few sellers in Singapore that have very good feedback because they sell authentic watches for less. You can buy right from their eBay storefront or wait for something good to come up on their auctions to really save money. Often you get a warranty (not sure if it would be honored by the manufacturer) and full packaging. Other times you might not get packaging or an owner’s manual. I have personally bought two watches this way, saving hundreds of dollars each time. They arrived quickly, were 100% authentic and came with full packaging. Keep in mind the high shipping costs with these dealers. One of my purchases was shipped air freight that added around $40. I was aware of this ahead of time and figured it into my bidding.
Why is Singapore such a big hub for luxury watch sales? Apparently, their tax laws treat these watches as duty-free items so long as they are not sold locally. You will even see in these sellers’ listings that the goods are not for sale in Singapore.
I have had good luck with this route, but check out the detailed feedback comments, as well as the percentage of satisfied buyers and the volume of goods sold. High-volume sellers with very good feedback are usually legitimate businesses selling authentic products. It’s always a good idea to google the business’ name to see if anyone on the many watch forums has complaints.
eBay – Used
Some buyers will only want a new watch. That might be unrealistic if you are looking for a high-end luxury watch on a limited budget. Personally, I think it’s more risky buying a used watch on eBay than a new one from a proven retailer. You might not be surprised to learn that many buyers don’t know the real value of used watches. I’ve seen slightly used Omegas going for near the same price on eBay as brand-new ones on Overstock.com. And I’ve seen some fishy looking “restored” watches that might be cobbled together with leftover pieces from some guy’s workshop. Go into this one with your eyes wide open. Certainly, do as much research on the exact watch you want ahead of time so you can spot inconsistencies. And I don’t mean to pick on the Philippines or Thailand, but were there really that many luxury watches sold there to justify the large number of “mint condition” examples for sale there? Buyer beware.
Research, Research, Research
No matter which route you go, do as much research on the brand of watch you want. Even if you are going the authorized-retailer route, it’s good to know what options you have and how much more money you will spend.
If you go grey market, one of the best things you can do is read postings on the popular watch-enthusiast forums (yes, there are such things). Sites like Watchuseek.com have sub-forums for all brands of popular luxury watches, with each forum having many knowledgeable experts who contribute regularly. If a bad retailer shows up, it will likely be noticed here. Better yet, why not join the forum and ask for advice on the best place to buy?
Research makes all the difference when buying a watch. A little bit a due diligence goes a long way to finding the perfect luxury watch for a whole lot less money.
