I'm just learning the ropes and would appreciate any input. I'm looking to buy a speedy, most likely FOIS, and I have been shopping both new & pre-owned at a variety of places online. Obviously grey market is cheaper than buying from an AD, but there can be warranty issues.
What's the general thought about buying from a grey market dealer? Is this acceptable practice or plain folly? How can I tell if a pre-owned watch was originally purchased at a grey market dealer or AD (and thus may not have warranty)? Should I care?

Thanks!

Mike

 

If you are in the UK, the FIOS was on sale recently in Mappin and Webb for £3,600 new that came with a 5-year omega warranty.
As for how can you tell if a pre-owned was purchased via a grey or AD, you need to buy the seller and ask lots of questions.
If you want to be 100% buy from an AD, I had the same thoughts back in January when I purchased my FIOS and I ended up going to an AD, and got a discount on it and left happy.

 

Not sure what discounts you can expect from an AD in your home area, but a friend of mine had his sight on a Seamaster ceramic/titanium and was offered a pretty good chunk off list price from a grey dealer on C24. Unfortunately there was no warranty and this was definitely a deal breaker for him (his first major watch purchase). After some calls to local ADs and proper haggling he managed to get very close to the C24 deal he was offered in the first place.

 

And of course any thread without pics is useless... the watch in question:

Pic borrowed from monochrome watches.

 

Some of it comes down to personal preference.
Are you the type of person who wants the "full experience"? Do you want to go in to an AD and try stuff on and have champagne brought out and all that? Or would you be happy with a box just showing up at your door?
Another thing to consider is the discount.
There was a point where you could buy a Speedy on Jomashop for like, $3400USD. A savings of around $2000USD, or 2.5 out of warranty services from Omega SHOULD something go wrong (as I would NEVER send a watch in to a grey market service center even if the watch came with their own warranty). Of course that is assuming no discount at all but even if you got $500-$1000 off at the AD, you're still coming out ahead. At that point, for me it is a no-brainer. I will take that money saved and use it elsewhere and take the risk of having an out of warranty issue.
However with the new 5 year warranty, and prices on grey market Speedies going up, it may be something worth considering a little harder.

 

If you're in Canada, as are many if not most Vintage Habs, them you're likely to find that AD prices in CAD at present are pretty similar to, if not better than, anything available from a US-based dealer or trusted seller once the currencies are converted and the taxes/duties on watches of 10% plus whatever your GST/PST is. I have bought a few pieces via Chronext, with both manufacturer and their home-brew warranty included at unusually low prices, for watches I couldn't find easily here, and that worked out fine, but not sure I'd do it for a Speedy that I can find at a dozen shops in-country.

Example: I was recently shopping for an IWC. Best trusted seller price (in USD) came out to nearly 600.00 more in CAD before the added cost of duties was factored in. In both cases the international warranties were included, but it was worth it to me to to buy at the AD not have to worry about a brand-new watch being battered in transit, hung up in customs, etc. It was even more worth it when I ended up saving a packet.

I just don't think the GM makes much sense for Canadians using CAD at this moment in time, unless you're looking for a specific piece that's really available only in the GM, like a SS sports Rolex (none of this matters if you're not a Canuck, of course). Anyhoo, my 2c.

 

Thanks for the input. I am originally from Canada, but in the U.S. for almost 20 years now. I do have family & friends in the Great White North, and get up there regularly, so I should investigate Canadian pricing. My wife bought me a GMT Master II in Canada in 2001, and pricing was very advantageous. Thanks for the tip: I'll check it out.

 

There is a solid dealer in the Watches for Sale section with a BNIB FOIS with full five year Omega warranty for $4,100 delivered, that's about 20% off. Hard to beat that and you have piece of mind with a brand new watch with factory warranty.

 

In that case, your cup runneth over. There will be plenty of great options in the OF sales forums and elsewhere. You could also go the certified pre-owned route from a place like Topper, Timeless, etc.

 

FWIW, I shared my own thoughts here.

 

Thanks for the link. That's exactly the info I was looking for. I did several searches but couldn't find anything, and now realize it was the spelling of "grey"