Hi everyone,

So this not a post to complain about the seller but more to share my experience and maybe to get some opinion about what is acceptable or not during a deal.

I bought a very expensive watch from a well known watch dealer (not reputable for me now ..so I prefer well known). After some negotiation, something around 4% including shipment, we agreed on the price and the watch was shipped to me.

After receiving the watch, i notice the watch was running fast ...about 5 min a day...which for me is out of what i would expect for a vintage watch at that price...even if i know that servicing the watch would have been required anyway...but the seller never mentioned it in our discussion so i sympathetically noticed him that it would have been great to notice this fact (i was not asking anything at that point of time...just let him know that the description was not totally fair...). He answered me that he is dealing watch for 25 years and when he buy a watch it is for selling it the day after and he just controlled if the watch run et voilà...

Okay... i better understand now... so anyway...i thanks him again and follow my way... but few hours later, the same day...the watch stopped...stuck... impossible to restart... okay...

So i contacted him again and this time i clearly explained that this is something not acceptable from a well know watch dealer to sell a watch that is working only for 4 days.... I explained him that i would go to my watchmaker and after the quote we may certainly find an agreement to solve this issue...

His answer was quite surprising... he start to explain me that he already paid for the shipment (??...that was part of the negotiated deal..)... and the price was lower than what he would have sell it to someone else (?? OK...so why did you accept my offer...)... and now i am asking him to pay for the service???? (?? euh... yes...the watch you sold me stop working after 4 days....)..etc... and if I am not happy i can send the watch back to him (at my cost...and responsibility of course....) ...to finish his sentence with 'shame on you' and ask me to never contact him again... whaou....

Of course i will not sent the watch back but i am quite surprised to see a watch dealer who absolutely don't care about the customer satisfaction, a watch dealer which is not checking his watch before selling it (and i am not talking about a 3 or 4 figures watch...but a 5 figures one...) and with such aggressive tone for something i believe to be legitimate to me...but maybe i am wrong and i should have accept this without a word ... what is your opinion about this type of situation?

 

Total BS. Acceptable in £100 watch which is sold as a parts or resto project, maybe.
In a watch costing 5 figures, never. Ok it may need servicing but for a dealer to treat you like that is just unprofessional.

 

Maybe you might consider "outing" the name of the dealer to anyone who sends you a private message?

 

If the watch stopped working he should repair it at his expense or give you a full refund and pay for the shipping.

 

The fact is i don't want to sent the watch back. The movement is very simple and will be fixed easily (even if i don't know yet what is broken...mainspring certainly...). The cost will remained acceptable for the service (maybe 250 euros) but it is more on the principle ... For me he should have offer to take care of the service cost whithout even asking him to do so... sending the watch back is a move just to protect himself as he prefectly knows that i will not send the watch back...Thise watch are very difficult to find and he knows that as well...

 

Even if i offered him to spread my experience to my network (i was quite nervous this morning...) , i don't think it is really the best thing to do... If someone ask me to recommand him in the furtur, i will not but i don't want to name it even through PM.

 

Can you tell us what the watch is, just to appease my curiosity?

 

I recently bought my first vintage watch (Omega Seamaster). On day one it was running very fast, +20 seconds a minute and would occasionally get stuck and stop moving. If I bumped it (manual wind so not a lack of power issue) it would start back up. On day two, I was golfing with some friends and put the watch on to show one of them, I forgot to take it off and hit my drive. I noticed a few minutes later that the watch was still on... It's now keeping almost perfect time. With my very imprecise method of starting and stopping the timer on my iphone it's almost perfect. It's been running this way for 4 days now.

Obviously my watch needs to be serviced, and I probably shouldn't wear it while golfing but it's at least an example of something that may have worked properly when the seller had it in front of them but got knocked during shipping and threw it off.

I'm going to contact the seller and let them know my experience but I can't fault them, though I was leaning heavily in that direction when it was +20 seconds fast a minute on the first day.

I also only paid $400US for the watch so it's on a very different scale.

 

It's a 35mm longines tre tacche with mirror gilt radium dial

 

The watch was carefully used without any damage during the 4 day I own it. This can happen of course but the watch was very carefully packaged ( good point for him)...
It would have been something to discuss with him I guess but not even open.to discuss anything so...

 

I think it also depends on the description. If it was described as running, but no service history and a service is recommended, then they're kinda covered IMO.

If it was just described as working well, then I think the dealer has a moral obligation is nothing else.

A bigger issue for me sounds like their attitude. Even if they're happy it was purely sold as seen and any repairs are your responsibility, there's a much more polite, customer friendly way to convey this stance.

 

I agree. The watch was described as untouched and runing. Nothing more... but i was also thinking that the customer satisfaction (around 250 euros) will be more important for them than a one shot deal and an unsatisfied customer which will never buy another watch to them... but somtimes i am cerainly too naive...

 

Seeing that a parts movement for this watch is relatively cheap and a service is not bad at all, I think it speaks volumes of why most on here abhor dealers.

On a five figure watch, what is $250???

Lesson learned to not buy from dealers that you don't already have a relationship with.

Did the movement, case, serial match up with Longines?

 

I would think a smart dealer would not want to sell one watch to one customer. He would want to sell 10+ watches to each.

 

Totally agree, it's the back and forth customer service piece that would drive me mad.

 

everything is OK except the watch is not running anymore

Aggre with the fact 'buy the seller'...but sometimes there is no other choice... if you want a watch that nobody have or want to sell...

 

Gorgeous!

Send him an email titled 'I must-tacche you a question' ( ) and link him to this thread. He may change his mind

 

This is the defense tactic of going full-bore on the offense.

 

Reminds me of an A386 that I almost bought from an Italian dealer

 

Seller doesn't give 2 shits what a bunch of watch nerds on a forum think...