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sathomasga
·Since Bezel is a relatively new service, I thought some folks here might be interested in what the purchasing experience is like. TLDR: pretty much exactly as they advertise, no more, no less. Of course, this is just one person's experience; as they say, YMMV.
What is Bezel?
Everyone can read the information on the web site or in any of the several articles that have discussed it, so I won't bother with a lot of details. As a platform/service, it's probably closer to eBay than others such as WatchFinder or Chrono24. They do have auctions, though a bit more structured than eBay: they're organized into specific numbered batches with all watches in a particular auction running concurrently. So the appearance is little more like a traditional auction house, but I think it's pretty much the eBay business model underneath. I haven't looked too closely at auctions, though. Most of their inventory is watches listed for sale (from third-party sellers) like Chrono24 or eBay buy it now. Finally, they offer a "concierge" service that attempts to locate a specific watch for you. Their inventory seems to be modern or neo-vintage (almost?) exclusively. I haven't seen any true vintage pieces. Most listings are for higher end brands: Rolex, AP, Patek, Blancpain, Omega, etc. I didn't see any mention of customs/import duties in their terms and conditions, so perhaps they are US-only at this point.
My Experience
Although you can browse the site without registering, there is of course a registration requirement for engaging in any transactions. When I registered, they sent me a promo code for $100 off my first purchase, no expiration date.
I thought I'd first test the concierge service by asking for a 36mm Railmaster Aqua Terra (2504.52.00). I didn't expect them to find one since I've been keeping an eye out for many months. Sure enough, after a couple of days, their response was negative.
My real interest was an Air-King reference 14000, and they had 10 with black dials listed on the platform. (For comparison, Chrono24 has about 12 unique listings located in the US; worldwide it's too hard to filter out all the duplicate listings to get a realistic count.) Some of those 10 were also available on eBay and Chrono24, so they don't have (or at least enforce) an exclusivity agreement for sellers. Prices for the same watch seemed to be within $100 on all plaforms.
One of the watches was listed at a pretty attractive price, so I made an offer to seller. As part of making the offer, Bezel immediately charged my credit card 2.5% of the offered amount. That would be forfeited if I backed out of the transaction. The seller countered and I accepted. I used a credit card to purchase, and it's worth noting that Bezel adds a 2.9% fee for credit card processing. This fee was not a surprise to me, as it is clearly spelled out in their terms and conditions. I'm in Georgia, so Bezel also charged a state sales tax on the transaction.
The negotiations and sale took place on Monday. Bezel arranged shipment from the seller and had the watch in hand on Tuesday morning. By Thursday afternoon they had finished their authentication and shipped it to me via FedEx overnight. (All shipping is free for the buyer.) The watch arrived today requiring both a signature and ID. I have 24 hours to request a return, but there's no cause to do so.
My purchase/order number was around 3000, so that may indicate that they've sold around 3000 watches so far.
Updated 6 May 2024: A month after my purchase, I received a hand-written follow-up/thank you note from the founder with a decent (100% cotton) logo baseball cap. A small, but nice, touch.
Observations
There is no chance to "buy the seller" here, as seller identities are not revealed. No history, feedback, etc. Not even a mechanism to communicate with the seller, though I suppose if you sent a question to Bezel's customer support, they could relay it to the seller. You're basically putting your trust in Bezel. Of course, for those watches that are listed on other platforms, you could check the seller's reputation on those platforms. (Google reverse image search is your friend.)
If they're doing all they claim (and I have no reason to doubt them), the authentication process seems reasonably thorough. Details are on their web site, and you do get documentation and certificates from them with the watch. One aspect that is subjective is their confirmation that the watch's condition matches the listing. In my case, the listing said "Light [emphasis added] scratches commensurate with normal use throughout." and "Light [emphasis added] scratches on case, bracelet, and clasp." I think that's awfully generous; I certainly wouldn't use that adjective were I selling the watch, e.g. here on OF. But I was also expecting this from the price, as it was well below all other listings and, frankly, would simply have been too good to be true if the watch had been in excellent condition. Also, my plan from the start was to send this watch to Rolex for a full service, and there's nothing about its condition that Rolex won't be able to ameliorate. No complaints about the watch functionally, as it is running between -5 and -9 sec/day at ~ 270° amplitude and 0 beat error, which doesn't seem bad for a watch from 1999. Even factoring in the cost for a full service from Rolex, I feel like I got a good deal.
I have also noticed that Bezel has a referral incentive that's worth $200 to a new customer. If anyone wants that promo code, let me know via PM. In the interest of full disclosure, anyone using that referral code would also trigger a $200 discount for me on a subsequent purchase, but I have no further purchase plans for at least the remainder of the year, so it is unlikely that I would use that discount.
What is Bezel?
Everyone can read the information on the web site or in any of the several articles that have discussed it, so I won't bother with a lot of details. As a platform/service, it's probably closer to eBay than others such as WatchFinder or Chrono24. They do have auctions, though a bit more structured than eBay: they're organized into specific numbered batches with all watches in a particular auction running concurrently. So the appearance is little more like a traditional auction house, but I think it's pretty much the eBay business model underneath. I haven't looked too closely at auctions, though. Most of their inventory is watches listed for sale (from third-party sellers) like Chrono24 or eBay buy it now. Finally, they offer a "concierge" service that attempts to locate a specific watch for you. Their inventory seems to be modern or neo-vintage (almost?) exclusively. I haven't seen any true vintage pieces. Most listings are for higher end brands: Rolex, AP, Patek, Blancpain, Omega, etc. I didn't see any mention of customs/import duties in their terms and conditions, so perhaps they are US-only at this point.
My Experience
Although you can browse the site without registering, there is of course a registration requirement for engaging in any transactions. When I registered, they sent me a promo code for $100 off my first purchase, no expiration date.
I thought I'd first test the concierge service by asking for a 36mm Railmaster Aqua Terra (2504.52.00). I didn't expect them to find one since I've been keeping an eye out for many months. Sure enough, after a couple of days, their response was negative.
My real interest was an Air-King reference 14000, and they had 10 with black dials listed on the platform. (For comparison, Chrono24 has about 12 unique listings located in the US; worldwide it's too hard to filter out all the duplicate listings to get a realistic count.) Some of those 10 were also available on eBay and Chrono24, so they don't have (or at least enforce) an exclusivity agreement for sellers. Prices for the same watch seemed to be within $100 on all plaforms.
One of the watches was listed at a pretty attractive price, so I made an offer to seller. As part of making the offer, Bezel immediately charged my credit card 2.5% of the offered amount. That would be forfeited if I backed out of the transaction. The seller countered and I accepted. I used a credit card to purchase, and it's worth noting that Bezel adds a 2.9% fee for credit card processing. This fee was not a surprise to me, as it is clearly spelled out in their terms and conditions. I'm in Georgia, so Bezel also charged a state sales tax on the transaction.
The negotiations and sale took place on Monday. Bezel arranged shipment from the seller and had the watch in hand on Tuesday morning. By Thursday afternoon they had finished their authentication and shipped it to me via FedEx overnight. (All shipping is free for the buyer.) The watch arrived today requiring both a signature and ID. I have 24 hours to request a return, but there's no cause to do so.
My purchase/order number was around 3000, so that may indicate that they've sold around 3000 watches so far.
Updated 6 May 2024: A month after my purchase, I received a hand-written follow-up/thank you note from the founder with a decent (100% cotton) logo baseball cap. A small, but nice, touch.
Observations
There is no chance to "buy the seller" here, as seller identities are not revealed. No history, feedback, etc. Not even a mechanism to communicate with the seller, though I suppose if you sent a question to Bezel's customer support, they could relay it to the seller. You're basically putting your trust in Bezel. Of course, for those watches that are listed on other platforms, you could check the seller's reputation on those platforms. (Google reverse image search is your friend.)
If they're doing all they claim (and I have no reason to doubt them), the authentication process seems reasonably thorough. Details are on their web site, and you do get documentation and certificates from them with the watch. One aspect that is subjective is their confirmation that the watch's condition matches the listing. In my case, the listing said "Light [emphasis added] scratches commensurate with normal use throughout." and "Light [emphasis added] scratches on case, bracelet, and clasp." I think that's awfully generous; I certainly wouldn't use that adjective were I selling the watch, e.g. here on OF. But I was also expecting this from the price, as it was well below all other listings and, frankly, would simply have been too good to be true if the watch had been in excellent condition. Also, my plan from the start was to send this watch to Rolex for a full service, and there's nothing about its condition that Rolex won't be able to ameliorate. No complaints about the watch functionally, as it is running between -5 and -9 sec/day at ~ 270° amplitude and 0 beat error, which doesn't seem bad for a watch from 1999. Even factoring in the cost for a full service from Rolex, I feel like I got a good deal.
I have also noticed that Bezel has a referral incentive that's worth $200 to a new customer. If anyone wants that promo code, let me know via PM. In the interest of full disclosure, anyone using that referral code would also trigger a $200 discount for me on a subsequent purchase, but I have no further purchase plans for at least the remainder of the year, so it is unlikely that I would use that discount.
Edited:
