I bought a $250 Seiko from their eBay shop two weeks ago. They printed a label, and never shipped. Sent an e-mail and 3 eBay messages. Zero response. Going to call them tomorrow but not expecting much. Preparing to create a PayPal dispute case soon. Not sure why anyone would want to spend $3k+ with them when they can't even get the small transactions right.
Uhuh. Were any of these multi thousand dollar watches where as a result of using Joma you lost your warranty? That is kind of a relevant factor.
I don't understand what you are getting at? You know they do offer their own warranty right? I have never had any issues even with Joma's warranty and I have spent north of 5K so far. Sent my Oris Big Crown ProPilot for a misbehaving crown a few months after purchase. This was about a year back. Had my watch back in perfect order within 3 weeks. I know of a colleague who purchased a FOIS from Joma and had to use their warranty. He is pretty happy and received his watch in the same time frame as well. Like I said, for me it has always been a pretty smooth experience and will shop there without hesitation. It also certainly helps their prices are cheaper and I could take it elsewhere with the left over money for service etc. But why would I? Pretty happy with Joma's warranty as it is.
Ok it sounds like it works for you but you really don’t understand why a manufacturer warranty is preferable?
Problem is your experience is not universal. There are a lot of buyers who are less than satisfied, some have posted in this thread, others elsewhere
The point is there are sellers who discount who also provide the full international warranty. This would be my preference. Especially on a higher ticket piece. Particularly now that some manufacturers like Omega provide a 5 year warranty, transferable internationally and usable in your county of origin, which for those of us outside the US makes even more sense. Posting a watch back to the US for repair is not practical due to import and export duties. Not a problem if you are local to Joma of course but a very real one if you are in Europe etc. Even in the US I would find a grey dealer selling with warranty ahead of using Joma if one was available, for many brands there is.
I do of course concede that if the discount were compelling (like the 50% above) and unavailable elsewhere I would consider any reputable seller.
I do but that is not what you were initially suggesting in your post. This is what you said:
"Were any of these multi thousand dollar watches where as a result of using Joma you lost your warranty? That is kind of a relevant factor".
To which I answered that using Joma's warranty works equally well especially with the discounted prices. Is manufacturer's preferable? Sure. I never said Jomashop warranty was better or anything along those lines. But if it gets the job done, I am okay with it. Especially if the watch initially comes at a steep discounted price giving me a cushion. Manufacturers warranties don't last a lifetime either, btw.
There is a big chunk of people who use Jomashop and are happy as well. I personally know a lot who will go back. Joma is the biggest grey seller in the market if I am not mistaken. You are bound to get some unhappy customers as well when you sell a lot of watches but from what I have seen, no issues. From my experience, using their warranty was a breeze and a very smooth experience.
Sure. I understand. But how does that take anything away from Jomashop? For me and from what I have seen for others, Jomashop warranty has worked well. I am certainly not in your shoes shipping from outside of US and all that so I so see your dillema. But I don't understand why you have to paint it with a negative brush for everyone. Your preference is understandable. But I don't see it that way. Jomashop's warranty last as long as manufacturers and it works - from my own experience. You simply call them. They send slip/label to you over the email confirming you are ok for warranty work. Simply print it out, stick on your package and mail it to them. Follow up as well if you like since you have an order number. I didn't even have to follow up as I was given a 4 week window and got my watch a week before.
They usually have more than 50% discount at most sale events. That is usually when I purchase things. I got my Oris Diver 65 and Big Crown both on Black Friday event, Seiko SKX on 4th of July sales event, wife's Tag Formula One on Labor day sales even and so on. My friend with FOIS I mentioned bought his on Labor day sale as well. Can't beat those prices.
All fair points and on a cheaper purchase I would be inclined to agree with you fully, hence in my original question I queried what kind of spend you were taking about. For something like a Seiko, Casio or even Tag the manufactuter warranty is likely no better than Joma’s so it would be less of an issue.
I would add one minor correction though, it seems Joma’s warranty on Omega is 4 years not the 5 the manufacturer offers but that is still of some reassurance, but note they don’t cover water damage under any circumstances, which is a pretty big exclusion!
All valid points. I’m in process of weighing the pros and cons of both. Looking to buy a new Speedy as a daily wearer. Jomashop is $3595 and through talking with local AD we are at $3950 + tax. Sure a $500 difference (when adding tax) is a good chunk of change, but I’m leaning on supporting our local AD, watchmaker and community.
