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Troubled First Buy... Need Opinions

A
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Hello all,

I made my first purchase last week on chrono24, buying an Omega Seamaster 300m. Item was listed as brand new and seemed to be all in order. I took the watch to my local Omega Authorized dealer and had the watch appraised for insurance reasons and to have the watch's authenticity verified. The appraiser told me that she could not appraise the watch because she believes the warranty card to be fraudulent, and it would not be accepted if I needed to make a claim with Omega. Attached you can see the sticker like material on the card where the dealer's store is written (somewhere in Germany) and a date is written (not when I purchased the watch). This lady at Omega said that this is not authentic and could easily be removed.

Obviously the seller is now unhappy with me wanting to return the watch and is saying the Omega boutique is only saying this to try and make a sale off me since I didn't pay full retail price for one of their watches. Is this legitimate? If my own dealer won't touch the watch because they think it is a fake and wouldn't help me out if I needed to use the factory warranty shouldn't I be cautious here? The seller is a verified seller on chrono24 with great reviews but I also want to trust, my dealer, more than some person on the internet.

Thanks in advance for the help!
 
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wsfarrell
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I'm pretty sure the warranty card is valid. Here's a link to the dealer in Germany. Your dealer is playing games, I think, and should be reported to Omega.
 
Martin_F
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I don't think it's a sticker, it's just something they put on the cards to be able to write on it.
Having said that, my warranty card from US AD does not have that, it's just stamped with the dealers name.

I can see how the lady is trying to scare you away, trying to get you to buy from them.
First I would find out if the dealer in Aachen Germany is an authorized dealer for Omega.
Then I would go back to your local dealer and tell them how you bought that watch on your vacation to Germany in 2018. And ask some casual question about it.

If you go in there asking for identification, then you already give a way, that you're unsure and that you obviously didn't buy it from the dealer on the card...
 
A
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But how would I verify that I have an authentic watch if my own dealer won't even look at it? The appraiser supposedly wasn't even associated with Omega or the store, just a third party that comes in twice a month to appraise jewelry.
 
Evitzee
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I have several Omegas with the dealer's name applied just like the OP's (one from the Omega Boutique in Geneva) , your card is fine. I have a CK2998 bought from an AD where the Ref. number and Watch number are both filled in by hand, but the card is stamped with the AD's name. These cards vary all over the place, that's just the way it is. Don't get hung up on the card details or how it is filled out. Your dealer is wrong, and there is no reason to believe your local AD more than some distant AD.

But this highlights a problem with newer people buying a watch from someone on the internet, and then getting nervous and convincing themselves it's a fake. Now he wants to return the watch which naturally upsets the buyer. And this is often how the sellers get bad reviews by someone who has convinced themselves the product is not right. You need to do your homework, and if you can't get comfortable with sending your money away then just stay local, nothing wrong with that except you'll pay a higher price in most instances. But hand holding and local assistance doesn't come free.
Edited:
 
A
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Evitzee Evitzee
I have several Omegas with the dealer's name applied just like the OP's (one from the Omega Boutique in Geneva) , your card is fine. Your dealer is wrong, and there is no reason to believe your local AD more than some distant AD.

But this highlights a problem with newer people buying a watch from someone on the internet, and then getting nervous and convinces themselves it's a fake. Now he wants to return the watch which naturally upsets the buyer. And this is often how the sellers get bad reviews by someone who has convinced themselves the product is not right. You need to do your homework, and if you can't get comfortable with sending your money away then just stay local, nothing wrong with that except you'll pay a higher price in most instances. But hand holding doesn't come free.

By doing your homework would that not entail paying an appraiser to appraise the watch and authenticate that my investment was made into a genuine piece?
 
VetPsychWars
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A AvrgJoe
By doing your homework would that not entail paying an appraiser to appraise the watch and authenticate that my investment was made into a genuine piece?

You could always take pictures and share it here.

Tom
 
Evitzee
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A AvrgJoe
By doing your homework would that not entail paying an appraiser to appraise the watch and authenticate that my investment was made into a genuine piece?
Homework is done BEFORE you buy the product. Vet the dealer, ask questions, etc. I've bought many watches over the years, I've never felt the need to pay someone to authenticate a piece for me. Is there something about the watch itself that makes you suspicious, or just the card? Since your dealer doesn't want to look at your watch and do an appraisal you'll have to go somewhere else, but look at it from their standpoint. Someone comes in with a grey market watch that originated in Germany and wants them to authenticate it and do an appraisal for insurance purposes. I can see why they can get miffed; they didn't get a chance to make a sale but are expected to provide a service. It's probably not worth it for them. They may be flummoxed by the warranty card or just using it to tell you, 'we aren't interested in authenticating or appraising new watches bought elsewhere'. I can see their point.
 
Vercingetorix
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Lucker is across the street from Frittenwerk. Mmm Frittenwerk.
 
X350 XJR
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AFAIK the warranty card isn't even necessary for warranty repairs.

Most "appraisers" are clueless regarding watches, new or vintage.
 
A
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Evitzee Evitzee
Homework is done BEFORE you buy the product. Vet the dealer, ask questions, etc. I've bought many watches over the years, I've never felt the need to pay someone to authenticate a piece for me. Is there something about the watch itself that makes you suspicious, or just the card? Since your dealer doesn't want to look at your watch and do an appraisal you'll have to go somewhere else, but look at it from their standpoint. Someone comes in with a grey market watch that originated in Germany and wants them to authenticate it and do an appraisal for insurance purposes. I can see why they can get miffed; they didn't get a chance to make a sale but are expected to provide a service. It's probably not worth it for them. They may be flummoxed by the warranty card or just using it to tell you, 'we aren't interested in authenticating or appraising new watches bought elsewhere'. I can see their point.

I understand where you are coming from, and besides two links on the bracelet that were a little stiff I hadn't suspected it to be a fake, but I am also not an expert in decimating fakes from the real thing. I thought to get it appraised would not only help insure it but also verify its authenticity. I had no idea ADs were this hostile in their tactics either.
I appreciate the feedback
 
Evitzee
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So are you keeping the watch or returning it? If you are keeping it can you try another dealer?
 
Meme-Dweller
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I don't see anything with the warranty card that would point to a fake watch. Post a picture of your Seamaster including the movement through the casebackand we can tell you if it's real. Get it appraised again at a different place, but bring only your Pictogram and Master Chronometer card. The warranty is valid.

The whole "stamp easily removed" thing is BS, as there are two versions: one that is preprinted and glossed like the rest of the card, and the other, which you have, has a matte box designed to accept stamps The only weird thing is that it looks like someone tried to scribble over the AD stamp.
 
Dan S
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A AvrgJoe
But how would I verify that I have an authentic watch if my own dealer won't even look at it? The appraiser supposedly wasn't even associated with Omega or the store, just a third party that comes in twice a month to appraise jewelry.

A AvrgJoe
I thought to get it appraised would not only help insure it but also verify its authenticity. I had no idea ADs were this hostile in their tactics either.

Either the appraiser is the AD or not the AD. She can't be both.

Anyway, my takeaway from this thread is that the OP is too risk averse and insufficiently knowledgeable to buy the watch online. One can't just defer all expertise to a supposed "expert". For one thing, how will you even determine who is a reliable expert? Nothing wrong with any of this, and not everyone wants to take the time to educate themselves to the required level to be able to authenticate watches for themselves. But we all need self-awareness in these things. IMO, he should buy from his AD.
 
DLT222
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I had this recently with a huge seller of watches here in the UK.

I sold s silver snoopy to a gent that was unworn and mint. A few months later something came along that he wanted to buy in its place, he took the snoopy to the pre-owned dealer, they said the cards were fake and the watch was never sold to that shop originally and this has been confirmed my Omega in Switzerland blah blah blah....

So after 25 mins on the phone with the now disgruntled buyer of the Silver Snoopy and me assuring it was 100% legit, I managed to get the original sales receipt from the first owner who bought it new and it clearly stated the exact place that matched the cards that came with the watch.

The dealer in question soon changed their tune and actually lost the sale! I will decline from mentioning them.
 
Dan S
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DLT222 DLT222
I had this recently with a huge seller of watches here in the UK.

I sold s silver snoopy to a gent that was unworn and mint. A few months later something came along that he wanted to buy in its place, he took the snoopy to the pre-owned dealer, they said the cards were fake and the watch was never sold to that shop originally and this has been confirmed my Omega in Switzerland blah blah blah....

So after 25 mins on the phone with the now disgruntled buyer of the Silver Snoopy and me assuring it was 100% legit, I managed to get the original sales receipt from the first owner who bought it new and it clearly stated the exact place that matched the cards that came with the watch.

The dealer in question soon changed their tune and actually lost the sale! I will decline from mentioning them.

It's so much nicer to buy/sell with other serious collectors if possible.
 
Gav1967
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lots of posts and still no pictures of the watch in question. starting to think it doesn't exist
 
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