So you've made up your mind.
You're gonna buy your first luxury watch.
Here are a couple easy tips that'll make it so much easier for your to pull the trigger.
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So pretty much do your homework, you know?
Bigger is not always better.
Just because it's an enormous establishment, doesn't necessary mean that it's the best
choice.
You kind of gotta feel it out yourself.
One of the best ways to get a good feel for a store is also recommendations.
Ask around, you know?
Ask a couple of people that have a nice watch and ask where maybe where they bought it from
and how was their experience.
But, when all else fails and you don't have no one else to ask, remember, you always have
Google, Yelp, etc.
You have social media.
There's many ways to research a company and make sure that they're a legitimate establishment,
and that would follow through with anything that can happen, you know?
Many things happen in the Watch World.
There's no reason to be discouraged by that.
You just gotta make sure you're buying from a legitimate place, not a fly by night watch
dealer.
Second thing I wanna mention is don't get blinded by the authorized dealer.
I know for some guys, and there's nothing wrong with that, they like the warm, fuzzy
feeling of walking in to the large authorized dealer and getting the full experience with
the champagne glass and the Vaseline.
There's nothing wrong with that, absolutely nothing.
Some people just simply wanna buy they're own, that's it.
And that's OK.
I respect that.
I was like that myself at one point, but don't get blinded by the authorized dealers.
They're always gonna say things to kind of deter you from going and buying secondhand
watches or gray market watches and stuff of that nature, because imagine, they're just
selling at full retail.
There's not much you can do there.
That's the only thing that they have to offer, is that they sell brand new and that you're
buying from the authorized dealer.
For some of you, that might be just exactly what you need for your first watch.
If that's what it is, fine!
Some of you guys don't live in major cities where perhaps maybe these smaller secondhand
dealers or re-seller jewelers are not available, and I understand that.
But don't make it like so concrete like it has to be in an authorized dealer because,
for me, that's just �let me just tell you man, even authorized dealers have bad reputations.
Just because someone might have a line and might carry a manufacturer's brand, doesn't
mean they're the best.
They might have terrible customer service.
They might have some butcher watchmakers working there, where you might thing when you think
your watch for repair, they're sending it back to the factory, but they're really sending
it to a guy in the back with a jigsaw.
So just keep that in mind.
You gotta do your homework.
Gotta ask around.
Get different opinions, because in my personal opinion, you could always get a better deal
from a reputable re-seller, and the keyword there is �reputable.�
So we get to the 3rd thing is, Internet vs brick and mortar stores.
Look, there's many fantastic deals out of the Internet and when I mean an Internet,
I mean an actual e-commerce site where you can go in, click buy now.
I kind of have...I'm kind of iffy about that at times.
Yes, there are many reputable Internet stores where you can buy merchandise and there are
guarantees.
There's no games, no gimmicks.
I'm just kind of more like a person where I like to kind of feel the watch and see it
in person.
That's just my way of thinking.
And you know what?
Many brick and mortar stores do sell on the Internet also.
But, if you're gonna buy through an exclusive Internet store, ask a lot of questions.
Ask, what's the return policy?
Again, go back to the first thing, #1, Buy the Seller.
Do your homework on that brand, see the reviews, see if anybody recommends them.
Ask about the return policy.
Another thing, if you're buying it and it's an �unworn� new watch, but unworn, make
sure that you're getting the guarantee, because I've seen many website where they'll sell
you a watch as �new.� �New,� �unworn,� whatever you wanna call it, it's the same
thing, you know?
It hasn't been worn.
You're getting a discount, but you're paying a little bit more than a pre-owned, but you're
not getting the guarantee...the original warranty from the brand.
I mean, me personally, if I'm gonna be paying that type of dollar, I guess I just want all
the little things.
For that I just buy it preowned and give me the watch alone.
I'm not so crazy about watch and papers.
I've had this conversation before.
Yes, there are some watches that you want the box and papers.
But you know what, for a first time Rolex, under ten thousand dollars, if you want that
box and papers to give you the first experience, I get it man!
I'm into that.
But you know, if you're getting a good price and you're buying with confidence, don't even
sweat it.
Internet vs brick and mortar, it's complicated.
I'm a bit more of a brick and mortar type of guy, but if you are gonna go to one of
these Internet stores, make sure you just ask many questions.
A lot of those guys that are available for you to speak to on the phone and answer any
of your questions....if you can't get anybody on the phone to ask questions to, then that's
kind of not a good sign in my opinion.
So, keep a lookout for those kind of red flags that might bring up something to your attention.
Fourth is the Box and Papers.
I just mentioned this previously, but I wanna focus on that for a second.
Guys, box and papers does not make a watch 100% authentic.
It doesn't mean that the watch is not stolen.
It doesn't mean that the watch maybe perhaps wasn't handled incorrectly or damaged.
So never used that as the determining factor.
I got people that call me all the time and that's all they ask, �Does it have the box
and papers?� Cuz I get it.
When you're new to this, if you haven't bought enough watches, the box and papers is that
one little thing that kind of gives you that fuzzy, warm feeling, but if you're buying
from somebody that has a reputation and they're guaranteeing that the watch is authentic...100%,
you read all the reviews or you've had many recommendations.
The price is good.
They're even offering you a buy-back price in the future.
Perhaps maybe you can trade it back in, which is also an important thing to me, you don't
really need the box and papers!
I can't tell you how many boxes I have and papers just sitting in a larger box somewhere
in my closet.
If it's a fancy Patek or when you're already getting into the high-end watches, like really
high, yes, it does make a difference, but the price will always reflect that.
I don't mind buying a nice 5980 Patek without box and papers, as long as I'm getting it
at a lot cheaper discount price.
What I care mostly about is condition, price, and that I'm buying it from somebody I could
trust, because that's one of the most important things.
Never use box and papers to authenticate anything, including the seller.
The 5th thing that I'm going to mention, to me, is the most important thing of all and
it's, always get a receipt from your seller with the serial number of the watch printed
on the receipt.
It has to match guys.
You gotta do your homework.
You gotta get the watch...on the Rolex, for example, it's gonna be if it's a newer model,
the serial number is going to be on the bezel engraved, in the inner bezel.
You wanna make sure it matches the receipt, because anybody can write you a receipt with
a serial number and it could be the wrong the receipt.
Because, when all else fails, that's the one thing that's gonna protect your investment.
This is obviously a random scenario.
If you're walking down the street and some guy starts accusing you that, this is his
watch and that you stole it from him.
I don't know.
Maybe the guy does get the cops over there and they're trying to say...
That's the one thing that's gonna prove that you bought the watch and who sold it to you.
That's that one thing that's going to protect you from a watch being stolen, from a watch
being fake, all those things.
So that's the most important thing.
Always get a receipt with a serial number.
You gotta treat it like you're buying a car, almost like a bill of sale.
I know it's kind of extreme guys, but I try to treat it, especially if I'm in the three
grand and up range..I treat it like I'm buying a gun or a car.
I like to get a bill of sale with the person's name.
If you're buying it from a private, get the person's name.
If you're buying it from the store, then obviously there has to be an invoice.
But you get the serial number of the watch and the amount of money that's paid.
Last, but not least, is find out what is the warranty and the return policy that you're
getting.
A lot of times when I sell a watch at the store and someone is sitting in front of me,
they already had time to look at the time.
They already tried the watch on, so a lot of times, they gotta make that decision.
If they're gonna return the watch, there has to be a legitimate reason why, because they
had plenty of time.
There's no pressure.
If I'm shipping the watch to a client that's not in the store, first I provide many pictures
of the watch, so that they can see it first.
But I do get it.
Maybe they try it on and when they like it, it just wasn't what they expect it...so I
do offer a 100% money-back guarantee for those type of deals.
I can't have someone wear the watch to the Grammy's and then return it on Monday...but
those are kind of the things you wanna ask.
If you go asking, �What's the return policy?� We discussed it.
We go over it, that type of stuff.
Warranty.
You wanna ask what type of warranty you get on a watch that you buy.
If you're buying it, whether you're buying in person in a brick and mortar or you're
buying it from an online retailer.
You wanna ask what type of warranty you get.
A lot of times, they won't offer warranty on the outside, on the case, the bracelet,
because, let's face it man, if you bash the freaking watch against the watch and break
the watch, that's nobody's fault but yours.
But you know, little dumb things, which is part of customer service is a pin falls off,
stuff like that.
Usually, if they have a good reputation, they'll take care of it.
But most will offer a warranty of at least one year on the mechanism and if it's not
gonna have a problem in one year, then it's not gonna really have a problem.
So one year is a good enough time to know you bought a good watch with no problems.
So ask those questions.
Those are the questions you wanna ask first, so keep that in mind when you're doing your
homework for these watches.
So, if you have any other questions, feel free to comment on this video.
Also, please like and share.
My name is Eric.
This is Watch Your Style!