Jomashop.com - does this place sell genuine watches?

[Lonelygoer]

Recently i'm looking for a new watch, and find this website called www.jomashop.com

They give good deals, 40%-60% off on watches like gucci, omega, etc etc

The question is, do they sell genuine watches? They claim to be in business for 20 years, has the guarantee of authenticity. However, the suspicious fact is, the watch warranty is given by jomashop, not the original manufacturer, and how can they give discount for so low?

Have anyone bought watch there? Do anyone know if they sell replica or real watches?

 

[*emmanuelle]

Seriously?!
They have a watch listed there for half of what I paid for it

Good link!

 

[Jerbear]

Yes, they sell genuine watches, but they are gray market (not authorized dealer) and do not carry a manufacturer's warranty. If something goes wrong, the "warranty" will be repaired by the shop themselves and not from the manufacturer. In some cases I've heard the serial numbers may be filed off depending on the watch. Don't forget, you will have to pay tax and duty on the watch when it crosses the border!!!

Try haggling with your local authorized dealer first, I've gotten anywhere between 25-40% off on the watches I've bought at an AD. Another thing I've done in the past is purchase the watch out of province and have it shipped to me in BC (saved the 7% PST). But now with the HST in some provinces, it's a little tricky.

edit - with regards to the PP Grand Complication - try ordering through your AD and see how long it takes for them to order one in for you...

 

[Lonelygoer]

Yes, they sell genuine watches, but they are gray market (not authorized dealer) and do not carry a manufacturer's warranty. If something goes wrong, the "warranty" will be repaired by the shop themselves and not from the manufacturer. In some cases I've heard the serial numbers may be filed off depending on the watch. Don't forget, you will have to pay tax and duty on the watch when it crosses the border!!!

Try haggling with your local authorized dealer first, I've gotten anywhere between 25-40% off on the watches I've bought at an AD. Another thing I've done in the past is purchase the watch out of province and have it shipped to me in BC (saved the 7% PST). But now with the HST in some provinces, it's a little tricky.

edit - with regards to the PP Grand Complication - try ordering through your AD and see how long it takes for them to order one in for you...

Thanks for the help. Since they sell genuine watches, but they are not authorized by the manufacturer, so where do they get those watches initially?
Could those watches be the one that were once originally made by the manufactuer, but didn't pass the final quality check. (I heard Rolex throws away many watches that are below their standard, even though they are made in the Rolex factory)

And yeh, since I never shopped online with US website before, do you know how much duty I need to pay, the standard 12%?

 

[Jerbear]

Thanks for the help. Since they sell genuine watches, but they are not authorized by the manufacturer, so where do they get those watches initially?
Could those watches be the one that were once originally made by the manufactuer, but didn't pass the final quality check. (I heard Rolex throws away many watches that are below their standard, even though they are made in the Rolex factory)

And yeh, since I never shopped online with US website before, do you know how much duty I need to pay, the standard 12%?

From what I've heard...

They usually source the watches from authorized dealers. As an authorized dealer I believe they are only allowed to discount the watches a certain amount per their contract with the watch company. Therefore if sales are slow (especially with the current economy), certain dealers may sell their inventory to shops such as jomashop at a heavy discount to get rid of inventory. That is why certain watches may have the serial number removed to prevent the watch being tracked back to them. I've heard several watch companies will anonymously buy gray market watches in an attempt to trace which dealers are violating their contract and if found, will terminate their contract to sell the watches.

Anyways like I've said, once you factor in tax/duty/currency conversion, the difference between buying it online versus buying from a local authorized dealer is not as great as it seems. You can usually haggle at least a 25% discount for most watches, even more if they have it in stock or if you've purchased from them before. Plus you have peace of mind of having a factory warranty...not that it means a whole lot...one of my watches is going in for warranty for a 3rd time in 2 years!!! However, my local dealer covers all shipping/insurance costs when they send it for warranty work, where if you pay yourself, it can easily be $100+ each time!