What has happened to Watchfinder ?
Discussion
Gio G said:
What an odd advert.. and to think someone got paid to dream that rubbish up...
It's a perfect illustration of how WF have broken their bond with their customer base as untakenname points out.WF sponsoring ITV4's TdF coverage on the face of it seems like a good move. It will be watched predominantly by hard-core cycling enthusiasts - many of whom IME are also watch enthusiasts too. But then they ruin if by producing these stupid videos that make both cycling and watch enthusiasts cringe - showing they have no empathy with their target audience. Muppetry.
You want an idea of how bad they are ?
Here is an advert for a 50k sub
https://www.watchfinder.co.uk/Rolex/Submariner/653...
How to sell it eh ? They haven't a clue.
Here is an advert for a 50k sub
https://www.watchfinder.co.uk/Rolex/Submariner/653...
How to sell it eh ? They haven't a clue.
What was more interesting was the suggested videos alongside the WF advert on YouTube
Both from the US version of Antiques Roadshow.
One was a daughters collection of her watchaholic dad’s 7 high end watches , which she thought was worth $2k was actually worth up to $57000
The second was an ex US military man who had bought a Rolex from the PX . He paid $120 in the early 60s .
Complete with box and all paperwork including chronometer certification , was valued at up to $70000
Other interesting videos were notable people such as the Pope ( Casio ) ,Trump, Putin , Deli Lama etc , and their watch collections ,
Both from the US version of Antiques Roadshow.
One was a daughters collection of her watchaholic dad’s 7 high end watches , which she thought was worth $2k was actually worth up to $57000
The second was an ex US military man who had bought a Rolex from the PX . He paid $120 in the early 60s .
Complete with box and all paperwork including chronometer certification , was valued at up to $70000
Other interesting videos were notable people such as the Pope ( Casio ) ,Trump, Putin , Deli Lama etc , and their watch collections ,
The Pope collects Casios ?! - That's made my day.
He's probably hanging out on the G-Shock thread right now eagerly awaiting the release of the GW-8000-1AER VaticanMaster - resistant to biblical plagues and thunderbolts, powered by prayer and automatically sets the time at 3am every day by divine intervention.
He's probably hanging out on the G-Shock thread right now eagerly awaiting the release of the GW-8000-1AER VaticanMaster - resistant to biblical plagues and thunderbolts, powered by prayer and automatically sets the time at 3am every day by divine intervention.
Just thought I'd add my 2p to this thread.
I bought my first watch through Watchfinder around 6 months ago and the service has been absolutely first class.
Bought a nice Breitling and paid a very fair price for it. At the time, the only other one on the market was with Chrono24 and it was similarly priced but extremely tatty. I've kept an eye on the market since and it's clear the price I paid was very reasonable. Mine arrived in perfect condition, looked brand new.
Recently, I noticed the power reserve wasn't what it should be, and the time keeping wasn't as precise as it should be, so contacted Watchfinder and their service and procedure in getting the watch back to them, diagnosing the fault, sorting it, and getting it back to me was faultless. All FOC as it's under their warranty.
It's easy for a company to not really give a sh!t about customer service once they reach a certain size (see Vodafone, Sky etc etc), and judging by the comments on this thread, this had happened to Watchfinder, but that's certainly not my experience.
I bought my first watch through Watchfinder around 6 months ago and the service has been absolutely first class.
Bought a nice Breitling and paid a very fair price for it. At the time, the only other one on the market was with Chrono24 and it was similarly priced but extremely tatty. I've kept an eye on the market since and it's clear the price I paid was very reasonable. Mine arrived in perfect condition, looked brand new.
Recently, I noticed the power reserve wasn't what it should be, and the time keeping wasn't as precise as it should be, so contacted Watchfinder and their service and procedure in getting the watch back to them, diagnosing the fault, sorting it, and getting it back to me was faultless. All FOC as it's under their warranty.
It's easy for a company to not really give a sh!t about customer service once they reach a certain size (see Vodafone, Sky etc etc), and judging by the comments on this thread, this had happened to Watchfinder, but that's certainly not my experience.
Edited by monthefish on Friday 21st February 12:25
I got a Skyfall Seamster as a gift for a friend and they were the only place I saw that had one in as new condition. It arrived the day after, was 100% as described (basically unworn), all boxes and papers and the price seemed about average for that sort of thing. I can't really say a bad word about doing business with them.
They do seem to carry an astonishing amount of stock, judging by the weekly email I get from them (which I actually quite like scrolling through). Wonder if they do any business on sale or return?
They do seem to carry an astonishing amount of stock, judging by the weekly email I get from them (which I actually quite like scrolling through). Wonder if they do any business on sale or return?
Bought my second Rolex from them many years ago now, the last contact I had with their Leeds branch last summer was nothing like what OP describes.
Polite, friendly and good service, the two watches I wanted to view were there within 48 hours- I ended up buying elsewhere in the end, but no complaints as far as service.
I have never sold a watch to them so can't comment on that.
Polite, friendly and good service, the two watches I wanted to view were there within 48 hours- I ended up buying elsewhere in the end, but no complaints as far as service.
I have never sold a watch to them so can't comment on that.
I went to WF for my first Gmt , probably over 5 years ago now. They were courteous and professional. I found the whole adventure truely satisfying.
Fast forward a few years and i purchased another Rolex 14060. They seemd a bit more relaxed and not too bad. So when the time came to sell a piece i phoned them. They were advertising the same watch i had for 7 to 8 k.
I was offered 5k for my one which was a nice patina. After that they came back to me with 5250!. I declined and mentioned why they had the same model for 8k. They told me they were going to be reducing their prices to 5.5k for those watches. They didnt.
I felt they were more the WE BUY ANY WATCH type of dealer. Their prices are inflated and you can now strike/find a better watch from many other people whose attitude is far better .
Lets be honest , anyone purchasing a 5k plus watch will want to feel comfortable. And i think WF have become complacent , cocky and a bit to sure of themselves.
There are plenty of other independants out there and please try them , Hackett , Blowers , Motion , Watchclub and plenty more. Chrono24 is a very good site aswell.
Fast forward a few years and i purchased another Rolex 14060. They seemd a bit more relaxed and not too bad. So when the time came to sell a piece i phoned them. They were advertising the same watch i had for 7 to 8 k.
I was offered 5k for my one which was a nice patina. After that they came back to me with 5250!. I declined and mentioned why they had the same model for 8k. They told me they were going to be reducing their prices to 5.5k for those watches. They didnt.
I felt they were more the WE BUY ANY WATCH type of dealer. Their prices are inflated and you can now strike/find a better watch from many other people whose attitude is far better .
Lets be honest , anyone purchasing a 5k plus watch will want to feel comfortable. And i think WF have become complacent , cocky and a bit to sure of themselves.
There are plenty of other independants out there and please try them , Hackett , Blowers , Motion , Watchclub and plenty more. Chrono24 is a very good site aswell.
Seight_Returns said:
alfaman said:
and the connection with cycling is comical ... cyclists won’t wear watches like that.
Quite. When I ride my road bike I wear my Garmin which gives me actual, maximum and average speed, distance run, elevation climbed, heart rate and blood oxygenation data, cadence, weather forecast, time till sunset, GPS directions and route logging, text messages from my wife telling me to come home and fix the dishwasher and loads of other stuff.I'm obviously doing it wrong - I need to go straight to WF and buy some overpriced bling that's going to get trashed the first time I have an off.
As it's great for sports tracking and is very light and comfortable.
I think sports watches are becoming a LOT more common as every day watches to wear to work.... My ex boss who was a keen cyclist used to wear his Garmin Fenix 24/7.
no high end watches to be seen where I worked except some of the local women (I live in Singapore )
traffman said:
I went to WF for my first Gmt , probably over 5 years ago now. They were courteous and professional. I found the whole adventure truely satisfying.
Fast forward a few years and i purchased another Rolex 14060. They seemd a bit more relaxed and not too bad. So when the time came to sell a piece i phoned them. They were advertising the same watch i had for 7 to 8 k.
I was offered 5k for my one which was a nice patina. After that they came back to me with 5250!. I declined and mentioned why they had the same model for 8k. They told me they were going to be reducing their prices to 5.5k for those watches. They didnt.
I felt they were more the WE BUY ANY WATCH type of dealer. Their prices are inflated and you can now strike/find a better watch from many other people whose attitude is far better .
Lets be honest , anyone purchasing a 5k plus watch will want to feel comfortable. And i think WF have become complacent , cocky and a bit to sure of themselves.
There are plenty of other independants out there and please try them , Hackett , Blowers , Motion , Watchclub and plenty more. Chrono24 is a very good site aswell.
How much did you expect WF to offer you for your watch?Fast forward a few years and i purchased another Rolex 14060. They seemd a bit more relaxed and not too bad. So when the time came to sell a piece i phoned them. They were advertising the same watch i had for 7 to 8 k.
I was offered 5k for my one which was a nice patina. After that they came back to me with 5250!. I declined and mentioned why they had the same model for 8k. They told me they were going to be reducing their prices to 5.5k for those watches. They didnt.
I felt they were more the WE BUY ANY WATCH type of dealer. Their prices are inflated and you can now strike/find a better watch from many other people whose attitude is far better .
Lets be honest , anyone purchasing a 5k plus watch will want to feel comfortable. And i think WF have become complacent , cocky and a bit to sure of themselves.
There are plenty of other independants out there and please try them , Hackett , Blowers , Motion , Watchclub and plenty more. Chrono24 is a very good site aswell.
I bought an Omega from them about 18 months ago and was very impressed. With respect to their prices and what they offer to buy at it needs to be borne in mind that they have the overheads of several shops in some quite expensive place (Docklands etc) and seem to have quite a lot of staff as well as holding a lot of stock with servicing and warranty costs etc.
No different to car dealerships imho.
No different to car dealerships imho.
andy97 said:
I bought an Omega from them about 18 months ago and was very impressed. With respect to their prices and what they offer to buy at it needs to be borne in mind that they have the overheads of several shops in some quite expensive place (Docklands etc) and seem to have quite a lot of staff as well as holding a lot of stock with servicing and warranty costs etc.
No different to car dealerships imho.
I think a lot of people forget about overheads these days. "I'm don't want to pay for the bells and whistles" comments are common. No different to car dealerships imho.
The fact is, it's the profit that allows a company to provide the services people expect after buying a product. Simple really.
traffman said:
I went to WF for my first Gmt , probably over 5 years ago now. They were courteous and professional. I found the whole adventure truely satisfying.
Fast forward a few years and i purchased another Rolex 14060. They seemd a bit more relaxed and not too bad. So when the time came to sell a piece i phoned them. They were advertising the same watch i had for 7 to 8 k.
I was offered 5k for my one which was a nice patina. After that they came back to me with 5250!. I declined and mentioned why they had the same model for 8k. They told me they were going to be reducing their prices to 5.5k for those watches. They didnt.
I felt they were more the WE BUY ANY WATCH type of dealer. Their prices are inflated and you can now strike/find a better watch from many other people whose attitude is far better .
Lets be honest , anyone purchasing a 5k plus watch will want to feel comfortable. And i think WF have become complacent , cocky and a bit to sure of themselves.
There are plenty of other independants out there and please try them , Hackett , Blowers , Motion , Watchclub and plenty more. Chrono24 is a very good site aswell.
Difficult to know if your post is serious but an offer of 5250 from a retail dealer for a watch they sell on for 7000 is an extraordinarily good offer. I would sell to them any time if they operate on a 25 margin. You do know that they are not a charity?Fast forward a few years and i purchased another Rolex 14060. They seemd a bit more relaxed and not too bad. So when the time came to sell a piece i phoned them. They were advertising the same watch i had for 7 to 8 k.
I was offered 5k for my one which was a nice patina. After that they came back to me with 5250!. I declined and mentioned why they had the same model for 8k. They told me they were going to be reducing their prices to 5.5k for those watches. They didnt.
I felt they were more the WE BUY ANY WATCH type of dealer. Their prices are inflated and you can now strike/find a better watch from many other people whose attitude is far better .
Lets be honest , anyone purchasing a 5k plus watch will want to feel comfortable. And i think WF have become complacent , cocky and a bit to sure of themselves.
There are plenty of other independants out there and please try them , Hackett , Blowers , Motion , Watchclub and plenty more. Chrono24 is a very good site aswell.
traffman said:
I went to WF for my first Gmt , probably over 5 years ago now. They were courteous and professional. I found the whole adventure truely satisfying.
Fast forward a few years and i purchased another Rolex 14060. They seemd a bit more relaxed and not too bad. So when the time came to sell a piece i phoned them. They were advertising the same watch i had for 7 to 8 k.
I was offered 5k for my one which was a nice patina. After that they came back to me with 5250!. I declined and mentioned why they had the same model for 8k. They told me they were going to be reducing their prices to 5.5k for those watches. They didnt.
I felt they were more the WE BUY ANY WATCH type of dealer. Their prices are inflated and you can now strike/find a better watch from many other people whose attitude is far better .
Lets be honest , anyone purchasing a 5k plus watch will want to feel comfortable. And i think WF have become complacent , cocky and a bit to sure of themselves.
There are plenty of other independants out there and please try them , Hackett , Blowers , Motion , Watchclub and plenty more. Chrono24 is a very good site aswell.
It always stings a bit when you feel that you've been given a real low-ball offer for something you own, be it a car, a watch or whatever, and I do sympathise, but as has been said, it costs money to run a business, and that money has to be made somewhere in the buying-&-selling process.Fast forward a few years and i purchased another Rolex 14060. They seemd a bit more relaxed and not too bad. So when the time came to sell a piece i phoned them. They were advertising the same watch i had for 7 to 8 k.
I was offered 5k for my one which was a nice patina. After that they came back to me with 5250!. I declined and mentioned why they had the same model for 8k. They told me they were going to be reducing their prices to 5.5k for those watches. They didnt.
I felt they were more the WE BUY ANY WATCH type of dealer. Their prices are inflated and you can now strike/find a better watch from many other people whose attitude is far better .
Lets be honest , anyone purchasing a 5k plus watch will want to feel comfortable. And i think WF have become complacent , cocky and a bit to sure of themselves.
There are plenty of other independants out there and please try them , Hackett , Blowers , Motion , Watchclub and plenty more. Chrono24 is a very good site aswell.
As ever, no-one forces you to take any bid for your watch.
I was just in the Royal Exchange last Friday & popped in to view an IWC.
Had changed since I was last in there, which was 4 years or so ago. There used to be quite a few display cases & the shop was larger.
Now very much an Argos feel with one front counter & someone nipping out the back to get the watch you’re after.
I have also recently used them for a part exchange which after a bit of haggling I was happy with the deal.
So in summary not the experience you’d get in a boutique, but decent fair service if you require it.
Had changed since I was last in there, which was 4 years or so ago. There used to be quite a few display cases & the shop was larger.
Now very much an Argos feel with one front counter & someone nipping out the back to get the watch you’re after.
I have also recently used them for a part exchange which after a bit of haggling I was happy with the deal.
So in summary not the experience you’d get in a boutique, but decent fair service if you require it.
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