Chrono 24 buying from HK

[G321]

I'm looking at some Cartier Tank's for my mum on Chrono 24. A lot of the reasonably priced watches seem to be in Hong Kong. I've filtered on certain things like original box and papers, certificate of authenticity included, dealers with lots of feedback etc. Has anyone purchsed anything through Chrono 24 from HK and were there issues?
Obviously there will be the import tax on top of the purchase price but it still works out cheaper than a UK watch.
I do have experince of using the site to buy my own watch but that was a UK private seller

Edited by G321 on Wednesday 25th February 10:42

Edited by G321 on Wednesday 25th February 10:42

[BiggaJ]

Not bought from Hong Kong specifically but have bought through Chrono24 from Dubai when I purchased my Eberhard Chrono4. The transaction was very smooth, made them a bid which was accepted, paid my money and received the watch about 3 to 4 days later obviously with an import cost added. But all very simple, very straight forward.

I will add I was dealing with a known jeweler in Dubai, this was not a private sale.

[Flying machine]

Personally, I would be very cautious. I considered it as I was looking for an ALS Zeitwerk and as you noticed, there do appear to be some relative bargains. Often with no box or papers though, and probably no backup if anything isn't as advertised. Also, several of the adverts that I looked stated that the watch has yet to be procured, so what you see may not be what you get. In general, a google search of comments on forums was enough to put me off buying from HK (which may be mainland China in reality), but it depends on your appetite for risk. If the watch were cheap then it's probably not too much of a risk, and if expensive enough I would even consider traveling to look at a few in person and get a feel for it and vendors. If you do go for it and buy, please let us know how it goes.

[Jamescrs]

I’m Interested in this also because I was on there today looking at a specific Seamaster Planet Ocean where the cheapest is in Japan. It has no box and papers but tha doesn’t overly trouble me because I know I would be keeping it long term.

It’s listed with a dealer who has good reviews on the site rather than a private seller but I’m still a bit unsure

[G321]

Thanks for the responses, they do echo what I'd read elsewhere, so may continue to look elsewhere.

[G321]

Jamescrs said:

I m Interested in this also because I was on there today looking at a specific Seamaster Planet Ocean where the cheapest is in Japan. It has no box and papers but tha doesn t overly trouble me because I know I would be keeping it long term.

It s listed with a dealer who has good reviews on the site rather than a private seller but I m still a bit unsure

From what I have previously read, Japan is a safer bet that China with a lot of second hand watches there as the Japanese are only interested in watches in perfect condition. Hence watches in good condition (rather than perfect) being put on international apps like C24

Edited by G321 on Wednesday 25th February 20:55

[hungry_hog]

Jamescrs said:

I m Interested in this also because I was on there today looking at a specific Seamaster Planet Ocean where the cheapest is in Japan. It has no box and papers but tha doesn t overly trouble me because I know I would be keeping it long term.

It s listed with a dealer who has good reviews on the site rather than a private seller but I m still a bit unsure

I think in Japan there is a bit of a cultural stigma around used watches. In general they want things to be pristine, this applies with everything not just watches. That is why the prices are lower there.

Maybe worth contacting the dealer, see whether you get a good vibe off them. If worst comes to worst and watch needs a service is it still cheaper?

For Omega if you go to one of their boutiques they are happy to provide the Omega "credit card" for a nominal sum - I think I paid £50? This is once they verify the watch as genuine. I also ordered a rubber strap which took 3 months to come, when it arrived they felt so bad about it being late they gave it free!
The red vinyl boxes are garbage anyway and fall apart. You can probably a nice wooden box off eBay.

[RichB]

I purchased a Jaeger-LeCoutre form a dealer in Singapore, all very smooth. Just be aware that you'll pay VAT as well as customs duty.

[Flying machine]

The experiences and reputation of dealers in Singapore and Japan isn't surprising and certainly what I understood to be normal - it's good to hear real feedback though. I would buy from either location if the watch, dealer and price looked good. The question was HK though, which I think is different - my response was purely with that location in mind.

[Jinba Ittai]

Is there the option to add the ‘Certified by Chrono 24’ option? It will add a few hundred quid to the cost, but at least the watch will be examined before reaching you to confirm authenticity.

Personally I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. not because I assume it’s dodgy because its HK, but purely because it would be such a massive PITA if there were any issues with the watch and the dealer is on the other side of the world. I’m not comfortable with the opportunity cost.

[G321]

Thanks all, the responses have confirmed my suspicions that buying from HK is a non starter.
I have found some other examples in Switzerland and Japan which look more promising.
Regarding customs duty, what percentage would I be looking at from say Switzerland? additional to the VAT charges

[simon800]

I bought a Cartier from HK via C24.

Comms with the dealer were seamless, getting the watch was easy - think it was delivered within 3-4 days of me buying.

However, when it arrived it had a scratch on the crystal which wasn't there in the advert.

Thankfully I was able to return via the C24 buyer protection, but it was a bit of a faff trying to get the VAT refunded from HMRC.

This was a well regarded seller, with lots of positive reviews etc (if memory serves they had about 1000 5* reviews) but I can't say it was a positive experience for me.

Would I buy from HK again via there? No, I'd rather pay a bit extra knowing it will be less hassle and less chance of something going wrong. I'd stick to Watchfinder, Subdial etc knowing the complete peace of mind is worth the extra few quid.

[732NM]

G321 said:

Thanks all, the responses have confirmed my suspicions that buying from HK is a non starter.
I have found some other examples in Switzerland and Japan which look more promising.
Regarding customs duty, what percentage would I be looking at from say Switzerland? additional to the VAT charges

There is no Duty to pay on Watches from Japan or Switzerland, you pay VAT on the purchase price plus shipping cost, plus the handling fee.

Often the Post Office will charge Duty when they should not, you have to claim that back if they do.

You can look up the duty rates of any product or country online. https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff

[Bob_Defly]

I would buy from Japan, but probably not from China/HK, too many good fakes.

This post about fake Seiko's on Reddit yesterday was interesting. Lots of hard to spot fakes available to order. And even at this price level, the build is good enough for most people not to be able to tell them apart.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Seiko/comments/1rej89m/mu...