Perils of buying from overseas

[Tasmania]

Not sure if this has been posted here before:

http://forums.watchnet.com/index.php?t=msg&th=160100&rid=0#msg_215661

Just hoping to share information with fellow forumers.

[pet]

Not sure if this has been posted here before:

http://forums.watchnet.com/index.php?t=msg&th=160100&rid=0#msg_215661

Just hoping to share information with fellow forumers.

posted sometime ago... ore jia ore

[louisoh]

Tats y... not recommended to get from overseas unless from reputable shops.. but still.. nothing beats having to touch and feel the real thing before handing your dough over...

[Darkangel]

Yup...out long time ago...

[Tasmania]

I am sorry. Didn't know it's posted and probably read by a lot of forumers.

[jazz_samz]

fully agree!!

Tats y... not recommended to get from overseas unless from reputable shops.. but still.. nothing beats having to touch and feel the real thing before handing your dough over...

[Ender]

Some considerations:

1) Do your maths. Pls factor in exchange rate, shipping, insurance, GST costs and other misc. charges. Example, if you are using paypal to pay in USD, the exchange rate you get is USD1= S$1.41 (based on a payment I made last week), when the money changers are offering USD1=S$1.35 (Paypal is a necessary evil). If your package is S$400/- or more (someone correct me if I am wrong), your incoming package will be held by customs until you pay the GST 7% before you get your stuff. If your savings are minimal, is it really worth the hassle and uncertainty?

2) Buy the buyer. This is a mantra repeated over and over again at all the watch forums by the old birds. Common sense but somehow, commonly overlooked. Always get references from other sources as to the buyer. In this, must also be careful as the scammers now create fake email accounts near identical to well-known collectors and direct you to these fake accounts and then give themselves a good review. Example, ABCO@gmail.com is the real deal but they will offer you ABC0@gmail.com Also check out the reference sections for buyers and sellers on forums like watch.net.com and timezone.com, really informative. Goggle is also good.

3) Insurance. Common sense says get full insurance right? So if package is lost, can recover costs less insurance and shipping fees right? 2 things, if your item is above S$400/- (see above) and you want full insurance coverage, you cannot avoid the GST 7%. If you want to save the GST 7%, you probably cannot have full insurance coverage. If someone figured out how to have both, pls let me know 2nd thing, irc, some shippers do not provide full insurance coverage and damn chao kwan one. Recalled reading a post about a seller who paid F*d*x/U*P* or something like that extra specifically for full coverage, item was lost, only to find out that the conditions of liability was limited to a lower sum ie not full coverage. I think must get independent insurance company coverage.

4) Last but not least, if package is lost and you have no recourse against the seller, can you take it? I set a limit as to how much I willing to purchase for a watch over the internet. If not, better not to transact.

5) Fast shipping. Recommended to go for express or overnight shipping. You already spend so much for a watch, you want to get it fast. The longer it takes to ship, the greater the chance it gets to be lost. If it is lost, you also want to know asap so you can take quick remedial actions. Don't be like the idiot who paid around USD8k for a Rolex and then try to save costs by insisting on surface shipping frm USA; nearing estimated delivery time, he was left uncertain as to whether shipment is on schedule but just not here, late, seller cheated him or package was lost or stolen.

Hope the above helps. If anything above inaccurate, pls let me know.

[louisoh]

Excellent points by Ender....

Actually i agree with him on setting a limit on the max price that i would buy a watch online...

No pt putting urself tru the risks if you plan to buy a 5 figure price watch...

[PamDino]

So, when you buy locally, you must also factored in the risks taken by the seller. You cannot compare his price with the internet price eg. price of the same watch in the US. The seller making some profits is inevitable.

Declaring the full value of the watch is also a danger as you do not want the courier to know what's the value inside the parcel. Maybe that's what happened to the PP watch. On the hand, if you don't declare the full value, you cannot have it insured. Having said that, I know that most of the courier services can only provide insurance up to a certain value (correct me if I'm wrong). It may not be enough to cover the value of the watch.

Please consider carefully before your overseas transaction. That may be one reason why watches in Singapore is more expensive than overseas.

[golfball123]

not all models of rolexes are more expensive in spore than overseas..
i am fm m'sia n thinkg of the gmt iic 116718 n spore dealers offrg s$26900 n will get further less about 7% on exit. (about s$25,000 nett)
in malaysia, it is being offered at eqv. of s$27,500 (@2.38). problem is i have to travel to spore n fly out plus some cost (day trip) with total of about, say s$550-600. just wondering if it is worth it as if something not working the next 1-2 day, then will be diff to get it service locally for free..
any adv ?