Seeking Opinion : Buying from Watch Arena

[Forsei]

u can always negotiate with WA. indicate that you will want to authenticate the watch, i believe you will still have to pay in full. then ask them to write it down on the receipt saying that if any parts is not found to be authentic by RSC, they will give u a full refund.

i see no reason why they would not accede to such request considering you paying in full. i bought a rolex bracelet from one of the shops in people's park. i told the shop owner that i will go authenticate it, if not genuine, i will come back for a refund. i paid in full. he indicate that full refund should RSC found not to be geniune.

Hi boss,
Tks for the suggestion, i think it sounds most reasonable...

[triton]

u can always negotiate with WA. indicate that you will want to authenticate the watch, i believe you will still have to pay in full. then ask them to write it down on the receipt saying that if any parts is not found to be authentic by RSC, they will give u a full refund.

i see no reason why they would not accede to such request considering you paying in full. i bought a rolex bracelet from one of the shops in people's park. i told the shop owner that i will go authenticate it, if not genuine, i will come back for a refund. i paid in full. he indicate that full refund should RSC found not to be geniune.

Just tagging on the qns here...

Say, I get a BNIB overseas watch from WA. Say it comes with a papers etc.
It's either a) buy it, trust tt it's a genuine deal, be happy
b) buy it, then go authenticate with RSC for peace of mind
c) Authenticate 1st, then buy <- is this possible?

tks!

[Forsei]

Just tagging on the qns here...

Say, I get a BNIB overseas watch from WA. Say it comes with a papers etc.
It's either a) buy it, trust tt it's a genuine deal, be happy
b) buy it, then go authenticate with RSC for peace of mind
c) Authenticate 1st, then buy <- is this possible?

tks!

[BRABUS]

Hi

Hi ,
Personally deal with chong from watch arena b4 , must say very smooth deal , but i was the seller and he is the buyer , offer quite a good price for my watch .
Pay the price we both agreed on the phone without nego,
IMHO , its so much better than meeting with some buyer , who come outs with all sort of excuse just to make you lower your price .

[Oceanklassik]

A male/female watch seller who is always in grey colored attire?


Ok la, joke-joke. I think it refers to a watch dealer who is not authorised by the watch's brand/manufacturer to sell for them but still carry the brand anyway. I stand corrected.

[foofam77]

price is so-so meaning that their price is about the same as AD? there are several reputable gray dealers in sg, do a search online and you will find out who they are. these gray dealers usually DO NOT HAVE a physical store, so their prices are softer compared to AD. but for watch arena, they have a shop and have staf to tend to you so there is this operational costs that they have to cover.

what's a gray dealer?

[HublotBoy]

if i were to buy BNIB watches from Watch Arena, how do i know they are really BNIB and not pre-owned?

also, is there still a need for me to bring the watch to Rolex Service Ctr for authentication?

thanks

Hi there,if purchase any watches from Pre-owned shop will advise u to bring them fr authentic & check whether if is a stolen watch

If is a stolen watch better still,can claim bk the $ fr the shop u purchase but always remember to ask fr a properly invoice

Sometimes even u kw them very well but u never kw who they got it!!!

[Oceanklassik]

Agreed. Opinions vary from person-to-person. Most often, I've hd pple saying that there's always a higher risk of buying a non-BNIB watch, as being passed off as BNIB, at grey dealers. So how? I have names of those who did that. But I've not encountered it myself. So it's to each his own. If you don't mind, just accept it. If you mind, then go to the ADs.

[keltzar]

triton, you are right only on the second part... with stickers intact, the chances of watch is brand new is higher... although the watch might have been wore for a week but I think it is still "BNIB", even if the seller tells you he/she has worn for a week with stickers on, I think it is just a mental barrier you have to face whether you consider this no longer a BNIB...

It all comes down to whether you see what you like at the price you are offered. I was offered a new M-series ExpII, as well as a used M-series ExpII by the same dealer. The new one was parallel imported.
Unless mentioned by the dealer, I would not have been able to spot the difference. But the price difference was $1k.

It is true, it is mostly a mental barrier.

How about if you go to Hour Glass and you slip on one on your wrist... doesn't that mean that the next guy who comes in and looks at the one you tried for 10seconds is now looking at a watch which is no longer BNIB?
In any case, would you have asked the hour glass guy to swear that no one (and I mean zero) humans have ever put it on their wrist...

Oh wait, what about the guy at the factory who may have slipped it on for 10s too..

[SamGMT]

can i check what stickers i need to look out for?

thanks.

refer to the following borrowed picture, courtesy of ebronzeage

[exxondus]

can i check what stickers i need to look out for?

thanks.

[116520]

triton, you are right only on the second part... with stickers intact, the chances of watch is brand new is higher... although the watch might have been wore for a week but I think it is still "BNIB", even if the seller tells you he/she has worn for a week with stickers on, I think it is just a mental barrier you have to face whether you consider this no longer a BNIB...

On the other hand, I disagree with you on the first part when you mentioned that AD display pieces without stickers are considered as BNIB pieces... doesn't mean that ALL pieces sold by ADs are BNIB... so bros please be careful.... even display units for cars can be sold at a discount... if a Rolex without stickers intact sold by ADs, I will definitely not pay for a BNIB price....

just my 2 cents...

not a foolproof way. consider that i bought it today, wear it with all stickers in tact for 1 week. does that mean it is brand new? cause i got friends who buy watch and still use the bezel protector also. consider AD display pieces that has stickers peel off, does that mean they are not BNIB pieces?

having said the above, usually with all stickers intact, the chances of the watch being brand new is higher. preown shops can still sell brand new pieces bought from overseas.....

[triton]

price is so-so meaning that their price is about the same as AD? there are several reputable gray dealers in sg, do a search online and you will find out who they are. these gray dealers usually DO NOT HAVE a physical store, so their prices are softer compared to AD. but for watch arena, they have a shop and have staf to tend to you so there is this operational costs that they have to cover.

I went there recently. Many overseas pieces. Price is so-so.

[triton]

not a foolproof way. consider that i bought it today, wear it with all stickers in tact for 1 week. does that mean it is brand new? cause i got friends who buy watch and still use the bezel protector also. consider AD display pieces that has stickers peel off, does that mean they are not BNIB pieces?

having said the above, usually with all stickers intact, the chances of the watch being brand new is higher. preown shops can still sell brand new pieces bought from overseas.

usually u TRUST the local AD to sell you BNIB pieces because if they do sell you preown pieces for rolex, they will lose their dealership. for preown shops that sells BNIB pieces, i would either be very careful or trust them completely when purchasing BNIB which they claim so.

BNIB means stickers intact....

[SamGMT]

if i were to buy BNIB watches from Watch Arena, how do i know they are really BNIB and not pre-owned?

also, is there still a need for me to bring the watch to Rolex Service Ctr for authentication?

thanks

can check out the following shops they do have some BNIB on display.

Bonfield Trader
BronzeAge