Do you prefer to buy online or in stores and why?

I am interested in more expensive brands (Tag Heuer, Tudor, GS,etc.), but am not comfortable buying brand new watches from AD since I can buy 2-5 year old certified pre-owned with steeply lower price at Watchfinder & Co for example. Unfortunately, certified pre-owned boutiques are present only in selected cities. So if they had physical locations close - I would go to store personally, but now currently I buy on-line.

i bought all of my watch online basically because im not comfortable with browsing the watch while the store clerk standing beside me 😂

I'm new to the watch hobby and I'm very much in the budget end of purchases. I prefer to buy online because I'm worried I'll go into a store and be pressured into buying something more than I can really afford and that I won't like as much as something I've had the freedom to shop around for

I've bought most of my watches online. Only a few from an AD. I feel somewhat uncomfortable standing in front of a store clerk when I try to decide, so it's definitely less stressful to buy online. My TAG I bought from an AD, and that was a good experience, because I had not decided which watch to buy. So it was good to have the ability to try on several models and decide after I saw how they looked and felt.

I ticked c because I tend to buy online for price - but will get in store when it’s the best way to get something (like a new release.)

The in store experience - especially at some good brands - can be phenomenal. (And indeed it can be awful - Watches of Switzerland I’m looking at you!)

I’m used to being treated like a peasant by snooty superficial types, and I don’t mind making them uncomfortable with my presence. But since there are no ADs within a few hours, I buy almost all my watches online, sight unseen.

Would love to do face to face, but 2 things stop me. One is the price, so much discount online, and two the availability of actual bricks n mortar establishments, living in a small town there's very little choice and a trip to a city is such a chore.

I agree with @Xanderz , early in my buying journey, I was 100% on line. Now that I’m mostly looking at higher priced choices, I prefer to ‘try before I buy’.

I am too shy to buy a watch face-to-face 😂

Vintage has to be online I am not bother about buying in a shop .iam the one spending my money so I decide what watch to buy and let's be honest most of the time as a watch collector I have more knowledge than the 20 something sales assistant no disrespect to them.went into the Tudor shop with my pal he was getting a BB 58 guy was asking what i liked to wear showed him my WW11 watch he just said looks old😂

I really rather buy in store. Saw some examples of bad customer surface, which sucks, I've been working customer facing jobs since I was 17 and I don't know if people know they can just fake it until they clock out. I bought my Pro Diver 75% because ooh shiny and 25% because the lady working the counter was really good. "That's a great price for a watch like that, it's a steel automatic etc." She knew her stuff is the point and didn't talk down to me or anything. Every once in a while I think of applying to work a watch counter at like Macy's or something as a part time job just to see how many watches I can sell. I used to sell a ton of grills when I was working at hardware stores. Customers can suck too, easy to forget the person on the other side of the counter is just trying to get through their day.

I would ideally love to try them on but some of them are so hard to find or are only sold in other countries so have to buy online.

I always buy face to face,I understand your reluctance to go to boutique's,some SA do think their superior but they are just like everyone else with mortgage's debt ,bad days .To me half the fun is trying different watches on just to make sure they fit properly and check the quality plus they will resize it

I think I’d PREFER to do in store shopping so long as the store was properly equipped and staffed. When I bought my Tudor from Tourneau they were just that. My sales rep was a nice enough guy, he was never even slightly douchey. When I have an issue they’ll be literally right there for me to bring the watch in. On the other hand I went to a department store to check out a PRX quartz for my girlfriend and the woman tending the watch displays was plainly not in the mood for customers, which is a terrible affliction for someone working a retail counter.

The problem for me has a few big points. First, the sales rep needs to know their product, that is pretty unlikely at the Citizen counter in Bloomingdale’s it seems. It always looks like the staff at the department stores have no clue about the product they’re selling, and frankly don’t get paid enough to think it’s worth learning. At a higher end retailer like Tourneau that is much less a problem. These guys know their game, the issues there tend to be around a whole gang of them being elitist jerks, I won’t work with that at all but I’m good at navigating around those kind of folk I guess. The other issue is availability. I live in a major American city and it’s still not easy to find a certain model, so if you’re hunting a specific model from a big brand like Hamilton or Seiko it might prove fruitless even if the shop you’re in has literally 100 different Hamilton SKUs.

I’ll add how impressed I’ve always been with Shinola. In a similar sense to Apple I feel like you pay a substantial premium to get their products but you have a great buying/support experience. I was given a Shinola and have had it serviced by them, had an issue with a bracelet, even had a couple non Watch items I’ve needed returned and they’ve always been very accommodating. They know their products and they really make retail tolerable. I want retail to be the option but it’s simply not always the best.

While I technically could afford more expensive watches, I have a young one whom I should be spending my money on. I’m also not a flashy guy and consider myself to be more practical in nature. I like watches that look good to me and have practical features like sapphire crystals, steel or titanium cases/bracelets, useful complications such as day, date, gmt, etc.

Sure, I can appreciate the beauty of precious metals, the complexity of tourbillion movements, sub-6 mm thick cases, and the artistry the craftsmanship that can bring all these things together, but could never see myself wearing them in daily life, and that’s just too much money for something to just have and look at.

This all adds up to me feeling like and imposter when I step into an AD.

Online is great for the convenience. If you're buying a new watch and the dimensions sound like they'll fit you, I do not see why you shouldn't save some money (and oftentimes time) by ordering from the web. When buying vintage, this can get veryvery ugly. Thus, I have no real preference. Half of my collection was bought online and the other half in a jeweller's shop.

In person, period. I want to see what I'm paying for, make sure everything is aligned, everything is working, etc. Why would I trust a courier to handle my babies...

I prefer to have my paws on the product.

I have always been a buy in person type. You get a different feel. Unfortunately its becoming harder and harder to do

Any watch purchase over $400 = in person.

You know, I've wavered back and forth on this over the years.

I actually love going to the store to try things on. I have had bad experiences before, though I find this is generally a case of an inexperienced sales person who lets preconceptions get in the way of sales.

But I frankly don't have the time to browse much anymore. The time driving in, the hour spent futzing around, and all that....pretty soon an entire day is eaten up and I just don't have that many days to give up in transit.

There is a lot of truth in stating the difficulties of finding shops, most of the small family owned establishments closed and the larger dealer's shop are usually locating inside shopping malls and staffed with customer hostile personalities.

I bought watches over 400US$ online and have yet to regret it.

So does my cat but it doesn't mean that I have to carry him around to sample my purchases.

I agree that seeing in person and touching an item before the purchase can have a huge influence on the decision to buy or leave, but sometime it's simply not worth the hassle.

Unfortunately I found out that this is not the case. We tend to overlook faults even when handling a product in person and this inspection isn't going to make sure that the hands won't fall of the pivot once you step out of the shop.

You don't have a lot of options when buying vintage. There is a store nearby that sells second hand and vintage watches but their offering are limited.

Very clear preference for buying from brick and mortar shops :

• you can see and touch the wares, which is a real plus as far as watches are concerned

• if you go for something pricey, there is no substitute for the Boutique experience (try Grand Seiko)

• they can size your bracelet on the spot, rather than you scratching your brand new toy

• some sales people are really nice, and in today's world, any positive human interaction you can have is a good thing.

Most importantly, you are not at the mercy of reckless couriers who either use your watchbox as a rugby ball, or hand your precious package to a total stranger or make you wait till 6 pm for a 10 am scheduled delivery. Or worse.

and you don't receive this nasty mail from Fedex, with a €250 alledged import tax claim to be paid immediately before any delivery is considered.

It depends.

• I like the convenience of online shopping

• I like that online there is no social pressure to buy [I come back to that]

• with brick & mortar shops I get a much better impression what a watch looks like (no deception by rendered images), and whether size-wise it fits me

• if I were to return a watch, I'd be more comfortable doing this with a real shop

• the kind of brick & mortar shop I despise is the one-brand-only shop - this shop has only Panerai, this has only Breitling, etc. OK, you can make up your mind beforehand, go to the physical shop to try out, but allow yourself to say no and leave empty-handed - but that is not a trick you can repeat nilly-willy.

Online.

I work in retail. I don't want to be in that similar environment on my days off & I prefer less interaction with people