Buying a watch from ashford.com

As with many things, if the prices are too good to be true, then they generally aren’t true. A lot of these ”grey market” watch dealers entice people in with low prices, but they don’t actually have the item in stock. Stores like Watchmaxx and Jomashop are notorious for this. 
 

Instead of having the items on hand, they count on people buying the item first, and then they source the item with industry connections, and hopefully you get the watch for the price you pay. 
 

I can’t tell you how many stories I hear of people paying, waiting months, just for the seller to say “the item isn’t avaialable, we had to cancel your order, or you can pick from a different selection” AKA they were not able to come up with the watch you ordered at a price they can sell it to you at a profit 😂

Not all items on these shops are like that. Some of them are genuinely in stock. But if it quotes you a month long shipping time, or looks sketchy in any way, you’ll probably be experiencing what I just described. 
 

Google the business a lot, and use your best judgment!

'Buy the seller, not the watch' is an adage I've learned here that may be of some assistance. 

One I learned a long time ago may be as well, 'If it's too good to be true, well, you already said it.'

Never thought of the advertising being the first step in making a sale for a grey market merchant. Always thought it was 'acquire unsold merchandise'. 

Good to know.  

Yeah I got “duped“ into waiting 2 months for an Oris at 40% off retail price, only to be emailed that the selection was not available, and I could choose from a different model. Jomashop and Watchmaxx aren’t doing anything illegal, and some people have no problem with this style of grey market, I wish they were just more upfront about their shipping times and how they acquire the pieces.

Plus, to be fair, they do have lots of models in stock, and ready to ship, but its very hit or miss from what I’ve heard.  Sadly since it is the grey market, we as consumers can never really be sure exactly where the watches come from or how they are able to offer up a big discount.

I think a lot of it is simply excess inventory from ADs, and then they get rid of the warranty info, so that no one knows that they are offloading their merchandise to a grey market seller.  A lot of people are really happy with what they get though!  Shoot if I can get an Omega for half price, brand new in box, but I have to wait a few months, that is a solid deal to me.

To be fair, I wasn’t familiar with how these sites worked at the time, and I was mad and felt like I wasted a ton of time, but if you factor in the bit of risk that they may not be able to source the watch, then it’s not too bad of a deal in my mind. Just depends on the person I guess. There’s a few YouTube videos that explain it a bit more elegantly than me 😂 and it’s all conjecture, but I think it’s a pretty accurate idea of how they operate.

I've purchased from them and was very happy with the transaction. 

My family has used them in the past -- no issues and we were very happy with the watch.

Shoot if I can get an Omega for half price, brand new in box, but I have to wait a few months, that is a solid deal to me.

I'm of the same mind, but I'd need a HUGE milestone to even begin looking

Ashford is an AD for some brands (e.g. Hamilton) and this are under the manufacturer warranty. As such, they are not really a gray market dealer. I bought a Hamilton last year (for an excellent price) and had no issues. I also needed to utilize the warranty a few months later and their customer service was good. 

Same here, I like being involved in the Watch community, but man seeing some of these pieces that I will never be able to buy is a little heartbreaking some days.  But then I look at my Orient and I am perfectly at peace with what I can manage :)

That’s a healthy attitude, because no matter where you are with your collection, there is always someone with a pricier lineup. 

Right!  Always a bigger fish. 

I've purchased from them a few times, and my watches were always delivered within a week of purchase. They are legit.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I originally wrote this post after I searched up reviews for Ashford and got alot of mixed reactions. As well I wanted to know what actual watch collectors think of Ashford and other sites like this

Wow that's actually really good!

I honestly feel the same way when I see people with luxury watches. A part of me wishes i had them and a part of me is also happy with all my watches priced under $500

I've purchased multiple times from both sites and never had an issue. Just make sure the item is in stock. 

Multiple dealings and never a problem. I'm not far from their location so shipping is always within 2 days.

Wow that's amazing. Where do they ship from?

New York/New Jersey area.

I'm in Mass.

Nice I'm in Toronto, Canada so they shouldn't take too long for me either

Hopefully-but internatioinal shipping is a different animal.

Might not be as fast-but Ashford is great.