Is buying from an AD worth it?
So I bought a #seiko Aplinist SBP121J1 in Jan 2023 to celebrate my 15th anniversary. I have 2 Seikos (my 1st automatic and a mod) and the reason I chose this one was for looks and 36mm. So both me and my wife can wear it😜.
We enjoyed it for a week and then I realized that its not holding power as promised by specs. It worked when I wore it, meaning the automatic winding worked but if I kept it in watchbox for couple of days the power was gone (no 70 hours🙄). I tried manual winding it, the gears would not engage.
So I took it back to AD and he graciously kept it with him to test it himself and then confirmed my suspicion. So the watch goes for repair after only 2 weeks on the wrist. Comes back after month and half from Seiko.. This time the crown that rotates the direction arrows would not engage😠. There it goes back to the AD and this time and didn't say a word to the dealer. He took it and apologized and send it back.
Today I get a call, that he has got me a brand new watch. I am all excited. We remove it from package, this time I test it to see rather than taking it on its face value. The screw down crown doesn't seal. We try few times and its a hit or a miss. In my mind I am ready to loose it🤯. But my upbringing, education and experience has taught me that anger will only take you down a path that you cannot return from.
The AD also happens to be my dealer for Omega... So instead of returning the watch, I told him to give bargain on the Seaweed Omega Seamaster 300m (hard to get, let alone a bargain). It's been ordered at a negotiated cost.
Will miss the Seiko Alpinist and remember the 2 weeks of fun we had.. now awaiting my green seamaster...
My take..always buy it from AD...
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Vivek
@Half_Life
I have recently started collecting watches, like 5 years ago. Love them for the art and engineering. And my wife doesn’t know how many watches I have.
Ventura
Member since
Last active: 13 hrs ago
Sorry you had that experience with the Seiko, that’s disappointing.
I have generally bought online, but I realize I may be screwed if I have problems. It’s basically a gamble, but has worked so far.
Yep, I try to buy from an AD even if it’s an online only transaction (not all watches I want are at local ADs). Barring that, I prefer watches that have a strong paper trail, which is how I got my limited edition Alpinist. So far so good.
I usually buy from the AD but have bought from a long time established watch shop only because the watches were older models,as the saying goes buy the seller not the watch
Grey market for me but I’m not spending thousands of dollars. If I was I would prefer AD. Honestly I would prefer trying on a timepiece first before making a huge purchase decision.
Grey market for me but I’m not spending thousands of dollars. If I was I would prefer AD. Honestly I would prefer trying on a timepiece first before making a huge purchase decision.
In my collection, I have mix of grey market and AD. But for the more expensive ones I am leaning on AD for warranty and the relationship to get my next one with over paying the grey market rate.. though I have scored good one in grey market on out of production piece