Shipping experiences with buying from sanmartin.watch?
I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger on my first San Martin. I found the watch I want and I found the best deal from an authorized seller.
But before I click "check out" I'm wondering if anyone can share their experiences with getting a watch shipped to the US from sanmartin.watch. It would be especially helpful to hear from anyone on the US West coast.
Did you have to pay customs, VAT, or import duties? How long did it take to get your watch?
I'll be moving soon and Chinese New Year is almost upon us. I don't want the watch to arrive somewhere I don't live anymore, and I want to be prepared for any additional fees.
Thanks in advance!
Jack of all trades, master of fun. Casio fan, 80s kid, polymath, all-around nerd. Beware: I use watches for their intended purpose. 😱
I’d love to know as well!
Only option for shipping is DHL/FedEx so I'm stuck with that. At least it's not China Post. The LA international mail sorting center is a black hole complete with time dilation.
Never had to pay duties on anything from China before, but I've never bought a watch direct from China and wondered if it more likely to get caught with a customs fee because "luxury goods".
I expect AliExpress to be slow as FastTech used to be, but I have no experience with this San Martin dealer. 🤔
My experience with buying watches from AliExpress has always been positive when it comes to delivery times and also fees. Each shop tells you whether they ship duties paid or not. San Martin ships duties paid to the EU and the UK, so I can't think it would be different for the US.
My experience with buying watches from AliExpress has always been positive when it comes to delivery times and also fees. Each shop tells you whether they ship duties paid or not. San Martin ships duties paid to the EU and the UK, so I can't think it would be different for the US.
Hmm. I'm. Not looking at buying from the AliExpress store, but rather sanmartin.watch. They have a discount code that makes it cheaper than the AliX store.
On their site, it says that VAT etc, is not included, so I'm wondering if it's actually a better deal if I have to shell out extra money on delivery.
I have 2 and bought them from San Martins site. Both were here in about a week with DHL delivery.
Hmm. I'm. Not looking at buying from the AliExpress store, but rather sanmartin.watch. They have a discount code that makes it cheaper than the AliX store.
On their site, it says that VAT etc, is not included, so I'm wondering if it's actually a better deal if I have to shell out extra money on delivery.
Its definitely worth checking AliExpress. They also have coupons there, and VAT is definitely included.
I have 2 SMs. One purchased direct from SM, one through Watchdives. Both were received in under 10 days. There is no customs fee for a purchase under $800.
I have 2 SMs. One purchased direct from SM, one through Watchdives. Both were received in under 10 days. There is no customs fee for a purchase under $800.
My experience as well 👍
Bought my via AliExpress. DHL then paid import tax but that’s the wonderful government of the U.K. for you. Still a cracking watch though, I’m very impressed with it.
I've ordered several watches from China, Japan and Singapore to the US and only had to pay customs on ones over $800. No other fees. DHL has been fantastic, FedEx less so.
I have 2 SMs. One purchased direct from SM, one through Watchdives. Both were received in under 10 days. There is no customs fee for a purchase under $800.
Nice. Thanks for including the shipping time as well! 👍🏼
I had only ordered a few times on the east coast. I had a good experience. They managed expectations by communicating shipping and delivery was a few days early.
I’ve never had an issue from the official store on Aliex & I have 6 of them.
The watch isn’t worth enough for import duties and you won’t have to pay any sales taxes upon delivery.
I’ve found it generally takes about a week to get (non-AliExpress) Chinese watches delivered to me in Houston unless express shipping is used or if the watch goes through customs in Chicago. It always takes a long time to clear customs in Chicago.
Honestly, if you think it could be a problem, just wait and buy the watch after you move or have it shipped to someone else.
I bought one from them in mid November. It never even got to me but it was partly my fault. Nonetheless, I then bought the same one from WatchDives.com for a few dollars less, and it got here very promptly.
Hello Reizer, I bought from San Martin.watch. As you say, this isn’t Ali. I’m in the uk and VAT should be payable, but it seemed to sneak through without being held for ransom by customs. Maybe I got lucky. The watch arrived by DHL iirc in SM’s older ‘flight-style’ case (even though it was a recent release). Other than that, can’t fault the service. Worth bearing in mind that if you have an issue you will have to deal with San Martin.watch. I have no idea what their aftersales is like because the watch was perfect. I guess they are kind of an Ali grey market dealer. They do seem to be cheaper than Ali, but you don’t have SM behind it trying their hardest to please everyone. Pick your poison.
Can’t fault the watch though. Stunner!
I bought a watch from San Martian shipped to Illinois. It took about 2 weeks with no problem and tracking showed its movement the entire trip.
Imports to the US up to $800 are exempt from import taxes (the terms duty and import taxes often used interchangeably; customs are the people who assess the tax). San Martin is generally under $800, so you probably don't need to worry there. There is no such thing as VAT in the United States, we have sales tax (for non-Americans, sales tax varies by state, or sometimes even city or county, so unlike VAT is generally not included in the price of an item, but tacked on at the point of sale, so you always have to count on paying more than what the price tag says). If you buy from the likes of AliExpress, eBay, or Chrono24, and some watch brands like Christopher Ward, they will tack sales tax onto the price (at the rate wherever it's being shipped to). San Martin probably won't, but you'll know when you check out.
Thanks for this info. I've bought a lot of things direct from China (for a different hobby), but all items under $100 and not luxury goods, so I didn't have to deal with any weird issues. Thanks for the explanation, it definitely helps!
Hello Reizer, I bought from San Martin.watch. As you say, this isn’t Ali. I’m in the uk and VAT should be payable, but it seemed to sneak through without being held for ransom by customs. Maybe I got lucky. The watch arrived by DHL iirc in SM’s older ‘flight-style’ case (even though it was a recent release). Other than that, can’t fault the service. Worth bearing in mind that if you have an issue you will have to deal with San Martin.watch. I have no idea what their aftersales is like because the watch was perfect. I guess they are kind of an Ali grey market dealer. They do seem to be cheaper than Ali, but you don’t have SM behind it trying their hardest to please everyone. Pick your poison.
Can’t fault the watch though. Stunner!
Yeah they're not Ali, which might actually be an advantage. My experiences with Chinese online mega-marketplaces like Ali has been mixed. I suspect Ali would take even longer to deliver. And they are an authorized dealer, so...
Beware, the sanmartin.watch is not the official store. Its a san martin dealer. If anything goes wrong, I'm not sure they will honor your warranty. For piece of mind order directly from their website or from Aliexpress from a reputable seller.
I am aware they are an authorized dealer. Honestly, I would happily pay a premium to get it from Amazon for the protection of their return policy, but it just released and isn't stocked by any US sellers yet.
I live on the west coast and bought from their Aliexpress store and it came scarily fast- 6 days including weekend. It was definitely not something they had prestocked in one of local US warehouses so I was very impressed. Paid 10% tax
This is good info, thank you!
Does their site not use AliExpress at all? I’d be a lot more interested in buying one as my iffy experiences on AE have me refusing to buy anything over $100.
As I understand it, sanmartin.watch is an authorized dealer, independent from AliX.
Oh wow, that's a beauty of a GMT!! I might have to check out SM, and pay attention to this thread!
Yeah, they just released two new colorways for the SN0116 line; this root beer and a Pepsi with a midnight blue dial!
I was considering the black model that's been out for a while, but... Even though I'm very much a black dial, understand design kind of person, the black one seems boring, even to me! 😅
I saw this root beer and immediately made up my mind.
The watch isn’t worth enough for import duties and you won’t have to pay any sales taxes upon delivery.
I’ve found it generally takes about a week to get (non-AliExpress) Chinese watches delivered to me in Houston unless express shipping is used or if the watch goes through customs in Chicago. It always takes a long time to clear customs in Chicago.
Honestly, if you think it could be a problem, just wait and buy the watch after you move or have it shipped to someone else.
If I can't get it delivered in time, I will have it sent to my new place. But I'd like to get it early if I can because 1. I currently live in a state with no sales tax and 2. Having the GMT during the move as well would be useful.
If I can't get it delivered in time, I will have it sent to my new place. But I'd like to get it early if I can because 1. I currently live in a state with no sales tax and 2. Having the GMT during the move as well would be useful.
A little bit about import duties and sales taxes.
As long as your purchase is below $800, there won't be any import duties, unless perhaps you are buying something made of an exotic material like crocodile skin or something. (I'm not joking.) Hover, if your purchase is above $800, then you should expect to pay an import duty ON THE ENTIRE VALUE of your purchase, not just the part above the limit. Most people report paying about 8 percent in import duty. Again, it can vary a bit depending on what you buy. (The import duties schedule is very specific regarding different types of movements, materials, etc.) Many people also report not paying any import duties on watches over the limit, and so collection can be a little spotty.
I have a hard time believing you will be spending more than $800 on your San Martin watch.
So, then there is sales tax. Vendors with a "physical presence" in the USA are required to collect sales taxes in jurisdictions that have them. Physical presence is very loosely defined, and can mean a business office, warehousing, logistics, etc.
Because of that, some overseas vendors are required to charge sales tax. For example, AliExpress charges sales tax on purchases made to US customers. They charge you whatever your local sales tax rate happens to be and they collect the money at checkout.
Of course, many overseas vendors do no have a physical presence in the USA and are therefore not required to charge sales taxes.
You can confirm this directly with them, but I am very confident that sanmartin.watch DOES NOT COLLECT SALES TAXES for customers in the USA. So, (a) if you live anywhere in the USA, (b) you purchase from that website, and (c) the watch is below the $800 limit, then you will not pay any import duties or sales taxes on the watch.
DISCLAIMER In most (all) states with sales tax, you are technically supposed to self report any untaxed purchases and send the taxes to the state. The specifics would vary by state. But there's no mechanism for the states to monitor/know what you've purchased and so there's no real way to enforce it.
I'm not telling you to be a tax cheat; I'm just giving you the facts.
A little bit about import duties and sales taxes.
As long as your purchase is below $800, there won't be any import duties, unless perhaps you are buying something made of an exotic material like crocodile skin or something. (I'm not joking.) Hover, if your purchase is above $800, then you should expect to pay an import duty ON THE ENTIRE VALUE of your purchase, not just the part above the limit. Most people report paying about 8 percent in import duty. Again, it can vary a bit depending on what you buy. (The import duties schedule is very specific regarding different types of movements, materials, etc.) Many people also report not paying any import duties on watches over the limit, and so collection can be a little spotty.
I have a hard time believing you will be spending more than $800 on your San Martin watch.
So, then there is sales tax. Vendors with a "physical presence" in the USA are required to collect sales taxes in jurisdictions that have them. Physical presence is very loosely defined, and can mean a business office, warehousing, logistics, etc.
Because of that, some overseas vendors are required to charge sales tax. For example, AliExpress charges sales tax on purchases made to US customers. They charge you whatever your local sales tax rate happens to be and they collect the money at checkout.
Of course, many overseas vendors do no have a physical presence in the USA and are therefore not required to charge sales taxes.
You can confirm this directly with them, but I am very confident that sanmartin.watch DOES NOT COLLECT SALES TAXES for customers in the USA. So, (a) if you live anywhere in the USA, (b) you purchase from that website, and (c) the watch is below the $800 limit, then you will not pay any import duties or sales taxes on the watch.
DISCLAIMER In most (all) states with sales tax, you are technically supposed to self report any untaxed purchases and send the taxes to the state. The specifics would vary by state. But there's no mechanism for the states to monitor/know what you've purchased and so there's no real way to enforce it.
I'm not telling you to be a tax cheat; I'm just giving you the facts.
This is excellent info, thank you! You're the real MVP. 😁👏
Yeah, they just released two new colorways for the SN0116 line; this root beer and a Pepsi with a midnight blue dial!
I was considering the black model that's been out for a while, but... Even though I'm very much a black dial, understand design kind of person, the black one seems boring, even to me! 😅
I saw this root beer and immediately made up my mind.
Right?! They have a model with an Aventurine and Lapis dial too! Very seriously considering them. Even though I swore not to add another automatic this year... I'm supposed to be reducing my collection dangit! 😂
Right?! They have a model with an Aventurine and Lapis dial too! Very seriously considering them. Even though I swore not to add another automatic this year... I'm supposed to be reducing my collection dangit! 😂
You and me both, friend! I've been trimming my collection too, so something will have to go to make room for this new San Martin! 😂
The adventurine dial is absolutely stunning, but just too dressy for my lifestyle if I'm honest. I'm not a big fan of the Explorer-style steel bezel anyway, too shiny.
Did you see that there's a white, marble dial as well?
On the subject of quartz vs mech, I have a 95% quartz collection by design. A mechanical has to be a special exception. I didn't find any quartz GMTs that would fit my wrist and budget other than the Timex Q GMT, though. But I didn't want hooded lugs, they're a pain. And even at around $180, I think the Timex is overpriced considering how much watch you can get for $200 these days.
Hopefully the GMT craze started by the NH34 release will inspire more quartz GMT releases. It would be nice to see Ameriquartz release a GMT movement to compete with the Ronda option.
You and me both, friend! I've been trimming my collection too, so something will have to go to make room for this new San Martin! 😂
The adventurine dial is absolutely stunning, but just too dressy for my lifestyle if I'm honest. I'm not a big fan of the Explorer-style steel bezel anyway, too shiny.
Did you see that there's a white, marble dial as well?
On the subject of quartz vs mech, I have a 95% quartz collection by design. A mechanical has to be a special exception. I didn't find any quartz GMTs that would fit my wrist and budget other than the Timex Q GMT, though. But I didn't want hooded lugs, they're a pain. And even at around $180, I think the Timex is overpriced considering how much watch you can get for $200 these days.
Hopefully the GMT craze started by the NH34 release will inspire more quartz GMT releases. It would be nice to see Ameriquartz release a GMT movement to compete with the Ronda option.
Check out Nodus, they make a Qtz GMT I believe...
I'll be holding off the SM I think for a while. Trying to resist the urge to get shiny things right now 😆
Beads of rice bracelet, love them. Be interesting if / when you get it, as I've ordered the year of the dragon GMT, which seems to be the same watch underneath.