Chrono24 Purchases

Some savvy buyers say dealers only.

While C24 is not obliged to take returns from private sellers, they also don't pay them immediately. It sits in escrow for a number of days until either you "click" for the money to be sent or the time limit runs out. If you're able to prove the watch is fake or not in the condition advertised in that time, they will refund your money from that escrow account. My advice is, find a local watch expert, AD or someone who can authenticate the watch before you buy. Then use that time to have them examine your purchase.

Plenty of buyers report a good experience on Chrono24 so I think a valid consideration is what happens when there is a snafu. In my case there were several problems.

Though the dealer had good ratings during my transaction he was super shady and deceitful and we couldn't reach a satisfactory outcome when my NIB purchase didn't arrive as described. (Returning the watch was offered if I ate the duty and return shipping fees.)

Chrono24 said the dealer was "technically" in compliance with their unpublished Dealer/Chrono24 policies but offered me a $100 "satisfaction consideration" on my $5000 watch. I turned down the hundred bucks, left a bad review instead and share this story at every opportunity.

I’ve had good experiences buying and selling on chrono24 with private individuals, although they were all sub $1000 watches.

I’ve had a good experience buying through them. I like that they withheld my payment from the seller to give me time to inspect the watch after receiving. Seems like a smart setup.

thank you for your service

I’ve had only good experiences on the site.

Thanks for your considered response. Unfortunately, for this particular purchase, C24 says escrow service unavailable.

Thanks for responding, I appreciate it. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience.

Thank you, that's helpful. This would be a sub $1000 watch also.

Thanks for responding. For some reason C24 is not offering to provide that withholding service in this case.

I've had two really good experiences. I bought Sinn watches both times from private dealers. Easy transactions, good communication, and I was extremely happy.

Thanks for answering, but I'm not sure I understand. So only dealers should purchase from C24, or dealers are the only private sellers who list there? Or one should only buy from dealers, and should avoid C24?

No, other buyers say you should buy from highly rated & trusted dealers, not private individuals.

But even then, issues can happen as @FlatteryCamp pointed out.

OK, I understand now, thanks for clarifying.

Then look away and look for another seller, preferably one that's not private.

It’s a limited edition from a microbrand, and I don’t know how many the manufacturer has left, but at least it doesn’t say unavailable on their site. Given what I’ve heard from the crunchers today, I’m thinking I may just purchase it directly from the manufacturer, rather than risk a deal that may be too good to be true.

Please check again; this is standard procedure for all transactions on their platform.

The above is copied from the C24 listing for this watch. I assume "Escrow Service unavailable" means they would not set aside funds in this case. Also, the watch is very likely no longer within the original warranty period, even if the warranty happened to be transferable. So I'm beginning to realize I have little recourse if I receive the watch and there is minor damage that was not evident in the images, or any functional issue.