Grand Seiko window shopping in San Diego
This is not a question, just sharing an experience...
I live in Monterrey, Mexico, and there are no GS ADs in the area, so, every time I go out of town, I try to locate an AD and pay it a visit. My last time abroad was in Barcelona, Spain, and the window shopping experience was horrible, but since the AD was "El Corte Ingles", it was expected to be horrible since it is a department store.
This time, I was in San Diego with my family, and I was super excited to go to the GS AD since I recently bought my SBGE257 without seeing it "live" before, and this was supposed to be the first time with the watch. Let me describe my experience:
First, I entered the store through the Rolex boutique, and I had a very nice conversation with the salesperson in charge of Rolex, he even offered to show me whatever "sold" piece I wanted to see. Then, he walked me to the rest of the store, where the GS display was, they had ALL the watches I wanted to see and interact with. Then, a lady came offering help, and I asked if I could see a few GS watches, and she proceeded. First of all, the watches had this horrible plastic wrap (incredibly horribly put on) that did not allow me to appreciate the lines of the cases, some of the watches had it worse than others, in the case of the SBGE257 (the one I want it to see more), it had A LOT of plastic in the back that did not even allow me to appreciate the thickness of the watch (the only concern factor of my blind purchase), when I asked the lady if I could remove it, she categorically said "no", stating that they had to protect the watches. I have seen other brands using this "scratch prevention technique" but you can tell they have put a little more "heart" on the wrapping, trying not to affect (at least not too much) the aesthetic of the watch. Then, this lady had no clue about the brand, she couldn't tell the difference between a Spring Drive and a Hi beat movement (even suggested they were the same movement). I am not saying I am an expert, but I expected to have at least a good watch conversation with the salesperson. The person did not interact with me at all, she just limited herself to put the watch back, and take out whatever I asked next.
Please note she was never rude, always nice and polite, just not the experience you expect, at least not from GS, after watching 3 pieces, I got bored and left.
I always compare Rolex with other brands, when it comes to the "buy experience". Since I started collecting watches, I have bought a few Rolex, some of them before this crazy hype started, and the experience was very different, first, back then, I did not have the feeling that the salesperson was doing me a favor for selling me a >10K watch. Now, the Rolex experience is horrible, and I am not saying it is justified, but the AD is aware that they are giving you the chance to earn a few thousand dollars if you "quick flip" the watch (no my case). I have also bought other brands too, and for example, the first GS I bought (from the Miami Boutique) the experience was awesome... Every time I walk in an Omega boutique, the salesperson seems to be making an effort, trying to create a nice experience, trying to give me an incentive to always come back... but this GS AD... nada!
Is it just me and some bad luck? or is it maybe that they already know that I am poor, and not going to buy from them?
Maybe with this mqrket "correction" thing will get back to what they where... where ADs had to actually work to sell a wacth... only time will tell
Love watches... enjoying what there is to enjoy of every piece. Favorites are, Seiko, Tudor, Rolex, Omega, JLC, Panerai and Grand Seiko.
I am sorry to hear about your bad experience. So far most of my experiences at the AD are good. But these are my local ADs (in Singapore) I’m talking about. I’ve not been to ADs in Barcelona, Spain. So, I could not share my experience with AD there. I‘m sure some of our brothers/sisters here may be able to share their experience.
There are many ADs in a single mall near Miami. One retailer (maybe the same one you visited in San Diego), has Rolex, Tudor, Grand Seiko and several others, with the Rolex section as a separate and mostly-empty section. I looked at the GS display cases for longer than it should have taken to get some attention but got none, so I left.
I'd question if my casual appearance suggested that I wasn't a potential buyer, but had a much better response in the Longines store, not far away. This store only represented Longines, and the salesperson took time to let me try on several models, even retrieving one that wasn't on display from the back after I inquired. That single brand focus might explain the difference, at least in part. The big, multi-brand store had much more traffic and much less interest from the salespeople.
@HotWatchChick69 might have some insight on GS dealers in the San Diego area.
I'll be in Barcelona later this year, and I'm looking forward to visiting a vintage watch dealer there. I'll skip the ADs because I can visit those anywhere, and not many places have a vintage-only dealer.
Multi-brand ADs are the worst. They know nothing about anything. I know precisely which store you're talking about - they're a jewelry chain that happened to get into selling watches, and they are typically located in malls.
If you want a good experience, always go to the GS Boutiques. I buy all my GS from the Boutique in Miami, where the guys will sit and geek out with me about watches all day long!
There are many ADs in a single mall near Miami. One retailer (maybe the same one you visited in San Diego), has Rolex, Tudor, Grand Seiko and several others, with the Rolex section as a separate and mostly-empty section. I looked at the GS display cases for longer than it should have taken to get some attention but got none, so I left.
I'd question if my casual appearance suggested that I wasn't a potential buyer, but had a much better response in the Longines store, not far away. This store only represented Longines, and the salesperson took time to let me try on several models, even retrieving one that wasn't on display from the back after I inquired. That single brand focus might explain the difference, at least in part. The big, multi-brand store had much more traffic and much less interest from the salespeople.
@HotWatchChick69 might have some insight on GS dealers in the San Diego area.
I'll be in Barcelona later this year, and I'm looking forward to visiting a vintage watch dealer there. I'll skip the ADs because I can visit those anywhere, and not many places have a vintage-only dealer.
I had a cool experience with a vintage dealer in Barcelona, I bought the watch he was wearing, such a nice guy/experience.. enjoy Barcelona, such an incredible city...
Multi-brand ADs are the worst. They know nothing about anything. I know precisely which store you're talking about - they're a jewelry chain that happened to get into selling watches, and they are typically located in malls.
If you want a good experience, always go to the GS Boutiques. I buy all my GS from the Boutique in Miami, where the guys will sit and geek out with me about watches all day long!
Haha, I did not want to name the store, but yes... that is the store. The thing is that where I live there are no GS boutiques, that is why I look forward in every trip to visit one. Regarding the GS boutique in Miami, that is what all companies should aim when it comes to salespersons. About 6 years ago, I spent no less than 2 hours speaking to a salesperson (Joe Kirk) and he had so much to do with the fact that I like GS so much... now, I speak to Joel, such a nice guy too and awesome salesperson as well...
I bought my SBGJ235 from Joel, all over the phone, and even so, the experience was awesome...
The only bad thing from them: Paying full retail + Florida taxes
Multi-brand ADs are the worst. They know nothing about anything. I know precisely which store you're talking about - they're a jewelry chain that happened to get into selling watches, and they are typically located in malls.
If you want a good experience, always go to the GS Boutiques. I buy all my GS from the Boutique in Miami, where the guys will sit and geek out with me about watches all day long!
Next time you're here (Miami), I'd love to join you for that chat!
Haha, I did not want to name the store, but yes... that is the store. The thing is that where I live there are no GS boutiques, that is why I look forward in every trip to visit one. Regarding the GS boutique in Miami, that is what all companies should aim when it comes to salespersons. About 6 years ago, I spent no less than 2 hours speaking to a salesperson (Joe Kirk) and he had so much to do with the fact that I like GS so much... now, I speak to Joel, such a nice guy too and awesome salesperson as well...
I bought my SBGJ235 from Joel, all over the phone, and even so, the experience was awesome...
The only bad thing from them: Paying full retail + Florida taxes
Yeah, totally. Now that I think about it, my strategy has been to buy the limited edition watches from the Boutique - it's the only way I've found to actually get allocations. Meanwhile, regular unlimited production watches, I'll buy from grey market at discount and with "out of state" tax treatment... wink, wink. 😜
My GS AD is a multi brand store but they are realLu good to work with and for sure are knowledgable about the timepieces they sell. They even let me haggle a bit on my first purchase and knocked 10% off my SBGA407.
Btw, excellent choice on the SBGE257. How does it wear for you? It does sound think.
Yeah, totally. Now that I think about it, my strategy has been to buy the limited edition watches from the Boutique - it's the only way I've found to actually get allocations. Meanwhile, regular unlimited production watches, I'll buy from grey market at discount and with "out of state" tax treatment... wink, wink. 😜
I went again today (killing some time before my flight) and another person took care of me. A whole different thing, I got to see all the watches I wanted… he even suggested to show different pieces. by the way… just saw your profile pic.. did I see new additions???
My GS AD is a multi brand store but they are realLu good to work with and for sure are knowledgable about the timepieces they sell. They even let me haggle a bit on my first purchase and knocked 10% off my SBGA407.
Btw, excellent choice on the SBGE257. How does it wear for you? It does sound think.
great to hear that! Regarding my SBGE257; I still don’t have it, I bought it from Japan, and I asked them to ship it to my cousin in the US (I leave in Mexico and the custom process seemed a little bit “risky” ) I will meet him in a few weeks, I‘ll share some pics then… thanks for asking
great to hear that! Regarding my SBGE257; I still don’t have it, I bought it from Japan, and I asked them to ship it to my cousin in the US (I leave in Mexico and the custom process seemed a little bit “risky” ) I will meet him in a few weeks, I‘ll share some pics then… thanks for asking
My partner is from Mexico City. I’ve heard about the customs process. Good luck and enjoy!!
I went again today (killing some time before my flight) and another person took care of me. A whole different thing, I got to see all the watches I wanted… he even suggested to show different pieces. by the way… just saw your profile pic.. did I see new additions???
Nah, man, that's an old profile pic. I only have 1 Omega now. Everything is GS now!