See the following section for more information on watches that have had their serial numbers removed. It to the authorized dealer that sold it to the gray market. Some gray market watches have had the serial number removed from the outside of the case (but not the inside) to prevent the manufacturer from tracing.Otherwise, any repair will be at your expense. If the dealer includes a warranty of their own, it will only be good through them-it will not be honored by any other dealer or the manufacturer's authorized service centers.įor this you must trust the reputation and stability of that dealer to repair your watch within the warranty period.Watches described as having 'open papers' means the warranty has not been validated by an authorized dealer. In either case, you have no valid manufacturer's warranty coverage. Your manufacturer's warranty card will not be stamped with an authorized dealer's name-or you may get no card at all.Market or make it clear that you do not have a manufacturer's warranty on the watch. While some gray market dealers are very honest and forthright about what they are selling to you, others may not mention that their merchandise is gray.(particularly if they have a very large amount of returns after Christmas). When the watch is a returned or clearance item, or when they bend the rules when really desperate for end-of-month sales When a dealer has stock they acquired before a manufacturer's price increase, Note that there are legitimate cases where an authorized dealer may give you more thanĢ0% off current list price on a fine watch. Gray market fine watches are typically available at discounts of 30-40%, compared to the maximum 20% discount the authorizedĭealers are usually contractually allowed to give you.What does it mean to me if I buy a gray market watch? Is the serial number missing off the watch?.Is the manufacturer's warranty card missing or not stamped with an authorized dealer stamp?.Is the dealer's published price more than 20% off the manufacturer's listed retail price?.Here are probable signs of a gray market watch: Watches as if they were 'new' merchandise.) (Though occasionally, some less ethical gray market dealer may also sell old stock, returns, or refurbished The only thing that makes them different is that they passed through an unauthorized dealer or reseller on the Gray market watches are genuine watches from the original manufacturer. How can I tell if a watch is gray market? At that point, the customer sees the manufacturer as the bad guy for refusing to honorĪ warranty on a watch the customer feels they bought legitimately. They have a problem and are refused in-warranty service by the manufacturer or an authorized But onlyĪ small percentage of buyers know this before a purchase. The reason this policy isĪn ineffective deterrent is that the customer needs to know this before they buy the watch. Hurting the uninformed consumer more than it protects the authorized dealers. Unfortunately, this policy usually ends up Provide in-warranty service on these watches. The heavier discount offered to the consumer by the non-authorized dealers, refuse to The manufacturers, to protect their authorized dealers from The authorized dealer or resellers agreements with the manufacturer. This is not explicitly illegal, but it usually violates 'gray market' of unauthorized dealers-who then sell the watches at heavier discounts thanĪuthorized dealers are allowed to. So some authorized dealers sell off at wholesale prices the surplus to the This can involve minimum initial and ongoing inventory purchase requirementsĪs high as US$ 250,000 for a single dealer to carry each major brand.įor smaller dealers, this often forces them to purchase more watches than they can sellĭirectly to their customers and to hold in inventory an excessive amount of merchandise ofĪ single brand. Initial investments in inventory and continue to purchase minimum quantities of watches To establish and maintain anĪuthorized dealer relationship and volume discounts, authorized dealers must make large Maker only sells them to authorized dealers and distributors. Most important concept to understand before making a purchase decision is the differenceīetween gray-market versus authorized dealers and how that affects the price, warrantyĬoverage, and resale of a watch you purchase.Īll genuine Omega, Rolex and other fine watches come from the maker's factory. There are many places where you can buy fine watches. ![]() What does it mean if the seller removes the serial number?.What does it mean to me if I buy a gray market watch?.How can I tell if a watch is gray market?.Gray Market Watches Even reputable new watch dealers may be selling 'unauthorized' watches-know the risks and problems you may face after buying
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