Where in the world to buy a watch ?

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alanpar
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Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by alanpar »

Sorry if this question sounds a bit ponsy . I happen to be off on holiday to St Lucia and noticed it had a Duty Free port and a lot of Ad's - a potentially deadly combination.

Now I happen to have booked this by accident (my wife's not convinced) but it raised the question of where would i go to buy
an expensive but generic watch-e.g Rolex Sub,Omega PO etc.Has to be AD and in person so preferably somewhere you might want to holiday.

Any Ideas?
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Richard B
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by Richard B »

Can't speak from personal experience, but the general experience seems to be that except for a few rare cases, world-wide pricing removes any advantage, particularly if you do a non-finance deal with your local dealership.
So I wish I was James Bond, just for the day.
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by gweilgi »

Richard B wrote:Can't speak from personal experience, but the general experience seems to be that except for a few rare cases, world-wide pricing removes any advantage, particularly if you do a non-finance deal with your local dealership.
Duty Free is almost never worth it, in my experience. Browsing airside shops at Heathrow and in much of continental Europe, I have found that while goods may not attract sales tax/VAT the dealers will not pass that saving along to their customers. The price tag of a watch or tie or bottle of Scottish mouthwash will, IME, be only a few per cent less than on the High Street, and thus well within reach of a special sales offer or negotiations with an AD.

Where I have discovered the potential for serious savings is with merchants in-country, due to the possibility of deducting the local taxes.
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by ianblyth »

Duty Free is only applicable if you are flying to a country outside the UK otherwise VAT is still payable which is why Duty Free shops show 2 prices. Also when coming back into the UK from a non EU country you are legally obliged to declare purchases to Customs & Excise so that they may apply VAT to your purchases.
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by diver69 »

Its a about 5 years ago now, but the Sandels Resort (in St Lucia) I was staying in had a watch shop, all the big names - I got a Tag Heuer for a LOT cheaper than it was in Europe with full stamped Tag Warranty card..........I am pretty sure they were AD for all the big names. In fact, the exact same watch was for sale on the Virgin Atlantic Flight to/from St Lucia, for Hundreds more than I paid for it........So keep an open mind. These days with internet it is very easy to do comparisons once out there.

PS: Some Excellent Diving opportunities out there if you are so inclined!! :D
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by Viognier »

Keep an eye on watchrecon.com for North American sale posts. The watches start lower here than the UK (VAT exempt). So if you find a bargain, with GBP exchange and even factoring in the VAT on your purchase price you may still realise substantial savings.

For consideration.

Also agree with gweilgi, that a local AD who removes the taxes and negotiates is also your best bet for new watches.
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by alanpar »

Just thought I'd update on this. Taking advice from the Forum I contacted the local AD in St Lucia with regard to a Tudor Grantour Date - a watch I fell in love with having seen Chriswt's on the forum.To cut a long story short they still wont beat the
£1400 price that Iconic Watches have on a white dial with bracelet in stock. I would prefer the black dial but so far I'm being offered 5% off the US retail of $2660.5% of retail is not the stuff of which my duty-free foreign buying dreams were made.
Obviously when I declare it at UK customs it will get even worse.

I hope I come back with a suntan but it does'nt look like it will be a watch.

I think this is what's knownas a "first-world problem"
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by Richard B »

alanpar wrote: I would prefer the black dial...
http://www.kcwatches.co.uk/20500n-tudor ... 6608-p.asp
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by alanpar »

I love the strap but was thinking a bracelet might be better for resale (is that actually true?)
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by bspj »

I remember good prices in Charlotte Amalie in St Thomas, just a short hop away.
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by jack »

You can get great deals on watches in Singapore and also KL. Look in the malls rather than the airport and ask for their best price. Aim to get at least 30% off. Newer models and extremely popular models are more difficult, but you can still get a good deal. I've also had good offers and deals in Dubai, but that was a few years ago with the added advantage of a good exchange rate for brits.

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Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by giblets46 »

Ha, just back from Switzerland, definitely not Zurich airport! Add a good 10-20%, and the staff were not too chatty or knowledgable ( with the exception of a couple of people). Loads of watch stores though, seemed to be the same 10 brands throughout
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Re: Where in the world to buy a watch ?

Post by sjbroadhead »

giblets46 wrote:Ha, just back from Switzerland, definitely not Zurich airport! Add a good 10-20%, and the staff were not too catty or knowledgable ( with the exception of a couple of people). Loads of watch stores though, seemed to be the same 10 brands throughout
I go through Zurich a lot too. Ridiculous prices....
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