Luxury Watches

Would you buy a luxury watch on the internet ? I have and will obviously continue to do so, but why ?

The internet is one of the biggest tidal waves that mankind has ever seen. Slowly but surely everyone is appreciating the merits of a truly connected society, and businesses (in particular) have created huge efficiencies through harnessing the power of the web. Google is mainly responsible for the democratising of a truly vast resource, and has ensured that search results are relevant. Could you imagine using the internet without a proper search engine ? Anyway, I digress.... the fact of the matter is that the internet is here to stay and it is inevitable that anything that can be sold, will be sold on the web, including watches. The problem is that in the early days a lot of people saw the web as an opportunity to rip people off in what ever way they could. Today there is such a high level of security associated with transactions on the web that mechanisms like 3D secure are about as secure as you can get. I am sure most of you will happily give your credit card details over the phone to some stranger who could simply write it down and re-use it!

But what about authenticity and guarantees (I hear you say) ? The vast majority of the professional sites that appear in relevant google search results are selling authentic products. The effort and spend that goes in to establishing and maintaining this sort of relevancy to your searches for products is not going to be spent by an individual or organisation that wants to rip you off and disappear.  Unfortunately the internet is so huge that the remainder is actually a large number of sites so how can you protect yourself ?

• Try and deal with a seller who has a verifiable track record of successful sales (one of the reasons I buy a lot of stuff on Ebay)
• Get in touch with them, send an email or give them a call, if the reply doesn't fit don't buy.

What about guarantees ? You should always be offered some form of guarantee and returns policy, if not don't buy. A good watch is manufactured to a very high standard and the likelihood of problems within the guarantee period is small but you should still get some documentary evidence that you have a guarantee.

I have bought the majority of my watches online because it is convenient, I know what makes a good seller, and I like to get the best value for money that I can. There is a lot of choice in both range and price. Be as smart as you would be spending good money anywhere and you will be OK, buying a watch advertised as a brand new Rolex for $149.00 and expecting to receive a £2,500.00 watch is.... do I really need to say...!