The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I've often seen watches in the for sale section of this site that are just a few weeks old.
Recent example is this one;
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=39917

Why can't these people just return these watches?
I've never had tried to return my watches, but for other jewelery type items a full refund after a few weeks is not unreasonable and after a month had passed I had to got full value in the form of a store credit at least.

It seems more often than not, judging by some of the watches we see in the for sale section, many times watches from our ADs are final sale.

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Breitling Colt
Breitling Skyland

To quote an AD I know who was asked by a customer to buy a 1 week old watch back a coupl of years ago - "I can buy a brand new watch from Breitling for 55% of list price, why would I buy a 1 week old watch that I can no longer sell as new for 75% of list price?"

The watch simply isn't new anymore - the warranty has been filled out and the clock is running on that, so an AD isn't going to give a full refund and private sales will generate better than selling to a delaer who needs to flip it for profit.

There may be one or two ADs who will exchange, especially for purchases unseen and if the watch hasn't been worn, but that's about it.

When my wife bought me a watch as a present the AD offered exchanges in case it wasn't the watch I really wanted, but they did not offer a refund as an option. And the watch had to be unworn and they didn't send in the warranty info or fill in the warranty card until I went in and said for sure was keeping it and didn't want an Exchange.

The AD would be taking a loss if they took an actual return due to the fact they can't sell a returned watch as new.

When I bought from Govberg over the phone, I had a 48-hour window after the watch arrived to inspect it, try it on, and make sure it was what I wanted. If I didn't like it, I could return it for a full refund. That only makes sense, because if I were to buy in person, I would be able to do the same thing prior to buying the watch. I wouldn't be willing to buy blind if I had no reassurance that I wasn't bound to the purchase in the event the watch was totally wrong for me. I don't know how Govberg would have worked it out with Breitling regarding the warranty; perhaps they didn't actually submit the warranty card until the 48-hour window had elapsed. At any rate, buying blind over the phone is the only situation I can think of where returns are accepted; otherwise, if you buy it, it's yours. That's pretty standard with watches.

The position is much better in the UK if you buy sight unseen. Under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations you have a cooling off period of seven working days. I nearly bought one watch over the 'phone, then did buy another watch over the phone - both well-known UK ADs - and both were happy to give me a week's grace so's I could see it in the flesh and think about it.

Normally, we exchange all watches, we have sold, within about a month. There is no problem, if the watch has not been worn. But if polishing or refinishing the watch is necessary, the customer will have to agree to accept that cost.
But we hardly do mailorders...

BG
Thomas

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http://www.ellert.at

I returned a Breitling that I had worn a few times before. I would certainly understand if they wouldnt take it back, but I guess thats where having a good relationship with an AD can be beneficial. I got credit toward another Breitling.

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-RJ