The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I wasn’t too sure if I should post this as a topic or if I should simply send out a couple of PM’s since I believe I already know who most likely has the answers. In the end I have chosen to post my questions seeing as the content may help someone else down the road. First off, I would like to hear everyone’s thoughts on going with an AD who is not local to you. In other words what are the pros/cons or even moral issues that are inherent to going with an AD who is located in a different province, state, or country? For my situation I live in Ontario Canada, and if I purchase a watch from an AD located in my province I will automatically get hit with a 13% tax bill. This is a pretty big hit to the pocket book. However, if I order it from an AD in another province I only see a 5% increase. Heck, in theory if I ordered it from an AD in the US I could potentially avoid the tax all together. Secondly I wanted to hear if anyone has experience ordering a watch from an AD that had to travel across a boarder. What would be involved in the process, and what would be expected? And finally I was hoping to be pointed in the direction of a good Canadian and American AD who does not mind working with someone off site. I am assuming the last question will be answered by PM. I appreciate your help.

Jason

Hi Jason,
Don't know if I can answer all your questions, but I'll do what I can.
I don't think you can avoid the tax, by buying from across the border. I bought a preowned watch once, and when it was delivered, I had to pay taxes on it. It was sent by post, but it also sat in Canada Customs for almost 2 weeks before I got it! I had the tracking no. so I was able to tell where it was. They also wanted paperwork from the seller.
You will get many different opinions on here, about whether to buy from an AD or not, and whether or not to buy locally. I am sure any number of people on this forum who reside in Ontario could refer you to a good AD.
For me, it is local AD all the way. I have been with mine for about 13 years now. About 2 weeks ago, I bought a new Steelfish. For many reasons, although I really like the watch, I realized I had made a mistake and should have taken a close look at a Seawolf in their display case. After I agonized for over a week, I went back and explained my situation. They said, no problem, we will give you full credit for the Steelfish, and just charge the difference for the Seawolf and apply the same discount. They actually did even better on a discount for the Seawolf! That is only one of many great experiences I have had, and I feel there are many other benefits to being loyal to an AD.
Hope this helps somewhat.
Before I forget - Welcome to Breitlingsource.com !
Cheers,
Carl

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'63 Omega Seamaster, 2014 Omega Speedmaster MarkII

"Those who possess a sense of entitlement are seldom satisfied"

Personally, I'd say go local first. If you can foster a relationship with your AD, it will benefit you in the long run. There are some tremendous AD/buyer relationship stories on here that are testaments to what sticking with a good, local AD can do.

As far as specific AD's who don't mind working with you remotely - standard advice is to PM Jnelson for details for an AD in America

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“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” - Albert Einstein

I would suggest sending a PM off to Roffesian (Roff), he lives just outside of Toronto and can probably hook you up with a good AD in the Toronto area.

As far as oredering fro the US, pricing is about the same and you will get hit with taxes (PST/GST/HST) and duty (I think duty is 5% on watches) when the watch crosses the border anyway, so your not going to be any further ahead by doing that.

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Steel Fish (Blue Dial)

US is certainly not a smart move - HST + import duty of 5% + handling fees + HST onthe handling fees.

You can wear it across the border personally and potentially avoid that, but only by committing a criminal offence!

I'm not an expert on the cross province rules, but pre HST an Ontario AD could charge an Alberta resident GST only (as no PST in AB). I assume that the opposite also applies - taxes are based on the province of residence (unlike in the US).

When you are ready to buy I am happy to provide a recommendation for a Toronto based AD who will give you a fair deal.

Thank you everyone for your quick replies. I am assuming from everyone's response that most individuals go with local AD's, or at the very least someone within their own country. I would still be curious to hear of anyone's experiences who actually ordered a watch from an AD in another country. For purely academic reasons obviously.



Thanks Roffensian. I assumed you would be the guy who had the answers. I will definitely take you up on your offer to get the name of a good local AD when the time to purchase approaches. I must admit I had a good chuckle at your "criminal offence" statement. You are obviously correct. LOL... but the frugal part of me really wishes that there was a way around that. In other words I was hoping there was a way that both satisfied the law and enabled someone to bring a watch into Canada. For example how long would someone have to stay/live in the States for items purchased during their stay to be considered their property or tax free when they crossed the boarder? A wonderful example of this is an individual who temporary goes to the States on a student visa. Would everything they purchase during their stay be subject to taxes when they head home, or would it be considered property? I understand these questions are likely beyond anyone’s expertise on this form, so I am not really expecting a definitive answer. Roffensian, your initial answer simply got me thinking and asking myself how things worked. If anyone knows please feel free to respond.

You would have to contact Canada Customs for an accurate answer on that. I guess that the duty free allowance helps on short trips, but the exemption is so small (don't remember the exact amount, but under $100 I think) that it doesn't make any practical difference.

Having the AD you bought it from local is always nice. I dont care what anybody says, you get better after-sales service. Although any AD will assist you regardless of whether you bought from them or not, they always treat their own customers a little bit better. Ive bought both ways, and it just comes down to how much youre gonna save on each deal, and whether or not the savings is worth it in the long run. Building a relationship can be very beneficial to you in the long run when you need a little help with something, maybe a small part or repair, a trade-in, dibs on a particular watch or LE, higher discounts on other pieces/brands down the road etc.

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-RJ

Just ask me what building a relationship gets you. I have gotten things from my ad that i would NEVER have gotten If i wasn't local. Things you could never put a $ value on. If you can, keep it local.