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This is a bit long, but I need to vent......

Sometimes I make bad decisions. Exhibit 1 would be my ex-wife. Exhibit 2? Not purchasing my Navitimer World from Govberg.

On Wednesday March 11, I called Govberg to inquire about a Navitimer World. They had 3 in stock, quoted me an incredible price, and said that they could ship it that night. I would have the watch on my wrist on Thursday, March 12. Keep that in mind.

I've done quite a bit of business with my local AD in Boston, both watches and other jewelry. I wanted to give them a chance, as I wanted to continue to build a good relationship with them for future purchases. Since they have a shop directly across the street from my office, I took a walk over on Thursday March 12. Much to my surprise, they didn't have a Navi World in stock - in any of their stores. Mind you - they are by far the largest AD in New England, with six stores in Massachusetts, plus 2 additional stores in New Hampshire. Without providing them the Govberg name, I told them what my target price was. They were a bit surprised at the price I was going to get. Since they didn't have one in their inventory, they couldn't quote me a price, but told me that they would reach out to their buyer and get back to me as soon as possible.

I finally heard back on from them Tuesday, March 17 (which would have been day 5 with the watch had I gone with Govberg). Their price came in at $200 over Govberg's, and they were willing to ship it to an out-of-state address to avoid sales tax. Now, I have to say, I like the folks at this AD. They have always been very nice to me, and they have given me some great prices on jewelry that I have bought for my wife and a Breitling that I had purchased last year for my Dad. They were also great with helping me through problems that I had with my Colt GMT. So....I decided to pay the extra $200 (plus $50 to ship it elsewhere) and stick with my local AD. I thought that the down the road, I would benefit from my loyalty.

As they started to write up the purchase, they told me that it could take two weeks for them to actually get the watch. Two weeks? This is a regular production Navi World - no special orders, not an LE. They said that 2 weeks was the timeframe that they always provide, but it usually takes less than that. I said what the heck, and handed over a several thousand dollars. They told me that once they had the watch, they would call me to let me know that it was being shipped overnight to the out-of-state address (my brother in Connecticut).

That was Tuesday March 17. No word since, and tomorrow is the 2 week mark. So I called them today to get a status update. The salesperson that I've worked with numerous times wasn't in today, but another woman was more than happy to look into for me. An hour later she called me back and said that the earliest they would have it is this Friday, April 3. Friday???? Then, it has to be shipped to Connecticut. THEN I have to figure out the next time that I can get down to my brother's house to pick it up.

The moral of the story? Next time and EVERY time, GO WITH GOVBERG.

Apologies for venting.

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Breitling Colt GMT
Breitling Navitimer World
IWC Portuguese Automatic
Breitling Transocean Chronograph LE

Thanks for the detailed info. I am in the same boat as you in that I would like to be loyal to my local AD but all the reviews I am reading about Govberg seems to be guiding me to them instead of my AD!

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Breitling Hercules White Dial
Breitling Super Avenger Blue Dial
Tag Grand Carrera Calibre 17 Silver Dial
Mont Blanc Timewalker Silver Dial
U-Boat Flight Deck 50MM Black Dial
Boschett Cave Dweller Black Dial
Seiko Orange Monster
Casio G-Shock

Understandable I suppose, but remember you could always cancel your purchase and make the call to the other AD

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Honestly I am surprised that they even came that close to Govberg's price. That particular chain told me that they could not do any better than 10% off and would not ship out of state to avoid the tax unless I paid by a CC registered to that out of state address. Needless to say I pretty much told them to pound sand. Granted the economy was in much better shape last year, so that may have had something to do with it. Fortunately for me I found this site and got hooked up with Govberg. The best part was after I received the watch. I went back to the local AD since I needed to have it sized. They assumed I changed my mind and had bought it from them, so they sized it for free.

From an economy standpoint, last year was a looooooooooong time ago. And like I said, I've done an awful lot of business with them, so that certainly doesn't hurt.

Update - they called yesterday, and my Navi World is being shipped overnight tonight! My folks live in Boston and are heading down to my bro's today to visit the rugrats, um, their grandchildren, so they'll bring the watch back on Sunday. Just have to somehow wait a couple more days......

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Breitling Colt GMT
Breitling Navitimer World
IWC Portuguese Automatic
Breitling Transocean Chronograph LE

Cooking up a few possible deals with Govberg at the moment! George has been of great help!

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SA-Baton White Dial/ProII
Tissot Le Locle