Reply With QuoteThats just madness and they should advertise as not being a full set and discount accordingly.Originally Posted by paneristi372
Was in communication with Tom yesterday regarding a white gold Daytona. I'd figured I fancied another and whilst I'm still on the list for a ceramic stainless steel one rather than paying well over the odds I may as well get hold of a WG version for about £15k as it seemed relatively good value.
Things seemed to be going well in regard to my PX and then Tom asked an odd question. He asked what size my wrist was because if it was larger he would have to charge more to add links. I told him that when I bought a Rolex, no matter what metal I expected it to have the full supplied bracelet from the factory. He replied with
"We sell preowned watches so it is very rare they come to us with all the links, especially gold watches. I wont be able to add £800 worth of links! " so The bracelet is probably 3 links short.
I understand that they are selling preowned but I'm pretty certain they will have checked the watch when they take it in and pay the seller accordingly, thus in my opinion making more money on the seller and buyer. I understand they have a business to run but frankly I think that just takes the piss.
Thats just madness and they should advertise as not being a full set and discount accordingly.
I've not been in the market for a £15k watch before, how far off new is that price? Can they even be had new?
To me, I'd want it complete unless that price is short enough of full value to make it make sense.
I suppose the other factor is the bad taste it might leave with the seller. What else hasn't he mentioned yet?
The gold bracelet is already shorter, when it comes from Rolex. But adequate for most wrists. My experience of Watchfinder leaves me unsurprised by your account.
I have purchased 2 16mm rolex links from them in the past and I always wondered if they had taken them from watches in their stock to make a few quid.
annoyingly, the watch I fitted them to came from them too!
I would certainly expect the dealer to ensure that the watch is fit for purpose, i.e. your wrist. I am not so convinced that for someone with small wrists that they are required to supply enough links to make up what is regarded as full length Bracelet, especially if the first owner may have sold any spare links.
I have bought watches from the likes of Haywood before and his team will always ensure that the watch is correctly adjusted for my wrist before I leave the shop. That has on occasion necessitated adding additional links.
I am sure that if you give Tom your wrist size he will ensure that the bracelet will fit.
I'm not that familiar with the secondhand Rolex market nowadays but presumably their trade price was based on a specific watch and was competitive? The fault seems to lie in an imprecise description of what was included and I have to say that if the cost of 3 links is £800 then they are possibly justified in making an extra charge. I would be disappointed personally, having an 8 inch wrist, but I'm not sure Watchfinder have done something wrong, they could just have been a little better than they were! At least they made the disclosure before the deal was completed and you found yourself in possession of a watch that didn't fit.
If there is no "wiggle room" in negotiations then the only recourse is to walk away - it's only a watch after all!
With the increase in precious metal prices, it does seem that Rolex reduced the standard length of a number of bracelet variants over the last decade.
In many cases, even if buying new from a main agent, you will be asked to pay a premium ( "fat tax" ) if your wrist is sufficiently above average size.
One learns one's lesson the hard way. I remember agreeing the sale of an 18ct Rolex 69178 to a delightful lady over the telephone; her voice and delivery was so refined that she reminded me of "Sally Traffic" --- but when she came in store she looked as if she had eaten some. With each link we added, a commercial little tear slid sadly down my wallet's cheek.
H
The watch would fit me but I'm a stickler for full complete sets. Bracelets included. Thankfully he did disclose this prior to purchase but just recently the website has gone to a very limited product description. I just feel with the value of the watches in play they should take a bit more time to describe the watches in detail as well as better pics.
Another mark against WF in my books sadly.
The greater the description, the greater the potential for someone to decide you've mis-described it or mis-advertised it.
I bought an Omega from them and same story - it arrived with fewer links than I required (these were titanium). I looked at the photo on the website and counted my links. Sure enough, fewer were supplied than were on the photo. Anyhow, after a bit of moaning they sent me the extra 3 links - but not after they had tried to charge me for two. In the end it worked out ok, but perhaps there's a pattern here. Plus, I may be mistaken but I seem to recall spotting Watchfinder as sellers of some links' on Chrono24.
yep they advertise on C24 as well.
Generally speaking I find WF great to sell to, buy crap to buy from.
Completely agree on this, hard to beat wf for a quick sale, but correspondingly they overcharge consistently on every model. I also don't like how they try and make every watch like new again, when some should just be left alone
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Not an uncommon occurrence when buying a pre-owned Rolex from a shop/company.
I am not against charging for extra links but it should be made clear beforehand.
Spot on.
Easy. Sounds like something Ratner would say
That is extremely poor practice, and the fact that TZUK dusts over these stories shows how conditioned we are to think this sort of thing is acceptable.
Based on this story alone, I would never buy from this company.
This speaks volumes about their attitude and mindset, and makes me very distrustful - not something I'd want if spending £££.
You just have to look at their eBay shop. They're selling links on there all the time.
I too had a similar experience and was told they only supply to fit and I passed on the watch. I presume they hold a stock and then either sell separately per their eBay trading account or use to size other watches.
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I get if buying new and you have huge wrists you pay extra.
I also get buying pre owned if you have huge wrists.
I don't get how they would buy a bracelet 3 short as they inspect it on arrival. Unless they did inspect it and paid out less?
And surely business sense would be to add the 3 links and price the watch at £800 extra instead of this scenario arising?
Unless they are banking on a lot of very small wrested people making enquiries? 😯
I have a large wrist and when I've bought new SS Sports Rolex from an AD in the past I've always got an extra link free of charge.
Not sure about gold though.
maseman
A familiar story from WF. I part-exchanged one Rolex for another. I sent mine in with the bracelet sized for my wrist and included all the spare links in the box.
The sent their watch "sized for your wrist, Sir" - with no spare links.
I also had to resort to counting the links on their advert, and complaining until they sent me an extra link in the post.
Sharp practice in my opinion, and I'd prefer to buy elsewhere in the future.
Thanks for the heads up Gentlemen. One outfit I won't be dealing with anytime soon.
Interesting reading this, when I bought my titanium AP from them they asked the size of my wrist and said they would size the watch accordingly, I then had to wait a few days extra whilst they sourced an additional link, there was no additional charge.
Although I'm now suspicious they may have been removing links to keep for themselves! I would like to think not as my experience of them and others I know who have dealt with them has been ok so far
I agree, shady stuff.
I seen them WG Daytonas on watchfinder and thought good value for a fullset. But the links they sell on eBay with the rest of the bits it's more profit !!
But on another doubt you will buy one with all the links they tend to go missing at £250 a pop
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Last edited by bokbok; 25th May 2017 at 23:11.
I know watchfinder sells nearly new watch straps etc..on eBay from well known brands e.g. omega.i always assumed they were breaking up part exchanged goods
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More like spare links from watches when sizing them for folk
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Come to think of it bought my rubber B for my daytona on auction from Watchfinder lol
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Traded in a yellow gold DayDate with all the links for a more modern DayDate. When I went to collect I realised that it didn't fit but as I was picking it up on the Saturday and flying out of the country the next day I took it as I was assured the correct links would be sent to me.
Lots of discussion ensued along the same lines as mentioned above where they said they took the watch in as a pre owned watch and didn't guarantee full set of links. I explained that I had been sold a watch I couldn't wear. Anyway after various discussions they agreed to meet half the cost of the additional links I required.
Wouldn't say it has put me off dealing with them as the rest of my experiences with them have been good. I just now check all these details with them first.
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I tried a WG Daytona on in the Leeds shop (watchfinder)..... I've got fairly small wrists, and I couldn't do it up....
I asked if there were any more links and was told no....:)
Omega are now doing the same. My Globemaster Bi-metal, just fits me, with the full bracelet.
Rolex AD's have always charged for additional bi-metal or pm links. They usually swallowed the cost of SS, and may have done for a deal on other metals - but it was never 'free'.
The only thing that matters is if the price is right. If it was a keeper, then as long as it fitted I'd be happy. But a short bracelet in precious metal would definitely affect resale. I need a full size PM bracelet on my Rolex watches, and I'd prefer and additional link!
It's just a matter of time...
Would a Rolex AD really charge extra for a platinum link so the purchaser could actually wear his watch?
If the alternative was to lose a £40k plus sale then I think most decent ones would swallow the cost.
It will be part of the sums, whether the end buyer sees that or not. The AD will have had to order and pay for it from Rolex UK, if it is beyond the standard length.
H
That is so wrong, it effectively makes the watch not fit for purpose if you cannot wear it. I would have thought that you would be treated a bit better in a face to face situation.
The whole thing sounds ridiculous imho. And whilst I'm sure the price of precious metals has risen it's not as if Rolex and Omega etc prices haven't also risen stratospherically. I consider myself to have normal sized wrists and a steel Sub for example fits me fine with all the links fitted and the clasp micro adjust in the middle. I'd be very unimpressed if I was charged extra above the cost of a regular eg gold sub just so it fitted!!
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Ta OP. Another underhanded tactic revealed on a dealer. Scratched off my list of sellers now. As life goes on, this list steadily diminishes.
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I recently bought a watch from them.
They asked me my wrist size, so that they could size it for me. In the ad. it didnt mention any spare links as such...
I just told them my wrist size (making it slightly larger of course!), so I ended up with a "spare" link. The end of the day, they are a business, so they take everything into account. I was still happy with the deal I had with them though.
As I say, it wasnt mentioned in the ad. if the watch was supplied with full bracelet etc, it was only when I asked how many spare links it came with etc, that they told me.
Absolutely agree, the cost is in there somewhere. Whether it's added on to the price or taken out of his margin it has to be accounted for.
Having agreed a price however, I'm just not sure that any sane AD would then tell a customer that he'll have to pay extra to wear it and would therefore be likely to swallow the cost out of his margin.
If however, it had been mentioned that the bracelet was a certain length and any extra links would have to be paid for then that's a different matter and open to a negotiation.
It doesn't really excuse WF from keeping the extra links to sell on separately though although I have kept links when selling to WF because I never got any spare links when buying from them.
The suggestion that they are removing links after the photos are taken and then trying to charge the ultimate purchaser for additional links is just shameful. Maybe I'm being naive but I'm quite shocked by that. It is sharp practice on its own but makes you wonder in what other ways WF could be having you over. Useful thread - thanks.
I was told that an AD makes around 36% (down from 37/38%), though not sure if this is accurate. That's quite a lot of margin to work with on a 30k or 40k watch.
I would imagine on gold or platinum sales they would do this, but not on steel, however I'm basing that on nothing!
When a single link can easily cost the AD £500 - £750, such genuine, net margin as remains can quickly be diminished.
H
That is quite a cost.
I have small wrists but I'm always reluctant to buy a watch that hasn't got the full compliment of removable links with it. I'll make an exception with vintage watches but I usually try to obtain spare links if possible; trying to sell a watch with a short bracelet is always going to restrict buyers.
To me, Watchfinder should be selling watches with the full complement of links. If some are missing that ahould be made clear to the buyer. Unfortunately some buyers aren' t savvy enough to think thus through, they're happy if the watch fits and they don't think about possibly needing to sell in the future.
Paul
Indeed. We all know WF are sharp in terms of their margins but this is something else; it's hard not to conclude that they're systematically removing surfeit links from the unsuspecting and making extra on them. Many WIS would know how many links a watch should have, and therefore demand them, but WF will know that's only a small minority of their punters.
I formed my own opinion about the business practices of Watchfinder some time ago.....buyer beware is always a good maxim. Read the sales stuff about how watches are checked before sale. Hands up all those who can understand what the opaque language actually means.
Could you explain a bit further about how watches are checked etc...?
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I think that is the point - opaque language, but I think the opinion was formed by experience, not reading the website
That's a deal breaker for me. Walk away.
My SDc was a link short when I bought it. I got one from Watchfinder for £20.
I don't need the link, or the dive extension but wanted set to be complete.
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