Reply With QuoteI’ll keep my fingers crossed for you but I’ve got to say whatever you end up paying will be worth it because that it’s a hell of a gorgeous looking watch!
A slightly tongue in cheek title.... I've just completed my first non-SC secondhand watch purchase. I've bought a Grand Seiko SBGX337 from a Japanese dealer via Chrono24 and the purchase couldn't have gone better (the Oh dear in the title relates to the feeling that this might be the thin end of a very costly wedge!)
The watch was described as 'good' but the bracelet looks unworn and I can only find two tiny, barely visible marks on the case - very, very good in my eyes. Possibly too good as I'll have the 'I hope I don't scratch it' feeling for a while - until I do scratch it!
It arrived in 5 days of placing the order. And best of all, it was available at what I think was a fair price for something that I might have waited a long time to come up on SC or via my WTB.
I absolutely love the watch - the blue dial is beautiful and the lume is fantastic. Legibility and no-fuss functionality are what this watch is about.
Downsides are that I'm waiting for DHL to send me the VAT etc bill so I don't know the final price and I've already started looking for its sister watch, the SBGX335.
Have I been lucky or is this a fairly typical Chrono24 experience?
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Last edited by JonRA; 5th March 2021 at 15:51.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you but I’ve got to say whatever you end up paying will be worth it because that it’s a hell of a gorgeous looking watch!
I’m buying from a private seller in there at the moment so I’ll let you know how it goes. Great watch
I’ve only ever bought one watch off chrono24. I took a gamble as it was a private seller and he had no feedback. One of the drawbacks of the platform is that it’s hard to buy the seller. Their escrow service seems to offer some protection but I’m not sure how effective it would be if push came to shove...
The whole experience was very positive and it reinforced my view that although there are some scammers out there, most people are pretty decent.
I have been using it for both selling and buying, it's true that sometimes it's hard to know how serious the private seller/buyer is, but so far so good, never had an issue after a dozen of transactions!
I've been avoiding US and japanese watches though as I am concerned about taxes, hope for you it won't be too painful!
I haven’t bought a Seiko in forty years (except a GS Quartz but that doesn’t count) but this one and the recent heads up from Ryan are definitely starting to make me wonder why!
I once bought a Tag6000 chrono from a German private seller and also felt that the watch condition was under described.
Good to read that you’ve had a positive experience OP. It would be great if you wouldn’t mind letting us know who the dealer is in Japan. Same goes for other forum members who have had positive experiences with dealers on chrono24. As a forum we could perhaps then start to form a decent picture of tz-uk trusted sellers.
I’ve often been at the ‘nearly’ stage with Japanese dealers, but always get cold feet in the end.
Gary
You can now add every country in the EU to that list now, of course.Originally Posted by Wandril
Simon
I've not mentioned it, I'm still not used to the concept of brexit, but yes you're right!
A bit of a shame, it is going to make it harder to find certain watches second hand without getting butchered at the arrival of the parcel by taxes...
It sounds like a decent idea, but if it is possible to do so for pro dealers, it's not the same for private sellers, as their name is hidden until you start to exchange with them or actually buy the watch.
I could give you the name of the seller, but you wouldn't be able to see it whilst you're browsing on ch24 unfortunately.
I’ve bought three watches through Chrono24 so far:
* A brand new Breitling Navitimer World from an Italian dealer at a very substantial discount
* A used Breitling Aerospace Avantage from an Austrian dealer
* A one-year-old but totally unused Muehle-Glashutte Seebataillon GMT from a private seller in the UK, also at a substantial discount off the rrp.
Both the Navitimer and the Seebataillon were perfect transactions and exactly as described.
The Aerospace turned out to be a year older than described, and although the advert stated that it had been fitted with a new battery it clearly hadn’t - I had to fit a new one within a couple of months. Not a disaster in the grand scheme of things.
So on the whole my buying experiences have been good, and I do feel the protections they put in place are pretty good, although I haven’t ever had to test them!
Simon
It was a company called BRAND SHOP LIPS - they are a 'trusted seller' and have had 862 sales with Buyer Protection. Their overall rating is 4.8/5 with 97% customers satisfied. I did look carefully at the seller's history and feedback because, as has been mentioned above, I was trying to 'buy the seller' as best I could. But the reputation of most of the Japanese dealers looked pretty ok to me. At the end of the day, I really wanted one of these GS quartz divers and I chose the cheapest that I was happy with the condition (which happened to be the cheapest on sale at the time). It did feel like a gamble because I was pretty sure that whatever it was like I wasn't going to send it back - if there were problems I'd pay to get them sorted within the UK.
Brand Shop Lips. Chrono 24
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No buyers protection with buying privately from C24 puts me off
I’m not sure if I understood what you mean but when I bought from a private seller, I had the opportunity to authorise release of payment after I received the watch. I think that’s fair buyer protection (bought as seen).
Can post on H&V - which is not just restricted to SC experience. It would help us all.
You do have the payment on hold by ch24 if the transaction good through the normal way, which is through the escrow service.
It's basically supposed to hold back the money until you the buyer confirms first that you received the watch, and second that you're happy with it
^^^
That’s how I understand it. 14 days to return if goods not as described.
good comms with the seller and ‘feels okay’ so far. If you steer clear of waaay to cheap prices and ask for some history and proof it seems like a good option.
FWIW there looked to be a dodgy Lange on there from a private seller but as quoted on another thread recently; “if there’s any doubt, there is no doubt” - so avoid!
Just a view on the Japanese dealers: in general, grading is conservative and service is high, whether online or in person. Though do note, there is no "sale or return" system, online or in person, unless goods are faulty.
"Lips" is a chain of bricks and mortar pawnshops, usually multiple examples of which exist in every shopping district as a place for the trading of jewels, handbags and watches.
Lips' domestic online watch store is here https://www.lips-online.jp/item/1 (there is a Google translate switch on the site). As with most domestic Japanese websites, it is easy to order for locals, but trickier for those overseas. PayPal and eBay never took off here. There are other payment and auction sites (Yahoo, Mercari) and money transfer is tough if you don't have a Japanese bank account. So I expect they have added C24 as a way to reach the international market.
Japanese grading translation:
A brand new unused item: "Possibly acceptable"
A well kept used item indistinguishable from new in appearance and operation: "Somewhat soiled"
A typical "A" grade used item: "Please accept our apologies for the offense of presenting this tragedy for your consideration"
An item showing some signs of careful use on very close inspection: "Junk"
TT
I've bought two very nice timepieces through Chrono24. I couldn't have asked for better experiences...super!
Bought 2 watches on there; my NOMOS Orion privately and my snowflake from a dealer. Both were excellent experiences.
Never tried selling through there but got one up for sale at the moment so we'll see how it goes. Fees are certainly more appealing than eBay.
I perhaps tongue-in-cheek, but your grading translations are hardly conservative as mentioned!
Thanks all for the various positive comments about my watch and for your experiences with Chrono24 - which seem to be generally positive. This could prove expensive!
Thanks TT for setting 'Lips' into context - I hadn't thought of pawn shops being the source of their stock, but of course, that makes good sense. As Kingstepper notes, your grading is definitely at odds with my experience on this occasion- but did give me a smile :)
I've used Chrono24 many times and never had an issue. The payment system is definitely safe. However, it only needs one expensive mistake or a difficult case to make the statistics look quite different for you. The potential issue is that you do not receive what you expect and sorting that out through Chrono24 might not be that easy.
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