What a bummer: My watch needs service right after I bought it Leave a comment

I love when the FedEx truck hunk the horn to let me know that they are waiting for me to go get the package. At one moment, I am thrilled and excited until I check the accuracy of the watch and have realized that the watch does not keep time well as was described. What a bummer.

The watch was running more than -30 s/d, in other words, it was losing a half a minute every single day.

You can imagine my reaction when I placed the watch on my trusted timegrapher, which is part of my trusted tools set. The watch was running more than -30 s/d, in other words, it was losing a half a minute every single day. I was not happy, because I do not like to spend extra money on the timepiece which should not need the service according to the seller, but who does it.

In the past, I have bought many watches online, which were advertised as “runs great” but do need service because they are losing or gaining a lot of time each day. Here are the three options you have when this happens to you, and your watch needs service. You can Return, Partial Refund or Service the watch.

The options to deal with “runs great” purchase.

Return the watch

Depending on the seller, you might be able to return the watch without any issues. There are many watch sellers, who do allow you to return the watch; however, you should get familiar with their return policy before you purchase the watch.

It’s wise to ask the seller directly or see what’s written in their disclosures. Sometimes, you think you can return the watch, but you realize that you had only seven days since the watch was shipped to you and you got the watch on the seventh day. 

Yeah, those disclosures do exists. In general, the great sellers, do want to keep their stellar reputation and they will accept the return if its in a reasonable timeframe.

On the other hand, If you purchase the watch by using PayPal, you can create a dispute with PayPal if the seller does not cooperate, however, in my personal experience, the sellers always try to make it right.

Get a Partial Refund /Let them Service the Watch

One popular solution is to get a partial refund because you do like the watch, but do not really foot the entire service bill on your own.

Some watch sellers do not mind to give you a partial refund; however, the more significant watch sellers have a vast network of watch service connections, and they would preferably have serviced the watch.

There are several reasons why watch sellers might want to service the watch before sending you a partial refund. If they service the watch for you, it’s an excellent customer service practice as well as they have control of the actual service cost. Some buyers like to take advantage of a seller by asking for a partial refund.

If you are selling the watch, make sure that you have written down your return policy somewhere on the site, or you mentioned that in writing before you ship out the watch.

Service the watch

The last but not least option is to service the watch. If you know some excellent watch repair centers, you might be able to get it to service for a reasonable price.

It happened to me more than once, rather than shipping the watch back, I bring the watch to my watchmaker for a full service. The upside is that you will have an overhaul watch and you know that you will not need service in upcoming years.

Buying watches online brings risks, as well as potential rewards. You have to make sure when you are buying online, that you know who the seller is or what the return policy is. You do not want to buy a watch which is almost impossible to service because it’s a vintage watch and you need to have the parts made specifically for the watch.

This article was written by Honza Hroch, the founder of Value Your Watch Marketplace. His passion for watches started while back when he joined Watch Trading Academy.