Internet Buyer Beware!
Buying a watch is about selecting the right one for you. The market today offers a varied and wide array of watches – antique, sporty, stylish, classic, contemporary, and designer watches, all at your disposal. So what ever your style and personality there is a watch or watches waiting for you. In a lot of ways a watch is like your personal statement of fashion and speaks volumes about you.
It was in the beginning of the 20 th century that Louis Cartier designed a leather-band wrist watch for his Brazilian inventor friend Alberto Santos-Dumont. Never did either inventor imagine that watches would one day go beyond their task of telling time and would actually become fashion statements. At the end of the 20 th century Swiss watch makers formed the Swiss Watch Company or Swatch that designs an annual collection. Now there is a watch for every reason and occasion. So you really wouldn’t consider the watch you wear for a serious business day if you were going out bowling or an evening out in town, would you?
The Internet is ‘the’ place that people go to when they want information or even to buy things. From groceries, clothes, books and CDs to electronics and watches virtually everything is available online. How safe is it to buy a watch on the Internet? Well, to understand the risks involved in buying watches online it is crucial to understand that the Swiss, who are considered the maestros of watch-making, do not allow their authorized dealers to sell watches online. However since there is such a growing need to buy virtually everything online from the convenience of your home or office more and more online stores are coming up. Online watch stores promise the convenience of buying a fashion statement that fits your wrist and your pocket without having to physically venture into the market. However since all these stores are really a part of the gray market the associated risk of buying a fake or defective watch is tremendous.
Risks of Buying Watches Online
- Since the Swiss frown upon selling the high quality watches they manufacture, they do not permit their authorized dealer s to sell their watches online.
- Nonetheless , since people are buying watches online , numerous online stores have opened which really can’t provide you any guarantee for the watch you are buying.
- Buying from the grey market is always risky and on the Internet it is no different. You may be paying a fortune for a fake or a replica of the original watch you wanted to buy.
The last word is that the convenience of buying online should not allow you to compromise on the quality of the product you are buying. So as with any item, buying watches online is a risky proposition if you are simply not careful; well at least until Swiss allow authorized sales on the interent.