How to buy watches overseas and what to watch out for when parallel importing

    For friends who enjoy parallel importing, watches are definitely a temptation. The price gap between domestic and overseas markets is quite substantial, and a difference of half or even 2/3 for high-end goods is entirely normal. However, because watches are generally high in value and the parallel import process involves many stages, the risks are relatively high. So how does one buy watches overseas?

    For some friends, warranty coverage is probably an eternal pain when it comes to parallel imports. Many people assume that watches bought overseas and brought back for domestic use cannot be serviced domestically, leading them to give up decisively. In fact, whether an overseas-purchased watch can be serviced domestically depends mainly on the brand's policy and whether it is an authorised dealer ("authorised" dealers must sell watches within the price range set by the manufacturer. Even if he wants to lower the price—even if he manages to lower it by cutting costs—he cannot do so because he is an "authorised dealer", but authorised dealers do have comprehensive manufacturer after-sales service).

    It basically falls into two situations: 1, if some brand watches are covered by its global warranty and the online dealer you bought from is an authorised seller, it is best to confirm with customer service at the time of purchase that the dealer's stamp is placed on the international warranty card (some online dealers have warranty cards unstamped by default; although some after-sales service centers may not necessarily require this, you know how domestic services operate), and the domestic after-sales service center can service it one hundred percent. 2, if the watch after-sales service is provided by the dealer, or if the seller is an unauthorised dealer, parallel-imported watches needing repair will need to be shipped to the US at your own expense.

    In addition, customs regulations regarding personal overseas purchases are becoming increasingly standardized, and watches, particularly high-end ones, have become a focal point, with a higher probability of duty than ordinary items such as clothing. According to the following Duty-Paid Price Table for Inbound Passenger Luggage and Personal Postal Items, general quartz watches incur a duty of $5.96 USDgeneral mechanical watches incur $14.91 USDand high-end watches are taxed at 30% of the value assessed by customs. Therefore, for friends using forwarding services to ship purchases back home, it is best to choose items under 1000 USD, and for high-end watches, it is still preferable to choose direct shipping to Hong Kong and collect them from there.

    Below are some common watch-selling websites. We would like to remind everyone to be extremely careful of fraudulent phishing websites domestically, and ultimately avoid purchasing from unconfirmed or unsafe websites to prevent incurring losses.

    1, long-standing watch retailer Ashford B2C

    2，Jomashop

    3，Watchmaxx

    4，WorldofWatches

    5, comprehensive e-commerce platform Amazon

    6，thewatchery