Is certifiedwatchstore.com legit? Any experiences?

[gjpfire]

Hello, I can only tell you about my experience: I wanted to purchase a nice Swiss watch for my daughter’s college graduation. Being able to purchase a watch for $400.00 - $500.00 less was a big deal. After checking around on and off for weeks, I called up to speak with “Bill”. He walked me through the process and was very informative. After I purchased the watch on-line I called them back the next day to confirm (yes they sent me all the information to my email, I just wanted to check myself) the watch order and see if they had an idea when the watch would arrive. Again, spoke with Bill and he assured me everything was in order. With them handling everything perfectly, all I could do was watch the tracking of the shipment and I knew where the watch was every step of the way. When the watch arrived, it was in perfect shape and brand new. To set myself at ease, I took it to an Oris dealer to have it checked out. Yes, it was authentic, new and in perfect working order. When I buy my next watch it will be from Certified Watch Store and I will ask for Bill.

[1BadDuc]

As with any store, it's not just their ability to deliver a product on time and in working order but, what they do when things go wrong. I bought a Hamilton X-Wind from Certified Watch Store and the entire experience was nothing short of pathetic. They would have gotten a 0 rating but unfortunately, it wasn't an option.

They appear to have the ability to ship products that they have in stock but, they list their more expensive watches as "Only 1 left". I even called to ensure that it was in stock and they lied straight to my face. When I called 5 days later they told me "Oh it's in stock, just not here. Don't worry about it". So they lied to me again without hesitation. They eventually did tell me the watch was out of stock and had to be special ordered during our third conversation. The funny thing is, when I called back to inform them that it was busted, they again lied straight to my face telling me they checked it before it left the warehouse.

Having something "in stock" means having something there, in house, ready to ship. It doesn't mean that your vendors have the piece in stock and it first has to be shipped to your location. Of course, everyone on earth, with exception of the people at Certified Watch Store understand this basic concept of inventory.

Another issue is what they do when something goes wrong. It didn't really bother me that the watch wasn't shipped right away, it did arrive within the specified time frame (of course, how difficult is it ship an item that is supposedly "in stock" within two weeks?) what bothered me is the fact that they lied to me so easily simply to get me to flop down the $1,100 asking price, knowing full well the item was out of stock.

They also claim to check the operation of every time piece before they ship. I can tell you again, that is a straight up lie. Had they tested the watch before they sent it to me, there would have been no issue. The watch arrived with a busted Chronograph and they suggested that I return the watch to them. This would have been fine with me but, they expected me to pay a $110 restocking fee along with not only return shipping but, they also expected me to pay for the two day shipping used to send me the broken watch to begin with lol. So in essence, it's more profitable for them to send out a broken watch and charge the customer for the repair then to send them a functional watch to begin with.

My decision to have it fixed by an Authorized Dealer as opposed to paying Certified Watch Store nearly $200 to fix the problem, was very well justified. They think they can do anything they want simply because they have your credit card number.

It's too bad, really. I've been collecting Automatic Watches for many years and I usually buy 2-3 watches per year - they usually cost between $1000 to $4000 each depending. Certified Watch Store has decent prices but their so called "Customer Service" is nothing short of pathetic. I want to know that I'm covered in case something like this happens considering the costs involved.

I'll stick with my usual sources next time as Certified Watch Store has shown me just how inept and unwilling they are at handling such simple issues.

As always, Buyer Beware.....

[CertifiedWatches]

We apologize about the inconvenience, we have tried to resolve the issue with this client, but unfortunately he refused to get the matter resolved. The client does not like our return policy. We do have a 30 day return policy and we gladly will take a watch back for repair/refund/exchange. The client refused to speak with our staff when contacted to resolve the matter. We have are here to make sure every client is satisfied. Unfortunately there are unreasonable customers out there, and we can not please every client. Our products are brand new and in box so please feel free to call or email with any inquiries.

Management.

[1BadDuc]

Originally Posted by CertifiedWatches

. Unfortunately there are unreasonable customers out there, and we can not please every client.
Management.

So, in your mind it's unreasonable for me to expect to be able to return a broken watch for a full refund when I haven't even taken the plastic off the cyrystal? You actually think it's reasonable to charge me a $110 "restocking fee" on a watch you didn't even have in stock in the first place? That explains a lot. I can see now how you think it's reasonable to ask that I refund you the initial cost of shipping the broken watch to my house, too. And you wonder why I hung up on your sales rep?

Yeah, I'm pretty unreasonable......

But this is what Resellerratings.com is all about. Sharing this kind of information on a public forum gives other potential customers the chance to see what it's really like doing business with an outfit like yours. Hopefully, they can read your comments before making their decision.

In any case, I'm done with Certified Watch Store. I'll gladly cover the cost of repairs myself just so won't have to deal with your lying sales reps anymore.

[CertifiedWatches]

There seems to be a misunderstanding in this situation, We will gladly take the watch back, we never charge a restock fee for defective items, please contact us any time for a prepaid label to return the watch for a full refund.

[1BadDuc]

Originally Posted by CertifiedWatches

There seems to be a misunderstanding in this situation, We will gladly take the watch back, we never charge a restock fee for defective items, please contact us any time for a prepaid label to return the watch for a full refund.

You would have received nothing but positive feeback from me had that been your initial response. But now that I've paid to fix the watch you want me return it to you? I appreciate the gesture but, I think I'll pass.

It's a very nice watch by the way. I bought this one as a gift but I think I'm going to pick one up for myself. I'll use a differnent vendor this time around though. Even though the price will be somewhat higher, the additional cost is well worth the peace of mind imho.