#Horology blog full

Today’s luxury watch shopper values the time-saving aspect of online shopping like any other. Many luxury watch brands prefer to not advertise their prices online, which may leave their potential customers with too much mystery when searching online. They have touched on many points that give these websites a luxury feel, to ensure their customers feel safe in buying from them. So it’s not only about the deep discounts they offer to their customers. There are even some websites offering price-matches and financing options. Gray market watch websites offer to rebuy your older models, offer student discounts and a decent delivery service.

#Horology blog full

Instead, they provide their own, with a full explanation of what it covers. The aforementioned: openly state that they don’t provide a manufacturer’s guarantee for their gray market watches. However, if having a warranty is still important, luxury watch buyers turn to websites such as and others that offer their own warranty. The manufacturer’s warranty may no longer be a top priority to buyers. The crafting of these high-quality watches is of such minute precision that the final piece is extremely reliable. The online gray market watch landscapeīuying the same luxury watch for 40% less than the brand’s official asking price is attractive to any pocket, even to the most luxurious one. See how Red Points’ Digital Recovery Platform tracks and removes your phantom competitors. The seller’s quick-fix results in a loss of sales for white market products, which deeply undercuts a brand’s reputation. This is when we find gray market watches associated with a high price tag, down to a fraction of the expected price. However, when they sell these to unauthorized sellers, this policy is lost. Brands can fix a MAP policy, which gives authorized sellers a minimum sale price to uphold.

Since authorized dealers turn to the gray market to liquidate their stock, they sell these at a much lower price to unauthorized dealers. Some gray market websites offer a third-party guarantee, but it can’t cover the extent of damages that an official warranty can.Īnother gray market watch qualifier is the price it is sold at. Usually in the form of a 5-year international guarantee, which is only issued by an authorized dealer. One is that a luxury watch sold by an authorized dealer will come with a warranty from the brand itself. There are few differences to differentiate a gray market watch from the white market. If the latter option is chosen, they become parallel import products. These unauthorized dealers may resell within the country they’ve bought them from or choose to sell them to a country where the asking price is higher. The gray market is the easiest solution to liquidate old stock, even if they may not be making any profit from selling to unauthorized dealers.

In some cases, these dealers only find out which models the brands want them to sell upon receiving stock, which may lead to a build-up of inventory. Official resellers can get tied down with unwanted stock, unable to purchase new collections until they liquidate old stock. They’re made in the same factory as the watch you see on the brand’s online store. If it were illegal, we’d be talking about the black market.

It’s important to note that the gray market is legal. It is not authorized by brands, and difficult to control. These get sold to consumers at a fraction of the original asking price. Gray market products are sold outside the distribution channel that was agreed upon by the brand and official resellers. Tech-based solutions to counteract the gray market.How brands are affected by gray market watch websites.Gray market watch websites provide consumers with big discounts and benefits.It’s sleek websites with original luxury watches for sale, at an asking price that’s up to 40% less than what luxury watch brands are offering. It’s not a watch dealer on a street corner flashing watches from the inside of his trenchcoat. Brands are spending big money and time into looking for who’s responsible and what can be done, because it’s not illegal. And in many cases, legitimate partners are breaking their distribution agreements. The products sold are legitimate, but the seller is often not. With online discounts of up to 40% on original Swiss-made watches, it’s no surprise that the gray market watch business is booming.Ĭonsequently, luxury watchmakers are shifting in their seats. Today’s luxury watch collectors have struck luck luxury watches are now more affordable and easily purchased online.