zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: First: Thanks to *ALL* of you who have been so
: helpful to me in my research today! I get
: the posts by eMail, so I'm sure I've not
: caught up w/ all the Forum postings I should
: to express how I feel to each of you there.
: But this has been a really warm and
: welcoming experience for me, and I want you
: to know that.

: Along those lines: I've gotten some information
: here on dealers I might contact outside of
: my area to purchase a Seamaster through
: proper channels. Of course, once the watch
: gets here, I'll have to have it sized. And
: as I've learned, to the dealer again to have
: betteries changed in the quartz.

: When I buy cars there's the old saying about
: having a relationship w/ the local dealer
: for service. Any ideas how I might
: "motivate" my local Omega dealer
: to support me w/ the watch needs I've listed
: above? For example, somewhere I read that
: $200 was a good margin on a Seamaster. Is
: losing that margin what makes the difference
: between him being happy to support me or
: not? Should I offer to split that difference
: or something?

: Or is that where the rubber hits the road, and
: you'd advise that I not save by buying from
: a dealer on the coast because it could cost
: me later in this way -- and others?

I buy all of my watches from a dealer out of state because no local dealer will even come close to their price. I also save on the sales tax by buying from an out of state dealer, and they take excellent care of me. They also size the watch prior to shipment since they know my wrist size.

You can do the same and avoid the whole "dealer relationship" thing because you'll most likely want to send the watch back to Omega directly for servicing. A dealer is NOT an authorized service center, so if their watchmaker should happen to mess up your watch, this would actually void your warranty. This is why I have always said that you need to have confidence in your local watchmaker if you plan to have any service done locally. If a local watchmaker damages your watch in an attempt to fix it, you've lost your warranty. You would then have to fight with the dealer to get him to pay to fix your watch properly.

I use a very good local watchmaker for routine things like polishing, but for full servicing or if my watch ever needed repairs it would go back to Omega.

A dealer "relationship" isn't worth losing hundreds of dollars every time you buy a watch. Also, that $200 margin you mentioned doesn't seem realistic. Omega retailers pay 55% of MSRP for their watches, so a $1995 SMP costs the dealer $1100. $1300 is a very cheap price for an SMP, and this $200 "profit" is cut down by dealer operating costs (rent, employee salaries, etc.). They do need to make a reasonable profit or they won't stay in business. Larger, high volume retailers can afford to discount at higher levels, but most local dealers simply can't. That's why I avoid them and use the dealer I referred you to.