: That's not a very safe assumption to make. Many
: gray market dealers remove the serial
: numbers off watches, but there are also many
: that don't. From what I've seen it seems to
: be about 50/50. People around here tend to
: sometimes go a bit far in generalizing about
: gray market dealers. In this case you're
: right though; I've read on overstock's
: website before that they remove the serial
: numbers.
I agree that people like myself despise the whole practice of selling gray market watches and aren't shy about saying so. I do, however, think it's fair to say that only the "dumbest of the dumb" would buy a watch with its serial number removed. Why would you pay so much money for a watch that the Omega factory will NEVER EVER touch if the watch needs major repair? You are basically left at the mercy of whatever watchmaker you can find to do these repairs. It defies logic. It's like buying a Lamborghini and then finding out you can only get it serviced at Jiffy Lube.
As I've said all along, there's also the price issue. If you're getting 35% off from a gray market dealer, why not pay a few extra percent and buy authorized? I can understand people buying "closeout specials" from gray market dealers who will sell them a watch at 50% off, but typical gray market prices are much closer to the prices offered by deep discounting AD's (like mine and Keith's).
: Regardless of all that, it's always best to buy
: from an AD since there is much less risk
: involved as far as getting what you pay for
: and also the fact that you get the
: manufacturer warranty.
