: I was in the same boat as you. I read all the posts about
: buying through authorized dealers, yada..yada..yada..and it
: made sense to me. Most of the reputable internet dealers,
: admit to having the serial numbers removed from their
: watches. This is apparently to protect their distributors,
: many of whom are authorized, and usually don't sell at a
: discount. Granted, saving money is great and all, but at
: what cost? Most of these dealers offer a warranty and
: decent service, and sometimes tout it as superior to Omega
: factory service, but this is a usually a sales pitch. If
: you shop around, you can usually get an authorized dealer
: to discount these watches as much as 35%, as mine did. For
: my $$, I want the piece of mind to know that if I'm
: anywhere in the world, I'll be able to obtain warranty
: service through Omega. And by the way, I spoke to Omega
: customer service, (Warranty Dept. ) several months ago, and
: discussed this very topic. I was told that "if the
: serial numbers are removed from the watch, or it was
: purchased from a non-authorized dealer, the factory
: warranty is null and void". So, look at the big
: picture and decide if it's worth it in the long run to save
: a few bucks.
If you did in fact purchase from an authorized dealer at 35% off let your fellow Omega enthusiasts in on the big secret. From where did you get the best of both worlds? I thought that authorized dealers were prohibited from letting the product go for more than 20%. I was at Bailey, Banks and Biddle and the other day and the "best" deal they could offer was 15% off retail. And this is from someone I know that works there. For me that would be a no brainer. 35% off from an authorized retailer or gray market I would choose an authorized dealer. I actually got 37% off and no sales tax which is 8.5% where I live. So I saved even more.
If you read some of the earlier postings it is the manufacturer that creates the gray market by using some old world way of distrubuting the product and making the consumer think they are getting something inferior if they don't purchase at there higher markup. (ie:factory warranty, service, etc.)
