zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: thought authorized dealers couldn't sell
: Omega over the internet. If they are not

"Sell Omega over the Internet" is a vague concept, as there are multiple parts of selling: advertising, product display, display of retail prices, display of discounted prices and consummating a sale.

What Omega prohibits their auth dealers from doing over the Internet the last two: display of discounted prices and consummating a sale. Auth dealers cannot displaying anything less than retail price in any public display or advertisement. That's why auth dealers always show retail prices, then whip out the calculator to verbally describe the discounted price they are allowed/willing to give you.

Neither are they allowed to consummate a sale entirely through an automated web site. Which is also hard to do when you cannot publicly display discounted prices.

But an authorized dealer is allowed to have an Internet site promoting their store, mentioning that they carry Omega watches, and even displaying retail price information.

And any authorized dealer is allowed to arrange a sale by taking a purchase request by email, telephone or fax, then ship the product to the customer.

And there are a few UNauthorized dealer web sites that are actually fronts for authorized dealers selling merchandise out their back door. The watch you receive comes with papers stamped as if you bought it from the authorized dealer, which has a different name from the website that you buy the watch through.