# Cheapest country to buy watches.



## RWP (Nov 8, 2015)

I have no idea so I am asking, which is the cheapest country to buy watches :thumbsup: I have noticed that they seem cheap in the States but I believe the prices don't include taxes that vary from state to state. They seem to pay in dollars what we pay in pounds and all Invictas are free ( nearly.)

Being a parochial soul I don't have an answer but I am hoping you world citizens will open up the debate 

Cheers


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## Teg62x (Dec 28, 2016)

China?


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## weaselid (Mar 24, 2012)

Singapore????


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## Daveyboyz (Mar 9, 2016)

Singapore is expensive... not there surely?

What about the Carribean?


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## JayDeep (Dec 31, 2016)

Some states don't have taxes. Oregon where I live has no sales tax. Instead we pay higher income and property taxes.

Can you give an instance in which a watch in pounds is the same in USD?


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## RWP (Nov 8, 2015)

India? Not a generally wealthy population but a big market


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## weaselid (Mar 24, 2012)

Daveyboyz said:


> Singapore is expensive... not there surely?
> 
> What about the Carribean?


 Creationwatches????


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## RWP (Nov 8, 2015)

JayDeep said:


> Some states don't have taxes. Oregon where I live has no sales tax. Instead we pay higher income and property taxes.
> 
> Can you give an instance in which a watch in pounds is the same in USD?


 The reason I said that is because I get ads from American Amazon and then compare the prices with Amazon UK. Often the dollar price matches the price we pay in pounds......especially Japanese watches.



weaselid said:


> Creationwatches????


 Creation watches are a country........that's what I call success


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## weaselid (Mar 24, 2012)

RWP said:


> The reason I said that is because I get ads from American Amazon and then compare the prices with Amazon UK. Often the dollar price matches the price we pay in pounds......especially Japanese watches.
> 
> Creation watches are a country........that's what I call success


 Sorry, I was referring to the comment about watches being expensive in Singapore.


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## gimli (Mar 24, 2016)

They don't have VAT in the Colonies... :baby: That's why their prices are smaller.

I know that when it comes to really expensive watches some people will actually go to certain countries where they're cheaper but I can't remember what the ranking was. I do believe Singapore, China and the Gulf States were there... Also Hong Kong, provided it counts as a country...

As far as cheapies goes, differences might not be too big, except for US>EU since they don't have VAT.


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## Daveyboyz (Mar 9, 2016)

I don't know about Creation watches I am talking about bricks and mortar premises located in Singapore... all the main brands stores are all the money I think. I thought this was a general question...there might be someone cheap in London but I couldn't characterise the whole city as a cheap place to shop.

The Carribean however sells huge volume to cruiseship passengers, have low overheads...a full range of brand names are present and discounts are available (I got 45% off an AP through someone I knew but pressumably deals are available)


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## hughlle (Aug 23, 2015)

JayDeep said:


> Some states don't have taxes. Oregon where I live has no sales tax. Instead we pay higher income and property taxes.
> 
> Can you give an instance in which a watch in pounds is the same in USD?


 Are you considering a trip to Blighty any time soon?  Was looking at some of the chrono24 offerings from US sellers and I cried a little. Although not sure what the exchange rate is like at present.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Daveyboyz said:


> Singapore is expensive... not there surely?
> 
> What about the Carribean?


 I don't know what the exchange rate is now but when we lived there watches were much cheaper than Europe and the local tax was only 5%.


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## Doolittle (Mar 4, 2017)

Not my country nor south america in general. I would say China, for obvious reasons and above all, the net by far!!


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## Daveyboyz (Mar 9, 2016)

Has anyone been to Malaysia?


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## richy176 (Aug 7, 2013)

JayDeep said:


> Some states don't have taxes. Oregon where I live has no sales tax. Instead we pay higher income and property taxes.
> 
> Can you give an instance in which a watch in pounds is the same in USD?


 Grand Seiko Spring Drive Diver SBGA029 is listed at $5700 on Arizona Fine Time and listed at £5500 from Jura watches in the UK so pretty close to equal. At today's exchange rate $5700 converts to £4672 but with 20% VAT on import that would increase to £5606 before the cost of shipping. It is generally easier to get a decent discount in the USA than in the UK and when the £ was at $1.5 you could make a very good saving by buying from USA but probably only worth bothering on watches with a rrp of $3k or more.



hughlle said:


> Are you considering a trip to Blighty any time soon?  Was looking at some of the chrono24 offerings from US sellers and I cried a little. Although not sure what the exchange rate is like at present.


 £1 = $1.22 today


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## richy176 (Aug 7, 2013)

RWP said:


> I have no idea so I am asking, which is the cheapest country to buy watches :thumbsup: I have noticed that they seem cheap in the States but I believe the prices don't include taxes that vary from state to state. They seem to pay in dollars what we pay in pounds and all Invictas are free ( nearly.)
> 
> Being a parochial soul I don't have an answer but I am hoping you world citizens will open up the debate
> 
> Cheers


 If you plan to evade VAT then Gibralter or the Channel Islands can be good and flights are cheap.

The USA is not great at the moment with the exchange rate at £1 - $1.22 especially as you will probably pay 20% VAT on import. If a watch is $1000 in USA and £1000 in UK then $100 = £819 plus say £50 for shipping/insurance and then £174 VAT and you end up paying £1093 so cheaper to buy here. If you move up the price range to $4k+ then it may be worth doing as ADs in the USA seem more willing to look at 25%+ discounts


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Daveyboyz said:


> Has anyone been to Malaysia?


 Yep and it was cheap there as well. But remembering we lived out that way so were buying locally and not counting postage and customs to get them to the UK. If you look at some of creations prices maybe the only advantage to a UK buyer is non euro market stuff you can't get here.

The Canaries is still effectively duty free and one dealer I spoke to said he sold a lot into mainland Europe although again that price advantage might have been whittled away with poor sterling rates.


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## JayDeep (Dec 31, 2016)

I wish I traveled enough to know or have some input here. Sorry ROG.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

I remember buying some watches in Jersey many years ago. They were much cheaper than buying in the U.K. My pal was buying cars there by the truck load as well and selling them on, probably a loophole that is now closed.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

WRENCH said:


> I remember buying some watches in Jersey many years ago. They were much cheaper than buying in the U.K. My pal was buying cars there by the truck load as well and selling them on, probably a loophole that is now closed.


 Back in the day everyone was buying cars in Holland. Because the local tax was so high the list price was very low compared to the UK.

I picked up a new S80 T6 Volvo for my boss with delivery miles of less than 20 and managed to crash it within about 500 yards of setting off. Nobody told me they drove on the wrong side of the road.

The Dutch Special Branch are still looking for me.

:laugh: :laugh:


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> Back in the day everyone was buying cars in Holland. Because the local tax was so high the list price was very low compared to the UK.
> 
> I picked up a new S80 T6 Volvo for my boss with delivery miles of less than 20 and managed to crash it within about 500 yards of setting off. Nobody told me they drove on the wrong side of the road.
> 
> ...


 Pretty sure an episode of Van der Valk in the 70's was based on your exploits ? :laugh:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> Back in the day everyone was buying cars in Holland. Because the local tax was so high the list price was very low compared to the UK.
> 
> I picked up a new S80 T6 Volvo for my boss with delivery miles of less than 20 and managed to crash it within about 500 yards of setting off. Nobody told me they drove on the wrong side of the road.
> 
> ...


 Last time I was in Jersey I swithered about buying one of these for £1200.wish I had bought it. £12,000 + now for a clean one.










The watch I bought instead is long gone. Plus, in reality the Harley is a foul handling piece of junk anyway, so I'd probably have ended up in the hedge. :laughing2dw:


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Karrusel said:


> Pretty sure an episode of Van der Valk in the 70's was based on your exploits ? :laugh:


 I've been chased up and down a few canals

:laugh: :laugh:

And I crashed and wrecked more than once. So much so I was banned from driving the company vehicles.

Wrote off a nice new Merc Sprinter and blew up a VW crewcab by filling it with petrol instead of diesel. Had a another works van towed away in Amsterdam, I thought it had been stolen meanwhile it was racking up loads of guilder in a pound in Rotterdam.

And then there was the hotel that I racked up a serious bar and a la carte restaurant tab only on check out to find the company would only paying for the room and I had about three quid on me.

The list is endless and that was only in Holland.

:laugh: :laugh:


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> I've been chased up and down a few canals
> 
> :laugh: :laugh:
> 
> ...


 Is that it.....pretty normal behaviour back in the day :yes:

I was expecting you to regale us with some shocking behaviour. artytime:


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Karrusel said:


> I was expecting you to regale us with some shocking behaviour. artytime:


 That's not for public consumption but in Den Hague........................

And Belgium isn't as boring as people say it is.

:laugh: :laugh:


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

Large dark gentlemen will still sell you a "Rolomega" on the seafront here in Torrevieja. Today's offer was a SAIKO <-- :clap: at only 7 euros negotiable. Guy at the next table made the mistake of offering 4 euros and it was on his wrist in five seconds flat :tumbleweed:

I resisted and carried on reading my KOBO


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## deano1956 (Jan 27, 2016)

I suppose Hong Kong now been handed back to china , will be included in the china group? just going by items being listed in Hong Kong rather than china, geography is not my subject you may tell!

deano


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## robvfr400 (Jan 4, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> Last time I was in Jersey I swithered about buying one of these for £1200.wish I had bought it. £12,000 + now for a clean one.
> 
> 
> 
> The watch I bought instead is long gone. Plus, in reality the Harley is a foul handling piece of junk anyway, so I'd probably have ended up in the hedge. :laughing2dw:


 12k????? You could buy a CB750 K1 for that money and you would only make money off it!



robvfr400 said:


> 12k????? You could buy a CB750 K1 for that money and you would only make money off it!


 miss read it. Apologies


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

For vintage watches I have found a few little gems. Definitely not Switzerland, where trade price is UK +50% at least unless it is 9k gold (which they sell as yellow metal, as legally gold has to be 18k or more there)

A particularly good deal was in Sweden, where the pawn shop started at 2,000. I wasn't sure if he meant euros, dollars or pounds, but as i pondered he said Swedish crowns - £188 in proper money. Sold!


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## Doolittle (Mar 4, 2017)

Besides all that, every now and then you just miiight find a nice vintage piece here, but our's still a tiny market and a very distant one...


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## Doolittle (Mar 4, 2017)

Such as...


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

To be honest, I'd wait until the £ starts rising again before considering buying abroad. They reckon it will be 2018 before it gets back to pre-brexit levels.

Normally, I would say Thailand would be a good bet, but the pound is down 14 baht to the pound since project fear kicked in.

In normal times, with VAT currently at 7% here, plus a good exchange rate coupled with generous discounts of up to 25% (bar Omega and rollie), on new watches, and a great place to have a holiday, it would be a winner!


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## Daveyboyz (Mar 9, 2016)

I am firmly in the Brexiteer camp and can't envision the pound coming back to pre-Brexit levels for a long time...

What I think we might see though is the Euro crumble.

I don't have a crystal ball but thats my opinion.

On a side note, with this being such an interconnected world maybe these days of really significant savings based on geographic location are fading fast. In the old days one hand didn't know what the other was doing...now its easy to find out what's out there.


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

Daveyboyz said:


> I am firmly in the Brexiteer camp and can't envision the pound coming back to pre-Brexit levels for a long time...


 We're on the same side, but everyone from Barclays to Morgan Stanley and even the US Govt. are stating the pound is undervalued and are expecting rises once the dust has settled on article 50. But who really knows? I also hope the baht dives. Thailand is being screwed by the junta as no-one will invest here and although not formally linked to the dollar (now), the Bank of Thailand follows it and artificially props the baht up to keep the rich rich, whilst screwing everyone else. It can't go on and the kitty is emptying, as official stats show.


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## Daveyboyz (Mar 9, 2016)

Well I don't have the level of knowledge those guys have but I would have thought article 50 is where it starts, not where it finishes. When article 50 is triggered you will have uncertainty and I predict some bumps in the road before we are actually out. Then even if I am hopeful that there will be a favourable deal its a possibility it won't be perfect. There will follow a period while we take up the oppertunities of global deals and all that takes time.

So my gut instinct is a good few years before we are pre-brexit and I think people might find gold, silver and bitcoin attractive in the mean time but not without risk.


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## richy176 (Aug 7, 2013)

BondandBigM said:


> The Dutch Special Branch are still looking for me.


 Is there a reward? The watch fund is a bit depleted at the moment otherwise I wouldn't dream of shopping a fellow member :rltrlt:


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## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

If you mean new watches I am not sure, as I do not buy them. If you mean vintage or pre owned, I would say the UK at the moment. The pound is providing good value for us living outside of the UK. I have had some good buys in the Balkans, but you will usually need to spend. more money, on servicing, repairs etc.

There are some great bargains on UK forums these days and many watches have a good history of servicing, IMHO.

Cheers Martin :thumbsup:


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

Daveyboyz said:


> Well I don't have the level of knowledge those guys have but I would have thought article 50 is where it starts, not where it finishes.


 Their perceived wisdom is that everything that nerds to be factored in has already been done, hence the £ being as low as it is. But only time will tell!


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## relaxer7 (Feb 18, 2016)

Canada has just signed a free trade agreement with the EU. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, known as Ceta, removes 99% of tariffs between Canada and the EU. Not sure when it comes into effect but it could make the land of Maple Syrup a good place to buy?

Once we Brexit and start signing more free trade agreements we should see similar deals being struck and if the GBP starts to strengthen then it's even better news :thumbsup:


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## Jersey1965 (Jul 10, 2016)

RWP said:


> I have no idea so I am asking, which is the cheapest country to buy watches :thumbsup: I have noticed that they seem cheap in the States but I believe the prices don't include taxes that vary from state to state. They seem to pay in dollars what we pay in pounds and all Invictas are free ( nearly.)
> 
> Being a parochial soul I don't have an answer but I am hoping you world citizens will open up the debate
> 
> Cheers





RWP said:


> I have no idea so I am asking, which is the cheapest country to buy watches :thumbsup: I have noticed that they seem cheap in the States but I believe the prices don't include taxes that vary from state to state. They seem to pay in dollars what we pay in pounds and all Invictas are free ( nearly.)
> 
> Being a parochial soul I don't have an answer but I am hoping you world citizens will open up the debate
> 
> Cheers


 Jersey maybe - good deals if you haggle and no VAT


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

John Major's recent brexit speech is worth a read.

And although I'm an old lefty and no longer popular and definitely no tory knobber fan I suspect that his version is closer to reality than the rose tinted leave brigades version.



http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/02/john-majors-brexit-speech-full-transcript/

It'll all come out in the wash

:laugh: :laugh:


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## trackrat (Jan 23, 2012)

quite an interesting read, some things in that I had not heard of


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

I think it's a nothing speech, in that there is nothing new in it that hasn't already been said. For a man who say's he has retired from politics, he's doing a pretty good impersonation.

He's right to say he rejected the euro and Schengen, but he still signed the Maastricht treaty (without a referendum) which very nearly split the Tory party at the time and ultimately led us to Brexit. I wonder what concessions would have been offered to the UK, as they were to other Countries who held referendums that initially rejected the agreement?


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## watchrevive (Mar 10, 2017)

I guess Dubai and some other Gulf states are cheaper than many other countries , i remember when i was in Bahrain in 2000 the US Soldiers used to buy Jewelry and watches and sell them in the States...they have no taxes in the Gulf States


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