Why luxury watches on the internet can be so cheap

Shoppers use the internet to buy just about anything, from cars to pencils to watches. The online marketplace is huge and getting bigger by the day as more and more people enjoy the convenience of shopping from home.

While the internet offers a convenient way to shop, sometimes it can't adequately respond to the human need to touch and feel things.

Watches are very personal purchases and not every watch will suit each person in the same way. But does that mean that one always need to try a watch on before buying it?

We book all-inclusive vacations online often without ever having been to the resort, we buy clothes online without the benefit of a fitting room, we buy TVs without having watched them, and the list can go on.

So what's the primary motivation for doing these things without visual or tactile evidence? Price.

Luxury and designer watches are expensive. The regular prices for a new co-axial Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra or Rolex Submariner run in the thousands of dollars. These watches are out of reach for most people.

This is where online retailers, shops and dealers come in. They don't have warehouses or storefronts, so they save on lease costs, maintenance costs, inventory costs, taxes, utilities, etc. They can afford a skeleton staff, which saves on human resources costs, commissions, benefits, insurance and payroll.

It's not a stretch to see why they can afford to slash regular prices by sometimes up to half, even for new models of watches. They can pass on the savings to you.
In some cases, online stores are also a clearinghouse for older models that manufacturers want to sell quickly. In this case, the manufacturer's prices are already discounted and the dealers can pass on those extra discounts to customers. This can be a great way to get a brand new (as in never used and still in the sealed box) luxury watch. From year to year most models don't undergo massive changes.

While one must always exercise caution when shopping for luxury watches online, the internet is simply the best place to get the best deals.

It's up to the shopper to check the seller out, ensure there are no serious Better Business Bureau complaints or no online reports of irate consumers. One must always ask: how long has the shop been in business? Is their shopping cart secure? What kind of operating certificates do they have? Are they part of a business association?

In the end, it's the actual watch being sold that matters. Any serious and legitimate online dealer will indicate in writing that it honours the manufacturer's warranty. Any purchases made from stores that do not do so, are at the purchaser's risk.

Often a simple glance is all that's required to know that a watch is THE ONE, but if there's some doubt, the easiest way to get peace of mind is to visit a jeweler that sells that particular watch and try it on. If it fits, head back home to make the purchase.