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Uboat question

2K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  G1G1G 
#1 ·
Good day, im a newbie here, just a quick question about Uboat watches, been searching online for watches, i found that most of the sites sell the Uboats for more than 50% off, are these sites legit? these are the sites that would probably be the 1st ones to be shown when u search google. Would you guys know if they sell legit Uboats and of course other brands that they carry as well.

And what would probably be other choices for me that's like the uboat kind of watches and at the same price range.

Thanks in advance.
 
#3 ·
A quick look at Amazon (a 100% reliable grey-market watch dealer) shows that U-Boats are routinely available for 50-60% off retail. So, low prices elsewhere aren't necessarily a warning sign. If you see something you like, Google the dealer's site and see what other people are saying about it. Don't buy anything online unless you've got plenty of evidence that the site sells legitimate product.
 
#5 ·
They are gray market watches (genuine but not sold from an authorized dealer and do not carry a warranty from the manufacturer) or fake. Do a search on "gray market" and you'll find tons of threads. If you buy gray market take some time to research sellers so you don't get a fake. Sites like Amazon.com, Jomashop.com, and authenticwatches.com all have great reputations.
 
#7 ·
thanks likestheshiny and perseus! So if i'll be buying watches, you would really recommend i buy from the amazon and jomas?
Both sites sell genuine watches and are reputable sellers. Amazon has a superior warranty service and much better customer support. Jomashop is sometimes slow and their communication is sometimes, but they still get the job done. Overstock.com is also reliable as far as I know. Just remember that some watches rarely sell at the "official" retail price, and U-Boats retail for a fair bit more than watches with comparable parts and quality; so, don't assume that you're necessarily getting an amazing deal just because you're paying much less than MSRP.

If you're just dipping your toes into the grey-market watch scene, Amazon is the easiest place to start. Just look closely to be sure that the product you're buying is actually coming from Amazon, and not from a third-party seller through Amazon's site. The difference is obvious if you read the listing page.
 
#8 ·
The other thing to consider is that if a watch consistently is available at very substantial discounts (often well over 50%), then the MSRP is not in line with real-world market value. Some manufacturers do intentionally inflate MSRP so that their watches appear to be great values at the discounts at which they are typically found. In most circumstances, they are not.
 
#9 ·
For other watches you might look at Anonimo or Sinn. The problem with U-Boat, is that they are using basically an off the shelf movement from ETA and I don't think are using one of the higher grades. Nor do they do anything special to there cases (Sinn hardens theirs with a process called tegimeting, Anonimo uses DRASS on theirs). There are a lot of watches out there that you can get with the same specs as a U-Boat that cost in the $600-$1000 (US) range. So what you are paying on top of that is for how much the design of the watch speaks to you. Personally, even as much as I would love a 45mm Classico CAS, I can't justify the additional cost just for the design. Anonimo Militare Vintage is also a design I really like, but like with U-Boat their prices are not in line with the gray market discounts you can get, and they get even cheaper when they go on sale used, but I still can't justify the price compared to other watches I also enjoy with similar specifications.

Before you buy something, I would recommend finding a few different watches you like and look for them in the used forum and past auctions on Ebay. The used market can be a good indicator of retail to used ratio which I find valuable in helping to assess just how much of a premium I willing to put on getting a particular brand/model of watch.

How I went about finding watches, was to go to watch review blogs and look at what they are talking about. Also click on the links to their advertisers. I like divers so when I was trying to figure out what to get, what was out there and what I thought was reasonable to pay, I went to OceanicTime and clicked on the links for every manufacturer (after reading the reviews for the past couple years). I started in one place (also U-Boat), and then found a watch that was quite different, but that completely sang to me. Then I found another, and another, and another, and another....
 
#10 ·
I would suggest looking at Bernard watch co. I have sold and purchase many fine swiss timepieces to and from them. I just purchased a bnib Uboat thousands of feet for $1400. The shipping was lightning fast, and they offer a 1 year warranty. Ask for PJ, one of the nicest guys you'll ever talk to.
 
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