What to Think About When Buying Watches Online [Complete Guide]
What should you think about when buying watches online? That’s a question many people ask themselves. In fact, since the e-s has exploded in the last decade, the question ”what should you think about when buying anything online” is become equally more asked. Of total global retail sales, e-commerce is estimated to account for 17,5%, and this number is only going to increase according to Statista.
As our world becomes more digitalised, buying online becomes more natural for people. At the beginning of e-commerce, most items purchased were small and cheap, but as the infrastructure of e-commerce and people’s trust in it has increased, people feel safer in buying other things as well, including more expensive items like watches. In fact, you can even order cars online if you wish.
This goes to show that e-commerce is here, and it’s here to stay, and the same goes with online distribution of luxury watches.
But just like when buying anything, there are things you want to think about when buying watches online to make sure your experience becomes as positive as possible.
At Millennium Watches, we strive to make your customer experience amazing, and we want you to feel 100% satisfied with your purchase, but to help make you more prepared for the next luxury watch purchase of your dream watch, we’ve created this guide of what to think about when buying watches online.
What to think about when buying watches online
See this guide as a checklist and help for buying your dream watch, at a dream price, and for the best possible experience.
As such, just like when buying anything, you want to know the product you’re buying.
Know the product you’re buying
You always want to be well-educated in the watch you’re purchasing. This will lay the foundation for a good purchase since you’ll know how the watch should look, what features it should have, as well as an estimate of approximately it should cost.
Most importantly, however, is that you know the watch so well so you know ”that’s the one I want”.
So, something worth knowing before buying watches online is the actual product you’re going to buy, and maybe most importantly, what you are looking for in a watch.
In case you’ve missed it, there are a lot of watches to choose from, and deciding can be difficult, to say the least. But by narrowing down your range of watches to choose from based on a number of criteria, you’ll have fewer to choose from, and thus have an easier time deciding.
Here are the most fundamental parts that define a watch worth considering:
- What movement? Do you want a quartz, automatic, or manual movement?
- What type of watch? Do you want a dress watch, a diver’s watch, a pilot’s watch? There are quite a few to choose from in this criteria, so make sure you decide this one.
- What metal? Defining the metal you want on your watch will help you narrow it down even further. Do you want gold, steel, rose gold, etc?
- What functions do you want? This is to some extent aligned with the type of watch you want to have, but, for example, just because you get a dress watch doesn’t mean it has an annual calendar, date function, year indication, etc. As such, decide what features you want in a watch and then take it from there. Do you want a chronograph? A day function? The opportunities are endless….
Know your budget
This is obviously an important thing to think about when buying watches online. When you know your budget for a luxury watch, you know which watches are possible candidates and within reach and which aren’t. There’s a whole array of watches at all different kind of prices, so no matter what your budget is, you’ll be able to find your dream watch.
Know what you are looking for when buying watches online
No, we don’t mean that you should know what you’re looking for in terms of watches, but more so, what are you looking for in the online watch store that you’re planning on buying from.
Different people have different priorities, and therefore, the naturally tend to shop at different places. For example, some people want the personal service and experience that they are served with at a physical store, while others are just looking for the cheapest possible deal on their watch. There are several online watch stores that you can buy from, but knowing what exactly you are looking for in an online watch store will enable you to narrow it down.
Here are some questions worth considering:
- Are you looking to find a place where you can buy the cheapest watch possible?
- Are you looking for a site that ships to your country?
- Are you looking for free shipping?
- Do you need help finding a particular watch?
All of these things are worth considering. At Millennium Watches, for example, we focus on offering you amazing prices, but also a great personalized service where we guide you through each step of the purchase process. If you’re looking for a particular watch, we can also help you by finding it for you, so you can get your dream watch.
What brand do you want?
In choosing your watch, this is obviously an important point. By having decided on a particular watch brand, you will have narrowed down your selection of watches significantly. But most importantly, you’ll have an easier time deciding which online retailer you should buy from since not all online stores carry all brands of watches.
What to think about when buying watches online: Is the store trusted?
This goes for when buying anything online. Unfortunately, there are scammers out there who are looking to do anything they can to get some money, and therefore, it happens that people set up ”fake” scam websites within different categories, collect money from its customers, but then never send the item.
Of course, this is the last thing you want to happen, and therefore, it’s important that you know which online watch stores are trusted and legit, and which aren’t.
The best way to do this is to carefully look at their reviews, find other people who have bought from them, etc.
Also, remember the principle that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is, and therefore, you should stay away from these sites at any cost.
Start by looking at the things that can reveal whether or not a site is legit.
Look if the site has any negative reviews. If it’s a scam website, it is probably going to have a lot of warnings and be on different blacklists. Secondly, you can look at things like social proof. Do they have an established social media presence? Do they have a lot of fans and happy customers? If yes, they’re probably completely legit, but if they have no previous customers or fans whatsoever, it may be a reason to be careful.
Do they ship to you?
This is definitely something that’s worth having in mind.
Depending on where you live, you may want to opt for different watch retailers online. Some may not even deliver to you, and others may just be far away so that it takes a long time for the watch to get to you. Also, you want to consider where the watch is shipped from, because otherwise, you may have to pay customs. Now, sometimes, you may not mind paying customs at all for getting your watch, but it’s just important that you’re aware of this potential cost – just like you should be when buying anything online.
How fast is shipping?
This brings us to the next point.
For some people, this is extremely important, but for others, it doesn’t really matter. If you want your watch and you want it now, you may choose online watch store to buy from solely based on their shipping time. Of course, this is not really ideal, but if everything else about the online watch retailer is ok, too, such as prices, legitimacy, etc, then why not!
Conclusion
The retail business has been revolutionized by the internet, and today, there are more people than ever who buy things online, and this is a trend that is only growing stronger. This also goes for more expensive things, such as luxury watches, and the reason is that buying watches online has many benefits. Of course, buying watches online can be dangerous if you aren’t buying from trusted dealers, but if you do, and follow all the tips in this article, you can feel safe in shopping watches online.
If you are looking for watches, take a look at the watches we have available for sale, and if we don’t have the watch you’re looking for in stock, we can help you source it with our free source a watch service. If you need help finding your dream watch, don’t hesitate to contact you and we’ll guide you through the whole purchase process.
