A Cautionary Tale of Shipping to the Rolex Service Center-BH

[Frosty]

I decided to send a vintage Rolex DateJust to RSC Beverly Hill to have it serviced. I could not get away so I decided to mail it. I sent it Express Mail, insured, with signature confirmation. I figured I was covered.

I mailed it on November 7 and tracking said it was out for delivery on November 8. At the end of the day I saw it was refused. I was not amused.

The next day I called RSC BH. I was fortunate enough to talk to the nice lady that refused the package. She told me that they did not have a shipping department and did not want to receive watches. They preferred to have them sent to Dallas. They still take walk-ins, which I have done in the past.

If I had used brown tape she would have accepted the package. But, since I used clear tape, there was too much of a chance the package could have been fiddled with so they did not accept it. Believe me, I am not shy about using tape and covered every seam with tape. The only way it could have been opened was cutting it.

She was nice and told me she would E-Mail her counterpart in Dallas so I would not be charged the return postage when I sent it in to them.

And now for the rest of the story, as they say. The package was refused on November 8. I checked the tracking to see what was going on:

Refused November 08, 2012, 11:06 am BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90212

Yesterday, for Veterans’ Day the Post Office was closed. I will go down and check this after work to see what is going on. I checked tracking today and I am still getting the same message. Where the package has gone since being refused is a mystery. I guess tracking does not work in reverse. I am sure glad I insured the package. I thought I would post this to hopefully save someone else the trouble.

[moviefreak]

They never charge for return postage...

[mailman]

All of the RSC's in the US have specific shipping instructions. Registered Mail only. They will refuse watches shipped overnight or via UPS or Fed Ex. If you call and ask them for a shipping kit, they will send you the proper size box and tape. This way you can box it up yourself and take it to the PO and hand it over the counter. Hope this helps

[Tools]

Originally Posted by mailman

All of the RSC's in the US have specific shipping instructions. Registered Mail only. They will refuse watches shipped overnight or via UPS or Fed Ex. If you call and ask them for a shipping kit, they will send you the proper size box and tape. This way you can box it up yourself and take it to the PO and hand it over the counter. Hope this helps

Exactly !! We've been saying it for years.. Rolex only accepts Registered Mail (brown tape) packages..

At the Post Office, they will help you package it properly and re-send it..

[imono]

Here. Pack and tape it like that and then ship it REGISTERED at the Post Office. Will take approximately 5 to 10 business days to arrive.

[Dr. Robert]

This is why I'm happy to have a very competent local indie watchmaker who can get Rolex parts!

[77T]

Would Rolex reject a box with plastic security tape like this?

[77T]

Originally Posted by Dr. Robert

This is why I'm happy to have a very competent local indie watchmaker who can get Rolex parts!

Me, too - Gary Wilson is a 10 minute drive away.

[Dr. Robert]

Originally Posted by 77T

Would Rolex reject a box with plastic security tape like this?

I think it's got to be the good old brown heavy duty paper tape, with glue on the back that you moisten w/ a wet sponge.

[tomchicago]

Imono I find that I generally either over-or-under moisten the tape. Is there a method to prevent over-moistening?

Originally Posted by imono

Here. Pack and tape it like that and then ship it REGISTERED at the Post Office. Will take approximately 5 to 10 business days to arrive.

[MonBK]

[QUOTE=77T;3715567]Would Rolex reject a box with plastic security tape like this?

QUOTE]


Yes.

[imono]

Originally Posted by tomchicago

Imono I find that I generally either over-or-under moisten the tape. Is there a method to prevent over-moistening?

Just make sure there is not too much water in the sponge.
Just squeeze the sponge gently to get rid of excess water.
Trial and error in s small piece and you'll get it right.

[freddyttt]

Im thinking of going to NY on dec 14th with the family. figure ill drop my 168000 sub of at RSC Rolex. good idea? or better to send to Dallas..

[Lagunatic]

send to Dallas

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by tomchicago

Imono I find that I generally either over-or-under moisten the tape. Is there a method to prevent over-moistening?

I use a mist sprayer. Works perfectly.

[John in MA]

You can purchase brown tape that does not need a sponge. I use it for all my registered mail packages.

Rolex might except security tape but the post office will not. To send via Registered Mail, IT MUST be brown tape.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/NNSRIT...-SearchResults

[gwozhog]

No offense mate but I'm shocked you did not call first.

[Frosty]

The watch went Elvis on tracking for about five days. I then got it back and everything looked fine. I tested the band and it was still 14k.

A little irritated, I drove the 50 miles to RSC BH. I went the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, big mistake traffic wise.

They took the watch into the back. I have an aftermarket jubilee bracelet and was wondering how much they would give me for it on a Rolex Jubilee Bracelet.

The gentleman came back in about 20 minutes and told me that they could not do any work on vintage Rolex’s at the BH since they did not have any parts. They would have to send it to Dallas and there would be a $150 charge that would be deducted from the service if I had it done. He also said they would give me a couple of hundred dollars towards a new bracelet since Rolex encourages people to have original parts.

At that point, I figured I could send it to Dallas myself insured for $40 or to someone that does vintage Rolex on TRF.

[kilyung]

Try Rikki.

[mrbill2mrbill2]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Try Rikki.

x2!