Purchasing from an AD abroad

[johnswatch]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a SS Sub Date very shortly but the price of A$7,295 (US$ 7100) here in Sydney, Australia is putting me off.

The only other ways I could get one would be to ask my friend to pick one up from Heathrow airport tax free in 6 months time or purchasing one from abroad.

I'm very cautious about fakes etc so really want to get one from an AD.

Any suggestions?

[Tools]

If you really want one from an AD your options are limited.

The customs and duty fees are in place to ensure your local AD is competitive so you have to take that into account if you purchase abroad..

Have you thought about a NZ purchase..

[Warren]

about Hong Kong?...........

[stevemulholland3]

why dont you try buying from some of our well known members in our for sale section?
you would never have to worry about getting a fake-this is our life.
we can give you several names if you would like.

[frostie]

Originally Posted by stevemulholland3

why dont you try buying from some of our well known members in our for sale section?
you would never have to worry about getting a fake-this is our life.
we can give you several names if you would like.

That's a good suggestion

[2careless]

You have quite a few options:
1. buy the watch here in Aus, claim it through Tourist Refund Scheme (yes you can, even you're Aus citizen), get out of country within 30days of purchase and wear it back. Note that your watch will be subject to customs and duties (10% GST + 5% duties) when you reenter Aus. Whether you declare it or not, it's your risk to mitigate. This way you can save the 10% GST so your cost will be approx A$6632. (You don't save the original import duty of 5%).

2. fly to places like Hong Kong to buy it. HK list price is HK$44500 (they raised 3% last week). That equals A$5872. You still have to decide whether you declare it when you enter Aus. The custom duty for that would be 10% GST + 5% duty. Note that the list price in HK probably will be the cheapest from major destinations, e.g. US list price is US$5850 and that's approx A$6020. And also in HK one can usually get some 5-8% discounts.

3. buy it BNIB from a grey dealer in US such as swissluxury.com or alanfurman.com and ask for open warranty (i.e. name in card is blank but date is stamped). Swissluxury price for 16610 is USD5150, approx A$5300. You'll have to pay for the A$50 wire fee, have it sent over to Australia, that's another A$100, then add 10% GST and 5% duty for import. Sometimes you may get lucky and this extra 15% not charged, but it's a roll of the dice.

4. buy it BNIB from reputable traders within the forums as others suggested. The extra costs will be similar to point 3 above.

P.S. Note that all forex rates I used here are from www.xe.com. Your bank will charge you usually 2% difference as commission, especially for overseas credit card purchases in foreign currency.

P.P.S. Why don't you haggle with the AD? When I was in NZ last month, I haggled and got a pretty good deal for a sub nodate.

[abcde50]

The only duty you pay when you bring a watch into Oz from abroad (if you declare it that is) is 10% GST. YOU DO NOT PAY ANY OTHER IMPORT DUTY i.e 5%.

There are other options buying locally.

[SLS]

I would try to pick up a nice pre-owned sub locally. Let someone else eat the depreciation.
~Scott

[Rik]

First. Hello all.

I bought an expensive watch, not Rolex, in Stockholm Sweden. To avoid the VAT they seal the box and you open the box when you arrive home. The watch would not work. After 3 visits to the main shop in Los Angeles, it now works. I rarely wear this watch. The shine has worn off and I look forward to giving it to my son.

If I had it to do again, I would go into a good store here in LA and pay the tax with a smile.

[2careless]

Originally Posted by abcde50

The only duty you pay when you bring a watch into Oz from abroad (if you declare it that is) is 10% GST. YOU DO NOT PAY ANY OTHER IMPORT DUTY i.e 5%.

There are other options buying locally.

Hmm, in 2006 I bought an Omega at Changi airport and took it in (box and receipt etc) and declared it at Melb airport. I know I was stupid to buy in airport.
The value they charged me was 15% of the valued price, they did give me a reduction on the valuation though.

Is your info based on published bulletin from Customs? If so, I'll dig up the docket and try launch a refund claim!

[johnswatch]

My work does take me to NZ occasionally but not to HK unfortunately.

I've always wanted a SS Sub and it's been one of my life goals to purchase one. I've worked extremely hard to earn the money and simply want to get the best possible price.

I'm just concerned about the possibility of getting a counterfeitand some of the copies out there are remarkably close to the real thing. Purchasing from a reliable overseas source could save me as much as $1000 usd which is better in my pocket rather than soneone elses.

My experience with buying luxury cars etc from AD is that once they have your money, the service goes out of the window. Call me sceptical but I don't really expect my local jeweler to be much differnet, despite the extra $1000 I'd be paying him.

So long as it's new, genuine and able to be serviced at a Rolex service centre I don't really care. I would demand that the item be shipped securely, fully insured and the value declared at customs so I can pay the Australian sales tax of 10%.

Please note that I'm not trying to avoid paying tax. I would be paying almost half as much again in my domestic market due not to taxation or import duties but because of a historically weaker Australian dollar and the fact that dealers here can charge more.

The local used Subs aren't at a big enough discount on the new to make it a very attractive prospect and I really do want to buy new.

[johnswatch]

2careless,

The customs rates on the Australian Customs site indicate that there is no import duty payable.

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/re...r91goods_a.pdf

[sys12345]

Johnswatch, there's another option for u. Take a holiday trip to Singapore. SS Sub 16610s are available from ADs here. The list price of S$8228 may not be as cheap as HK but remember, there's a 7% GST which will be refunded to tourists. In addition, u can also get a little discount off the listed price. That should make the watch even cheaper than HK.

[abcde50]

Originally Posted by 2careless

Hmm, in 2006 I bought an Omega at Changi airport and took it in (box and receipt etc) and declared it at Melb airport. I know I was stupid to buy in airport.
The value they charged me was 15% of the valued price, they did give me a reduction on the valuation though.

Is your info based on published bulletin from Customs? If so, I'll dig up the docket and try launch a refund claim!

I have spoken to customs here and they assure me that watches don't attract any import duty, just the GST on any watch valued at over $1000.00.

[2careless]

Guys, yes you're right. I stand corrected, just dug up that old docket and Customs only charged me 10% GST.

[swatty]

I've been doing the same calculations with regard to a GMT IIc I intend to purchase . I thought about travelling overseas to purchase the watch but decided that would only be an option if I was going there anyway. To travel just to buy the watch, you would save very little after adding transport, accomodation food etc, (even if you use some frequent flyer points). So the cheapest way to buy it is to purchase from a reputable overseas seller and have it shipped. Then I thought if I am spending 7 or 8 thousand dollars on a watch I would like to through the AD purchase process personally, not just open a FEDEX box. Then if there was anything wrong I had have somewhere local to complain to . So after 3 or 4 weeks of , I'm back to where I started , at my local AD, paying to much for the watch