First post, new watch

[GADNYC]

This is my first Rolex purchase and my first post. Technically my second purchase, but the first for my own wrist as I picked up a 116610LN from an AD last April for my sons HS graduation. The reason I wanted to memorialize my experience here is for other US based buyers looking at Swiss auction purchases. I won’t bury the lede too far, but I wouldn’t do it again.

Of course I read the pre-auction disclaimers and realized there was the obvious hammer price, plus the buyers premium of 25% and potentially VAT, NY sales tax, shipping and insurance. It’s a watch, not a banned item or cultural relic so I estimated that if I really wanted it when the auction started, I would figure it out on the back end. Certainly others before me had done this no?

The auction was in Geneva and I was enjoying a 4am coffee in NYC watching the auctioneer prime the proverbial pump. I had my budget (factoring in the aforementioned add on costs) and watched as the price was bid up….fair warning…I placed my one bid and nobody countered and it was mine. A bit like the dog that caught the car.

Christies updated my online account and sent me a kind email asking if I would like to settle and how I would like to take possession. They also provided a bill which included hammer price, buyers premium of 25% and VAT of 7.7%. My first response was to ship it to Christies NYC and I could pick it up there. No go, they simply cannot do this. OK, how about mailing it to a friend of mine in Switzerland, sure, but you will still have to pay the VAT. How about shipping to my home in NYC? Sure, just have to add the 8.875% sales tax and shipping. This is beginning to get frustrating and expensive. How about I fly to Geneva, pick it up and get my VAT back at the airport? No problem, but Christies must have a person at the airport to confirm the purchase and I would still be liable for NYC sales tax. My final decision – just mail and insure it to my apt, I’ll pay the NYC taxes. Pardon the long winded nature of this, now, essay, but it’s not over.

Email arrives from Fed Ex telling me that they have my imported goods and I need to fill out a 5106 form. Huh? This is a Department of Homeland Security US Customs and Border Protection document. Fed Ex email is much less cordial, intimating that if I don’t fill this out and return it in 5 business days it will go down on my permanent record or at least returned to sender. I call the number, get voice mail and send an email. 24 hours later, nothing. Rinse and repeat. 24 hours again, nothing. I hashtag and asterisk with the voice mail jail and get another representative. Explain that my importing consists of exactly one, nine year old watch. He says if it’s more than 2500 USD, they need the form and if “Oyster Perpetual” means mother of pearl there are other, probably more complicated, forms. I confirm there are no mollusk shells and ask if I really need a form since we are mates now. He’s calmly explains that he's been doing this 20 years and there is no other way. He can sense my reticence to give my SSN but tries to assure me that it’s “encrypted as letters” when it “goes into the system”. I rest easy and by rest easy, I fill out the form with a couple of numbers transcribed, dyslexia you know. Four hours later, I get an email from him saying the watch is on the way.

Buzzzz – this morning the friendly Fed Ex person arrives, I sign, rip it open and I’m delighted the watch is everything the pics and description in the auction literature says it is. I scurry to the Rolex boutique in midtown to get it sized and Alyssa is quite interested in the Royal Kandjar on the back case and the purple, nee periwinkle Arabic numerals. All in all a rough experience getting it home, but now that it’s on the wrist, it feels great.


Pardon the length but now that it’s published, it’s forever, like the watch. Wanted to sincerely thank all the members here that give so much of their time and knowledge, it’s the exact community the internet was supposed to spawn.

[Audemars Piguet]

Welcome

[HL65]

Welcome

[Psmith]

Welcome and congrats

[1William]

Welcome and congratulations.

[hyzhenry]

Welcome, and nice watch!

[r8t3d_M]

I'm glad everything worked out in the end. It's a beautiful reference, congratulations! Welcome to TRF!

[GADNYC]

There were definitely times it looked like it might go sideways.

[Urosfan]

Welcome congrats

[concorde19]

Impressive watch! Welcome to the community.

[brandrea]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum

[HOROLOGY HOUSE]

Congratulations and welcome. Great watch

[SearChart]

Welcome and congrats!

[Allanmodel]

Welcome to TRF~~

[Burlington]

Quite the story to finally get the watch!

Welcome to TRF

[ancientmariner]

Congratulations & welcome

[doubleteam]

Awesome Watch! Welcome to RolexForums~

[214270Explorer]

Welcome to the forum!

[RolexReviews]

welcome and congratulations on your purchase!

[BNA/LION]

Welcome to TRF! Congratulations!

[uniqueMR]

Welcome & Congrats

[Hairdude1]

Welcome