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Where to buy Swiss in China

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ross88guy

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have heard it is possible to pick up some bargins in China. Does anyone have any reccomendations as to outlets where I can find such deals in any of the major Chinese cities? I am travelling at the moment and am in the market for a nice Omega!

Cheers

Ross

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#2 ·
for used watches Pawn shops (you can probably haggle down 20%-30% of the tagged price maybe more depending on how much they pad the price, how long they've had the watch, etc ) or taobao.com but get really familliar with everything about the watch and check it inside and out so you can check if it is real.

As for new the msrp here is higher than the usa on luxury goods but i have no idea how much of a discount the shops will be willing to give (if you just ask if there is a discount they'll tell you 10% off, not sure how much they'll go down if you push a bit though). You can find a list of authorized dealers at omega.ch

good luck
 
#3 ·
I wouldnt hold your breath.

When i was in BJ last year, sure, there is an Omega shop almost every 3 street blocks in the central district, but the prices were horrendous. I found out from some local Beijingese WIS, that they go to HK for their watches - its cheaper to fly over and buy then haggle in BJ!
 
#4 ·
What has been said above. NEVER buy watches from boutiques in China. If you are in Asia, HKG or Taiwan is your best bet.
 
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Discussion starter · #5 ·
Cheers guys!

From my quick bit of research I also have found out from the locals that they tend to go to HK to get all their cheap western goods.

I walked into an omega store this morning and a seamaster professional was almost 2x the price of what I would pay at home...

I will try looking at authorised dealers in BJ but it might have to be a cheeky flight over to Hk!

Thanks!

Ross

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#6 ·
Hi Ross, so who did you hear from that Swiss watches are cheaper in China? In China (excluding HK), all imported watches are expensive due to high tariffs on those goods. I'm estimating that you'll probably end up paying an extra 20% based on SRP as compared to buying in US. Like what the other posters have said, the locals venture out to Hong Kong and Taiwan to get their Swiss fix. It use to be that you can get great discounts on Swiss watches in Hong Kong, but that has certainly ended with China's nouvelle-riche that overpay on retail prices.

ross88guy said:
I have heard it is possible to pick up some bargins in China. Does anyone have any reccomendations as to outlets where I can find such deals in any of the major Chinese cities? I am travelling at the moment and am in the market for a nice Omega!

Cheers

Ross

..................

Blog
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Discussion starter · #7 ·
aston.db4 said:
Hi Ross, so who did you hear from that Swiss watches are cheaper in China? In China (excluding HK), all imported watches are expensive due to high tariffs on those goods. I'm estimating that you'll probably end up paying an extra 20% based on SRP as compared to buying in US. Like what the other posters have said, the locals venture out to Hong Kong and Taiwan to get their Swiss fix. It use to be that you can get great discounts on Swiss watches in Hong Kong, but that has certainly ended with China's nouvelle-riche that overpay on retail prices.
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Its a pitty that I am not going to HK then isnt it! Just been searching Xi'an high and low for omega distributors and the cheapest I have found was over 2x the price of in the UK and US. Gutted.

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#8 ·
It's nowhere near an omega but i have a suggestion that may cheer you up a bit...

since you are in xi'an, you might pick up a vintage manual wind xiongmao (panda) watch. They were made in xi'an durring the 60's-70's and should be less than 100rmb in excellent condition, the quality should be similar in quality to a low/mid end 17 jewel swiss watch of the same time period and it would make a decent souvenir and conversion piece even if you never wore it.
 
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