[karimsameh95]

I just wanted to share my experience attempting to have my San Martin SN004g repaired after receiving it with 2 manufacturer's defects (multiple bezel clicks were very soft and unlike the rest of the clicks, and the end link had a gap between it and the actual watch case).

After contacting San Martin regarding this, I was asked by Glenn from San Martin to send them my watch to their transit station in California which was in-turn going to send it to their HQ in China for repair. I sent the watch in on October 9th and USPS tracking showed that it arrived in California on October 12th. Glen confirmed that the transit station had received the watch on October 15th, after multiple requests on my part to confirm receipt.

I waited to hear back regarding the status of the watch for two weeks to no avail. Finally, on October 29th Glen says that the transit station has been delayed and that they will ship the watch to China "next week."

On November 8th - roughly 1 month after receiving my watch for warranty repairs - Glenn writes:

Sorry to say this but the US Customs refuse to let the package contains a watch to pass Customs check, they might have just released a new policy, therefore that transit station will have to first return the package back to you, please kindly offer us your detailed address with post code and phone number, thanks!

Warm regards,
Glenn Yu

In response, I try to convince Glenn to simply send me a new SN004g and repair the old one on San Martin's own schedule - especially since this was a manufacturer's defect, and since I was left waiting around for a month, and had paid postage to ship my watch to them and was now being asked to pay postage again to ship it to China. To which Glenn responds:

Thanks for the address info, please also offer us your phone number so they can send you the package.

And now the only way I think is sending the watch directly back to us using USPS delivery, I will attach our address below.

Sorry to say this but sending you a new watch is not the way to offer warranty, especially it's a second hand one, in other words, we don't know and you don't know either about what happened before the former owner sold it, in that case, we can only fix it if you can send it back, please use the current package if you have packed it well and put in the paper note already, and kindly declare the package at just $60 to avoid serious Customs tax:

Address: 906, Block B, Building 3, Jewelry Culture Industrial Park, Changping Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China
Post Code: 523570
Name: SAN MARTIN
Tel.: +86-13267505666

Warm regards,
Glenn Yu

In his reponse, Glen tries to make the claim that because I had bought the watch on ebay in brand new condition from a private party with a San Martin signed warranty card, something I willingly disclosed to him early on in our email exchange, I deserved some sort of lesser warranty that included putting me through the hassle of paying extra postage and waiting for a few more months to have their manufacturer's defect fixed...

In response, I decided to cut my losses and just have him send me the watch back. He agreed and told me that he will share the tracking number once it has shipped back to me from California. It's been two weeks since that email, and I still have not received any tracking number for getting my watch back. It's been two months since I shipped my watch to San Martin...

Everyone here raves about San Martin... the quality control, the service, blah blah blah...

With this type of warranty support... honestly yuck!

Feels just like any other chinese knock-off brand...

 

[cosmin popa]

My understanding is you bought a faulty watch on ebay, and you expect San Martin to send you a new one. I'd say that San Martin CS offered you more than I would expect in this particular case. I would not even consider contacting the manufacturer if I bought a broken watch on ebay, but that's just a personal opinion.
Regardless, I hope you get your watch fixed. Knowing Mr. Glenn, I'm thinking you're in good hands.

 

[Elmero]

Exactly what @cosmin popa said.

 

[daquinto]

they still probably owe you a warranty repair, but wouldn't it be easier to just raise a dispute with paypal/ebay?

 

[longtimelurker]

Uhhh, it's not up to you whether SM offers a repair or replacement. It's the same warranty, I don't know why you think his point of secondhand ownership is one of distinction. Re-read it. It's not. It's a point of emphasis.

He doesn't know if it is really a manufacturer defect or damage caused by the previous owner (or you). Since there are multiple owners (aka some portion of unknown /unverifiable history) , there's no way he's going to offer you a goodwill replacement. I wouldn't either, frankly. You can have the same warranty as any other owner, which is apparently inspection and repair.

Contrast that to a customer that just (verifiably) received the watch a day or two ago and has some complaints. Maybe then I ship out a replacement as the other one comes in. Much more likely the issues are on me or the shipping service. But I digress. It's still not necessary aa part of the warranty.

As for all the other complaints, color me shocked that a budget, low-margin, knockoff, foreign brand makes you jump through hoops, doesn't have customs or shipping figured out, and doesn't have time to email you back promptly. Just shocking.

 

[seadial]

This reads like a “leverage” thread, these Chinese watches are not perfect, but are value for money. The "problems" cited are pretty minor, if you want something better you have to move up a league and pay more for an established brand.

 

[toph]

I get your frustration, and empathise with you , but these watches are virtually classed as disposable so the warranty and attention to detail will never be there. They are cheap and replaceable 👍

 

[Bradley_RTR]

Yeah, I'm thinking you can't buy something used off of eBay and seriously expect a brand new replacement from San Martin for an issue the eBay seller should have disclosed to you. I think your grief needs to be with the eBay seller not San Martin. But, this customs issue needs to be resolved if San Martin's warranty is to have any semblance of usefulness.

 

[Seabee1]

"...multiple bezel clicks were very soft and unlike the rest of the clicks..."

That about sums up your issue for me

 

[karimsameh95]

Again, the watch was shipped in brand new, unworn, condition. In addition, the bezel action problem has to, by definition, be a manufacturer's defect.

I sent San Martin a video of the problem. Turn up the volume to the max in order to see what I am saying. This is the textbook definition of manufacturer's defect.

Please keep in mind that I foretold San Martin that I purchased the watch from ebay, sent them a picture of their valid and signed warranty card, and confirmed that the watch was still under warranty.

Puting aside that I purchased it from ebay - which is largely an irrelevant detail for those discerning enough to realize that - the mess that I had to go through in order to get my watch repaired only to have it not sent back to me after two months with no repairs is ridiculous.

Please keep in mind that I had just intended to cut my losses and take back the watch.... San Martin literally couldn't even do that in a timely manner...

 

[Ginseng108]

So, you've been registered here for over four years and your only two posts are to publicly air a complaint about an issue that multiple members are telling you includes an unreasonable expectation? May I suggest the following.

1. Accept that your complaint here likely will not and should not pressure SM into giving you a new watch.
2. Return to lurking.
3. When you get your watch back, take it to a watchmaker to replace the bezel spring or buy one off ebay and do it yourself.

Note: The bezel spring click may be a defect. The endlink gap would probably not be considered a "defect" just because it doesn't meet your standard. It might well be within their manufacturing tolerance. In which case it would be up to you to either accept it or not. Keep it or sell it.

 

[karimsameh95]

Just sharing my experience, do with it what you will.

 

[sdiver68]

Wow. SMH. Nothing to add to whats been shared above.

No you arent just sharing your experience. You've made multiple claims of poor customer service, none of which are supported by the facts.

 

[leadbelly2550]

I have occasionally debated getting a San Martin tuna homage vs. saving for a real one. They look nice, but they aren’t the same.

complaining about a shipping issue during COVID is a fool’s errand - can’t blame the manufacturer for that. As a general matter, it would concern me if a manufacturer refuses to honor a warranty simply because it was transferred to you from a third-party. However, under these circumstances, both of the issues could have been caused by the previous owner, hence outside the scope of a typical warranty.

It’s possible the previous owner unloaded the watch because it arrived with these small defects, and that’s a potential hazard when you buy very inexpensive copycats vs. the genuine article. It’s also possible the previous owner mishandled the watch and caused the defects you observed. Either way, i think you have outsized expectations. I have a few watches off Aliexpress, all cost $100 or less. they have all worked out for me. I’m not sure i would spend time or money if they didn’t, though. (For what it’s worth, Escapement Time’s pilot watches seem to be very solidly built, and the NH35s in them must have been regulated - they’re running as accurately as any comparable Seiko movement ever has for me).

 

[karimsameh95]

There is NO scenario in which the previous owner caused this. Both defects I mentioned are strictly manufacturer's defects which is why I felt that this is San Martin's responsibility rather than the eBay seller (whom I doubt even noticed these defects because they are subtle).

Good businesses generally do not conduct themselves in this way. Voices on here seem to have been self-propagating. Given this experience I think it's warranted to temper the excitement a notch or at the very least take into consideration folks who've also had bad experiences with San Martin watches.

I am also the first to say that my standards and expectations are high... I expect high quality product and service given all the positive reviews here and elsewhere.

 

[Buramu]

It’s an Ali Express knockoff brand. What do you expect? Actual service like from a proper European brand?

But there’s a bunch of very vocal apologists around here who enjoy knockoffs and ripoffs and like to make it sound like SM is a legitimate brand. But they actually come here to this shameless subforum to make requests for what they want SM to rip off next… Homage bla bla bla.

 

[Teeuu]

 

[Watchaddict92]

If buying from China, one should not expect any kind of warranty or customer support. Just the way it is.

 

[Ticktocker]

You are correct. It's crazy to treat a warranty in that manner. But when you buy something from eBay and it arrives in a condition "other than described" you either message the seller for a return/refund or message eBay if the seller refuses to refund/return. Let the eBay seller deal with the warranty work.

 

[Nokie]

Buying ANY watch off eScam is just asking for problems like this…..