I bought a SINN from a Japanese dealer on Chrono24. The transaction went smoothly and the watch was exactly as described.

 

I have ordered a few watches from Japanese dealers on Chrono24, but no Omega or Sinn. They were Zenith and IWC. Each transaction was smooth with quick delivery. The only issue wasn't the fault of the seller. I got a letter from the tax franchise board for the People's Republic of California that I neglected to pay sales tax on the purchases. But when I called customer service at the tax board, their first question was if the purchase was through Chrono24. Turns out, Chrono24 has failed to report taxes collected for some purchases. I emailed the receipts from Chrono24 showing the taxes paid, and all is good.
Moral of the story: No issues with watches or shipping, but save your receipt showing taxes paid, if applicable. As always, vet the seller.

 

If I buy a 40k Rolex day date on 18k president bracelet, what is estimate taxes and duties in CA?

what if I have a resale cert is tax exemption still in effect?

 

Done it numerous times, and never had any issues to date.

 

My experience with Japanese dealers is they typically understate the condition of the watch. This 1972 Navitimer was listed in "fair" condition. It was listed by a dealer called "CLOSER co.,ltd" who is one of the larger, if not the largest Japanese dealer on C24. I have seen some negative comments regarding this dealer, but my experience was quite good. I got this watch for around $1K less than similar models were selling in worse condition.

 

That is part of the Japanese culture. Buyers' expectations (for essentially any item) are sky-high and near perfection. It carries over to watch dealers. They rate the condition of the merchandise as if they were selling to a Japanese buyer, and their evaluations are so much more critical than people from other cultures.

The recent exchange rates also help customers from the USA to buy from Japan.

 

how was your experience when buying from Japan on Chrono24.

My recent Chrono24 purchase from Japan turned into a huge headache. The US Customs officer, seeing "CH" for "Switzerland" as the country of manufacture on the watch worksheet, assumed it was the country abbreviation for "China". I should have been charged a ~$300 customs duty, but I received a FedEx customs bill for nearly $3,000 USD due to the higher tariffs on Chinese goods entering the US. It took many hours, numerous emails, phone calls, signed affidavits, documentary proof, etc. over the course of six months for FedEx to resolve the issue and bill me for the correct amount.

Neither the Japanese seller (professional dealer) nor Chrono24 support could be bothered to help me in any way despite my repeat requests for supporting evidence or letters.

 

For "Switzerland" the CH = Confoederatio Helvetica, correct?

How did you eventually prove it to the US Customs Officer and FedEx?

 

I recently bought a watch from a Japanese dealer off chrono24 but I asked an American dealer to help buy it for me (to assist with customs, taxes, etc). The American dealer (who I had bought a watch from before) and I agreed on the price I would pay and he got it for me. The watch did get held up in customs for a couple of days but nothing significant. My experience was very good and I would have no problems doing the same thing again.

 

I bought an Omega SMP from a Japanese dealer. I had the dealer ship the watch to the US and since I wasn't residing in the US and don't have an SSN I couldn't take it out of customs. So unfortunately, I couldn't get my hands on the watch. That being said, the dealer was very professional about it and my money was refunded.

 

Numerous times on high end watches. Always good prices. Excellent shipping. FAST shipping. Better condition than reported. Only issue is sometimes, even with companies, you have to do the customs form yourself.

 

Personally I'd rather do the customs for myself. In the US you are charged a flat fee for the movement and a percentage of the strap and case value. If whoever does the form undervalues the movement and places too much value on the strap and case, you can wind up paying significantly higher duties.

 

I've bought from Japan in the past and didn't have any issues beyond a slight delay with processing by outbound customs. As others have pointed out, the Yen is very weak at the moment, which provides a nice cost advantage for those buying in $'s.

 

This is good to hear. I've seen so many great prices on watches located in Japan, but I figured it was too good to be true.

 

Multiple transactions on C24 (mostly from JP sellers). No problems and issues encountered so far. For watches, I prefer C24 over ebay.

 

One thing to be aware of is that the photos may be over-exposed, so you might want to drag them to your desk top, put them into a post-processing program or app, and dial down the exposure to really study the condition. Over exposed photos can hide dial flaws quite well. It's a trick that sellers from all countries use on vintage watches to make them look less imperfect.

Second, be ready to get a bill from FedEx if you're in the US. Might happen, might not.

This is good to hear. I've seen so many great prices on watches located in Japan, but I figured it was too good to be true.

That's because the Yen is tanking, making the exchange rate favorable. I bought my wife's Cartier (her Christmas present) from a Japanese dealer and saved about $1000 USD.

 

I've bought two (Omega) watches from Japanese dealers on Chrono24. One was used and better than described, and the other was new and well below what I'd pay anywhere else even with customs fees added in. The transactions went smoothly.

I've also bought from other well known dealers from Japan and have always had positive experiences.

The same is true with Chrono24 as anywhere else: Buy the seller first. If you practice this, you'll be alright.

Check the feedback from verfied buyers. You can even check here, or on other platforms, to see if someone has dealt with a particular dealer before and you'll likely find some feedback.

 

Good experiences. Yen is low now relative to the dollar so there are good deals for those paying in USD.
Of course as with any internet transaction, be careful and consider the specific seller.

 

For those who ordered from Japan, did you get hit with import duties? Some tempting pieces given the Yen-USD exchange rate.

 

Yes, on 3 out of 4 Grand Seikos.

 

Maybe a stupid question: How do you go about figuring out the value of the movement and case value?

You need to figure out two of the three parts: movement, case, and bracelet/strap. The third is the amount you paid (before taxes) minus the other two.

Generally, one can relatively easily find out the cost of the replacement part for the bracelet/strap. Sometimes these can be found online, or the manufacturer may have it listed as the incremental cost of having the bracelet/strap changed during a routine service, et cetera.

Sometimes the next easiest part to figure out is the cost of the case. As @dfwcowboy wrote above, one option is

just go to eBay and see what a bare case made from the same material would cost.

Also, sometimes the case value can also be found through the manufacturer when they have to replace the case during a service (for a case which sustained severe damage in an accident, et cetera). Sometimes, this can be found online, or the manufacturer can tell you upon inquiry.

Then, the movement is calculated as described above: cost paid, minus the value you found for the bracelet/strap, then minus the value you found for the case.

Also, this movement value must be declared, but, as @dfwcowboy wrote above, regardless of the value, the actual tariff will be a flat fee based on the number of jewels, et cetera. Nevertheless, although the value of the movement does not enter into the calculation of the tariff on the movement, that value must be declared nonetheless, and the three parts must add up to the total price of the watch, before taxes.

 

Good experience but had problem with UPS delivery (UPS mistakes in VAT handling almost caused watch returned to seller). For Japanese seller I make sure that they haw brick and mortar store.

 

I've bought from CLOSER off C24 multiple times. Everything was genuine and matched listing description where I'm confident the pictures taken were the same watch I received. Two things I will say to make note of. Import fees - to get the watch to the US was an additional charge after I paid all the Chrono24 payments. The last watch was a Tudor steel and gold for $2600 and it was roughly another $150 to import to US. Some dealers use services that pre-pay this fee for you, be sure to ask. Second is less important but worth mentioning, if you're doing currency conversion make sure to check on Google how much you're actually paying, often these services will use an unfavorable conversion and you'll wind up spending more than you planned.

 

How much was tax and duties total? Curious if I buy a 40k Gold President Day Date 228238 on 18k bracelet, how would I know what the cost would be? also I have CA resale cert so am I exempt from taxes from overseas?