A first time purchase of a replica watch on the net and wanted to write a review of my recent purchase from Puretime and the whole experience of which some newbies might find useful.
I am in the UK and have previously purchased watches whilst on holiday abroad, mainly in Asia. My experience of buying abroad off the markets has been very much hit and miss. I have bought some good replicas that look really good, and some very cheap ones that simply have not passed the test of time.
I always wanted a Rolex Submariner and knew that I wasn't travelling to Asia for a while so decided I decided I might buy one off the net, I started googling and first came across DHgate. I could see a variety starting from around £45 / $58. They looked really good, but on checking some of the feedback, I could see that the photos posted by customers were not of good quality and in my view were identifiable as fakes.
I then thought, if the replica world is as big as its made out to be, there must be a forum of people who discuss all things replica! I came across this one and one other and joined both. It was here, I spent a good few weeks reviewing some of the threads about quality, differences in factories, trusted traders and modifications that can be done on watches. Before even posting a question on the forum, I was able to make a decision on the watch I wanted, the factory who made it, and the potential trader who will ship it. My first tip to anyone is to spent time reading before asking questions that have already been asked time and time again.
As soon as I made my mind up on the watch I wanted, I then started to engage with three trusted traders. For info I went for the Rolex Submariner 116610LN ARF version based on the fact I wasn't going to modify it in any way and I wanted a nice looking watch straight out of the box.
I asked all traders a number of questions via email and i judged them in terms of response time and the accuracy of the information being provided. One trader kept steering me away from the ARF claiming the NoobV9 was the best option for me, in reality, they didn't have the ARF in stock at the time and probably just wanted the sale. The other was rather slow in getting back to me and the answers to the questions were very short. So I decided to go with Puretime, why?
1. They responded to my questions in good time. I found using their online chat between the hours of 6am - 8am UK time very useful in terms of that instant response. All other enquires were responded to professionally and in 24 hours.
2. Their photographs on the website are extremely clear and I had also seen the photos put up in the QC sections were also extremely clear.
3. They provided a Christmas discount code which gave me a percentage of the sale off the total cost.
4. I was able to make payment using Credit Card. I wanted to be protected if anything went wrong.
5. They claim to cover any seizures by customs by way of refund or replacement and;
6. They provide a 6 month warranty.
I placed the order on the 5th December 2018 and used my credit card to pay for the watch. But please note, if you pay by Credit Card, you will be charged a transaction fee. For me this came to about $30 in total on top of the actual price of the watch.
Within 24 hours Puretime had sent the QC photos. I had a couple of questions for them on an area of the watch I thought was damaged. It looked to be scratched or had dust on the watch. It was dust and they sent a video of the watch to satisfy me. I agreed and the watch was shipped to the UK on the 11th December 2018. I was provided a tracking number and was able to track it straight away using the link sent. I was also able to check it on the parcel force website.
The watch arrived in the UK 5 days later on the 16th December 18. It was held until the 19th where I noticed that custom charges had been raised, on that same day I noted that there were revised custom charges and these had been raised. At this point I began to panic. I thought the parcel has been inspected and potentially seized. I posted on the forum for reassurance but knew that this was in the hands of HMRC. On the 20th December it was released from customs and sorted at the National Hub. I immediately telephoned parcel force to see what the charges were. I had to pay £3.13 VAT and a £12.00 Parcel force handling fee. I also opted to collect from my local depot which they were ok with. I was the first one at the parcel force depot on the 21st and I had the package in hand. The box hadn't been tampered with nor had it been opened by customs. It was well packaged, well sealed and I sat in the car to open it. I was really pleased with the watch, it was absolutely fine.
All in all, it took 11 days from shipping from China through to having it in my hand and considering this was over the Christmas period, I was extremely pleased to have it in time for Christmas. I am extremely pleased with the watch, both in terms of quality, time keeping.
In summary of the experience, I found it completely nerve wrecking. I was constantly worried about it not arriving to the UK, arriving damaged, or being seized by customs and then having to battle with the trader to get another one shipped or refunded. I found myself constantly checking the tracking and browsing the forum to see if others had similar issues. In the main, some did but I didn't find any horror stories of any being seized or having issues with the trader.
I jumped into the unknown, took a risk and it paid off as it has done of thousands of others. I am still not convinced that using a credit card would fully cover me and on my next purchase (yes my next purchase) I will opt for one of the cheaper methods of payment.
I would 100 percent use puretime again for my purchases.
I am in the UK and have previously purchased watches whilst on holiday abroad, mainly in Asia. My experience of buying abroad off the markets has been very much hit and miss. I have bought some good replicas that look really good, and some very cheap ones that simply have not passed the test of time.
I always wanted a Rolex Submariner and knew that I wasn't travelling to Asia for a while so decided I decided I might buy one off the net, I started googling and first came across DHgate. I could see a variety starting from around £45 / $58. They looked really good, but on checking some of the feedback, I could see that the photos posted by customers were not of good quality and in my view were identifiable as fakes.
I then thought, if the replica world is as big as its made out to be, there must be a forum of people who discuss all things replica! I came across this one and one other and joined both. It was here, I spent a good few weeks reviewing some of the threads about quality, differences in factories, trusted traders and modifications that can be done on watches. Before even posting a question on the forum, I was able to make a decision on the watch I wanted, the factory who made it, and the potential trader who will ship it. My first tip to anyone is to spent time reading before asking questions that have already been asked time and time again.
As soon as I made my mind up on the watch I wanted, I then started to engage with three trusted traders. For info I went for the Rolex Submariner 116610LN ARF version based on the fact I wasn't going to modify it in any way and I wanted a nice looking watch straight out of the box.
I asked all traders a number of questions via email and i judged them in terms of response time and the accuracy of the information being provided. One trader kept steering me away from the ARF claiming the NoobV9 was the best option for me, in reality, they didn't have the ARF in stock at the time and probably just wanted the sale. The other was rather slow in getting back to me and the answers to the questions were very short. So I decided to go with Puretime, why?
1. They responded to my questions in good time. I found using their online chat between the hours of 6am - 8am UK time very useful in terms of that instant response. All other enquires were responded to professionally and in 24 hours.
2. Their photographs on the website are extremely clear and I had also seen the photos put up in the QC sections were also extremely clear.
3. They provided a Christmas discount code which gave me a percentage of the sale off the total cost.
4. I was able to make payment using Credit Card. I wanted to be protected if anything went wrong.
5. They claim to cover any seizures by customs by way of refund or replacement and;
6. They provide a 6 month warranty.
I placed the order on the 5th December 2018 and used my credit card to pay for the watch. But please note, if you pay by Credit Card, you will be charged a transaction fee. For me this came to about $30 in total on top of the actual price of the watch.
Within 24 hours Puretime had sent the QC photos. I had a couple of questions for them on an area of the watch I thought was damaged. It looked to be scratched or had dust on the watch. It was dust and they sent a video of the watch to satisfy me. I agreed and the watch was shipped to the UK on the 11th December 2018. I was provided a tracking number and was able to track it straight away using the link sent. I was also able to check it on the parcel force website.
The watch arrived in the UK 5 days later on the 16th December 18. It was held until the 19th where I noticed that custom charges had been raised, on that same day I noted that there were revised custom charges and these had been raised. At this point I began to panic. I thought the parcel has been inspected and potentially seized. I posted on the forum for reassurance but knew that this was in the hands of HMRC. On the 20th December it was released from customs and sorted at the National Hub. I immediately telephoned parcel force to see what the charges were. I had to pay £3.13 VAT and a £12.00 Parcel force handling fee. I also opted to collect from my local depot which they were ok with. I was the first one at the parcel force depot on the 21st and I had the package in hand. The box hadn't been tampered with nor had it been opened by customs. It was well packaged, well sealed and I sat in the car to open it. I was really pleased with the watch, it was absolutely fine.
All in all, it took 11 days from shipping from China through to having it in my hand and considering this was over the Christmas period, I was extremely pleased to have it in time for Christmas. I am extremely pleased with the watch, both in terms of quality, time keeping.
In summary of the experience, I found it completely nerve wrecking. I was constantly worried about it not arriving to the UK, arriving damaged, or being seized by customs and then having to battle with the trader to get another one shipped or refunded. I found myself constantly checking the tracking and browsing the forum to see if others had similar issues. In the main, some did but I didn't find any horror stories of any being seized or having issues with the trader.
I jumped into the unknown, took a risk and it paid off as it has done of thousands of others. I am still not convinced that using a credit card would fully cover me and on my next purchase (yes my next purchase) I will opt for one of the cheaper methods of payment.
I would 100 percent use puretime again for my purchases.
