If you order euro watches online they add in VAT. You could always price check on the way in at the airport, check out in town and if town can't beat the airport, pick up something on the way out.
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Which watch?
- Thread starter loadtoad
- Start date
I would consider checking with local jewelers and to see if there’s anything out there locally from the estate sale market. You could find some good deals there. I imagine the used market could also be good right now given some people’s change in economic circumstance.
Probably also worth shopping around and seeing if anyone will give you a good price these days. Never hurts to get a feel for the local market.
Not a watch, but my wife got an expensive purse in England while we were over there on a trip. It was cheaper to get there than in America and we got a VAT refund at the airport when we flew home.
Probably also worth shopping around and seeing if anyone will give you a good price these days. Never hurts to get a feel for the local market.
Not a watch, but my wife got an expensive purse in England while we were over there on a trip. It was cheaper to get there than in America and we got a VAT refund at the airport when we flew home.
Its all about VAT, taxes and currency. I was traveling a good bit to France and Switzerland for work a few years ago. Getting VAT refunded made purchasing a luxury watch appealing. What was more striking was availability in the Euro markets - much better than US.
ABMD
Bullets don't fly without Supply
Thanks @ChuckMK23 that is what I've been reading about on some online forums (VAT refunds).
Several years ago while driving back into Germany after a day trip to Zurich, the German Border Police took us aside for the dreaded secondary inspection. As they went through our stuff they kept asking if we had watches. "Do you have any." "Are you sure." "Maybe you forgot." "Any in here." etc. When they came across my Federal Flight Deck Officer badge and creds they stopped dead. Only one spoke English. I am not sure they even knew what a FFDO was. It surely impressed them. Showed it around a couple guys, put our stuff back and sent us on our way.
I bought a GMT Master in Prague while I lived abroad. There was a third party service at the dealer that provided the VAT refund at time of purchase (but took a cut) vice you paying VAT and sorting with customs later; I'd say that fee was worth it, but I never had to deal with EU customs so maybe its easier than I think. Anyway, I saved a good chuck of money because the $ was strong against the Koruna, I got VAT back, and I had a bunch of CC points that needed to be used (anybody remember the Luxury Card? What a scam...). Because I lived in the EU at the time, I had to fly the watch out of the EU to get the appropriate customs stamp within a given timeline (90 days maybe?), otherwise the VAT I avoided previously would've been charged to the card used to buy the watch. So, I bought a ticket to Switzerland and went to to see some friends. I miss Europe...
To throw some numbers at it, the watch retailed for 217000 kr (about $10k in 2017) including VAT and I paid around $6700 before throwing some credit card points at it to reduce my out of pocket expense a little more. With something this frivolous I would typically have some pretty fierce buyers remorse, but man I waited on this watch for a decade and don't regret it for a second. One thing I do wish is that I took more advantage of the whole experience (the Rolex dealer offered champagne, hors d'oeuvres, etc. but I said nope run this card and get me out of here before I change my mind...).
I did not notice this while I was in Italy. Prices seemed on par with the US but level of service and variety was higher. You could easily order customized options for no extra fee.
Mechanical soviet vintage men's rare watch Aviator with leather nato strap
History of watches This is a vintage men's Soviet watch "Aviator". Made in 1980s at Cheliabinsk Watch Factory. Aviation, technical watches and other special-purpose products produced by the factory are part of modern types of aircraft and helicopters, ships and ground controls. Since 1947, the...
clueauthenticbrand.com
The combination looks sharp. Russian Б-uhrski?Soviet watch with a NATO strap? Jesus take me, now I’ve seen everything.Mechanical soviet vintage men's rare watch Aviator with leather nato strap
History of watches This is a vintage men's Soviet watch "Aviator". Made in 1980s at Cheliabinsk Watch Factory. Aviation, technical watches and other special-purpose products produced by the factory are part of modern types of aircraft and helicopters, ships and ground controls. Since 1947, the...
Good timing! For 2021 Omega updated the speedys movement to the co-axial. I was leaning towards the racing speedy for a grad gift to myself because it was one of the only Co-axial speedmasters and for some reason I wanted a master chronometer certified Omega. Now I can get the best of both worlds, Moonwatch with the Co-axial. Now I just have to find one in SOMD/DC Metro area.
There's an Omega Boutique in Tysons Corners (west of DC). Although, Omegas just tend to not be that "in demand" so I've rarely heard of difficulty finding ones. You should be able to negotiate 10-15% off retail without too much trouble at Omega ADs. Also, might be worth a trek up to Delaware to avoid sales tax. As long as it's an AD, shouldn't matter where you purchase from.
Speedy Friday... @ChuckMK23 stopped by to award me his region’s CAP-USAF challenge coin since I still don’t have a NAM.
Chuck’s Speedy on the left, my Speedy on the right...
Chuck’s Speedy on the left, my Speedy on the right...
Down for this post. A week of SDO in khakis and then 2 ETs and a refly.
Today is Phlieger Phriday. This isn't Nam, there are rules.