How To Buy A Vintage Watch From Us

If you’ve seen something on this site that you’d potentially like to purchase, the next step is to contact us and make sure that it’s still available, either via the internet or by telephone. When we took our business into the modern age and launched our website in 2012, our rather naïve intention was that we would update it daily. Sales expanded exponentially; to a far greater extent than we had anticipated and the reality is that we are now constantly rushed off our feet, with the result that we don’t get chance to add new stock anything like as often as we would wish, simply due to sheer lack of time. After some deliberation, the choice was made to leave the site in a static state, with a number of the watches shown having been sold, on the logical basis that it acts as both a useful source of quality reference for the general browser and, more importantly for us as a business, a good representation of the type and quality of the vintage watches we sell. If an enquiry is made and a specific watch has been sold, there is a strong likelihood that we have a direct equivalent available or something very similar.

All the prices on this website are in British Pounds Sterling ( GB Pounds). We make a great effort to keep these down to a level where every watch represents genuinely good value for money and they are not negotiable. In many instances, dealers will have a policy of quoting artificially inflated prices initially in order that these can be reduced following dialogue with the customer. We prefer to keep life simple and the prices stated on our site are those which the customer pays. For the same reasons, we don’t have sale events and our prices are constant throughout the year. We offer extremely rare, original vintage watches for sale in remarkable condition and, without exception, we will stand firmly by every watch bought from us and our detailed description of it. We are certainly not a business catering for the budget buyer, but equally, we don’t overcharge either.

From UK buyers, we are happy to accept payment by cheque, Postal Order or direct bank transfer. While our packing is first rate and we routinely send watches out within the UK by fully insured Special Delivery post every day, buyers are always invited to collect their watches in person if they wish, particularly if they live within a realistic travelling distance of East Yorkshire. This is never an issue, provided that a couple of days notice is given so we can adjust our schedules accordingly if needed. If collecting your watch in person, payment should be made at the time of pick up.

From overseas, payment can be made by bank wire transfer, an International Money Order in GB pounds ( available from your Post Office ), Moneygram or Western Union. Of these four options, we would recommend bank wire transfer as the most efficient and cost effective. If customers insist, we can also accept US dollars and Euros in cash, but only if sent by a fully insured, signed for service along the lines of UPS, Fedex or similar.

Again, overseas based buyers are always very welcome to collect their watches in person. Good hotels can be suggested locally if overnight accommodation is required and there are some excellent restaurants and traditional English pubs in the area. It is worth noting that the quiet Yorkshire market town of Beverley, where we’re located, is a very worthwhile tourist favourite in itself and was recently the runner up in Country Life magazine’s most picturesque market towns competition. For those of an artistic bent, coming to collect a watch could be perhaps enjoyably combined with a visit to Beverley’s annual early music or literature festivals and it should be remembered that the historic city of York, one of Britain’s most visited and best loved destinations, is less than three quarters of an hour away by car. For those utilising public transport during their visit to the UK, it is perfectly possible for us to arrange to meet you at either Beverley or Hull train stations. There is a very fast direct service from London Kings Cross to Hull which takes approximately two and a half hours and a return journey can be made comfortably in a single day.

The cost of fully insured air postage of any watch to any worldwide location is £5 GB pounds. This is actually a heavily subsidised rate and represents little more than a token contribution towards the actual cost of delivery. One of our pet hates years ago in the early days when we were heavily involved in the online auction environment was always sellers trying to make profit on shipping charges and we always made a point of doing quite the opposite in order to gain goodwill with customers. To keep things completely simple, we set a universal flat rate of £5 shipping per watch, whether this was being sent overseas or to an address in the UK, and as the business has enlarged over the years, we’ve continued with the same policy ever since.

Regarding delivery times, these are guaranteed to be the next day after posting within the UK and obviously longer if a watch is going overseas. We have found that items sent to major countries in Europe tend to arrive very quickly, typically within 5 or 6 days, as do items sent to Hong Kong and Japan. Shipping to the USA is much slower and parcels seem to reach their American destinations anything from 8 to 12 days after leaving the UK. In every case, items are always sent via a means that can be tracked online and the tracking details are forwarded to the purchaser at the time of despatch.

It is worth adding the note that during the course of shipping, literally, several thousand vintage watches out over more than a twenty year period, only one parcel from us, touch wood, has so far ever completely disappeared without trace. This was sent to Thailand and we always assumed that it was stolen either by postal workers there or by customs officials upon entering the country. Without wishing to in any way offend those there, we would suggest that customers wanting to receive their watches in countries where the postal networks could be deemed less than ideal might be advised to arrange shipping by Fedex, UPS or other secure carrier. We are completely happy to liaise with the local branches of such companies on a buyer’s behalf to arrange collection if assistance in this aspect is required, though it must be stressed that the cost of shipping is to be charged to the buyer. All correct export paperwork, commercial invoices etc will be supplied as required to ensure smooth passage through international customs.