matta

I'm looking for a new watch, and I noticed that Ashford (which I've never bought from before) scratches off the serial number of watch when you buy it. Of course this kills the factory warranty, so they provide their own for free.

This sounds really fishy to me. They claim that they do it to prevent disclosure of their sources (since they are not an authorized dealer), but I don't know. Can I trust something from them is a legitimate brand? Any ideas? Thanks.

CaptainMarvel

Ashford's a legitimate site, and they've been in business for years. They're pretty well-established.

matta

Yeah, I know that Ashford.com has been active for awhile, but I don't know if it's the same owners (remember, it did delist from the Nasdaq and clear out it's inventory in 2002).

matta

Hmm..... in 2002, Odimo purchased Ashford.com. Searching for Odimo on BBB.org shows that it has an unsatisfactory record. The CSR had no knowledge of this.

But, I did find that they do not remove the serials from Movado watches, so I should be able to buy one then verify the serial with Movado. If it fails, they have a 30-day return policy with no restocking fee. That should also be satisfactory with my insurance company.

TheBang

The Whois Registrant information for ashford.com is:

So, the Odimo reference seems correct.

matta

Yeah, the CSR actually told me the story about Odimo (WorldofWatches.com) purchasing Ashford.com. When I asked about the unsatisfactory BBB Rating based on 3 unresolved complaints, he acted like he's never heard of the BBB before, and asked for the website (twice), then mentioned that his supervisor would take care of it very soon

We'll see.... I made the purchase using a Visa so I have that protection, and if it comes and it's not an authentic watch or is missing the serial number, it's going back (bizrate customers commented that they honor the return policy). I'll let you guys know the outcome if anyone cares.

Rex Fenestrarum

Well, the way you can tell if the serial has been scraped is by the warranty. If the full 3-year warranty is offered, it's *not* scraped. If the "1-year limited Ashford.com" warranty is offered is *has* been scraped.

I bought a scraped Tag Heuer from them back in '99 and couldn't have been more pleased. It shipped the same day via FedEx overnight (free shipping upgrade). The funny thing was they used to accept stackable coupons back then! Two 50% off coupons + one "$50 off $200 or more" coupon meant that I got a $1000 watch from them for just over $200 - no wonder they were bought out!

I had to send it back to them back in 2001 to get the battery replaced - no worries there either - took a week or two.

Of course, all of this happened before they were bought-out, so things might have changed since then.

matta

Not true. All of their watches come with the Ashford warranty only because they're not authorized dealers. For you to get a manufacturer's warranty on a premium watch, you have to buy from an authorized dealer. The manufacturers then tell the authorized dealers what they can sell the watch for, and the dealers have to comply or they'll lose their authorization. This prevents people from undercutting each other, and maintains the high value of the product (if a fine watch such as Rolex Submariner was sold on the internet for $200 new, it'd be devalued because it would become so common)