Anyone purchased from The Vintage Concept Hong Kong?

[wesleydp]

Hi. I am new to this forum and just purchased my first vintage 1680 recently. I appreciate all the knowledgeable posts on this forum that helped me make a great purchase from HQ Milton! I M officially hooked on older vintage pieces now and read this forum often for advice. I am considering buying a Ref 1675 from The Vintage Concept in Hong Kong but wanted opinions on how reliable and honest they are. Being overseas scares me with such a large purchase (no papers) and just wanted opinions on this dealer. They seem to have an amazing selection of vintage pieces online and on Instagram and offer a two year warranty on their pieces. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

[adam78]

Be very careful in general about buying any Rolex (vintage or modern) from a vendor outside of the USA, if it is to be sent here. US Customs is legally required to confiscate the watch, if it does not go under their radar by a willful confuscation of the customs declaration.

[Lgear080]

Unless you're planning a trip to hk forget about it.

That said there are a lot of great dealers in hk :)

[Im Lauf der Zeit]

Wait till Old Expat Beast wakes up Saturday AM in HK, he'll have more info for you. Till then you can read all about the impossibility of importing a Rolex into the States.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Im Lauf der Zeit

Wait till Old Expat Beast wakes up Saturday AM in HK, he'll have more info for you. Till then you can read all about the impossibility of importing a Rolex into the States.

Yawn. Um, yes VC is 100% legit with a couple of very nice bricks and mortar stores. However, they are also very expensive compared to other dealers here. HK vintage sellers ship to the USA all the time but I have no idea how they skirt the rules. If I knew that I would be dealing to the States myself.

[Rags]

Welcome to TRF..

[wesleydp]

Thanks for all of the advice. I've bought a watch from Eurooe without any probs so I didn't think about any Customs issues? What's the worst case that can happen? Would Customs t the watch and make me pay tax on it? The VC has great pieces and yes some of them are priced very high. I was concerned that they sold legit pieces.

[THC]

Kinda begs the question, how is it no bracelets from Michael Young ever get confiscated?
I sent mine over a year ago and never even considered customs... Got it back in perfect condition..

[Lgear080]

They'll (a whole Rolex watch declared as such) be seized permanently. Parts are treated differently than whole watches.

They should also be indicated as repairs on customs forms.

[wesleydp]

Yes they said they will list the package as watch parts. I guess saying it's a repair would be a legitimate shipment? Thanks for all the input. This Forum has been great.

[Im Lauf der Zeit]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Yawn. Um, yes VC is 100% legit with a couple of very nice bricks and mortar stores. However, they are also very expensive compared to other dealers here. HK vintage sellers ship to the USA all the time but I have no idea how they skirt the rules. If I knew that I would be dealing to the States myself.

Hope I didn't wake you, Adam... but this thread was crying out for input from you!

[afnios1]

Originally Posted by wesleydp

Yes they said they will list the package as watch parts. I guess saying it's a repair would be a legitimate shipment? Thanks for all the input. This Forum has been great.

A repair is a legimate shipment ONLY if you can prove the purchase receipt you got as a buyer.

[Old Expat Beast]

Does the "Repair" shipment circumvent the Rolex Trademark Import roadblock, or only the standard Customs one?

[Tudor66]

Just my two cents. I would contact Jacek at HQmilton.com. Tell him exactly what you are looking for in the 1675 GMT reference...

I have never considered an overseas Rolex purchases when there are great vintage dealers here in the U.S....

Good luck..

Al

[wesleydp]

Thanks-ironically Jacek helped me with my last 1680 purchase. I actually did email him last week and he is going to help me find a good piece, plus they seem very knowledgeable and have great customer service. I liked the particular piece at VC but agree with most on here that there are just too many risks w/customs, etc. They do have an amazing selection though, esp Daytonas. Thanks again for all of the help. This is a great forum and resource for Rolex.

[themaninblack]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

However, they are also very expensive compared to other dealers here.

Cannot comment on this shop specifically but in my experience dealers in HK expect that a negotiation will take place.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by themaninblack

Cannot comment on this shop specifically but in my experience dealers in HK expect that a negotiation will take place.

Of course, but their starting prices are higher, so the final negotiated price will be higher.

[drainaps]

Great pieces, all legit, BUT arrogant as they come and sky high prices. No haggling if you don't speak Cantonese (only half kidding here). Been a couple of times to their store on Hong Kong Island and treated like scum. Was wearing a nice vintage and was interested in a nice 5512 once, treated like sh*t.

Interested in a Seiko upscale vintage (6159-7001) the second time, and when trying to softly haggle and mentioned Japan prices, one of the guys told me "go buy in Japan" . I walked straight out of the shop.

This second time I was with a colleague from Mainland China who assessed them, from their conversations in Cantonese, as an arrogant bunch of brats.

I've had many great buying experiences in HKG, this has been by far the worst.

[jvmartin]

Repairs are indeed allowed to enter the US... If the package is marked as a repair and a Rolex, you will get a call from Rolex's legal counsel to confirm the watch is being sent back for repair and will be asked to provide an email, fax, etc. stating such.

I believe a lot of watches get sent to the US without an issue, however, it is the luck of the draw. Customs is not going to open every package... they are pretty busy with counterfeit items, drugs, etc. Each shipment marked as anything else is a gamble... it's up to you whether you are willing to take the chance!