Be careful with Bob's Watches - My Recent Experience

[Etschell]

Damn op. Just take the 12k.

[XtraCrispy]

Had the same exact experience with them several years ago. Got a fair quote, sent them the watch and then all of sudden there were all these things wrong with my watch. Had them send the watch back to me and promised I would never do business with them again.

Bigger isn't always better.

[RFC]

Originally Posted by het5385

DavidSW is great. Never an issue. Never a counter offer.


Have dealt with bobs and never sold to them for the same reasons, just seem off with them.

Yes. Not surprised about shenanigans like this. I've bought two Sub's from Bob's over the years. Ok to buy but NOT to sell to them. Bob's will low ball you (a repeat customer) even if it is the SAME watch you bought from them with a 20% markup a few months before. They made at least a 20% markup on my purchase and want ANOTHER 20% markup from the buy-back.

[amh]

Originally Posted by RFC

Yes. Not surprised about shenanigans like this. I've bought two Sub's from Bob's over the years. Ok to buy but NOT to sell to them. Bob's will low ball you (a repeat customer) even if it is the SAME watch you bought from them with a 20% markup a few months before. They made at least a 20% markup on my purchase and want ANOTHER 20% markup from the buy-back.

AFAIK they're not really "Ok to buy" either. Some right here on TRF have reported missing links for example. Likely ladies won't care since they'll need to remove links anyway - and if a guy comes along wanting all links they'll just cannibalize some other item.

There's a reason they're not in the "Trusted Seller" hall of fame here Their prices are also very high - at least with DavidSW you get something for the premium. (Peace of mind)

[AlabamaLawyer1988]

I can relate. I bought a 1979 day date on leather strap from them a couple years ago. The watch was fine for a while, however, the date function began to skip dates, e.g., on the 1st it would say the 2nd, etc. sent it back to have warranty work done. Can’t recall approximately now, but believe they kept it about a month and sent it back. I received it, set it and was under the impression that the issue was resolved. Next day, I woke up to the same problem. Date still skipping. Called them and told them I wanted a refund. Larry said they couldn’t do a refund but they’d let their “top watch maker” give it a crack the second time around. (Side bar: Why on earth would they let a second string watchmaker repair watches rather than letting their number one do the work to begin with?!?!)
I told them that was an unacceptable way to do business and continued to demand a refund. That basically led to Bobs advising me that “all they could do” was A.) give me a 75% refund or B.) let them try to repair it again. I ultimately opted for the later. Sent it back, they had it another few weeks and sent it back. Upon arrival the second time, believe it or not, the watch wouldn’t even start after winding. At that point, I was offered the same 75% refund or in store credit for the full purchase price. I had considered talking with some California attorneys to see what realistic options would be available, however, I decided to turn the proverbial lemon into lemonade. I swapped it for a watch for my wife. (BNIB 31 mm OP with green dial). She was very happy and was glad that some positivity came out of such a crap situation but that was the last business I’ll ever do with them. To add insult to injury, there was a couple hundred in price difference between the two watches and they did say they would send me a check for the difference. I’m still waiting on that check….


Sorry to hear about your experience, OP, but just know, Bobs has left a bad taste in this members mouth, too.

DM


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[swaini3]

Wow.

[omar10213245]

Bob's is a mickey mouse operation, never trust them

[minute_man]

As others have said, I would have ended up taking the 12K and let them deal with the scratches. Attempts to shave-off a few hundred are always to be expected. When I went to sell my 116710LN to a well established 2ndary dealer in Athens, they came up with the excuse that it had been purchased abroad! I argued that I could spend the minimal €500 on a service at the RSC nearby and come back with a 2 year warranty and then my asking price would of course be different. They quickly came to their senses
But the enlightening moment was the opening of the case (or better, the attempt on it). The case back opener jumped and shaved two teeth from the case back while they scratched the bracelet against the counter. The epic comment was that the brush would take care of it all. I let them deal with the mess in the way they know and walked away with a nice sum on my bank account.
And these are some more reasons why I am NOT buying grey, apart from the scalping.

[opfanboy]

It seems I'm not the only one who has had issues with the "bigger" online sellers. Sorry to hear this!

[PCM]

A sad story.
I emailed this company to BUY a watch.
Never heard back.
I always find that so odd.

[kings4sap]

If you are local then Bob’s is Ok. Just sold an SD43 to them. Fair offer. More than any “Trusted Seller” here would pay. I drove to their Newport Beach location and it was cash in hand. They did lower the email offer by $100 due to scratches which I thought was cheesy but I still did the deal.

[1665fan]

Originally Posted by omar10213245

Bob's is a mickey mouse operation, never trust them

Exactly

[amh]

Originally Posted by opfanboy

It seems I'm not the only one who has had issues with the "bigger" online sellers. Sorry to hear this!

Bob's has a relatively poor reputation, at least here on TRF. It's probably ok for the locals going to their B&M store but I'd never buy from them online.

[sirC]

I have purchased 2 watches from Bobs. Both were received as represented. Paid a bit more than retail but (at the time) did not have to pay sales tax and overnight shipping was free.
As I have said in the past (more than once). I would not hesitate to buy from them again if they have what I want but I would never NEVER consider sending them a watch I wanted to unload. In person- possibly.

[RolexBarry]

Bobs watches is smoked out they all send this form letter they have so much supply they wont accept watches. Of course if you trade in they will do business with you. They offered me 8140 for my Blue two tone sub which is a weird price and I'm sure they do this on purpose for a counter offer. You cant trust Bobs but I'll play their game.

[RolexBarry]

I would trust my ex wife over Bobs they are awful. 8100 offer for a two done sub blue mint condition. They say instant offer then they send a form letter. They are smoking good stuff for 8100!


Andrea Miller
12:13 (5 hours ago)
to me

Hello Barry ,

Thank you for your inquiry. This is a great watch, but unfortunately, at this time, we are holding off on offers due to heavy stock. Once our stock depletes, we will notify you to see if any further interest, as we would love to get your watch in store. We do not expect this hold to last more than a week or two.

If you are looking to trade in your watch, please reply with the item you are interested in, and we will do our best to accommodate.

We hope to work with you in the near future, and we appreciate your inquiry.


Best,

Andrea Miller
Purchasing Manager
(800).494.3708
www.bobswatches.com
1900 Quail St., Newport Beach, CA 92660
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[GGGMT]

Wait bobs is bad because they declined to buy your watches in a market in which they’re totally inundated with used watches?


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[GGGMT]

Originally Posted by sirC

I have purchased 2 watches from Bobs. Both were received as represented. Paid a bit more than retail but (at the time) did not have to pay sales tax and overnight shipping was free.
As I have said in the past (more than once). I would not hesitate to buy from them again if they have what I want but I would never NEVER consider sending them a watch I wanted to unload. In person- possibly.

This is correct.

2 great full kit vintage purchases from Bob’s. As represented; premium price; great watches 10+ year later. No whining.




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[The WatchMan]

I'm not seeing the pics in the OP's first post. Is this because I haven't accrued enough posts? I'm not getting a broken link icon, it's as though the text was posted but the pics were forgotten.

[Kreyzhorse]

Man, that is a hell of a bad experience with Bob's....

[Dragline]

Shady deal with a grey seller. Bummer.

[1665fan]

Forget that….maybe they scratch so much the seller feels obligated to sell to them lol…….

[Dawgprint]

I agree with OP! I wouldn’t want to deal with them after that either.
Thanks for the heads up.

[Steve Epps]

Your watch can fetch $13.5 - $14.5

[jgottsman11]

They end up offering you the amount you originally sent in the watch for, and you decide to keep it with the scratches they put on the watch, that will likely need to be laser welded? They won this one.

[Golden Phoenix]

Thank you for sharing this valuable feedback.

[kipsy]

On July 1 I traded in my 99 explorer 2 white with b+p (bought new and wore it every day) to a local private dealer on a 2017 gmt 2 black ceramic in excellent condition with 2 yr warranty. My watch was well worn and nicked, and the improvement of the bracelet alone was worth it. Have searched thru bobs but knew they would lower the trade in when shipped

[1William]

Congratulations.

[Av8or3]

Par for the course with Bob's. My experience was similar. You send the watch in and then they try to low ball you once they have the watch. I sent them several high resolution photos of the watch from all angles and then they responded that there were scratches or dents on the bezel and that it would need to be repaired.

[1665fan]

Originally Posted by TheVision

Not just that but certain established resellers here are using the same tactic. Sent my datejust to one ..he texted me later with a scatched up clasp and said the value just dropped by $300. If I want it back, I have to pay him $200 for return shipping! I still broke even so didn't care but won't do business with him again. I had bought the watch from a AD and went home and put it in the pouch and there were no scratches when I had sent it off. If selling, I'd make a high resolution video and photo before u sent it over but even at that, if someone tempers on their end, I mean, it's not exactly like ya can sue them....either pay for return shipping (which you'll get ripped off at) or accept their low ball offer and let them polish the watch and resell at 40% more.

Perhaps the upcoming cpo program will change things a bit.

U should post his name so others can stay away from him……..don’t be scared