GMT watches and Customs

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
bearcatrunner
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GMT watches and Customs

Post by bearcatrunner »

I'm not usually one to complain about things but going through DHL and US Customs is just awful. Probably because the watch is over $800 and is sitting in customs right now. I know this is partly a US thing but no matter whose fault it is I just don't care to deal with it.

CW didn't send the Watch/Clock worksheet so I had to fill that out and when I emailed CW I got no response. My watch has been in customs for a few days now and will be there for another 2-3 days pending a review. Then I am sure I will get some outrageous customs bill. It just seems like the companies selling the merchandise should be handling this and not the average Joe like myself. I know not CW's fault on that front.

I'm probably just being impatient but things from other watch companies like Zelo's come much faster and without the hassle. Most likely I am just pouting because I want my watch and I want it now! <kicking and screaming tantrum>

BTW I am surprised that so many GMT watches are still for sale on the website. Do people just not like the GMT versions?
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by Jkpa »

Incidentally I just got my MK2 GMT.

ONE DAY shipping from CW HQ.
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by thomcat00 »

I have a thing for the GMT complication; nearly one third of my CWs are GMTs and I have a few others. :) I’m trying to be good and not get the Abyss GMT as well. :D
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by thomcat00 »

bearcatrunner wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:12 pm I'm not usually one to complain about things but going through DHL and US Customs is just awful. Probably because the watch is over $800 and is sitting in customs right now. I know this is partly a US thing but no matter whose fault it is I just don't care to deal with it.
Sorry about your customs woes. I ran into that wall with one watch, and it seems the seller should be completing those forms and not the buyer. But the $800 threshold is entirely arbitrary. I understand the annoyance of the delay
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by tikkathree »

thomcat00 wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:51 am I have a thing for the GMT complication; nearly one third of my CWs are GMTs and I have a few others. :) I’m trying to be good and not get the Abyss GMT as well. :D

hahaha! You and me both. I'm not at all sure I can hold out though...... :oops:
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Re: US Customs Help

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

@bearcatrunner - you might not have seen this, but as posted by Kip in the current 'US Customs help?' thread;-

Kip wrote:As far as I know, nothing has changed with the way that CW handles shipments to the USA.

Reposting this from a previous thread...
Kip wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:36 am Thought this was worth reposting..

Kip wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:55 pm The problem is definitely with DHL. When CW ships watches to the USA they send DHL a spreadsheet with all the information including the Waybill number for items picked up on any given day. Much depends on the agent viewing the package to simply look up the email by manufacturer and then find the Waybill number. In most cases they do and get all the required information. If they can't find it for any reason, they are supposed to contact CW for it. CW informs me that when they resend the email they usually spot it then.

Hope this helps.

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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by rkovars »

It seems to me that there are enough issues with US customs/DHL that CW should add a section to their FAQ telling US customers exactly what the process should be and what to do if it goes wrong. The forum threads tend to get pushed back into the ether by the time the next sale occurs and we go through it all again.
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

rkovars wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 2:52 pm It seems to me that there are enough issues with US customs/DHL that CW should add a section to their FAQ telling US customers exactly what the process should be and what to do if it goes wrong.
Was this the sort of thing you were thinking of?

EC1345E7-14FA-487E-B029-07F795F89CF9.jpeg
Here’s a link to the page
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by rkovars »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:48 pm
rkovars wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 2:52 pm It seems to me that there are enough issues with US customs/DHL that CW should add a section to their FAQ telling US customers exactly what the process should be and what to do if it goes wrong.
Was this the sort of thing you were thinking of?


EC1345E7-14FA-487E-B029-07F795F89CF9.jpeg

Here’s a link to the page
That is a start. However, it says nothing about the watch worksheet and what to do if DHL contacts you asking you to fill it out. They should be contacting CW directly but they don't. This really needs to be addressed. I think that CW might be losing repeat customers in the US because of this (just my subjective opinion). It may be a small number of shipments having issues but for the people that have to go through the goat rope it is really frustrating. Kip alluded to the electronic version and inspectors not being able to find a particular shipment. It seems to me that these inspectors don't even know the electronic version exists. They look at the box, don't see the worksheet and contact you.
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by bearcatrunner »

I'm sure Christopher Ward is doing everything they can but in the end they are choosing to ship with them and I believe they have other options. I do not have much faith in the customs though. When I inquired about what was going on both by email and phone they told me to fill out paperwork I already filled out. They then went into the system to check. One even informed me I had not done so. Sounds like they had to go into two different systems to look things up. Sounds like a pain but also very lazy of them to assume I did not fill out the paperwork when they could pull it up in the system. It is almost like they are trying to take as much time as possible to get it cleared.

My only gripe is that CW never responded to my email and could always send a copy of the Watch/Clock form to the customer just in case they need that. CW could also send that information along in an email as an "what to expect from US customs" regarding the FAQ section.
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by rkovars »

It is strange that CS never responded. They are always very prompt in my experience. If it were me, I would have tried to call CW CS as well as the email.
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by bearcatrunner »

I did try and call but it was a Sunday and they were closed. Then I thought - hey email and they will respond Monday morning. Then I read about customs holding charges and freaked out and filled out the stupid form myself. Never got a response. Besides they should email me back. Even customs emailed me back ;-(
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by Leon O »

Just because of the customs hassle I will probably never spend more than $799 on a watch directly from CW, With duties and holdings costs, it may even be less expensive to get a more costly model from a US based eBay scalper.
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Re: US Customs Help

Post by Lavaine »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 7:31 am @bearcatrunner - you might not have seen this, but as posted by Kip in the current 'US Customs help?' thread;-

Kip wrote:As far as I know, nothing has changed with the way that CW handles shipments to the USA.

Reposting this from a previous thread...
Kip wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:36 am Thought this was worth reposting..


Hope this helps.

Guy



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Simple question then: If this is all correct, then why does CW continue to use DHL? If CW is sending the information with EVERY watch, then DHL has proven time and time (and time, and time, and time...) again that they are not competent in processing customs clearance. Why does CW still use them? It's bad business. Unless the problem isn't with DHL...
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Re: GMT watches and Customs

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

bearcatrunner wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:12 pm BTW I am surprised that so many GMT watches are still for sale on the website. Do people just not like the GMT versions?
I couldn’t help much with the customs questions – sorry about that.

GMT, along with the chronograph, is my favourite complication. Though like the chronograph, I suspect a lot of owners don’t really use it in a particularly meaningful way! I had a 43 mm C60 GMT, which I took on all my holidays for a couple of years. I had this strange idea that the GMT function would be useful in the East Europe Time Zone (UK +2). For some odd reason my brain worked it out before I ever looked at the watch. But it was fun and I would probably still have it were it not for the fact that it was a bit too big and heavy.

One might infer that the number of GMT watches unsold could be related to the pandemic, but that’s probably stretching credence slightly.

The movements used by CW, in common with many manufacturers, feature an independently adjustable 24h hand. This requires the home time (GMT hand) to be reset if you change time zones. The so-called true GMT which I have on my recently purchased UN, is much easier to adjust. Home time stays fixed and you adjust the local time by one hour increments, forward or backward, as you change time zones.

Having said that, which ever version of the GMT movement you have it’s still quite cool.
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