GMT watches and Customs
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GMT watches and Customs
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?
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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- Senior Forumgod
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
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.
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
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 delaybearcatrunner 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.
with Kung Fu grip, and life-like hair
- tikkathree
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
hahaha! You and me both. I'm not at all sure I can hold out though......
C60 MKI, MKII, MKIII: "some",
C6 & C60 Kingfishers,
C600 Tritechs,
C63 "some",
C65 "some",
C4, C40, C8, C9, C3, C5, C20 & 23FLE
Some other brands
C6 & C60 Kingfishers,
C600 Tritechs,
C63 "some",
C65 "some",
C4, C40, C8, C9, C3, C5, C20 & 23FLE
Some other brands
- Bahnstormer_vRS
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Re: US Customs Help
@bearcatrunner - you might not have seen this, but as posted by Kip in the current 'US Customs help?' thread;-
Guy
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Hope this helps.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.
Guy
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And in short measures, life may perfect bee. - Ben Jonson (1572 – 1637)
Inscription on the Longitude Dial
Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 5NB, England
- rkovars
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
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.
Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
Jack London
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
- rkovars
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
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.Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:48 pmWas this the sort of thing you were thinking of?
EC1345E7-14FA-487E-B029-07F795F89CF9.jpeg
Here’s a link to the page
Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
Jack London
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
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.
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.
- rkovars
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
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.
Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
Jack London
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
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 ;-(
Re: GMT watches and Customs
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.
C7 Rapide Quartz, C60 Pro 300 Chronograph Quartz, C3 Malvern Chronograph, C7 Rapide Chronograph Quartz, C65 AM GT LE, C7 Rapide Chrongraph LE, C65 Trident Diver HW, C5 Malvern 595, C65 Trident GMT Pepsi
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Re: US Customs Help
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...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;-
Hope this helps.
Guy
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Re: GMT watches and Customs
I couldn’t help much with the customs questions – sorry about that.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?
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.
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
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