Be careful with watch purchases onboard

[wales4ever]

We spent $1100 on a Tag Heur watch last week on the Niew Amsterdam. The salesman said he would activate the guarantee for us. We called back to the shop after dinner and was told that it was activated with Tag Heur and that the warranty card had been signed by his supervisor.

Now we re bck home we hve checked with Tag Heur and the warranty has NOT been activated by the ships salesman. It cannot be retrospectively activated. So our $1100 wach now had no warranty.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry that this happened to you.

 

You need to contact HAL -- call Ship Services at 1-800-541-1576 and they will transfer you to the appropriate person.  Hopefully you saved your sales receipt.

[wales4ever]

Might have known you would answer 🙂

 

We are in the UK. We have just scanned the receipt and warranty card and emailed it off to them.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

We spent $1100 on a Tag Heur watch last week on the Niew Amsterdam. The salesman said he would activate the guarantee for us. We called back to the shop after dinner and was told that it was activated with Tag Heur and that the warranty card had been signed by his supervisor.
Now we re bck home we hve checked with Tag Heur and the warranty has NOT been activated by the ships salesman. It cannot be retrospectively activated. So our $1100 wach now had no warranty.

This is from the US website. Sounds like store can still activate after the fact.

From the FAQ
My digital warranty card hasn’t been activated - what should I do?

“If your digital warranty card hasn’t been activated, please contact the point of sale where you bought your TAG Heuer Connected and ask them to activate it. “



www.theinsidecabin.com

[Hawaiidan]

7 hours ago, wales4ever said:

We spent $1100 on a Tag Heur watch last week on the Niew Amsterdam. The salesman said he would activate the guarantee for us. We called back to the shop after dinner and was told that it was activated with Tag Heur and that the warranty card had been signed by his supervisor.

Now we re bck home we hve checked with Tag Heur and the warranty has NOT been activated by the ships salesman. It cannot be retrospectively activated. So our $1100 wach now had no warranty.

Lesson#101    Buying jewelry on a ship. or in a back alley or out of a cars trunk ( boot) ;.......    DON'T

[DaveOKC]

6 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

Lesson#101    Buying jewelry on a ship. or in a back alley or out of a cars trunk ( boot) ;.......    DON'T

I was thinking the same thing.  I almost bought a decent watch on my last cruise, but decided that the savings was not enough to justify.

[zqvol]

Very rarely do I find a watch on a ship for a better price than I can get either at home or ashore. The deals are not really deals.

[DaveOKC]

Had some OBC to spend is the real reason I was looking at it in the first place.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have never bought a watch or any jewelry on a ship or in a port.

[Krazy Kruizers]

8 hours ago, wales4ever said:

Might have known you would answer 🙂

 

We are in the UK. We have just scanned the receipt and warranty card and emailed it off to them.

 

Keep us updated on what happens.

[IllinoisGirl1978]

I bought a Citizen EcoDriven watch. I was able to activate the warranty when I got home.  

I haven't found my particular style anywhere. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by IllinoisGirl1978

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, DaveOKC said:

I was thinking the same thing.  I almost bought a decent watch on my last cruise, but decided that the savings was not enough to justify.

I learned  that guarantees and warranties  are not valid if not purchased from an authorized dealer.  Cameras watches things like that, sold by a merchant who is NOT a auth dealer are void.   I doubt HAL was an authorized dealer....  Lots of people sell products for which they are not  official authorized dealers.   Make a  seller  show you a certificate of authorization... don't take  their word.    Too some regions in the world  are exempt for warranted  products  The carribe is famous for this  "grey market".

[Fouremco]

29 minutes ago, IllinoisGirl1978 said:

I bought a Citizen EcoDriven watch. I was able to activate the warranty when I got home.  

I haven't found my particular style anywhere. 

 

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

Very rarely do I find a watch on a ship for a better price than I can get either at home or ashore. The deals are not really deals.

I couldn't agree more. I almost bought a Citizen Echo Drive watch "on sale" during a HAL cruise too, but found the identical watch in a reputable store in Aruba for quite a bit less. 

[iflyrc5]

I thought the shops on the ship are run by a third party company just like the photo lab.  This third party company would have to be authorized to sell the products.

[1ANGELCAT]

New concessionaire is Dufry.

They also operate many duty free airport shops,

 

[TAD2005]

The shops onboard are run by a third party company.   However, they also pay a commission to HAL on every purchase.   And that commission is not low.   So, in addition to the markup of the 3rd party company, you are also paying HAL's add-on markup.

The only time you may find a bargain on a ship is when they have excess inventory they want to clear and they make certain items loss-leaders.  

Every square foot on a HAL ship has to generate revenue.  The shops are no exception.

Edited March 6, 2019 by TAD2005

[Hawaiidan]

34 minutes ago, TAD2005 said:

The shops onboard are run by a third party company.   However, they also pay a commission to HAL on every purchase.   And that commission is not low.   So, in addition to the markup of the 3rd party company, you are also paying HAL's add-on markup.

The only time you may find a bargain on a ship is when they have excess inventory they want to clear and they make certain items loss-leaders.  

Every square foot on a HAL ship has to generate revenue.  The shops are no exception.

The  3 rd party seller on HAL  is a Re-seller   and  many times not an authorized dealer.   I have received several prices on cameras... same model    One price for with warranted and the other without !!!!    the shops on HAL may only be re-sellers and can not give you guarantees  but let you think you will... Be very careful  what you ask and how they reply.....they make you believe what you want to.... not what is reality  Its called the Grey market.

 

34 minutes ago, TAD2005 said:

The shops onboard are run by a third party company.   However, they also pay a commission to HAL on every purchase.   And that commission is not low.   So, in addition to the markup of the 3rd party company, you are also paying HAL's add-on markup.

The only time you may find a bargain on a ship is when they have excess inventory they want to clear and they make certain items loss-leaders.  

Every square foot on a HAL ship has to generate revenue.  The shops are no exception.

 

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, iflyrc5 said:

I thought the shops on the ship are run by a third party company just like the photo lab.  This third party company would have to be authorized to sell the products.

Wrong....  your assuming  they are  re-selling the watch they obtained.      The big  ruse is duty free... NOTHING is duty free.   Oh at the point of sale yes.... but on return to the home country  be prepared to pay !!!

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, iflyrc5 said:

I thought the shops on the ship are run by a third party company just like the photo lab.  This third party company would have to be authorized to sell the products.

Not necessarily.....they can obtain products  from a secondary market at a discount.   The warranted is not always included....  You need you need to contact the mgf. to find out    Lots of scams

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

The big  ruse is duty free... NOTHING is duty free.   Oh at the point of sale yes.... but on return to the home country  be prepared to pay !!!

Duty free sales may be misunderstood by some neophyte international travellers, but they are neither a ruse nor deceptive practise as you suggest. Duty free shops are retail outlets that are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties at the point of sale, with the requirement that the purchaser remove the goods from the country. That's it, plain and simple.

 

Importing goods into a country at the end of your trip is an entirely different issue, totally unrelated to the issue of duty free purchases abroad. If you import an item when you get home, there are numerous factors that will determine whether or not you have to pay import duty, but whether or not you paid duty at the point of purchase isn't one of them. 

[iancal]

That may be so.  But the last time that I bought a Citizen eco watch on board it was advertised as duty free and fifty percent off.  I bought it because the price was fair.

 

a few days later, in FLL, while waiting for DW to ship I wandered into a jewelry store.  Same watch, same price within one dollar.  Only difference was the local sales tax.

 

we have priced several high end watches while on board.  Checked the brand, model numbers.  We have yet to find a deal.  Most of them were 10 to 20 more expensive than we could by on line from US or Canadian suppliers.

 

’Grey’ market products are everywhere.  I have little doubt that they pop up from time to time in cruise ship shops.

Edited March 7, 2019 by iancal

[hunt182644]

I paid a whole $10.00 for a nice looking watch two years ago on a cruise. It needed new a  battery awhile back, it was cheaper to buy another one while in Vegas. Have found that unless someone looks close you can't tell the difference between $10.00 and $1000.00.

[knittinggirl]

We've bought a few items in ports and on the ship.  On our very first cruise, we bought an emerald ring in one of the ship sponsored shops ashore and once home took it to be appraised, and found it was worth twice what I paid for it.

 

A few years later, I bought a Philips Stein (feel good watch) ashore.  The ship's shopping guide told me he'd get me a "special deal" and I waited for him to arrive.  Once home, I learned his so called "special deal" wasn't very special.

 

Can't comparison shop very well while traveling.

 

On another trip, my watch died, and I tried to get a new battery in one of the Royal Caribbean ship's stores, and they didn't have any to sell.  Neither did the shops in port.  They all wanted to sell me a new watch.

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, knittinggirl said:

We've bought a few items in ports and on the ship.  On our very first cruise, we bought an emerald ring in one of the ship sponsored shops ashore and once home took it to be appraised, and found it was worth twice what I paid for it.

 

A few years later, I bought a Philips Stein (feel good watch) ashore.  The ship's shopping guide told me he'd get me a "special deal" and I waited for him to arrive.  Once home, I learned his so called "special deal" wasn't very special.

 

Can't comparison shop very well while traveling.

 

On another trip, my watch died, and I tried to get a new battery in one of the Royal Caribbean ship's stores, and they didn't have any to sell.  Neither did the shops in port.  They all wanted to sell me a new watch.

 

I love it.....  You gott'a just love thoes  ship shopping guides...  Without them I never, ever would have guessed that Juneau Alaska was the best place in the world  to buy  pearls and lapis.      Who would have known !!     

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, knittinggirl said:

We've bought a few items in ports and on the ship.  On our very first cruise, we bought an emerald ring in one of the ship sponsored shops ashore and once home took it to be appraised, and found it was worth twice what I paid for it.

 

A few years later, I bought a Philips Stein (feel good watch) ashore.  The ship's shopping guide told me he'd get me a "special deal" and I waited for him to arrive.  Once home, I learned his so called "special deal" wasn't very special.

 

Can't comparison shop very well while traveling.

 

On another trip, my watch died, and I tried to get a new battery in one of the Royal Caribbean ship's stores, and they didn't have any to sell.  Neither did the shops in port.  They all wanted to sell me a new watch.

 

I love it.....  You gott'a just love those  ship shopping guides...  Without them I never, ever would have guessed that Juneau Alaska was the best place in the world  to buy  pearls and lapis.      Who would have known !!