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There are stories all over the internet about Jomashop, some of which are very true and others that are 100% false. Jomashop is a business located in New York which was founded in 1987. Due to the business selling watches and other luxury goods online, like Amazon it does not have a physical location. This allows the company to sell its watches at lower prices than the competition – much like all other pure online sellers.
Jomashop is NOT a scam and has a decent reputation for selling brand new watches much cheaper than any other large organized business. There are concerns about the companies trustworthiness when problems arise which are discussed in each section below.
Table of Contents
Can Jomashop Be Trusted?
Jomashop is a real and legit business. It is a reputable company that sells real watches, anyone saying otherwise is pretty crazy given they have been in business since 1987. However, that does not dispel some of the concerns regarding the customer service of Jomashop (listed below). Of course, Jomashop is reliable in the sense that you will buy a real watch, but questions arise when there is a problem with a product that they sell.
Jomashop is registered with the BBB (better business bureau), although to be honest this does not mean a lot. This is merely an organization that only proves you are a legitimate business. It does not show that you have excellent levels of customer service or have an outstanding reputation.
Is Jomashop An Authorized Watch Dealer?
No, if Jomashop were an authorized dealer they would be required to sell watches at full price (or at least display MSRP). This would actually hinder them as a business since they would not be able to offer such large discounts. By being a grey market dealer, Jomashop can benefit in the online retail space and is not restricted by contracts, agreements or anything else which may stop them from lowering prices.
How Come Jomashop Is So Cheap?
Jomashop has a slightly different business model to an authorized watch dealer or a typical grey market dealer. Whilst Jomashop does buy and sell preowned luxury watches, the majority of its sales are from brand new models.
These watches are from long standing business agreements and are generally watches that other retailers struggled to get rid of.
To put this into perspective. A typical authorized dealer will have a contract with a company such as Omega or IWC. This contract will require them to buy a wide variety of watches, which they will then sell at a significant markup. The problem with this kind of deal is that the authorized dealer cannot choose only best sellers when purchasing – therefore they are left with a lot of watches that are not as popular and difficult to sell.
Instead of letting these watches gather dust in a shop window, Jomashop is able to buy these watches at a significant discount and pass this saving on to the consumer.
How Does Jomashop Make Money?
Just like any other business does, they buy watches for cheaper than they sell them. This is done by having business relationships with authorized dealers and large watch brands.
By buying bulk overstock of less popular models, or simply watches which have been overproduced, Jomashop is able to buy stock at a lower price than a typical retailer. This way they can sell their watches at a low price, which is still enough to make a profit.
Lastly, the watch you buy will not come with a manufacturer’s warranty. This is what sets the watch apart from full price models. However, like other grey market dealers, Jomashop offers its own warranty. The value of this is discussed below in the customer service section.
Does Jomashop Sell Replica Watches?
No. As stated above, Jomashop is not an authorized dealer, but instead they are a legitimate grey market dealer. Jomashop was founded in 1987, which is not a hugely long time compared to other retailers or watch dealer, but Amazon was only founded in 1994.
If Jomashop were to sell fake or replica watches, it would have been shut down or sued into the ground a long time ago. Therefore, without even having to buy a watch, you can tell Jomashop is real by simply looking at the facts, no to mention the number of satisfied customers.
Does Jomashop Negotiate On Prices?
This will vary from watch to watch. Jomashop is an online retailer but has more wiggle room on prices compared to a faceless mega-corporation which will raise and lower its prices base on user algorithms.
If the watch is a very popular model, it’s likely that you will not be able to negotiate any sort of discount given that if you don’t buy it, someone else will. However, if you are after a fairly unique model which is an unpopular color and not a great seller, there is a chance you can get a discount if you ask before buying.
With that being said, Jomashop clearly has smaller margins than authorized dealers, so do not expect very large discounts. If you can get 5% off, this would be a very good scalp.
What Currency Is Jomashop?
Jomashope prices are in USD. Obviously, this is ideal if you’re an American, although international customers can also buy watches, but will have to cover shipping charges, as well as pay any tax or duties that their country requires.
What Is Jomashop Customer Service Like?
Reports online have shown Jomashop customer service to be very inconsistent. There are some horrible stories about Jomashop disputing warranties with customers who claim to have had their watch break in transit.
Not only this but there seems to be a long delay when contacting Jomashop by email. In fairness to the company, they do have a phone number that does pick up instantly when called, however, the staff are mostly reading from scripts. This is helpful if you have an issue that they know about, but for more nuanced situations this can be extremely frustrating.
Overall, Jomashop customer service is certainly not good and leaves a lot to be desired if something goes wrong with your order.
Jomashop Compared To Other Websites
Amazon
There is no real comparison, Amazon offers a huge variety of watches at similar prices, although Jomashop does offer more luxury models at lower prices. Other than this though, Amazon customer service is outstanding. Whilst no business can be said as having perfect support, Amazon is very close.
Jomashop lets itself down in the customer service department. If it were better at this, it would be very close to becoming the Amazon of luxury watches, however, it is some way off at the moment.
eBay
eBay can be very hit or miss. Depending on the seller you buy from, you could end up with a fake watch or something which is a lot worse than you thought it was. Thankfully this is easily rectifiable given the customer service of eBay – although you will waste your time sorting things out.
If you buy from an established business seller, these risks are seriously minimized. You will always pay near the market rate unless you win a low priced auction. Overall, eBay offers a lot more in terms of buyer satisfaction than Jomashop.
Chrono24
Chrono24 prices are a LOT higher than Jomashop. One thing about Chrono24 is that similar to eBay, you want to try and only buy from established businesses with a reputation. These sellers actually want to try and help you when things go wrong so their reputation is kept intact. An individual seller does not have this need and therefore won’t care as much.
Jomashop is better in terms of price, but Chrono24 is once again better in terms of customer service.
Conclusion
Jomashop is clearly quite a lot cheaper than alternative online retailers such as Amazon and Chrono24. In fact, if you’re looking for a brand new luxury watch online, it is very difficult to find anyone who will sell you a legitimate watch for a cheaper price. There will be grey market dealers who have unworn pieces which the authorized dealers cannot sell, but these are not large businesses with a huge variety of online stock.
However, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. Jomashop customer service raises some serious concerns about buying from the brand when things go wrong.
There is no doubt that if you buy any watch from Jomashop you’re going to get an authentic watch and have it delivered to your address. 99% of the time, things will go smoothly and you will be satisfied. The issue with Jomashop is that when things go wrong for the customer, they are very slow to put things right and have a very weak warranty compared to the manufacturer.
In fairness, Jomashop works with very thin margins, and some of this cost is cut down by not offering very large guarantees and warranties. By having less of a customer focussed business, they are able to offer very significant price decreases.
Overall, if you want to cover all your bases. There are other platforms to buy watches from. Amazon is probably the best for any watches under a few thousand dollars. Over this amount, platforms such as eBay and Chrono24 become much more favorable to use, as well as watch dealers in-person.