Hello,
I recently posted on this board looking for a place to buy a discontinued SMP #2532.80. And thanks to a member's tip I found a brand new watch at an online dealer. I bought the watch from the dealer's auction on ebay after examining its excellent ebay rating and customer feedback, as well as the approval from BBB which showed no complaints. The watch comes with a 3 year warranty from the online store which also has a 30 day full refund (-10% restocking fee) return policy.
The ordering process was smooth and the watch arrived promptly via free Fedex overnight delivery. It came in a gray Omega box with menuals, an Omega warranty card (unfilled), and a separate warranty car from the online store. The watch looks brand new with not a single finger mark or scratch on the face and the bracelet. Excited as I am, I quickly checked for it's authenticity following the tips on chronocentric.com. The serial number is intact, however, I can't make out the first number no matter how hard I tried. While the rest of the seven digits are clear and legible, the first number looks like a squished up '8','6' or even a '5'. The first four digits could be either '8006', '6006', or '5006', are any of these numbers valid serial numbers?
The next thing I noticed is that the "red dot" or the "red seal" on the back of the watch is partially scratched off. This plus a few tiny nicks that I found in the five holes on the back of the watch led me to believe the case has been opened before. Much to my dismay, I called up the store immediately to report this problem. The gentleman who sold the watch to me assured me that it was new, authentic, in proper working condition, and had not been altered in anyway. He said that his store routinely opens up watches at random to check for it's authenticity in order to protect both the customer and the store. He recommanded me taking the watch to an authorized dealer to verify the truth in what he said.
Now comes my dilemma. It took me a while to find this watch and I really want to keep it. But I am also bothered by the fact that this watch had been opened before. Should I return this watch, lose the 10% restocking fee, and continue to search for it or should I just overlook everything and keep the watch? Has anyone else have a similar experience? Are there any other options available? Please advice. Thanks in advance.
