This guy is so helpful, for many years. I hope he never dies.

Great info and a perfect delivery, thanks Mark!

Grey market is definitely the way to go for high end watches. Just make sure you price in the cost of your FIRST factory servicing, since you don't get the factory warranty. I once bought a grey market watch for $1800 less than MSRP (a few months later, the manufacturer raised the MSRP by $4000, so it was a really good deal). The watch ended up needing servicing, so I had to pay $650 or so to service it through the boutique store (turns out ADs that aren't the boutique can't service it anyway) which still left me well over $1000 ahead compared to buying from an AD. The factory service came with a 2-year warranty, so now I have a warranty just like if I had bought from an AD in the first place. As long as you make sure the watch is not counterfeit, and you find out the price of factory servicing so you make sure the grey market discount is more than the servicing cost, there is little or no downside to the grey market.

Again, an honest, straight forward explanation without judgement. Thank you for being a real mensch.

Great breakdown. Clears up a lot of questions.

Good to know!!! I find your Reviews n content Honest n unbiased, Thank you for sharing!!! :-)

This was a great conversation to just listen to! Thank you! Best, IC

Great and very informative video as usual. Thank you Mark. I agree with “buy the seller first”, whatever the goods, white or grey, a good seller will take care of any issues with little to no cost to the buyer (only shipping fees most likely). I had an issue with a Sea-Gull and Mark took care of it. Excellent customer service from LongIslandWatch. I only partially agree with the “throwing away a $200 grey watch versus throwing away a $5,000 grey watch” example though. While repair cost may exceed the price of a new $200 grey watch so that the only option being to throw it away and buy a new one, I have never heard of a Manufacturer refusing to service an authentic grey watch. Sure, it will cost you. I had to pay $190 for a Tag (service) and $600 for a Zenith (repair) but I did not have to throw the watches away. Also the $600 repair cost was much less than the $2,800 savings of buying grey versus AD but it took 4 months to get it fixed by the LVMH service center. I would tend to buy cheaper watches at an AD because the savings would not cover the cost of a repair or early service.

Thanks Marc! Always learn good stuff from your content. Best, Scott

Marc replaced my SKX007 Sapphire Edition Super Oyster when it arrived malfunctioning out of the box. Great vendor!

Really appreciate these videos as a beginner who just caught the watch bug.

Good explanation as I was personally confused about this issue. Purchased a camera from a NYC discount dealer and later learned it "may" have been a grey market item. No issues with the camera and never needed warranty service so I won on that deal. Consider myself lucky.

I knew what grey market was but it's been still amazing to listen to your clear explanation. You are a great teacher, Marc. Thank you! Zs

Awesome info Mark. Truly appreciate your efforts to educate us all.

Another great video Marc, thank you. You have developed a very witty viewership, just reading the comments is time well spent. Keep up the good work, thanks again.

That explanation cleared up plenty for me. I appreciate the education. Thank you.

Thanks Mark. Great education. It's more complex than I thought.

Marc, thank you for a great, informative video. The two best points you bring up are “Buy the Seller” and “Research”. If a buyer does both, the odds of being burned go down astronomically. And as for Long Island Watch, I will buy anything with confidence. Because, I know you stand behind what you sell.-Mark

You are so Informative. Not only pertaining to watches but in general. Thank you

I'm glad you do this, thanks.

Thanks for the information Marc. This subject was very confusing to me when I first started collecting watches

love your honest perspective

I've learned more from Marc than any other source. Side note, bought a watch from Marc that had a problem and it was taken care of asap. Couldn't ask for more.

Thank you Mark for this video. Definitely great content. Thank you for sharing all this knowledge!

Another excellent video, thank you Marc!

Great video once again Mark! As one user said - grey market risk on the F91w lol! The grey market is fine and really makes the horology industry move items and not become stagnant. It really comes down to the buyer and how much risk they want to take.

One of Marc's best videos to date

Great video Marc. Thank you for clearing it up and being honest and forthright. Thus why you are successful in this business. Great work ethic. 👍

Well done Mark. You have cleared up a lot of mixed info I have gotten over the years.

Excellent video Marc. Thanks for the clarification.

Great explanation from a seller's perspective, makes it clear what grey market is. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for this! Refreshing honesty.

Glad to see this kind of openness. Definitely, buy the store. I have ADs I will never do business with again. I have never had an issue with gray market, since I trust that lemons are pretty rare in the major brands of Japanese and Swiss watches. Gray or AD, Ill buy from LIW as soon as I can justify ANOTHER watch purchase.

Marc, Great topic! I have learned more about watches on this channel from you in the past 2 years of buying watches. I would buy grey market for watches not available through US AD. Seiko JDM like the SARD012 is just gorgeous for the price! I also like to wear watches that not many people have or seen.

Excellent presentation. Thanks for the info Marc.

I just received an order from Long Island Watch, 3 Seikos, a skx007j, sarb033, snke01k1, a strapcode super oyster for the 007 and 3 nato straps, everything perfect!!! I am very picky, so i inspected everything with a jeweler magnifying glass, flawless items!!! Lightning fast delivery too. Yes you are buying the seller along with the product, I am very happy to chose Long Island Watch. Absolutely satisfied costumer!! looking forward to do business with you again. Thank you Mark you are the best!!

Thanks Marc! Super informative as usual!

Excellent presentation Marc. Have looked at a Heure on line from various dealers and noticed a savings of 10 - 17% less that MSRP. Substantial, but Heure as well as others over seas will not honor any warranty internationally unless purchased from a "dealer Boutique" in the selling country. So in essence you end up paying $1k or more to ensure manufacture"s service. Have bought two Russian watches that needed adjustments of whatever done here in US this entailed shipping costs plus a long repair time locally, fortunately work was/is good. So most dealers, aside from Jewelry stores in US are actually grey market, sending their units, usually over seas for warranty if any, from unknown repair workers. Some what a roll of the dice!

Great informative video, I mainly buy grey market But from dealers I have researched, The warranty issue can be tricky but I’ve found A great watchmaker and thankfully parts are available Grey market also

Under a grand, grey market all day, over a grand, AD only. Tha ks for the video explain this man!

hello sir, thank you again for this great information. really help to understand more about gray market. keep it coming. all the best. cheers. :)

Marc, thank you for this very informative video. I really applaud for being upfront and honest with the seiko SKX situation. But overall, I think this video will be a great watch(pun intended) for every watch enthusiast. Hope you don’t mind me sharing this on a facebook group.

Great info Mark. I get asked this question all the time when people are talking about shopping at Jomashop. I always reply back with "how much are you comfortable with losing if it needs service?" The next thing I do is recommend your shop. Keep up the great video's.

Thanks for the explanation Mark. It will help me put across what I’m trying to do for prospective buyers. Grey does not mean fake 👍

Excellent video! Thanks.

Marc you make a ton of sense when you emphasize to buy the seller. The reality is that the grey market has become so large and liquid that the sellers that I deal with (mainly in the Seybold building in Miami) are very dependable. I have bought two rolexes and a Panerai in the grey market and the sellers all typically give me their own 1-year warranty plus when I buy and I can purchase it subject to my own inspection (which I can use a trusted professional to inspect it). So, from the point of saving a good amount of money versus purchasing retail - as long as the you trust the seller and they stand behind the watch - I say go for it and save a ton of money. Of course, the opposite occurs when trying to acquire a watch that can only be obtained after spending a considerable amount of money at a retailer and then getting on a wait list. In that case you end up paying a hefty premium versus retail. For me the equation usually tends me to still prefer the grey market to actually get the watch right away and when compared to the amount usually required to spend at a retailer...the actual premium can be considerably less.

Always wondered where the 'grey' bit came from. Thanks Marc.

The Costco return policy is legendary ... Nice video Mark

Marc I have complete faith in you and Long Island watch. You are a stand up guy.

Marc, you're very good at sharing info. Will get my watch from you tomorrow. Thanks.

Very interesting video Marc. A couple of years ago I purchased two Orient Neo 70's Panda Solar Chronograph watches via Ebay UK. The price on Ebay was £96 and both watches came boxed and with the tags and guarantee. The watches where for the Japanese market and not export models. The seller on Ebay was based in southern Ireland and the watches arrived within a week and as promised everything was boxed and had the original tags and labels with the guarantee in Japanese. They are both incredible watches and I wear them a lot, the price of each watch in Japan was labelled at 32,000 Yen so don't know much that is in UK Sterling. I think I got a good deal as I have seen one of the models on Amazon Canada with a price tag of over $300 Canadian. I assume my watches are therefore grey market watches. The seller in Ireland provided free UK delivery and there was a money back guarantee if the watch was faulty or it would be replaced with another watch.

these videos are amazing!

My favorite seller that I didn't buy anything from him 😁 due to my overseas location. Thank u Marc for ur continuous valuable information.

I always thought this was how it was, but thank you for addressing it.

Thank you for the video on the matter

great video. cheers for the info

Invicta gives you a 3 year warranty on your Seiko Movement in their watches. Aragon Gives you a 1 year warranty on their Seiko movements. Great Video and Thanks for sharing.

Another great video. I can’t wait for my Laco Paderborn to arrive. For anyone that does not know Long Island Watch has great customer service.

Appreciate your integrity Mark, took some courage

thanks for the video

Great video and info Mark!

Great Info. Thank You

Hi, Mark. Very instructive. The truth is that large and well know manufacturers find a way of selling their surpluses through the grey. I have already purchased Rolexes and Nikon cameras through excellent sellers in the US, but without the manufacturer's warranty. Cynical, or whatever you name it. That's life! BTW: will never buy the overpriced Rolexes in my life. Or Montblancs. Or no other product which lives only throught their marketing force.

Before buying my SeikoSKX013. I did a lot of research on sellers and prices. But really I always knew I would buy it from Long Island watches. The price is great Value let alone the peace of mind you get .Thanks Mark

Very informative, thanks for the education.

Great info and clarification

This deserves to be in the "Watch and Learn" playlist. :D

Hi Mark, very good video. One Remark about warranty. I bought a Omega at the "Grey"Market. I live in Europe and the seller told me that the original seller will be from Europe. Watch arrived and I have the original certificate from a AD in Italy. I live in Germany, but the warranty is for Europe. If I have a problem wich the watch: No problem, just go to an AD in Germany and I got the full warranty. So my opinion for the grey market is not loosing the warranty.

Good, informative video ...learned a bit about the market illustrated by my favorite brand, Seiko.

Great video. Thank you.

I've been researching it but still don't understand. Thanks for making a video explaining Grey market.

Thank you so much for this video!

Super videos Mark.

The first time I heard of ‘grey import’ was when I worked for a now defunct photographic retailer here in the uk in the mid 80’s. We were selling Nikon cameras waaay cheaper than anyone else. On closer inspection, when you looked in the box there was no yellow Nikon warranty paperwork. Never had any problems.

Another great video Marc ! Thank you ! My wristwatch check ? SKX Pepsi !!!!

Good video. I buy an Omega list for $5000 in a store. The price from A grey market dealer for $2900. Worst case scenario the grey market dealer doesn’t honor his warranty. I send it to manufacture for service for $500-750 for a major overhaul still ahead of the game. I have original paperwork that came with it. Yes do your research. Mark you need to carry Omega.

I finally know what grey market means. U were understating it when u said alot of people dont know what it means. More like 99.99999999%

Excellent

Great movie as always. Thanks

Great vid Marc, really informative with integrity. Awkward not to go grey market when no distribution in UK, like ORIENT! Sorry had to get that off my chest. Thanks. Interesting about skx in USA....very odd. Cheers again good work sir.

Great video. This is precisely correct and lots of people just don't get it. Jomashop is a great example. I've had great luck with them on a couple of luxury purchases and they never gave me an issue. Other people have had issues when the watch broke and had to send it back for repair. You're rolling the dice with grey market products. I would say (in my experience at least) that you're probably ok and the only issue would be if it did fail the servicing could be an issue. Reviews indicate this too for this particular store. The 3 watches I purchased from them all ran fine and still do. They will be out of warranty when I have them serviced so nothing lost. If you don't want to take a chance simply don't use grey market dealers, it could wind up being a royal PITA even though I haven't had an issue.

Didn't know about the 007. Interesting! Thanks!

came learned liked thanks Mark 👍

Very well explained Sir, but I am still apprehensive how prices differs so much between gray and white markets. It is hard to believe warranty certificate alone jacks up prides so steeply..

Thanks bro. Good vid.

Very interesting video 👍thanks

Is a very educational video thank you.

Bought a few stuff from joma and so far so good...

This is very good, honest information about the subject. Personally I would only buy divers and other watches without complications from grey market, chronographs and the like need a warranty, kind of like my less than year old Autavia that's currently being serviced....

Great videos! I'm watching all of them! I'd really like to buy a watch from your company, I'll call when I'm ready. Very good information on the your videos! Thanks!

Wow hes right people dont know what gray is, great video!

such a good video helping consumers like myself BETTER understand what alot of these terms like greymarket mean, as so much get lost in translation, only leading to myths being formed

Great video

great info!

Same market dynamics in almost every industry. Good presentation.

Speaking of buying the seller, Marc, you're a class act. I'll NEVER buy any watch that you sell from anyone else.

Great video Marc. So if you purchase a watch from a website and there is NOT a manufacture's warranty included, is it safe to say they would be considered a grey market seller and not an AD? That seems to be the main difference if I am understanding correctly. Awesome channel and I always look forward to everything you put up; very educational and I've learned so much from you. Thanks!

Thank you sir!!

Grey market is pretty kool I’ve met a lot good folks on the grey market and they are pretty honest they are just trying make a living like everybody else good video Marc..

I found this useful. Thank you'