I’m looking at buying used on chrono24 or other from countries outside Canada. At first the price seems reasonable and offers enough saving to make it advantageous compared to buying new. However, I’m finding that after estimating import fees and taxes I am getting close to new price. Add in a service inspection or full service and the prices are very similar. Wondered if anyone else has found this to be the case and whether there are other ways to make buying used a better path for Canadians when buying watches from overseas?
I’ve bought watches from chrono24 from Japanese sellers (Watchnian/IPPUSHIKI and Closer). I’ve only paid at most 10% of the paid price so I want to say I’ve only ever paid the tax (Ontario).
The watches I’ve bought from Watchnian were marked as A grade, but they were basically both brand new with box and papers. Got both watches basically at 35-40% off with taxes. The one from Closer required servicing from Longines. As long as you do your due diligence, and buy from reputable sellers, you should still be saving money.