kingkitesurf Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 Just got a gen ebay Zodiac watch delivered... Was confiscated by customs. Had to pay 70 USD tax on a 200 USD watch. Luckily it was not a rep otherwise it would have been confiscated or I should have payed $$$ to release it as real. Either I or my dealer would have deep trouble. So I just thought of something. Why not print low adhesive vinyl stickers with the following text: -Your Logo -Company slogan goes here In black, silver and white version. Doesn't have to be precise. They pass customs as customizable promotional watches... The sticker color may vary in color a bit thats no problem...All a dealer needs to do is: - unscrew caseback, release crown, release clamps and put sticker over logo. As your watch arrives all we have to do is the same to release the logo covering sticker. The dial has a varnish coat so you won't rip of the real logo. Takes 7 minutes to prepare the watch for use. No risk at customs anymore? What do you think...? Here is an example of the IWC jones (don't pay attention to the photoshopping quality): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolexman Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 (edited) I think The Zigmeister would become filthy rich if all the dealers would ship their watches that way! It's like saying to a noob.. "here, do your own heart transplant". Edited September 16, 2006 by Rolexman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TTK Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 (edited) Won't work......pad printing on dials looks great...but the minuet you put any kind of adhesive near the print.....nuh uh......and 'varnishing' the dials....not on...m'afraid....! Edited September 16, 2006 by TTK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005SUBMARINER Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 (edited) why not just ship the watches un-assembled ? & lable them used watch parts . its pretty easy to re-assemble a watch .. & the dial & movement would be concealed in a tinted plastic case .. the spring bars , case clamps , crown & stem & case clamp screws in a small box . the band/strap in plastic as always . & a small discount should be offered to customers who order there watch un-assembled Edited September 16, 2006 by 2005SUBMARINER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingkitesurf Posted September 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 OK but my experience with the 4 watches I took apart (MBW, Sub, Expl2 and IWC) is that it's easy and that there was already varnish on the dial (I tried with a regular sticker and left it 1 night) and then pulled it off. It would come straight of leaving the dialprint 100% in tact... Guess I was lucky Taking the watch apart is very, very simple. But I understand that this could be a bit scary... with all it's risks and problems. Oh well...just thought I share it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajoesmith Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 OK but my experience with the 4 watches I took apart (MBW, Sub, Expl2 and IWC) is that it's easy and that there was already varnish on the dial (I tried with a regular sticker and left it 1 night) and then pulled it off. It would come straight of leaving the dialprint 100% in tact... Guess I was lucky Taking the watch apart is very, very simple. But I understand that this could be a bit scary... with all it's risks and problems. Oh well...just thought I share it. HI I had the same problem and had 3 watches confiscated and DESTROYED by Japanese customs. Yes DESTROYED. Forget the stickers. the best thing to do, in my opinion is to put a piece of colourful paper under the crystal. take the case back off, stem out, movement screws out and remove the movement. Then put a piece of paper cut to the same size as the crystal and put it all back together. Presto. If caught by customs all they think is that its a case. here are 2 watches that i got ith the paper put in a PAM 212 and a PAM 28 ETA 2892. didnt want these getting destroyed!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTJoyce Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Odd, I've now bought three watches from Josh, and not a single one has been confiscated, or stopped by customs. And even though I know quite a bit about how to disasemble a watch, about 6 weeks ago when I was a complete n00b I would have been scared shiteless to put together my own watch. Cheers Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jens Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Odd, I've now bought three watches from Josh, and not a single one has been confiscated, or stopped by customs. And even though I know quite a bit about how to disasemble a watch, about 6 weeks ago when I was a complete n00b I would have been scared shiteless to put together my own watch. Cheers Cameron I'm quite new to rep collecting, and have only bought a few sofar. Haven't had any problems yet, but I expect it will be more difficult in the future (I'm located in Norway). European countries are gearing up their efforts to stop replica products of all kinds to enter into EU (or to be sold inside the union), it's on the agenda in every country now I think. Customs in a lot of countries have invested heavily in equipment like mobile and stationary x-ray scanners, thus their ability to check more goods in an efficient way has increased compared to only a few years ago. In the longer term this will for sure influence our hobby, making it more difficult to get products into the countries, not to mention the risk following new legislation in this area. This adds to the increasing difficulties to get them out of countries like China. Double trouble. I don't think the idea of stickers/paper to hide the dial text etc. will help in the long run, these guys (customs) are not idiots. I do have some thoughts and ideas on how to deal with this situation in the future and reduce the risks for both dealers and customers, but for obvious reasons I will not share them on an open forum. And it might not be possible at all, so I will shut my mouth now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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