Alex G.
Reneged on free service to fix undisclosed issue
I purchased a watch from Bogossia's website in June 2024 that was described as having been "thoroughly checked and keeps excellent time, requiring no immediate service." When I received the watch, it was clearly skipping beats, with the seconds hand visibly jerking and jumping in several areas around the dial. This was not mentioned in the listing and is not normal operation for any watch, even for the slower-beating movement in this specific watch. I emailed customer service with a video demonstrating the issue. They promptly and explicitly stated in writing that they would take care of a full service, free of charge. However, when I shipped the watch back for the service, a different person responded and changed their tune, instead saying that the issue was only aesthetic, that the watch did not need a service, and that the commitment to servicing the watch free of charge by the other representative was a misunderstanding. They then instead offered to service the watch in-house for an additional payment of $600, or return the watch for a refund. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the situation and we eventually agreed that they would refund $350 to cover a portion of the service cost directly from the manufacturer. The only reason I agreed to this is because it's a watch that's becoming increasingly difficult to find in good condition and as much much I disagreed with how they handled the situation, I still would rather have the watch. If it weren't for this issue, this would have been a 5-star experience. They were incredibly responsive and professional, all other details about the watch were accurate, and they shipped quickly and securely. Bottom line is that they sold a watch with an issue that, if it truly had been "thoroughly checked," would have been apparent to them. Aesthetic or not, skipping beats is not normal operation for any watch and indicates an underlying issue in the movement, which should have been clearly called out in the listing. They either knew about the issue and chose not to disclose it, or didn't know about the issue, which brings into question how thoroughly they check the watches they sell. And for them to initially agree to servicing the watch free of charge to fix that issue and then renege on that offer, is bad business. While I would hope my experience is a one-off and not representative of their typical business dealings, I cannot do business with them again in good faith.
Response from BogossiaAug 8, 2024
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Alex and we’re sorry our service wasn’t up to your expectations. We always check all the watches we sell for accuracy, put them on a timegrapher and check with our watchmaker if they need service. If the watch doesn’t need service, we don’t service it and state on our description “Unknown”under service history. After you reported your concern in June about the seconds hand jittering between 10-13 minute marker, we took care of shipping the watch back to us free of charge (and back to you), and paid our watchmaker to spend almost one hour looking and testing different movement parts: The same outcome was that it was purely aesthetic and does not impact the accuracy of the watch. Yet we were still willing to service the watch just to put your mind at ease, but that required a part replacement and a full service at a price tag of $600, and we were willing to cover more than half of that cost—which by the way all pre-owned watch stores will never offer, as when they state the watch service is “Unknown” it means you’re buying as-is. You had 7 days to return the watch and receive a full refund, as if this never happened. However, you knew that finding a timepiece in this condition, with a complete set, at the price you paid, was nearly impossible. Even if you take this 20-year-old watch to IWC for service and pay $900—minus the $350 refund we offered—the deal you got would be a steal. Almost a month later you asked us if we would offer a full refund back, we wanted to make an exception but we had to charge a restocking fee as when we received the watch from you it was very apparent that the watch has been worn all this time, and the condition wasn’t matching our original photos. Instead you expected a full refund. Despite our 40 emails and exhaustive efforts to ensure your satisfaction, we were genuinely surprised to see this review today.