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I got audited a few years ago, maybe this will help somebody. I had bought a couple of watch from overseas, one person-to-person deal, another from a dealer's own website. Since they were international, I expected to pay import customs duties (this was before the additional Trump tariffs). And of course, no sales tax. They got held up on arrival at customs clearance, as usual. The P2P one took a week, waiting on paperwork from the seller to calculate customs before UPS invoiced me to release it. Dealer one was experienced and got released quicker, DHL paid the customs on my behalf and invoiced me after delivery for the reimbursement plus service fee. 2 years later, I get a notice from the STATE Treasury Department at the local level, not the IRS at the federal level, saying I owe a ton of back taxes on the watches.

Sales tax applies on everything you buy for your own use. Most of the time, the store collects it and pays the state government. And if it wasn't collected (out-of-state and international purchases), the buyer is still technically responsible for it on like an honor system, some states call it a Use or Consumption or Stamp Tax, that you're supposed to file per year of import (could be a line item in your regular taxes, or a separate form for later filing). Uncollected tax is kind of "don't ask, don't tell". Except these international purchases had a paper trail because of the customs import process, documenting the value of what I bought. Dunno if I just go unlucky with the spot-check lottery, or if the Feds are narcing on everyone to the states now. (though something similar happen a decade earlier to a friend importing handbags. some "pre-loved" ones got confiscated/destroyed for lack of CITES tags, others passed thru after paying customs, paper trail lead to sales tax scenario like mine. only difference was her packages were wrapped tight like bricks of powder and got pulled for inspection, initially made me think it only happened to her because she got busted at something, always assumed I'd be ok since mine are documented and not deliberately dodging anything)

So I owed the unpaid sales tax, the interest on all the unpaid days, and a penalty. The penalty is meant to be punitive to really discourage noncompliance, so the total owed was almost double the amount of simply the unpaid tax. I pled ignorance, first offence, etc and negotiated most of the penalty portion away. But the negotiated settlement also has a deadline, missing it means the interest continues to accumulate.

International deals will have different combinations of collected/uncollected State sales/use tax, Federal customs, Federal Trump tariffs. The big platforms like C24 and Ebay already collect tax (and I've seen some ebay listings that will add in customs and/or tariffs too, but not sure I trust their calculations of item origin vs seller origin). But, for example, the folks that won M.A.D. raffles might have exposed liability. Since I already used my Plea Ignorance card, I need to be more mindful in the future.

I wonder if buying something DDP ('Deliver Duties Paid' by seller already, instead of the usual DAP 'Deliver At Place' and buyer pays duties), which may skip the import delay, would mean less or different paper trail. Or just buy domestic, hellooo sweet marketplace!

Looking for a Vacheron Constantin Overseas Self-Winding Pink Rose Gold Blue Dial 4500V/110R-B705 or 4520V

What was the first mechanical watch you every bought.

Mine was a Rotary Automatic, that looked just like a cartier. Bought it on amazon for $200 it has a 2824.

The first luxury watch I bought was an IWC Vintage Collection Ingenieur! Still regret selling it.

HI guys. I find this to be a super interesting experiment and am excited to see how it goes.

With regard to the Dealer's Market, I totally get why the listings are pretty barebones, including the photos. However, there are a few watches where you seem to be listing them both on Delray and on the Dealer's Market at the same time. the PAM00716 is an example. It is notable that there is a substantial difference in price, which is an interesting at a point. But there are a ton more photos on Delray than here. In cases like that, where you literally have already taken and uploaded the photos, why not throw them in the dealer listing too?

Hey folks - my first post. Newbie to the Forum.

I've heard many people say that watches aren't an investment. It occurs to me that this isn't always the case. Had you established early relationships with makers like Roger Smith, Shapiro, Voutilainen, and the like, you would have done quite well.

So my thought is to choose some young indie watchmakers that I think will have bright futures, get on their waitlists and commission watches. My early research shows that the game is to make a deposit, pay along the way, and expect a 3-5 year time horizon before receiving the watches.

I'm sure I'm not the first to consider this. Would appreciate your thoughts!

Cheers, JA