Incomplete Product Information and Disappointing After-Sales Resolution
I rarely leave negative reviews, but I believe this experience deserves to be documented in detail so that future buyers—especially watch collectors—can make an informed decision. I purchased a Seiko SNKE01J1 from CreationWatches. The product listing did not specify an important characteristic of the watch: the day wheel language. As many collectors know, this reference comes with an English/Arabic day wheel, whereas I was specifically looking for an English/Japanese configuration. Had this information been included in the listing, I simply would not have placed the order. Because I live in Italy, I also paid €55.92 in import duties and taxes, costs that were incurred solely because I purchased a product whose complete specification was not disclosed. To be fair, I want to distinguish between two separate issues. The watch I received was not counterfeit, not damaged, and not the wrong reference. However, that is not the issue. The real issue is that this characteristic was completely omitted from the product description, despite being highly relevant to collectors and enthusiasts. Interestingly, other retailers selling exactly the same reference explicitly mention the day wheel language. After a lengthy exchange of emails, CreationWatches themselves acknowledged that: * the day wheel language is a characteristic that collectors care about; * their listing failed to mention it; * they would update their product information for future customers as a result of my complaint. In other words, my complaint was considered valid enough to change their listings going forward. Despite acknowledging the omission, the commercial solution offered was limited to: * returning the watch for a refund (while I would still have to deal with the inconvenience and customs procedures), or * keeping the watch with a 10% goodwill refund. After several rounds of discussion, this remained their final position. I accepted the goodwill refund because I decided to keep the watch, but I do not believe it adequately reflected the inconvenience, the unnecessary import costs, or the time required to resolve an issue that could have been prevented by including one additional line in the product description. What disappoints me most is not the money. It is the principle. Good customer service is not only about responding politely after a problem occurs; it is about providing complete and accurate product information before the customer buys. CreationWatches were courteous throughout the correspondence, and I appreciate that they improved their listings following my case. Unfortunately, that improvement came too late for me. If you are buying inexpensive watches and are not concerned with small specification details, you may have a perfectly satisfactory experience. If, however, you are a collector who pays attention to reference-specific details, regional configurations, language wheels, bracelets, or other subtle variations, I strongly recommend verifying every specification independently before purchasing—even if the listing appears complete. I hope my experience helps future buyers avoid the same situation.