Returns

Before it ships

You can cancel any time before the watch ships and we return what you paid in full. Once it has shipped, the rest of this page applies.

We may also decline or cancel an order before it ships. If that happens on an order you have already paid for, you are refunded in full and we cover any fee the refund incurs. The reasons we would do that are set out in our terms.

48 hours to inspect

You have 48 hours from the moment you collect the watch from FedEx (or the carrier records delivery, where it comes to your door) to inspect the watch and tell us in writing if something is wrong or if you intend to return it. Email is fine. The timestamp on your message is what counts. After 48 hours the sale is final.

Authorize first

Every return needs a return authorization from us before it ships. Ask inside the 48 hour window and we will issue one. Once authorized, the watch has to be back in transit within three business days. A watch sent back without authorization may be refused and returned at the sender's cost.

Original condition

A return has to come back exactly as it left: unworn since receipt, unaltered, and complete with all packaging, boxes, papers, links, tags, and accessories. Sizing, engraving, service, repair, or any work by another party ends eligibility. We photograph and record every watch before it ships and again on its return, and we check serial and reference against our record.

Refunds are at our discretion

Returns and refunds are at the sole discretion of Biel Vintage Watches. Where we accept a return, original shipping is not refunded, and neither are the payment processing, card, or wire fees already incurred on the original sale. Return shipping and insurance are the buyer's cost, and the watch has to travel back fully insured for its value, tracked, and signature required.

Not as described

This is the exception and it is the one that matters. If a watch arrives and it is not what we described, nothing is deducted, we cover shipping both ways, and you are refunded in full. Tell us inside the 48 hour window and send photographs. Condition on a vintage watch is a matter of judgment, so a difference of opinion on wear or grade is not the same as a watch being other than described.

How the refund works

Once the watch is back and inspection is complete, we refund to the original payment method within five business days. A wire is refunded by wire. We do not release a refund before the watch is in our hands and checked.

Whether a watch came back in the condition it left is settled by our inspection. We photograph and record every piece before it ships and again when it returns, so that call is made against a record rather than a memory. Where the two do not match we show you the images before we decide anything, and the final determination on a return or a cancellation is ours to make.

What is excluded

Consigned watches, pieces sourced to order, trade ins, and anything listed and sold as final sale are not returnable. We flag that on the listing before you commit, so nothing here is a surprise.

Your legal rights

Nothing on this page removes a right you hold under the law where you live. Where consumer law gives you a longer window than ours, that law wins.