Old Timer

A few years ago when I graduated from college my dad gave me this Tourneau watch as a graduation gift. (My dad normally doesn't give gifts, but when he does they tend to be kick arse.) I've worn the watch since then and it's been with me everywhere — from Paris to Barcelona to the little Mexican food joint next to the dealnews office. However, back in August, I made the mistake of keeping it on while going for a dip in the ocean. Immediately after, the lens fogged up and it stopped ticking. (I'm guessing the lens was scratched and water seeped in.)

So I bought it to the Tourneau store on Columbus where I knew they would fix it for free, but unfortunately, they couldn't. They told me they no longer made that model and instead offered me to "trade-up." I asked how much they would give me for the watch, but they wouldn't tell me. Instead the rep told me to pick a new watch I liked and "then we would talk." Mind you, none of the watches at the store had a price tag. Suddenly I felt like I was at a car dealership, so I took took my watch to Macy's, where I knew they also repaired watches. Unfortunately, they told me the same thing. They no longer make the part that I need.

So I began to research Tourneau's "trade-up" policy online. Nada. I know it exists (they mention it on their website), but there's almost no information on it. However, with a little Google magic, I found a few details and it appears it involves some haggling. I hate haggling. I'm horrible at it. I always feel guilty that I'm cheating someone out of a salary and some parent isn't gonna be able to buy dinner for their children 'cause of my haggling. So here's what I found online.

When doing a trade-up at Tourneau, the more expensive your new watch is, the more you'll get for your old watch. The "cheaper" your new watch is, the less you'll get. And they only tell you the value of your old watch after selecting a new one. Now the problem is, most of their watches are $1,500 and up. Way too expensive for my wallet. (I saw a few in the $600 range, but I wasn't crazy about them.) So for the moment, I'm stuck.

I noticed Tourneau has a Facebook page and they list sales/discounts via their page. Back in July they had a 50% off sale storewide. (Wow!) Although I don't want to trade-up, I feel like I have no choice. So I'm hoping for a good Black Friday/Xmas sale and maybe then I'll decide what to do. And if I trade-up, I'll post again on how easy/painful it was.