Trusty return took longer than the sale

I ordered a Datejust 126200 from Trusty Time in January, paid Andrew by card, and landed in the EUR 300 to 350 band. Photographs took six days, delivery another twelve, and the watch arrived with a crown that would not engage consistently. Before somebody tells me to push harder, I had already owned one Datejust and I did not fancy stripping this one on its first evening. I sent a short video and asked for a return. That part was accepted in two days. Getting a clear answer about postage and the remedy took another week of little messages, each answering half of what I had asked. I finally sent it back under the agreed instructions, retained the receipt and waited. Then waited some more. Andrew confirmed receipt after I asked, said a replacement was being checked, and sent photographs nine days later. The replacement arrived yesterday and the crown works normally. Total time from reporting the fault to holding a working watch was thirty-three days. My postage was credited as agreed, so financially the arrangement was honoured. I am relieved rather than delighted. I had one bad buying experience before this and chose a familiar dealer name because I wanted fewer unknowns. The outcome is acceptable, but anyone describing a return as easy ought to say whether they mean easy to request or easy to finish. Those were very different things in my case.

I keep card receipts and every written promise for exactly this reason. A replacement that works is a fair ending, but thirty-three days without a clear sequence would wear me down. Did the postage credit actually appear on the card, or was it credit against a future purchase? That distinction matters to me.

It appeared against the card transaction, not as a voucher. I would not have called it honoured if I had to order another watch to use it. I should have made that clearer in the first post. I am keeping the replacement and giving the hobby a rest for a while.