One of the commonest questions asked on the forum is "Which TD should I buy xxxxx from"  The commonest answer is "Fuck off and do your research".  The second commonest answer is "Any TD can get you that watch"  However, I believe that it's more complex than that and the following are my personal thoughts. It's not quite true that all dealers can get the same watch, but most definitely not all dealers provide the same service.  First, while most dealers can get any watch on the market, there are one or two that don't offer that service.  BK, for example supplies a limited range of upgraded models; Narikaa sources his watches from Thailand, and again supplies a limited range.  The China based dealers can, however get pretty well anything that's repped.  Some big guys have huge websites which claim to offer just about every watch on the market.  The smaller dealers generally have poor, or no, websites, but can still get pretty well any watch, and are more amenable to finding you the "out of production" model you may seek. The general advice is to send details of what you want, with a photograph, and see if it's available.  A common complaint is ordering from a website, only to find (after paying) that the watch isn't actually available, whatever the website seems to say. On my second point, there are some major differences between the dealers.  All are trusted, but they will also follow their terms and conditions. (You may have to do a bit of digging here.  Some quote them in their section of the forum, and some only in their websites)  Some dealers will cover customs seizures and some won't.  If you go with the latter, they may be cheaper, but if your watch is seized, it's no good complaining to a moderator that the dealer is complying with the T&Cs by refusing a replacement.  Some offer triangular shipping to avoid difficult customs areas, (and charge more for the shipping) and some don't.  Of those who don't, some will flatly refuse to send a watch to a difficult customs area; others will send it but it's tough if it get seized.  Some offer wholesale prices where the watch you get is as it comes from the factory with no QC checks by the dealer, and no recourse if the watch is DOA;  or you can pay more and get the checks.  Reviews show very different approaches to the QC process.   Some dealers wait for you to accept QC before sending the watch.  At least one only gives you 24 hours from the time they send the QC, and then automatically send the watch if you haven't replied.  If you then find something you don't like - tough - you had your 24 hours so you're now deemed by them to have been fully satisfied.   Some are reported to be very thorough: some are quite cursory.  At least one dealer has been known to reject a watch at the QC stage, before sending QC pics, as they didn't consider the watch worth sending to the buyer, and replaced it without further ado.  (And as a buyer, you need to be clear why we have a QC process.  Read in the sig below)  EDIT 2019.  I've seen reports of faults on watches where the offending area was "accidentally" not shown on QC Pics.  Make sure that all parts are visible on the pictures, and ask for more if unsure.  In particular, I always ask for the date set to 28 which is the best for showing date wheel off-centering, and for the hands at 10.10, and 8.20 to make sure there is nothing obscured on the dial.  This also gives confidence that the QC pic is of a watch in front of them, and not some stock photo.  Also, be very wary of Timegrapher pictures.  There have been several reports of these being faked, with a couple of examples of different watches with exactly the same Timegrapher display.  How do you do that?  Have a look here. https://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?/topic/101188-how-to-turn-a-low-beat-invicta-with-crap-timekeeping-into-a-high-beat-within-cosc-standards-using-only-a-timegrapher-and-10-mins-of-time/&tab=comments#comment-1616736   There is also the question of warranty.  One dealer gives a full year warranty, one gives a 6 month warranty on the movement, but specifically excludes parts such as bracelet, crystal, crown etc.  Some don't offer any form of warranty (although there are reports of such dealers undertaking repairs FOC, even without the warranty being in the T&Cs)  If this is important, it's always best to check with the dealer to get in writing what is or isn't covered.  Moderators can't help with a claim for something that is excluded in the T&Cs, and you won't get much support here either. Some will take paypal, some credit cards and most will take WU, often giving a discount that will cover the cost of sending the money.  Don't be surprised if dealers won't take PP for new customers.  The forum is full of tales of purchasers charging back PP to scam the dealer.  And when that happens, the dealer may well have their PP account frozen, affecting all the other members who have payments going through.  Personally, I use WU paying in cash at my local outlet.  I've bought dozens that way, and never had a problem and the discounts often make this the cheapest payment method. Where a dealer takes PP, it is usual to add together the cost of the watch, and shipping, and then charge a percentage to cover the PP charges.  5% is a typical figure.  If you pay by CC or bank transfer, don't be surprised by the extra charges added at each end to cover international payment and currency exchange and you will probably have to pay all of these charges.  (The dealer expects to end up with the quoted price in his/her pocket.  You cover all the extras and these can be significant)   If you ask for a refund, don't be surprised to get back less than you paid.  If a watch is $200 that's what the dealer expects to get.  You will have to pay any and all processing charges, so you may end up paying , say $210 including processing.  The dealer refund will only be the original $200, and then, from that, you will have to pay the processing charges coming bsck.  So you end up with $190, having paid out $210.  Suck it up.  If you aren't prepared for that, you can buy a different watch, and you'll get the $200 credited to it.  If you're still not happy, find a different hobby. Using a Trusted Dealer means that you will be treated fairly, and get the watch you ordered at the price you paid, in accordance with the stated terms and conditions. or an acceptable alternative deal, with the recourse of going to a moderator for arbitration if something goes wrong..  But you still have to do your research. So the answer to the question is "The very best TD for you is the one that can get the watch you want, at a price you like, with T&Cs that you are comfortable with"  And only you can decide that. Edit.  Updated 22 Feb 18.