How Much????

I, too, have a Citizen Ecodrive wstch so no batteries needed. My husband has a Tag Hueur and while he was in England for medical treatment the jeweller wanted £80 to put in a new battery. When I visited him I brought the watch back with me and took it to the Tag Hueur agent jewellers and it was replaced as before for €5. As long as the jeweller has the correct tool it is silly to agree to pay £80 for battery change because how many of us need the waterproof seal.

One piece of advice I was given was that if you use more than one watch for different occasions pull the winder fully out when not using the watch and you won't be using the battery. Ok you have to reset the watch when you want to wear it but the battery will last much longer

What's butter got to do batteries? Needs a food prices thread

Do beware of batteries bought from £1 shops I bought a set of good brand name batteries for my cycle lights and by the time I d cycled home about 2 miles at most they had gone dim and were pegging out

No, definitely 500g block of butter, just checked again. I will tell you what price it is when I shop tomorrow.

Envious, if the watch is useless as it is, I would change the battery myself, it can't be rocket science and any warranty is long gone.

I inherited my late mothers Omega from the 1970's. I took it to their store in the mall to get a battery. They made a big fuss over it since it was so "old" and looked it up in this huge book of their history of watches.They had to send it away to install one which I was told was how they handle battery replacements. Later received a email saying to replace the battery and usual maintence would cost me 1,000 dollars!!! So I had to ask them just to send it back. Such a shame to have such a lovely watch I can't wear unless it's just for show.

I also used one of these kiosks for a replacement battery, but this was in the centre of a shopping mall. The price of the battery was exorbitant and they managed to break the glass of my (Gucci) watch, and wanted to send it away for replacement. They said they wouldn't charge me for this! Anyway, I told them that I wouldn't leave my gold watch with them and that I would get the glass replaced at a jeweller. They told me that it would have to be sent back to Gucci for repair, and it would cost them in excess of £50. Anyway, they refunded the cost of the battery (and didn't remove it from the watch), and I took the watch to my local jeweller, who happens to be a Gucci accredited jeweller, and the glass was replaced within half-an-hour, at a charge of £15. My advice is, don't go to these 'pop-up' repairers.

£80 for 5 years , I'll settle for 33p every 3 years, but I guess if you can afford an Omega ......

Don't you mean 250g? That is the normal size of a packet of butter.

It's a ludicrous price for a watch battery, especially if you have more than one watch and a more dressy one to wear when you go out to a special evening or event, which means you might rarely wear it and I would definitely resent paying that. I took my watch into a jeweller near where I work in Southend on Sea and they wanted to charge £5. This must have been a couple of years ago. I did not let them do it. There is a small indoor market in my town and a stall in there which sells jewellery does them for £2! They used to charge £1.50 till about a year or two ago. My brother always takes his family's watches there to have new batteries fitted. The batteries probably cost peanuts. As for not wearing a watch because we have mobile phones, well I don't want to have to keep getting my phone out to check the time. I much prefer to wear a watch.
One thing I really resent paying out for is re-heeling on shoes. A lot of places charge £7-£8 which is outrageous. I have been going to the same place for years near where I work and they now charge £5.50. Still a lot for a little bit of rubber, but obviously you're paying for the service.

My Omega watch battery costs £80 but does last five years.

My least favourite price rise was that of the awesome Waitrose bakery counter mince pie which went from 60pence to £1 and then £1.20 within a year.

My Swiss watch.... a present.... required, some years ago, a charge of £45 just to open it and 'look' They decided it would have to be sent to Switzerland to be dealt with. My local jewellers found a key to open it and charged £6.00 for a battery and all worked very well. Where is the rhyme or reason in any of the pricing mentioned?. It seems, also , to be on a need-to-know basis as F Hind never mentioned any such offer to me. I would willingly have paid a few pounds more to avoid the hassle

No. Instead you should have bought on Amazon and had it delivered at no cost the next day.

Last time I replaced a watch battery I was given a choice of paying one price for one battery or a higher price for a "battery for life" I opted for the latter as I only need to get one more to be better off and if the watch keeps going I'll never have to pay again. I have a card with which to claim a battery as required which I keep in my purse so I can always lay my hands on it. I guess they make money from people who lose the card or forget they have it!

My watch is waterproof and Debenhams said they couldn't change the battery. I took it to a local jeweller who kept it for three weeks - how long does it take to change a battery? He charged me £15! The next time it needed changing I took it to another one who did it while I waited and charged £2. And it's still waterproof.

The shop I go to charges 10 pounds for a battery replacement, but you get a 2 year guarantee for that, and the last time I had it done was over 3 years ago, so that to me is good value. My dggd went to a shop which charged 5 pounds, but the battery only lasted 7 months.

My DH bought a watch for £10 which was brilliant. Trouble was he broke the glass and the cheapest to replace it was £25. Needless to say he bought another watch for a tenner.

My watch has a self winding mechanical movement, so wearing it winds it!

I had one fitted last year on local market when I was in Town - £3 & he set it to right time.

Biggest rip off is when you have car serviced & they want to replace battery in fob - every 12 months!!! I only do low mileage & mine is now over 4 years old on same battery. I get round this by taking spare keys which I rarely use so I decline offer. Last one I did have replaced was 5 years ago & it cost £9.

If you have a 'F Hind' by where you live, they have a scheme where you pay £8 or £9 and it's for the lifetime of the watch, you just take it in with the receipt & get a new one.

I also went into a well known kiosk in Tesco dept i needed a new battery for my car phob £8!!! the following week I found a pack of 8 in a discount store for 99p never again rip off

You have to be careful with watch backs. After I took my gold watch to a shop the back fell off whilst I was on holiday. It cost me £300 to replace it. I only managed to claim £100 back on insurance.That was to have battery replaced. We did not realise what it was when we saw it on the floor. Thought it was something off the base of a furniture leg. When we realised and contacted the hotel the following day. They had chucked it in the rubbish.

No I've been buying for £1.60 for quite a few months, one Saturday it was just up 45p from the previous Saturday.

Try Timpsons if you have one nearby. They seem like a really good organisation - they help young offenders etc etc, and you pay £12.99 to have a battery fitted and that's it - you have free batteries thereafter. I moved house and mislaid my card, went into the Timpsons here, fully prepared to pay again but bemoaned the fact that I had lost my card. The man took my word and fitted one free! I have since found my card. Well worth it - two batteries and you are already saving.

Get a citizen ecodrive watch - never had an issue with the battery lol!

Timpsons is a great deal when you buy a lifetime battery change card from them.Had mine changed three times so far.