Tracking
The carrier's electronic record of a shipment's location and milestone events from pickup through delivery. Required for proof of dispatch, dispute resolution, and tax-relevant export proof on cross-border watch shipments.
Tracking is the carrier's electronic record of a shipment's progress from pickup through final delivery. For watches, tracking is non-negotiable infrastructure: it provides proof of dispatch, proof of delivery, dispute evidence, and tax-relevant export confirmation on cross-border shipments.
What tracking should capture
- Pickup confirmation with timestamp and location.
- Intermediate transit milestones (departure scan, transit hub scan, arrival in destination country, customs clearance, out for delivery).
- Final delivery with timestamp, location, and signature image where available.
- Exception events if any occur (delivery attempt, address correction, customs hold).
Major couriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS) all provide real-time tracking via web portal and API. For high-value shipments via specialised carriers (Brink's, Ferrari Group), tracking may be more granular but is sometimes shared only on request rather than via public portal.
Why tracking matters for dealers
Three operational uses:
- Proof of dispatch for the buyer. A tracking number sent to the buyer at the moment of pickup eliminates "is it shipped yet?" anxiety and reduces buyer-initiated disputes.
- Insurance and claims evidence. Tracking events form the timeline of any subsequent loss or damage claim. Carrier claims teams require tracking-event logs as part of the claim.
- Tax-relevant proof. For intra-community supplies, tracking confirms the goods crossed the EU border. For Drittland exports, tracking confirms export when paired with the ATLAS confirmation. A tracking event "delivered in another EU country" is part of the bundled evidence for VAT exemption.
Tracking and platform escrow
Platforms like Chrono24 Trusted Checkout integrate tracking automatically:
- The seller enters the tracking number at dispatch.
- The platform monitors the tracking events and releases the escrow funds after delivery confirmation plus a buyer inspection window.
- If tracking shows non-delivery or anomaly, the platform can hold funds while the dispute is resolved.
This pattern is the standard for high-value online watch transactions and is supported by escrow-style payment services elsewhere too.
Common dealer practices
- Send tracking immediately on pickup. Not at the end of the day, not the next morning.
- Photograph the parcel before pickup with the label visible. This is your evidence that the watch was actually in the box you handed over.
- Archive tracking logs for at least 6 months past delivery (longer if the watch could be returned or disputed under platform terms).
- For cross-border shipments, save the full tracking history alongside the customs export confirmation as a single archived bundle.
Related: insured-shipping, customs, ausfuhrlieferung, escrow.