CONSUMER WARNING! Do not buy Swisst bands or products

[beanbaguk]

I want to warn all MacRumor readers.

A short while ago I purchased an Ultra 2 Apple Watch.

I wanted a casual day to day strap and Swisst kept coming up on Google. I dropped $49 on what was meant to be a premium band with titanium connectors.

What I received was a cheap AliExpress band worth no more than $10.

The “titanium” parts were actually steel (I tested it with a magnet and they stuck to it like glue), and instead of a clasp, I received a buckle instead. Also steel and polished so none of the metal matched to my Ultra 2 case.

Add to the fact it came in generic packaging with nothing mentioning Swisst. It was obviously ordered from AliExpress or similar.

After contacting Swisst asking for a full refund, they offered 50% back which I declined.

They offered a full refund but only if I returned the item to the US. (I live in Spain so tracked postage would be another $50).

I ask they pay for postage and eventually settled for a 70% refund.

I still felt scammed as I ended up with something that is now in the bin.

Read the reviews. Swisst is full of negative comments.

Buyers are simply resold massively inflated cheap AliExpress products. Not just straps but all of it.

Short of the long, they are like cockroaches over Google when searching for Apple Watch straps.

Avoid them like the plague.

 

[beanbaguk]

I should add that while it wasn’t cheap, I did buy a Bandwerk strap.

One word. Amazing.

Real titanium fittings. Quality materials and beautifully made.

Highly recommend!

 

[mikedop]

could have just gotten a trail loop on ebay for $30 or something.

but, yeah, any company that claims to make its own bands is more than likely just shipping in aliexpress bands.

 

[beanbaguk]

could have just gotten a trail loop on ebay for $30 or something.

but, yeah, any company that claims to make its own bands is more than likely just shipping in aliexpress bands.

I don't like any of the fabric bands. Both the alpine and trail loop are horrible for exercise, as they just soak up sweat and become soggy on your wrist. Awful.

The ocean band is probably the ideal exercise band as it's comfortable, can be cleaned and dried very quickly and is also ideal for swimming.

For day to day use, I prefer a leather, or weave strap as it makes the watch look a lot smarter. I have also ordered a leather "Berlin" strap from Bandwerk for more formal days, but I also have a couple of mechanical watches that I use on elegant nights or events.

However, back to the story. Avoid Swisst like the plague. Terrible company.

 

[laptech]

I am curious, if the company has a lot of negative reviews why did you buy from them?

 

[beanbaguk]

I am curious, if the company has a lot of negative reviews why did you buy from them?

I honestly didn't do my research properly. I saw numerous ads as they came up in every search. I read the on-site reviews, and I even found some YouTube videos, so while looking for straps, at 1am, I pulled the trigger without doing my full diligence.

In hindsight, the YouTube videos are made by Swisst and are therefore fake, and the off-site reviews are dreadful once you search for them.

I'm only trying to be a good Samaritan and protect others from my mistakes, but if you want to try it out yourself, give it a go. Just note, you can buy the same garbage item from AliExpress for about a fifth of the cost.

 

[Sieghard]

I want to warn all MacRumor readers.

A short while ago I purchased an Ultra 2 Apple Watch.

I wanted a casual day to day strap and Swisst kept coming up on Google. I dropped $49 on what was meant to be a premium band with titanium connectors.

What I received was a cheap AliExpress band worth no more than $10.

The “titanium” parts were actually steel (I tested it with a magnet and they stuck to it like glue), and instead of a clasp, I received a buckle instead. Also steel and polished so none of the metal matched to my Ultra 2 case.

Add to the fact it came in generic packaging with nothing mentioning Swisst. It was obviously ordered from AliExpress or similar.

After contacting Swisst asking for a full refund, they offered 50% back which I declined.

They offered a full refund but only if I returned the item to the US. (I live in Spain so tracked postage would be another $50).

I ask they pay for postage and eventually settled for a 70% refund.

I still felt scammed as I ended up with something that is now in the bin.

Read the reviews. Swisst is full of negative comments.

Buyers are simply resold massively inflated cheap AliExpress products. Not just straps but all of it.

Short of the long, they are like cockroaches over Google when searching for Apple Watch straps.

Avoid them like the plague.

Hi, just came across this when I was doing a Google search for directions on how to install my Swisst Silicon band. I purchased the Titanium band from Swisst a few weeks ago and really like it. I wonder if you ended up getting something which was not even from Swisst because my Titanium band definitely has a clasp and in my opinion a very nice one with a very good locking mechanism. I did not check for magnetism when I received it, but after reading your warning I grabbed a very strong rare earth magnet and moved it all over the band from one end to the other including the clasp and the band I received is not magnetic even just the tiniest bit. It's also all black and matches my Apple Watch Ultra 2 well; all in all I think it's a very good band, it feels like quality and it also came with several additional links and a little tool in case you had to make it longer or shorter. I live in Canada and was able to change the currency to Canadian Dollars and based on the tracking the band also shipped from Canada. I bought it on November 4 this year for $84 Canadian and while I can't remember the regular price, I do remember that was a fairly decent discount and considering any of the Apple bands cost $129 Canadian I am happy with that price. I placed the order on a Saturday, I received the ship notification on Monday, November 6 and the band was delivered on Thursday, November 17. I do get things faster some times, but I live in a remote location in Northern BC and it does take longer and there was also a holiday in that time; the tracking number was from Canada Post and it showed the shipper as UBI Smart Parcel Canada Ltd. and a google search showed me that "UBI Smart Parcel is part of the UBI Logistics Limited Group founded in 1991, the company provides international parcel delivery services.". So once again, everything was perfect for me and I just received the orange Swisst Silicon band which has also Titanium hardware, it seems to be good quality as well, everything is nicely finished and I'll see how I like it.

 

[beanbaguk]

Hi, just came across this when I was doing a Google search for directions on how to install my Swisst Silicon band. I purchased the Titanium band from Swisst a few weeks ago and really like it. I wonder if you ended up getting something which was not even from Swisst because my Titanium band definitely has a clasp and in my opinion a very nice one with a very good locking mechanism. I did not check for magnetism when I received it, but after reading your warning I grabbed a very strong rare earth magnet and moved it all over the band from one end to the other including the clasp and the band I received is not magnetic even just the tiniest bit. It's also all black and matches my Apple Watch Ultra 2 well; all in all I think it's a very good band, it feels like quality and it also came with several additional links and a little tool in case you had to make it longer or shorter. I live in Canada and was able to change the currency to Canadian Dollars and based on the tracking the band also shipped from Canada. I bought it on November 4 this year for $84 Canadian and while I can't remember the regular price, I do remember that was a fairly decent discount and considering any of the Apple bands cost $129 Canadian I am happy with that price. I placed the order on a Saturday, I received the ship notification on Monday, November 6 and the band was delivered on Thursday, November 17. I do get things faster some times, but I live in a remote location in Northern BC and it does take longer and there was also a holiday in that time; the tracking number was from Canada Post and it showed the shipper as UBI Smart Parcel Canada Ltd. and a google search showed me that "UBI Smart Parcel is part of the UBI Logistics Limited Group founded in 1991, the company provides international parcel delivery services.". So once again, everything was perfect for me and I just received the orange Swisst Silicon band which has also Titanium hardware, it seems to be good quality as well, everything is nicely finished and I'll see how I like it.

New member. One post.

I’d say you are from Swisst.

Your post is way too detailed and smells of fake.

And why would person sign up just to post this. You are shameless.

For everyone else, just look at the reviews. These are garbage bands that can be purchased from AliExpress for a fraction of the price.

 

[beanbaguk]

If you don’t believe me, read the review on scam advisor.

swisst.com Reviews | check if the site is a scam or legit| Scamadviser

Check swisst.com with our free review tool and find out if swisst.com is legit and reliable. Need advice? ✓ Report scams ✓ Check Scamadviser!

www.scamadviser.com

Or perhaps Trustpilot

Thewisst is rated "Poor" with 1.8 / 5 on Trustpilot

Do you agree with Thewisst's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 43 customers have already said.

www.trustpilot.com

The amusing part is the pile of 5* reviews from mostly people with no past reviews.

Pure smell of scam.

 

[Sieghard]

New member. One post.

I’d say you are from Swisst.

Your post is way too detailed and smells of fake.

And why would person sign up just to post this. You are shameless.

One thing I must admit is that I had not checked the site with Scam Advisor or a similar site and I agree that what you say is entirely true. But here is what is not true and you should maybe not accuse people of stuff you can't know:

1. I do not work for Swisst
2. Just because I wrote my honest impression and review of the product this does not automatically make it "smell of fake".
3. You are correct, I saw your review and was wondering if you may have been scammed by a site pretending to be Swisst so yes, I did sign up with the purpose to post my review of the product. I don't see anything shameful about this, I read content on Mac Rumors regularly and while I have not posted to their forum, maybe I would like to again and just you signed up a long time ago that doesn't mean you didn't sign up once and that you didn't once post your first message.

As for me being fake, please Google "Sieghard Weitzel Smithers BC Canada".
That is my name and where I live, I am blind and own a retail store here which next April will have been here for 24 years. Smithers is a small town in northwestern British Columbia and being the only blind person with a guide dog here means that a lot of people know me. In fact, you can call most stores along our little Main Street from Shopper's Drug Mart to Pharmasave and KitchenWorks to the Sausage Factory and ask if Sieghard Weitzel is a real person and you'll get an answer. And if you happen to get some young casheer at Shoppers who may or may not know my name, just tell them "it's the blind guy with the yellow lab guide dog".
If you do this Google search you will also find my Facebook page, feel free to send me a private message and I would be happy to start a Messenger Video call with you and show you what Swisst has sent me and that what I received is indeed Titanium. And if you still don't believe me look up a picture of my store front on our store's Facebook page and I'd be happy to do a live video call with you where I stand there. Maybe you still think I am fake, but I doubt any bot or some person in China, India or wherever would write up this paragraph; at least you would probably notice a few language issues. "Natürlich könnte ich Dir auch in Deutsch schreiben, denn ich bin dort geboren und erst nach Kanada gekommen als ich 22 Jahre alt war". This translates to "I could of course also write you in German since that is where I was born and I only came to Canada when I was 22 years old". Let's see if a bot or scammer is going to that length to proove his authenticity, but now of course maybe I was again way too detailed for you to believe me which of course is your problem.

As for Swisst, maybe next time I order from an unknown site I will in fact check Scam Advisor, but as for my two recent transactions, they seemed all on the up and up and I feel that I received what was advertised. In fact, I did just leave a review about my Titanium band since they sent me an email asking for one. I rarely do reviews, but in this case I did because the only thing I am not perfectly happy with is the fit/adjustment of the Titanium band. I asked my wife to take out some links when I received it, but after a few days found it was a little tight so she put back one link, but while it's now more comfortable, it's almost a little too loose and it slides back and forth a bit. In my review I said that it would be nice if they could find a way to allow for a little additional adjustability, almost like for half what you get with emoving or inserting an extra link.

 

[beanbaguk]

1. I do not work for Swisst
2. Just because I wrote my honest impression and review of the product this does not automatically make it "smell of fake".
3. You are correct, I saw your review and was wondering if you may have been scammed by a site pretending to be Swisst so yes, I did sign up with the purpose to post my review of the product. I don't see anything shameful about this, I read content on Mac Rumors regularly and while I have not posted to their forum, maybe I would like to again and just you signed up a long time ago that doesn't mean you didn't sign up once and that you didn't once post your first message.

As for me being fake, please Google "Sieghard Weitzel Smithers BC Canada".
That is my name and where I live, I am blind and own a retail store here which next April will have been here for 24 years. Smithers is a small town in northwestern British Columbia and being the only blind person with a guide dog here means that a lot of people know me. In fact, you can call most stores along our little Main Street from Shopper's Drug Mart to Pharmasave and KitchenWorks to the Sausage Factory and ask if Sieghard Weitzel is a real person and you'll get an answer. And if you happen to get some young casheer at Shoppers who may or may not know my name, just tell them "it's the blind guy with the yellow lab guide dog".
If you do this Google search you will also find my Facebook page, feel free to send me a private message and I would be happy to start a Messenger Video call with you and show you what Swisst has sent me and that what I received is indeed Titanium. And if you still don't believe me look up a picture of my store front on our store's Facebook page and I'd be happy to do a live video call with you where I stand there. Maybe you still think I am fake, but I doubt any bot or some person in China, India or wherever would write up this paragraph; at least you would probably notice a few language issues. "Natürlich könnte ich Dir auch in Deutsch schreiben, denn ich bin dort geboren und erst nach Kanada gekommen als ich 22 Jahre alt war". This translates to "I could of course also write you in German since that is where I was born and I only came to Canada when I was 22 years old". Let's see if a bot or scammer is going to that length to proove his authenticity, but now of course maybe I was again way too detailed for you to believe me which of course is your problem.

As for Swisst, maybe next time I order from an unknown site I will in fact check Scam Advisor, but as for my two recent transactions, they seemed all on the up and up and I feel that I received what was advertised. In fact, I did just leave a review about my Titanium band since they sent me an email asking for one. I rarely do reviews, but in this case I did because the only thing I am not perfectly happy with is the fit/adjustment of the Titanium band. I asked my wife to take out some links when I received it, but after a few days found it was a little tight so she put back one link, but while it's now more comfortable, it's almost a little too loose and it slides back and forth a bit. In my review I said that it would be nice if they could find a way to allow for a little additional adjustability, almost like for half what you get with emoving or inserting an extra link.

I'm sure if I changed my username to Ben Affleck, I could be him too on MacRumors. You'd even be able to google the name and probably find the Instagram feed too. (I also speak German too, so no translation needed, and why that has anything to do with your frankly, bizarre post is just beyond me).

The fact is, I don't believe you.

Swisst is a scam company, period, and their products are not genuine. They are merely generic bands from AliExpress, sold for exorbitant prices.

The fact that you are providing so much detail is typical scammer behaviour. It's too fake.

 

[Sieghard]

OK, no problem, nothing much I can do about this, in fact, I was hoping you wouldn't take me up on my offer to chat on Facebook Messenger because it's not like I'm not busy owning a retail store before Christmas. I know who I am and what I said abou tthe Titanium band I received is true, it's not magnetic and it feels like a nice product, that is the end of it. Depending on how things work out with that Rubber band I bought for swimming/water use I may want to return it to Swisst although after reading their refund policy, I wouldn't be mad at them if they said it wasn't possible. They do mention that there are no refunds on sale items and since I did buy it on sale, I would understand if they said No. I have the same policy at my retail store, items which are on sale are final sale or at least would only qualify for an exchange or store credit. Anyways, take care and hopefully you won't be taken in again down the road. Of course you also did not say if you bought the band at full price or on sale and if you read their refund policy before you placed the order. Not everybody is as stupid as Amazon which will take back almost everything only to throw it in the garbage or sell it to some liquidation outfit for pennies on the Dollar. At least in that case it is still sold and hopefully used for a while before it becomes part of the world's garbage issue.

 

[Mackilroy]

I'm sure if I changed my username to Ben Affleck, I could be him too on MacRumors. You'd even be able to google the name and probably find the Instagram feed too. (I also speak German too, so no translation needed, and why that has anything to do with your frankly, bizarre post is just beyond me).

The fact is, I don't believe you.

Swisst is a scam company, period, and their products are not genuine. They are merely generic bands from AliExpress, sold for exorbitant prices.

The fact that you are providing so much detail is typical scammer behaviour. It's too fake.

I can't comment on whether or not Swisst is a scam (though I did recently buy an Apple Watch and will be avoiding them), but there *is* someone named Sieghard Weitzel in British Columbia. There's always the possibility that someone is using his identity and counting on nobody being serious enough to look into it, but food for thought.

 

[beanbaguk]

I can't comment on whether or not Swisst is a scam (though I did recently buy an Apple Watch and will be avoiding them), but there *is* someone named Sieghard Weitzel in British Columbia. There's always the possibility that someone is using his identity and counting on nobody being serious enough to look into it, but food for thought.

I actually will contact that individual as I can’t stand the audaciousness of the OP. None of their post makes any sense.

In the meantime, I highly recommend a company called Bandwerk. I have three of their straps, and they are amazing. You pay for it though! They’re not cheap.

 

[Sieghard]

Look forward to speaking with you. As I said, you can contact me via my Facebook page or just look up the phone number for my store, Outdoor Essentials, which I am sure you found links to in the article when I received my new guide dog in 2015, when you call you can listen to the menu (my voice) and select the appropriate option for my direct extension or you can simply dial it, it's 101. But if you are in Spain please keep in mind that there is a 9 hour time difference to the westcoast of North America and my store is open from 9 AM until 6 PM so you'd have to call after 6 PM your time and while I am bilingual in German and English, I don't speak Spanish, but from your posts it seems your English is quite OK. By the way, I have been to Spain twice. First time was in 1989 after I graduated High School and before I moved to Canada to start University. My Uncle had a home near Chiclana and I took the train from Frankfurt to Paris, from there to Madrid and then on to Seville where my Uncle and Aunt picked me up. It was a big adventure to take the train all the way and the Atlantic coast there was beautiful. I was back one more time with my then girl-friend and a friend from Germany and his girl-friend. We flew into Málaga, rented a car and drove up the coast to Granada, my visit to the Alhambra is still one of the highlights in my travels. Then we drove across via Cordoba and Seville and again visited my Uncle, then down to Gibraltar and back up to Málaga.

Anyways, talk to you tomorrow or whenever you get around to calling. And just FYI, I am actually starting to enjoy this and I wonder what else I have to do to convince you that I am real after you have me on the phone. In some way this is not even about this stupid watch band any more.

 

[beanbaguk]

I do plan to contact the so-called OP's store when it opens. (I am in Europe so TZ differences play a part here).

In the meantime, I see a lot of attempted damage limitation going on by Swisst at the moment. This is no surprise with Christmas coming up and the hope they will want to scam a more people than usual. (If you want Swisst products, just buy it direct from AliExpress for a fraction of the price. Same cheap, nasty product. A fraction of Swisst's pricing.

Anyway, this amused me. The 5th and 7th result (on page one when you Google for "swisst"). It speaks volumes:

Moreover, (and this is very interesting), the company claims to be in the US. In fact, when they asked me to return the fake watch band back to them, they gave me a US address, however on TrustPilot, they are listed as in Armenia...suspicious anybody?

P.S. I'm not going to give into these people. I don't take kindly to being scammed.

 

[arkitect]

I do plan to contact the so-called OP's store when it opens. (I am in Europe so TZ differences play a part here).

In the meantime, I see a lot of attempted damage limitation going on by Swisst at the moment. This is no surprise with Christmas coming up and the hope they will want to scam a more people than usual. (If you want Swisst products, just buy it direct from AliExpress for a fraction of the price. Same cheap, nasty product. A fraction of Swisst's pricing.

Anyway, this amused me. The 5th and 7th result (on page one when you Google for "swisst"). It speaks volumes:

Moreover, (and this is very interesting), the company claims to be in the US. In fact, when they asked me to return the fake watch band back to them, they gave me a US address, however on TrustPilot, they are listed as in Armenia...suspicious anybody?

P.S. I'm not going to give into these people. I don't take kindly to being scammed.

I got my Ultra 2 yesterday and I am already ankle deep in wrist strap acquisition syndrome. 🤣
I have my eye on a blue leather Bandwerk one so good to see you recommend them. A stiff price to be sure — and I suspect VAT to be dded on top of that.

However if you think these "fake" bands are a rip off wait till you try to buy a nice leather/canvas satchel!

So many companies position or advertise themselves as a premium local (UK in my case) company hand stitching the quality leather.
You know, handcrafted in the Cotwolds or Stitched by grannies in the Outer Hebrides etc etc yadda yadda…

Oh hang on! What's this? Exact same bag on AliExpress or eBay! 1/2 if not 1/4 of the price.
They just import wholesale, slap a huge margin on top and create a fancy website with loads of lifestyle photos.

*sigh*

Anyway, it pays to be vigilant.

 

[beanbaguk]

More warnings. Just look at the number of complaints to the Better Business Bureau

https://www.bbb.org/us/de/newark/profile/online-retailer/swisst-0251-92030197

Interesting, another address. It's like cat and mouse with this company.

• The BBB lists them at this address:
  • 4 Peddlers Row # 111
    Newark, DE 19702-1525
• This is their supposed return address that they sent to me.
  • Armen Poghosyan
    1622 E Ayre Street, ARM918013
    WILMINGTON, Delaware, 19804
    USA
• Trustpilot lists them in Armenia

I have also reached out and reported them to Shopify so they will at least investigate and hopefully shut down the store to prevent them from taking any more card payments.

I'm a dog with a bone on this now. I don't take kindly to being scammed if Swisst or one of their fake reviewers pops up, I'll simply counter it and make sure it's heavily visible on Google so others are warned.

 

[beanbaguk]

I got my Ultra 2 yesterday and I am already ankle deep in wrist strap acquisition syndrome. 🤣
I have my eye on a blue leather Bandwerk one so good to see you recommend them. A stiff price to be sure — and I suspect VAT to be dded on top of that.

However if you think these "fake" bands are a rip off wait till you try to buy a nice leather/canvas satchel!

So many companies position or advertise themselves as a premium local (UK in my case) company hand stitching the quality leather.
You know, handcrafted in the Cotwolds or Stitched by grannies in the Outer Hebrides etc etc yadda yadda…

Oh hang on! What's this? Exact same bag on AliExpress or eBay! 1/2 if not 1/4 of the price.
They just import wholesale, slap a huge margin on top and create a fancy website with loads of lifestyle photos.

*sigh*

Anyway, it pays to be vigilant.

I agree, Bandwerk are expensive, but they are genuinely good, and that's from first-hand experience. I have the "Honolulu" strap (I think it's that name), and I've just ordered and I am waiting for the Stockholm vintage strap in black. Both are beautifully made and feature genuine titanium metal parts. They colour match perfect with the Ultra, and give the watch a much smarter look.

In the grand scheme of things, their straps aren't too bad. I just ordered a replacement leather strap for my Heuer Carrera and that came in at 210eur and it was only the leather part!

I also bought a couple of cheap AliExpress bands too, but I've given them all away as they just look nasty. Much like the fake "Swisst" band I received. I gave that to a friend to use on his old Apple Watch series 7 and as he runs a pool maintenance company, he doesn't care if it looks crappy as it'll get banged up all the same.

I think the Nomad stuff is meant to be good too, but like you say when you buy online, you really don't know.

Ultimately, Swisst is total cheap garbage, and they present themselves as a premium brand, but it's all a scam, so at least you have the information you need to avoid them. (It wouldn't bother me so much had it only been a 50% inflated price on the original, and they were just honest and claimed the parts to be steel, but they lie about the materials used which is infuriating and deceitful, and the markup on the garbage product is over 500%.

An absolute pee-take.

 

[beanbaguk]

Some more dirt on this scam company. It turns out the person listed on the return address (Armen Poghosyan), was also the "CEO" of the failed Indigogo start-up "Lumzag". (See the video below).

They scammed hundreds in that campaign and walked away with over a million dollars of investment leaving many early adopters and investors very angry.

This is the same guy that scams you with Swisst's fake products.

Here's another piece of the scam. He is based (or claims to be based), in Armenia. (We're up to four different countries now!!!)

******************/person/armen-poghosyan

Here are the Trustpilot scores for that failed venture:
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.lumzag.com

And their "non-official" fan page:

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

Here's another scammy element. He claims his other company "Web Shutter" is based in the US, but the contact number is for Armenia:

******************/organization/webshutter-2

All the above companies claim to be "Active" on Crunchbase, yet, if you click on webshutter's domain, you get a big for sale sign!!!

This guy and his companies are just one big scam.

Avoid anything to do with this man and his associated scams like the plague.

 

[Motorheaderist]

Swisst.com scammed me too. Never got the product I paid for.

- Not too happy customer