All original watches ship in a sealed box. If you find your box seal to be tampered or if it looks used, DO NOT USE IT. Just contact the reseller and arrange for a new one.
I remember once I ordered a Fenix 7 (non-pro) and it came in a sealed box. Then I returned it and bought a F7 Pro from an official garmin dealer, and I received an unsealed box. There was no seal at all, and no trace of it on the box. And this wasn't the first time I received an unsealed garmin box (always from an authorised garmin dealer), although now I cannot remember which model it was.
So an unsealed box doesn't necessarily mean there is something wrong with the package.
In that case, it has to be specifically indicated that this is an open-box item, but new/unused and still carries the original warranty. If not, what is the guarantee you are getting a good piece? I have seen Garmin watches without a seal, but as mentioned they are specified as open-box. Chime in your opinion.
it has to be specifically indicated that this is an open-box item
Not if it originally shipped without a seal. Where I live there is no law requiring to ship electronics in sealed boxes. And I am quite sure the piece I got never had any seal on the box, because there is no trace of it on the box.
It is also worth mentioning that the retailer that I'm talking about also sells items that have been purchased previously, unpacked, and returned by the customer. But they are always clearly marked as "returned" and usually sold at a discount. So this is not the same as brand new unsealed box.
If not, what is the guarantee you are getting a good piece?
None. But a seal does not guarantee it either.
So, perhaps it is region-specific, but for some reason some models are shipped in sealed boxes, other models are shipped in unsealed boxes. By "unsealed" I mean there was no seal to begin with, and not that the seal has been tampered with or removed.
I understand your point and I do think it is region specific. Myself and my friend got our watch from Amazon US and it was sealed, I later got my 2nd watch (Venu 3) from Taiwan and it was sealed too. I am not sure about other regions, but US does have open-box too and Best Buy and Amazon sometimes indicate the open-box items, which is why I made that suggestion.
It would be nice if Garmin shows when the device was first registered (not sure if Garmin displays it anywhere on website?), in that case it would be easy to identify if it was already registered with previous account and returned or if it is a new unit that has never been used.
We just ordered a new(?) Venu 3s direct from the Garmin website after receiving one from a vender in an unsealed box. Unfortunately, the one sent by Garmin was also in an unsealed box. What’s up with this? Not happy at all.
