Grandfather Clock and “Factory Direct” (frequently in conjunction with discounts) are two phrases frequently heard or read in the same sentence. But why would or should a clocks shopper care about whether a grandfather clock is shipped directly from the factory warehouse vs. being shipped from an individual retailer’s stock?

Grandfather Clocks direct from the factory warehouse do have some advantages, with grandfather clock discounts being secondary. The principle difference – and this is as true for a grandfather clocks as it is for a wall clock or mantel clock – is that the clock has to ship ONLY ONCE! Shipping a clock at any time in its life, even when it’s new and packed for hearty clock travel, increases the risk that the container in which it is shipped may be jostled, dropped, poked, pierced or partly crushed one too many times. The risk of an adjustment being needed to a grandfather clock at least doubles when the clock is shipped twice.

The other main advantage if factory direct grandfather clock shipments is that you know you are not buying a Floor Model or Floor Sample Model, or a Model that was used on a Road Show (similar to well-known Antiques Road Show, but traveling with New Grandfather Clocks as Display Models), and then re-packaged. While most retailers are ethical and will tell you – especially if asked – that the clock is not “factory fresh”, you are nonetheless likely to hear that “this grandfather clock is in mint condition”, or “no one but us has ever touched this grandfather clock”. While these may well be true statements, there is no denying that this is not equivalent to getting a brand new discounted granfather clock factory fresh that has only shipped that one time.

Here is one of our many favorite grandfather clocks.

Grandfather Clock by Howard Miller Clocks – Harper Grandfather Clock Model 610-919