My uncle decided to put his name on the list for a brand new stainless steel Daytona so he called the local jeweler here in Oklahoma. This is the same jeweler he bought his brand new no date sub from about a year ago (which only took him two months of waiting to get by the way).

He’s decided he wants to sell the sub once he’s able to get the Daytona. I explained to him he’s going to be waiting about five years but he was ok with that. When he called the jeweler, they told my uncle they were going to move him up past half the people already on the current wait list since 1. He’s already bought from them before 2. He’s been into the store in person and 3. He’s local.

Whenever he came into my office and told me this, I was in shock. He might only be on the list for two years before he gets his dream watch. Anyone else heard of this happening?

 

I don’t have a Rolex anymore but these wait lists I see you guys go through are bizarre to me. When I was at an omega AD in Boston they gave me this beautiful catalog quite thick and told me every watch in the book is still available and could be obtained in a months time or so. For all I know Rolex is in such high demand the wait list is justifiable but when you guys say it’s a marketing strategy and how people are moved on the list that also seems feasible. By the way if that is your uncles dream watch I hope he gets it soon

 

...these wait lists I see you guys go through are bizarre to me.

+1

This alleged Rolex shortage that occurred from one day to the next just doesn’t add up. This reeks of supply side manipulation. When a customer is excited about only having to wait two years for a product that comes from a sophisticated 21st century manufacturer my BS meter hits the stops. Russia, Cuba, Venezuela yes. Geneva, Switzerland? Hmmm!

 

There's a certain maker of premium refracting telescopes who has a waiting list of upwards of 10 years, and just started making a model of telescope that he hasn't made for 19 years that still had a waiting list he just finished clearing. But it's a little different from Rolex: he did the optical design, he tests each batch of glass and makes small changes to the coatings and cuts to make the best telescope possible, he turned the market for premium amateur telescopes on its head in the 1980s. So he couldn't just hire more people and increase production without changing the brand.

I'm not sure what Rolex's excuse is.

 

According to past Rolex advertising campaigns 'it takes a year to make a Rolex'. They wouldn't lie, I'm sure.

 

I have no idea why the supply of SS Rolex sports models can't keep with the demand. But my opinion, for whatever that's worth, i.e. not much, is that it has nothing to do with Rolex holding back watches, but rather a spike in demand. People wanting things they can't have. Turning certain models into a Veblen good maybe?

 

Everything that’s wrong with Rolex marketing/customer service right there. Ridiculous!

 

Supply questions aside, I think this is more or less how it should be done. ADs should give preference to local customers. They’re all getting calls all day long from people all over the world, so it’s really great when they chose to focus on local customers (I’ll stay naive and avoid thinking of what happens if they get caught selling to flippers).

If they’re true to their word, 2 years for a Daytona is good. I put my name down the day the ceramic was announced at Basel and it took me about 18 mo. The “shortage” on all steel is one thing, but the Daytona has had lists for much more time.

 

Not Rolex -- a 'local jeweler'...

 

Oh, it’s Rolex alright. You telling me something different would happen in a Rolex boutique? This attitude is all about Rolex. Great watches, terrible attitudes towards potential customers.

 

I had an insightful conversation with the local Rolex AD the other day. I asked what they thought about the supply and demand issues facing Rolex these days. In their opinion (I should emphasize that since it’s just their opinion) Rolex is maxed out with production. They could train more people, build more factories, and generally invest in production. But from a business point of view, does that make sense? It’s a very expensive proposition and this demand may not last. According to the AD, they saw the same thing with Panerai’s 10 years ago. They couldn’t keep them on the shelf. Now the showroom is flush with them.
And then they went on. Like all issues, in Seattle, they blame China. Why is housing so unaffordable, Chinese investors. Why aren’t there more Rolexes? Chinese demand by their newfound (relatively) wealth. They suspect as the demand out of Asia slows things will get back to normal.
Like I said, this is one AD’s opinion.

 

Interesting post, makes a lot of sense. I suppose it could all just be about demand rather than some underhanded policy. In which case, I’m fortunate that I personally have no demand for any modern Rolex (vintage is a whole other ball game though).

 

As I see it.

 

The supply and demand issue is easy.

They have no supply so there is a demand.

The they are making the same amount of watches and selling them faster is a myth in the Rolex world. No Boutiques have had SS tool watch stock for 2+ years

That’s nice for the half the people already on the list.


Really great thing to tell someone on a list.
“we moved you up the list”

I would hear
“ we fuck with people on the list a lot “

 

Or maybe he did not get moved at all. Who would know?

 

There are numerous luxury items that do take years on waiting lists for legitimate reasons. So perhaps the Rolex thing is reasonable but as others have pointed out this moving around the list seems strange. If someone wants to purchase one particular Rolex and is willing to wait, gets on a waiting list and is then knocked behind people who purchase more is a bit strange. I can see the other side of that coin from a business aspect and I have no skin in the game I honestly had no idea the situation is what it is until I joined here. I am curious of production increases and but Rolex isn’t a public company so they aren’t required to release that info. The other gentleman mentioned the part of Rolex not wanting to increase production with concerns over a global slowdown so it could be partly good business I guess. I can’t say as I am on the peripheral. They are good watches, you guys and girls put up great pictures. I wouldn’t turn one down but I’m quite happy with omega and the other decent Swiss and US watches. If it weren’t for my Rolex I wouldn’t have speedy so I thanks Rolex for that. I don’t think I’ll be on

 

The slowdown in China is already happening, its now, now when.
I foresee lots of used rolex’s coming up for sale from Asia in the coming year. All of you dying for that Batman and Hulk, have your cash ready.
And to the OP- your uncle may get that call sooner than later, and if he plays slightly hard to get, maybe they’ll even throw in the flat champagne, a few compliments and a hand job- going old school

 

Not everyone has the luxury of a local AD. Should those people living in regional areas be constantly bumped down the list?

 

There is no Rolex stock shortage - you can buy any Rolex watch you want at any time, as long as you are willing to pay a premium price for the privilege. Most can’t, however, get one from a retailer at MSRP because there is a problem of leakage into secondary markets, caused by a manipulated favoured customer arrangement - all well and good if you are one of the favoured customers, but not so good if you are not.

The trouble for Rolex is that it can’t do anything about this leakage, because it just looks like all it’s stock is being sold to legitimate customers, which after all is exactly what is happening. Even though Rolex clearly knows about the secondary market issue, it would be very hard to quantify. To increase stock incorrectly then, might sate the legitimate demand on the many lists that Boutiques and ADs have, but it could also collapse the secondary market. Then all that excess stock floods in on top of the extra production, and compounds the issue back into one of heavy discounting all round - great for the consumer, but bad for the company.

 

Gosh that bespectacled man looked like Thierry Stern of Patek. Would apply equally well to the Nautilus I suppose ...