Man, So complicated. I am coming from the very obscure point of view of people "asking" as in demanding, as in expecting. I certainly did not expect to be caught on a deep philological debate. Even reading through is I think my intent is clear. if it is not then...ok. So, let me clarify.

"Why should they give you a discount" was my question. which was my first point. Then folgono stated that people may think they SHOULD get a discount at an OB because AD and Gray eve discounts (paraphrasing but feel free to read above). So I answer to that that expectations should not be carried from gray to AD to OB (paraphrasing) up to this point I think my target is not moving much.

and THEN, you say there is nothing wrong with asking....or not against the law etc....and I agree since, to that point I have said nothing about "asking" for discounts, I have said something about OB not "having" to give discounts and us not necessarily expecting parity between gray AD and OB. So you are setting a new target with the "ask" thing...and then I agree....and then you are the one moving the target and I am following along. I try to bring it back to my point of expecting versus OB having to give....but that somehow does not seem to line up with your "asking" comment (not mine)

So, sorry if I strayed of my own theme to answer your post, hope that is clear.

 

Who in here was acting entitled to a discount, or severely complaining that some OB didn't give them one?
Who cares if some people "expect" a discount vs. simply asking for a discount, anyway? That's a pretty fine line of differentiation, and it's pretty much relevant to nothing.

Some people might go into an OB "expecting" to be offered a discount because--shock--they spend time on forums like this and spend time talking to other watch dorks, so they no doubt read/hear plenty of stories about new watches indeed being discounted.

It's supply and demand, just like anything else in commercial commerce. Also, offering "discounted" prices is a time-tested sales tactic: Price something high but actually plan to sell it for less, and you make the person getting a 10- or 20-percent reduction off of MSRP more likely to pull the trigger because they "got a great deal," even if that is not really true. I'm not saying Omega specifically bakes in discounts with its retail pricing and is using that strategy, but buying most Omega watches at full OB price is just about the last thing I would ever do.

 

OB at Mall on Millenia in Orlando without any haggling offered to pay the tax for me of I think 6.5%. Then when I said price in UK is x they came back with a further 12% discount so nearly 20% was offered without much trying on my part.

 

No, not really. Okay technically you hadn't said "ask" up to that point, but I believe "request" is the same thing, right? This is the post of yours that I quoted when I said it wasn't against the law to ask for a discount...

To me request = ask...so I wasn't setting a new target, but responding to your post pretty directly I think.

No problem Sergio - I am really just trying to understand the mentality here that's all.

All good with me...

 

No worries, I feel we're just starting to dissect each others points rather than contributing to each others points.

Sorry if I offended anyone.

Thank you.

 

Is there a language barrier here? Mr. Prize (if that is your name) are you a native English speaker? Some of that wording was rough to follow. I dislike greatly the piling on I see in forums when someone dares disagree, so this is definitely not me lining up against you. I think you had a very good idea of your point, but when some others read it, they saw a different intent. It doesn't seem that anyone was damaged as a result of the back and forth.

If a buyer "expects" a discount, that is purely his/her business. His expectation may be absurd, depending on the situation, but that does not mean he is wrong to ask for OR expect a discount. I'll do my thing as a buyer. You do your thing, and we will all weave our way through the retail jungle.

 

My name is Sergio, which is right under the Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prize is a joke stemming from a few years ago in the forum.

I’m not a native speaker and no, there’s no language barrier, I think people just read what they want to read. But yes, I’ll do my thing....

Thank you Mr.....Swiss?

 

I feel like we are just arguing over a simple point that doesn't deserve all of this fuss. People expect a discount because they have seen on various forums that it is pretty common business to get a reasonable discount on a lot of watches that aren't so "desirable" (from a market perspective).

Moreover, with grey market being pretty popular ( and brands are responsible of this situation btw) customers can see most of watches being sold with a 30% discount and a legit warranty, and ADs are perfectly aware of that. If we add the idea that watches are "investment" as we commonly see on watch forums, it fuels the desire of customers to get the best deals as possible.

With that in mind I feel that it is pretty reasonable that people expect a discount when they want to get a random Longines or Omega that aren't so easy to move.

ADs are free to refuse, and it is fine. On the other hand some people have unreasonable expectations, like ADs matching grey market prices, or discounting hot models that aren't so easy to find like Speedmaster LM or Tudor black bay 58/GMT.

I recently purchased a BB58 in the UK (after trying to purchase one in about 7 different shops), and the guy told me that he couldn't do anything on this model (without me asking anything about a discount). I didn't ask because I knew it was more than unlikely that an AD would give a discount to a first time customer on a very demanded model that he would have sold in a few days anyway. I would have wanted to purchase a Breitling or a Tag, the salesman would have certainly offered me a gesture, which seems to be pretty common business to get a sale.

Sorry for english, I'm not a native speaker so I hope I won't get misinterpreted.

 

I was in a boutique shop last weekend to look at the Omega Speedmaster Racing 44.25mm which is $8,450 retail, they said they can get me down to $7700. They also said they do a lot of events at their store to Omega owners only which I thought was pretty cool.

Full disclosure, I was in an AD about a month ago and they offered me 15% off the same watch.

I am going back to the boutique this weekend to purchase it from them. I think having the events is a good feature plus I like the relationship better. They don't take returns like the AD does so I know I'm getting a 100% new watch.

 

A $400 discount is better than no discount. I wonder if the manufacturer web site charges tax?

 

So you're going to spend $500 extra at the OB compared to the AD for ... what, exactly? Events inside a watch store? I hope those are some seriously insane parties and not just a bunch of watch nerds standing around eating some free hors d'oeuvres and drinking a couple glasses of free champagne. It's not like buying one or two watches from an OB is going to put you on their VIP list and have you flying around the world to things. And it's pretty easy to tell if a watch is "100% new" and not a watch someone has worn and returned. But hey, whatever floats your boat. Personally, I'm not throwing hundreds of dollars away for the "experience" of buying a watch at an OB.

 

Yes, it does. Only if you live in one of the five states that doesn't have sales tax (NH, DE, MT, OR and AK) will you not pay sales tax. So anything bought on the Omega web site is tax free if sent to an address in one of those states. You could also walk into any boutique anywhere and have it sent to one of the five no-tax states with zero sales tax liability. Everyone else is paying sales tax.

 

Some time last year, the local NYC OB put on an event at the flagship OB and claimed there would be discounts available. Unfortunately i couldn't make it but it seemed like it was possible.

 

Absolutely correct, but as you state there is minimal enforcement of this tax. I would guess well less than 1% of buyers actually pay this tax voluntarily, most aren't even aware of it. However the devil is in the details. Twenty five years ago I lived in northern NJ and would often travel into Manhattan to watch shop. I bought a few watches from Tourneau on Madison Ave and had them sent to my home in NJ, no sales tax collected by Tourneau on the sale. Then about two years later I get a form from the NJ Dept of Revenue asking me to pay the sales tax, evidently they had a reciprocal agreement with NY state where this information was shared. At that time I was unaware of this requirement. I complained to Tourneau but obviously they weaseled out of it, 'out of their hands' blah, blah, blah. That's the last time I bought a watch from them. And that was before all the internet selling that goes on today where everything can be tracked in real time. That's probably why it took NJ two years to send me a bill, I suppose there were folks in Trenton pouring over the books to pick out significant sales to out of state buyers.

 

I’ve had a discount from an OB.

 

New Jersey for years has had a line on the NJ-1040 for use tax. It was for many years the most unused line on the form. For the last couple years the taxpayer must answer affirmatively that they haven't made applicable purchases. Florida does not have that opportunity to ask as they don't have an income tax. But the Florida state tax rate is only 6%. Most areas charge 7%, the extra is imposed by counties. Sellers are collecting 7% from Florida buyers on mail orders. I doubt if the extra 1% is sent to the county.

States are trying hard to find new ways to enforce their tax revenue.

 

It's not just the events. Yes I agree those are minor things. It's my first big watch purchase and I want to enjoy the experience and I've had better service from the boutique than the AD. It's not like a few hundred extra bucks will break the bank for me.

 

Got an email from an online vendor today that they will start collecting VA sales tax on July 1. Several other sites I've bought from lately have already begun charging.