Hello everyone. I’m new to the world of fine watches, and this is my first post anywhere, so go easy on me.
My conclusion is that it will be better for my emotional and financial state to hold my nose, go on eBay or the grey market, and pay the 20% or more, over retail, and buy the new Rolex that I am in love with. Today. Hear me out.
I found out the state of affairs the usual way. I call an AD. Do you have the watch that I want? No? Any idea when you might get one? No? Can I get my name on the wait list? There is no wait list? This simply can’t be.....but yet it is.
First, the financial aspect. I am generally a tightwad, and it infuriates me to see the retail price on the Rolex website, and then look on auction sites, forums, or the grey market, and see prices substantially higher to actually get my hands on one. But my choices are limited. If I want to buy one at an AD, and not pay over retail, the only real option is to establish a relationship with them. But this is a false economy, and let’s call it what it is. “Establishing a relationship” generally means that you will buy a number of luxury watches that you don’t want as much as the Rolex, at full retail price, over the course of years, for the
possibility that they
may eventually get the watch that you want most. This will likely cost tens of thousands of dollars. Yes, we all have plenty of watches that we want to buy anyway, but you will generally not get the best price all the time at one AD
.
Of course the ADs are on board with this arrangement. They can reap years of business while promising nothing in return.
So in plain dollars and cents, I don’t think the “relationship” with the AD is a money saving proposition.
In terms of emotional cost, what is it worth to spend years scouring the internet and going to dealers (authorized and not) in hope of coming across that one watch at RP. I’m all for delayed gratification, and maybe eventually things will turn around and supply will meet or exceed demand. But how long do I really want to torture myself.
Anyway that’s how I see it. The hard truth is that market value for many Rolexes is above RP. This doesn’t happen much in any marketplace, which is why it rubs us the wrong way. But if you want to have that one watch now, it may be best to just buy it at the price that the market demands, and I doubt you will regret it.
Thanks for reading, and like I say, I’m new, so if you veterans can enlighten me on anything, I’d appreciate it.
