Sales reps should stick with sales!

abrod520

Yeah, you can tell some of the people at the OB are super into watches in general, while others don't quite care. I wore a stunning 145.012 into the OB last time and the sales reps went no further than "Oh, a Speedmaster, very nice" 😁

I hate to say it out loud but the only reason I'd buy a watch new from a Boutique would be to get in good with a sales rep so I could secure limited-edition Speedmasters better. Even then though, I'm not sure it's worth the minimum $2k depreciation hit from buying new, full-price versus waiting a year and buying secondhand... Hell, even got my XI-45 at a great price a year after they were released!

Mr Bing

I couldn't agree more with this. I'm in the UK and my experience with the London boutiques has been great. I had a bracelet resized in one which was free of charge even though I purchased the watch elsewhere. I was browsing in another and the sales guy recognised my PO as being the LE LM.....now he was a real watch guy and we had a pleasant chat.

My nearest OB is in Birmingham and the staff there are less than useless tbh. They are not knowledgable about their products and are simply after the coin. As soon as a watch is on your wrist they are trying to secure a deposit.

The only purpose the OB serves for me is to browse and try, if I want to buy I go elsewhere.

Frunkinator

Update, i simply could not accept what happenned. Went to the 5th Ave boutique and spoke to service. Technician is notating the incident as a training issue to higher management. And replaced all of the screws this other guy touched... Watch looks new again.

Archer

Enjoy that option while you can. I think if Omega is successful at what they want to do, your only choice will be a boutique at some point down the road. Remember they are a corporation that exists for one reason - maximize shareholder value. If they can convert all watches sold at AD's to watches sold at boutiques, and pocket the profit margin the AD currently gets, that's what they will do...

AD's are being eliminated slowly, and I expect that to continue to it's final conclusion - Omega having total control over the distribution.

abrod520

That's when buying new - but if I want a modern watch, I'll always go for the secondary market unless it's a highly-sought-after LE. For someone without tons and tons of disposable income, there's a huge difference between being able to afford a $6k secondhand watch and being able to afford a $6k brand new watch at an Omega Boutique. They pump so many out these days that that $6k brand-new watch is gonna be around $4k in a year... so even then, if they eliminate ADs, I'm still no more likely to purchase from a Boutique. I wish I could - I really do, I like the service there and would love to be first in line for LE models - but I just can't afford to.

Frunkinator

So I took my new Moonwatch out of the box to wear today for the first time. I did size it down one link at my AD last week, but hadn't worn it.
Today was a little warmer out. I felt maybe I should feel how adding the one link and adjusting the micro adjustment would feel. So I mosey into a nearby Omega boutique. I explain I want my link added and micro adjusted. He said ok... And this is when things went wrong.
He struggled with the screws at first which I get because they can be stiff. Then he began to struggle with the micro. He took a hammer and began hitting the micro adjustment spring bar. I said you don't need to do that. I can do it with a paperclip, what are you doing (as he hammered harder and harder. Somehow it came out... And he says "oh, it's a spring bar". I said yes, may I put it on the adjustment I want myself. He hands me the watch and I start inspecting. Didn't take much to see the bullet hole he put next to the microadjustment hole. I pointed it out and he pretented to not see it at first. I said look (you couldn't miss it. )
I explained that if it was just a scratch it would be excusable. But a dent hammered into the endlink was not. I kept my cool the entire time, apologizing he was being troubled and asked that a new endlink be installed.
Manager shows up, she agrees it needs to be replaced. Goes in the back and pulls out an endlink for an older pushpin one. Of course it doesn't fit. Then the guy goes to the display case and gets her an entire watch.
She ended up taking the parts from the store watch and replacing my endlink and springbar.
Kudos to taking care of the issue (they created) and they were very nice.
But my issue is why are sales reps doing strap changes and bracelet adjustments if they are not proficient in ALL of the watches?!?
I showed him how to change the microadjustment to save the next guy. This entire situation blew me away, come on Omega... Seriously.

uvalaw2005

But wouldn't the elimination of AD discounts have an effect on the secondary market? If the original owners have to buy at Boutique prices, it seems like prices could go up for resales as well.

uvalaw2005

But wouldn't the elimination of AD discounts have an effect on the secondary market? If the original owners have to buy at Boutique prices, it seems like prices could go up for resales as well.

Huus

The grey market dealers also 'll have difficulty finding Omega watches as some of their stock comes from AD's.

mokofoko

Good for Omega, bad for new buyers. People will be looking back fondly and saying "remember when you could get a new speedy pro for only $3500?"

abrod520

Probably because you bought watches there though, no? I mean look - I love Omegas, even some of the modern ones (I will have a Seamaster 300 someday!) but the only thing at the Boutique worth paying full price for are the straps. And I mean that - once I have my Seamaster 300 MC (bought used, for a ~40% discount to new), I will immediately go pay $180 for the black-and-grey nylon NATO strap at the Omega Boutique. Those things are tasty, man. But the SM300 MC is not $6600 tasty.