St. Louis OB here. Overall great experience. Dropped by when they were first announced and got on the list. Got a call a month ago they were getting shipments in soon and if I was still interested. Went by and put down payment. Notified early last week it was in the store. Dropped by Wednesday for pickup. Overall took about a month wait time.
In related news, a car story!
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Back in 2014 I really really wanted an F83 BMW M4. They had been announced for US sale and dealerships were taking deposits, orders, etc ... But delivery times were unknown (or faked) and many dealers were charging ADMs. ROLEXERS!
Luckily I had done a previous custom order ("individual") so I had a contact at BMWUSA and asked her what was going on.
She said the new generation production & release process was long, the factory in Regensburg was just ramping up production, it was going to take the full year before the factory reached capacity, and shipments to the US would start in small batches with the first batch of 44 coming in a few months despite what dealers may be promising. Only 44 in the first batch for the whole USA!
With that info, eventually I was able to find a dealer with an allocation (production number!) to one of those 44 cars willing to sell it for MSRP.
BUT, as it came to production time, and time for me to pay, suddenly the price jumped by 10% despite me having it in writing it wouldn't. 馃が
After many calls, another dealer stepped in to save the day, and my order .... but he told me the original dealer salesguy asked him: "why aren't you charging him a huge ADM? These things are rare right now!"
9 months later, you could buy one for a discount at most dealerships nationally because the factory had fully ramped up.
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I guess my point is, my OB in Zurich told me to give them 3 weeks notice when I stop by this fall and they'll have a white speedy waiting for me.
On the other hand, there are white Speedmasters readily available in different OBs around the world. Enter, pay and leave with it. No need to be a loyal costumer, or a costumer at all. No reserve, no deposit. As any other normal product in any shop.
A little update. I鈥檝e deduced that this issue is the DC Boutique where I bought the watch is not a corporate owned boutique. It is essentially a franchise owned by a large jeweler. Looks, smells and acts like a boutique but privately owned. Stock is going to and available at corporate owned boutiques.
Yeah, I'll take Tysons over the Tiny Jewel Box one. The new place rubs me the wrong way.
Not sure this response was directed at my original post - but - scarcity and inconvenience are two different things. I have an Ed White. It鈥檚 scarce and I waited a long time for it. It was worth it. The White Speedmaster was released in March. I am first on the list at an OB. I paid in full. It鈥檚 almost June. 20+ of them on Chrono 24 - but no ETA for mine. Inconvenient - yes. End of the world - no. It鈥檚 a strange way to handle loyal customers.
...with Omega these days they have no idea what might happen in terms of allocation, wait times, etc.
I'm not bothering with this one, but in Canada, where there is a single OB, there have been others (SMP white, summer blues, etc) that have been similarly regulated.
Honestly, I can't be arsed.
Is it "regulated" or is it allocations based on production limits, population, & sales volumes (and AD behavior)?
I mean I bet there are a lot people in Greenland who won't be seeing many Speedy Whites local either.
Just my 2 cents, but this product wasn't "released" in June, it was announced with production to follow. It seems many took the announcement to mean, "infinitiy are available in your front yard right now!"
Along with the usual price rises for those on waiting lists, and all the drama of sporadic, non-committal updates and the glorious receipt of "the call."
