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Bowl Leader
Best consulting exits for work life balance in SEA?
Still working as usual 😫
Coach
Additional Posts in Luxury Watches
Pro
Visual Storyteller
Happy hump day watch fam
Visual Storyteller
Bought into the hype - love the color
Bowl Leader
Conversation Starter
Anyone have experience with poljot watches?
Rising Star
Conversation Starter
Visual Storyteller
Happy Weekend guys!
Chief
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Bowl Leader
Sadly this is one question that bowl leader has neither a clear nor definitive answer on. Mainly because there are a lot of moving parts (just like a watch movement!). Where I worked was not a Rolex AD, and most brands operate differently.
For every honest dealer, there’s a shady mofo selling out the back door. I’ve heard plenty of crazy stories too, one that even involved an AD swapping Rolex movements for cheap clones. Add in the impact of foreign dealers with less regulation, and it gets out of hand.
Right now, a sports Rolex is an investment vehicle and the market is largely uncontrolled. Don’t expect normalcy, especially when the world (and even more so, the US) is driven by capitalistic greed. There is clearly some sort of bubble at play, but it’s hard to say what will cause it to deflate, and when it will happen.
At the end of the day a Rolex is an awesome watch, but it’s just a watch. It’s a thing. It’ll probably outlive you, but it doesn’t define you. The only way to feel good about the situation is to combat the greed and envy with a healthy dose of gratitude. We’re all incredibly fortunate, Rolex or not.
Thanks for stopping by the Spiritual Enlightenment Bowl. ☺️
Enthusiast
BL bringing if a 🔥 new prospective
Pro
Lots of incorrect info here. I’m sure Bowl Leader will provide his thoughts at some point. He has actual experience and credibility from working at an AD.
As a long-standing customer of several ADs with friendly relationships with salespeople, I can tell you the ADs in the US are extremely extremely protective of their Rolex franchises. They are not selling to gray market dealers, they do not condition sales on other purchases (at least not directly) and they are very careful about not selling to flippers. Instead, they are selling to loyal customers and to other locals who are very sincere in their interest. So my advice is to go in, meet with a salesperson, talk a bit about the watch you’re currently wearing (and the watch they’re wearing), and explain your interest in a particular model. Maybe you want a Sub to celebrate a milestone birthday or promotion. Or ask about a ladies model for your wife/GF. Don’t tell them you’d be open to a SS Daytona, Pepsi, blue Sky-Dweller, etc. You lose all credibility. Remember, their job is to make sure their allocation lands and remains on local wrists. Over time you will develop a relationship.
Enthusiast
What EY 2 is saying.
Rising Star
From what I understand, ADs sell some of the hotter pieces out the back door to greys, often/usually bundled with slow selling pieces. They’re not allowed to, but there’s no enforcement mechanism at this point.
The situation sucks for everyone - ADs don’t get enough inventory to satisfy their customers, and when they do get inventory, they have to sell it for half of its market value.
I bought my GMT from DavidSW for retail price years ago - the waitlist wasn’t bad at the time, but I could get the watch brand new with stamped warranty card with overnight shipping and no tax, instead of paying >$600 in tax and waiting a few months for one from my local Rolex AD. It came with a stamped warranty card from some dealer, all stickers and packaging intact.
I was in Vegas a few wks ago and the AD at Caesars palace told me to go to a grey dealer. ADs are literally working with ADs publicly and Rolex unfortunately doesn’t enforce ☹️
Enthusiast
If Rolex really cared to stop the grey market, they could. Just do a scan of all the top grey sellers, identify watches purchased in the past year and track down the AD via warranty card.
Pro
Why does anyone care about where they buy their Rolex, so long as you’re confident in authenticity and its willingness to honor the warranties?
Visual Storyteller
UBS1. I chased the Kermit for a year. My AD finally came through. Much more satisfying than paying some absurd markup for instant gratification.
Visual Storyteller
So small Rolex grey dealer here… I’m surprised by all these comments about bundling. I’ve never bought anything I couldn’t at least flip for retail. The sales person and manager I’ve gotten to know very well never ask any questions… they’ve sold me 3 Pepsi GMTs in the last 18 months. I will say, what they don’t tolerate is kickbacks between buyers and sales people, that will get you black listed and the sales person fired. The grey market is all part of Rolex’s marketing strategy to make the watches seem unattainable and thus more desirable, it’s genius really.
Visual Storyteller
Want to hook a fellow Fish up with a Pepsi? I work in aviation industry so I would actually use the complication daily to track aircraft arrival/departure.
You are clearly a good customer and I can understand selling one of each reference for an enthusiast to build a collection, I am just surprised the SA and SM will sell multiples of the same in demand watch (Pepsi) when they aren’t getting anything out of the transaction (e.g. kickback or buying less demanded inventory) vs selling to other customers that would also become repeat buyers to the store. Congrats to you for getting the in!