Buying a new Rolex - I’m confused!

[ESDavey]

Afternoon, I want to buy a new Rolex watch but I’m totally confused by the process ! I thought that buying a £10k product would be straightforward - go to a Rolex dealer, specify the watch, pay in full, they order from Rolex and in a short period of time, I have my watch ….. but no.

I want a Rolex Datejust reference 126203 36mm in Oystersteel and yellow gold features a white dial and an Oyster bracelet. I understand that there are a few Datejust combinations so if I have to wait then ok.

It appears I “register interest” then wait …. Is this correct ? If I was a dealer I’d have a few specs on backlog and call around fellow dealers to see what they have arriving. I can buy a £50k car with ‘000 of combinations quicker than a watch !

Any advice on how to buy a *new* Rolex within a reasonable time please ?

[Fifty]

Grey market, if you want it quickly.

Edit - some ‘light’ reading about being allowed to buy a Rolex here - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[thebraketester]

Because this is how they control their market.

[z4RRSchris]

lol

[danhard]

Next time ask for steel white dial Daytona ..tell them you will pay in full & can they order in one straight away

[C5_Steve]

Fifty said:

Grey market, if you want it quickly.

Edit - some ‘light’ reading about being allowed to buy a Rolex here - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Yeah this is a great place to start.

Basically, if you want something that's popular then you're going to be waiting a long time. It seems there are some models/combinations that are easier to get than others but it's a very controlled market right now.

[PaulJC84]

Not sure how quickly you would like it but I would just register interest at your local Rolex dealers and there is a good chance you will get a call for that quite quickly being bimetal.

[The Gauge]

ESDavey said:

Afternoon, I want to buy a new Rolex watch but I’m totally confused by the process ! I thought that buying a £10k product would be straightforward - go to a Rolex dealer, specify the watch, pay in full, they order from Rolex and in a short period of time, I have my watch ….. but no.

Up to a few years go you could walk into a Rolex authorised dealer and walk back out with the watch you want. However things have changed..

My understanding is that the AD's don't place any orders for watches with Rolex, instead Rolex send them a random selection of watches each month for the AD to try and sell. This helps partially explain the waiting lists for certain models as the AD has no idea when they will receive a particular watch from Rolex.

For you to walk into an AD and walk back out with the watch you want, they would have to already have that watch in stock and it be available to be sold, otherwise you have to ask them if there is a waiting list for you to be put on it. Some AD's will say the waiting list is closed as there are already too many people on it.

Some folk will say that the AD's themselves seeing an opportunity to make money and when receiving the watches they are selling then straight to the grey market sellers at a profit. I don't doubt that that is true and is prolonging the waiting lists for ordinary customers.

Edited by The Gauge on Monday 9th October 16:17

[the-norseman]

Register interest at a few AD's and sit back and hope one calls you.

[Mont Blanc]

ESDavey said:

Afternoon, I want to buy a new Rolex watch but I’m totally confused by the process ! I thought that buying a £10k product would be straightforward - go to a Rolex dealer, specify the watch, pay in full, they order from Rolex and in a short period of time, I have my watch ….. but no.

1) As already mentioned above, neither you nor a Rolex dealer can 'order' a specific watch from Rolex. You just have to hope that the dealer gets the watch you want, sent to them at random by Rolex. You then have to hope the dealer wants to sell it to you.

2) Even now that the Rolex market has cooled, there are probably still 10-20 customers chasing each watch that Rolex dealers have available. You will have to likely wait a while. There will be lots of other people ahead of you in the pecking order to be 'allowed to buy a watch'.

3) Final point, and the most important one: Rolex dealers decide who gets to buy a watch from them, and generally, they only sell watches to regular customers who spend plenty of money with them each year. This might be in the form of buying other watches, or buying lots of jewellery, and so on. This situation has changed recently as the market has cooled, but you still can't just randomly walk in and buy what you want. Most people still have to wait.

Fortunately for you, the model you want is likely to be in much less demand than some other models, so you probably stand a better chance of being 'allowed' to buy it, and the wait time might be fairly short. Maybe.

As stupid as it sounds (and it is stupid) you need to realise that buying a Rolex is very much like buying a GT car from Porsche, or a special edition Ferrari. The dealer decides if you get to buy a watch, and they decide how soon you might get the watch.

thebraketester said:

Because this is how they control their market.

Incorrect.

This is simply supply and demand. The global market suddenly started demanding more Rolex watches about 4 years ago, and Rolex can't make them fast enough. Rolex haven't reduced supply, or throttled production, or restricted sales, in any way at all. They are making more watches now than they ever have.

The problem is that the public want to buy way more than the 1.2 million watches Rolex produce annually. Rolex have recently opened a new factory extension to increase production, but it still isn't enough.

Rolex retailers/dealers have obviously used the supply and demand situation to their advantage by getting people to buy loads of other expensive crap from them, in exchange for moving them further up the list for the opportunity to buy the watch they want. This should be entirely unsurprising for anyone familiar with retail or salesmen.

Rolex retailers have spoken about using this supply and demand situation as a chance to 'get their own back' after years of trying fairly hard to sell Rolex watches to people, sometimes even at discounted prices, all whilst having a bunch of random watches thrust upon them month after month by Rolex, then being told to spend £50k improving their shop to make it acceptable to Rolex.

Edited by Mont Blanc on Monday 9th October 16:40

[Mercdriver]

Quote “ Rolex retailers have spoken about using this supply and demand situation as a chance to 'get their own back' after years of trying fairly hard to sell Rolex watches to people, sometimes even at discounted prices, all whilst having a bunch of random watches thrust upon them month after month by Rolex, then being told to spend £50k improving their shop to make it acceptable to Rolex. ”

So they learned from the motor manufacturers then?

[blue_haddock]

ESDavey said:

Afternoon, I want to buy a new Rolex watch but I’m totally confused by the process ! I thought that buying a £10k product would be straightforward - go to a Rolex dealer, specify the watch, pay in full, they order from Rolex and in a short period of time, I have my watch ….. but no.

I want a Rolex Datejust reference 126203 36mm in Oystersteel and yellow gold features a white dial and an Oyster bracelet. I understand that there are a few Datejust combinations so if I have to wait then ok.

It appears I “register interest” then wait …. Is this correct ? If I was a dealer I’d have a few specs on backlog and call around fellow dealers to see what they have arriving. I can buy a £50k car with ‘000 of combinations quicker than a watch !

Any advice on how to buy a *new* Rolex within a reasonable time please ?

Your new to this luxury watch buying lark arent you.......

[Mazinbrum]

Look at Grand Seiko instead, available and higher quality.

[Jamescrs]

People on here are laughing about it but this is probably a daily occurance for people not already familiar with the Rolex market.

[ESDavey]

Well guess what …. I just bought a Rolex this afternoon only 2hrs since my original post. Not a Datejust with a white face but an Explorer with a black face which was in the shop. I placed my original interest with a Rolex dealer last month.

Thanks for your advice though …. appreciated

[rallye101]

Why now dual posts??

[bigandclever]

rallye101 said:

Why now dual posts??

Because he's bought a watch he didn't want

[ESDavey]

No idea ! Sorry

[rallye101]

I'm confused!

[McMoose]

You are supposed to send the dealer flowers.