discounts

[Mr. K]

Is it me or are discounts on Rolex more and more frequent (and larger) these days?

I read posts where some are getting really large discounts from ADs. North of 20%. I am not just talking gold models either.

Do you think Rolex is pricing themselves out of the market, or at least to a point where discounts are needed to move the watches? Many of the sports models do not have improved bracelets or clasps yet, but still prices increase.

I mean how soon will it be before the ND sub hits $5K? How crazy will that be?

I used to think that Rolex was like oakley, nikon, or cartier (to a point). No discounts, very tight on price control, and no internet or Costco sales.

I always knew way back when discounts could be had, but not as big as today and with a little work. Now all you need to do is walk into a store and they tell you right off the bat what discount they are willing to start with.

I am not saying all this in a bad way, in fact the opposite. I liked Rolexes iron fist strategy on pricing. Makes me feel good that for the most part I will be getting a similar deal to the next guy. And the used market is kept solid.

I know Rolex will not go the way of certain watches that across the board will offer 30% discounts. Or have a retail price of 5K, but you can pick it up for $3 pretty easily. Or at least I hope they will not end up that way. I just think that would take something away from the watch cache in general.

Any other thoughts?