AD will sell me a watch if…

[Golfbone]

Originally Posted by H-Watches

Question for the group. I was put on a list for the two tone explorer and one came in today. I’ve purchased two other watches from this AD and used my credit card because I get points for the purchase. They are telling me today that if I want the watch I have to pay cash. I pushed back and said I’d prefer to use my card can I still buy the watch. They said yes as long as I pay an extra fee. They have not told me what that fee is yet. Is this normal practice now?

If you want the watch just give them the cash and buy it. Fuggheddabouddit and move on. WHo cares? I mean.....as long as you get the piece you want at list price from an AD I don't care if they want the money in pennies, shekels or babies ear lobes. I'll go to the bank and get it and pick up my Rolex with a big goofy smile on my face.

[RoscoPico]

pretty strange tbh. business's factor in fees and there are a variety of them. for example, a phone payment amex fee is much higher than a debit card transaction in person.

[donas]

Originally Posted by Finslayer83

You can absolutely walk into with $10k.

You can walk out with it too.

Doesn’t mean I won it there.

There is truth to reporting transactions over 10G cash. It doesn't matter if you are depositing it into your own bank account or buying a car; if it's cash, the IRS will know. Now, whether they follow up on it is another story, it will more than likely not receive any attention, but the report is there.

[rick lee]

Former Amex employee here. Look at it this way, if a merchant doesn't offer you terms (aka discount) for paying cash, you are paying their merchant fees, no matter your form of payment. Those fees are built into the price for everyone. So, as long as you can get the points, the consumer protection, maybe even an extended warranty by paying with a card, you might as well do it.

My local AD told me their drill is that, when my number comes up, they'll call me and ask for a 50% deposit. I want a 126660, so probably around $6500. They'll take it on my Amex over the phone. And then I'm guaranteed to get the next one they get and it should be between a two and six month wait. It would be a real hassle for me to have to drop everything, run to the bank, get the cash and then head to the AD during business hours. So putting it on my Amex by phone would be worth some money to me.

[904VT]

This is completely normal. The small business especially get hit by credit card processing fees. Prior to the craziness in demand, paying cash/debit (which saves your AD money) would often get you a few free gifts thrown in with your purchase. A lot different than today. As an aside, I always try to pay small businesses in cash/debit rather than credit, so that they don't get hit with additional fees.

[904VT]

Originally Posted by loftycomfort

An AD in my city does the opposite: cc only, and they turn away customers who show up with bags of cash wanting to buy Rolexes. Their rationale is they want no part in someone's money laundering operations, and I respect that.

What the OP's AD is demanding is rather strange, even downright fishy. Sounds like they're trying to evade the taxman.

Originally Posted by tvandevelde

^^^^I couldn't agree more. You cannot walk into a casino with $10K cash without filling out IRS forms in the US. How could an AD accept that kind of laundry? (if you know what I mean).

I'm assuming we're talking debit transaction vs credit transaction. Or even check or wire. Big difference between those and a bag of cash. The bag of cash and turning away is completely understandable with many issues, not least of which would be an AD receiving counterfeit bills. I think you guys may be taking a little too literally with the term cash in this context.

[azrolexguy]

Originally Posted by tvandevelde

^^^^I couldn't agree more. You cannot walk into a casino with $10K cash without filling out IRS forms in the US. How could an AD accept that kind of laundry? (if you know what I mean).

Hogwash, just last month I sat down at a BJ table and bought in for $10k and nobody presented me paperwork to complete

[Wahlberg]

Originally Posted by azrolexguy

Hogwash, just last month I sat down at a BJ table

Are we still talking casino's?

[jaySL350]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

Are we still talking casino's?

,, ,thought the same ,,,

[Marcjvr]

Originally Posted by DonRickles

Me thinks, if you’re questioning small fees and bonus points, right now might not be the best time for you?

Me thinks if an AD is this desperate for an extra 2-3% selling luxury goods might not be the best business for them

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by Marcjvr

Me thinks if an AD is this desperate for an extra 2-3% selling luxury goods might not be the best business for them

I agree

What is next, charge the buyer the salespersons commission? The AC bill for the day? Maybe they should put out a tip jar? The cost of business is just that, build it into your overhead and sell products, otherwise you look really petty.

[DonRickles]

Originally Posted by Marcjvr

Me thinks if an AD is this desperate for an extra 2-3% selling luxury goods might not be the best business for them

Touche'......yup this is true....

However, it is a business, and every point/penny counts. With what's going on with Rolex worldwide, are you surprised by this?

[padi56]

Originally Posted by H-Watches

Question for the group. I was put on a list for the two tone explorer and one came in today. I’ve purchased two other watches from this AD and used my credit card because I get points for the purchase. They are telling me today that if I want the watch I have to pay cash. I pushed back and said I’d prefer to use my card can I still buy the watch. They said yes as long as I pay an extra fee. They have not told me what that fee is yet. Is this normal practice now?

I would tell this AD quite politely the second word is off, I buy all my watches on my payment terms and not what any AD wants, if they will not tango just find another AD its his business that will be the looser.

[palooka68]

Baffling from the Ad. Don't think it could happen in the UK. Any transaction over (equivalent) Euro 10,000 comes under AML, anti-money laundering legislation. Buyer has to be verified and the transaction noted. Not only that, the adding of CC fees is illegal too.


The fact that the deal is then in cash would have the attention of authorities. Not only that, banking cash is expensive too, most businesses are happy to switch to card payment as it actually cuts costs.

[jaySL350]

Originally Posted by palooka68

Baffling from the Ad. Don't think it could happen in the UK. Any transaction over (equivalent) Euro 10,000 comes under AML, anti-money laundering legislation. Buyer has to be verified and the transaction noted. Not only that, the adding of CC fees is illegal too.


The fact that the deal is then in cash would have the attention of authorities. Not only that, banking cash is expensive too, most businesses are happy to switch to card payment as it actually cuts costs.

Yep,,
WOS in the U.K. no longer takes cash above £2k ,,,
Seemingly a policy change in the last couple of years?,,,
Cash was fine up until 2019 iirc,,

[DonRickles]

Originally Posted by jaySL350

Yep,,
WOS in the U.K. no longer takes cash above £2k ,,,
Seemingly a policy change in the last couple of years?,,,
Cash was fine up until 2019 iirc,,

Well, here in the good old USA, I can say, I actually witnessed an AD accepting cash in excess of 40k! It was rung up as 4 individual sales at 9900.00 ea.

This TT Explorer is 10,800? So, @ 2% =212.00 to @ 3% =324.00, that is in question here ......

Really.....

[RKTINC1]

In this age of zero interest rates it is ridiculous that credit cards companies charge 1 to 3 percent transaction fees. This adds up for a business each year and is a horrible racket for the CC companies.

Pay cash and be done with it. Be a man and go get a stack of 100's from your bank and pay them cash.

[fskywalker]

Not uncommon to hear different prices on card vs cash purchases


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[NickD1975]

Originally Posted by jaySL350

Yep,,
WOS in the U.K. no longer takes cash above £2k ,,,
Seemingly a policy change in the last couple of years?,,,
Cash was fine up until 2019 iirc,,

Originally Posted by DonRickles

Well, here in the good old USA, I can say, I actually witnessed an AD accepting cash in excess of 40k! It was rung up as 4 individual sales at 9900.00 ea.

This TT Explorer is 10,800? So, @ 2% =212.00 to @ 3% =324.00, that is in question here ......

Really.....

Different anti money laundering rules. We can take cash in the UK, but only up to approx £10k. Doesn't matter how they split it, the retailer can't take more.

Also, probably due to companies not being able to pass on the CC fees, no-one really takes Amex because their fees are too high.

[Roadglide 2016]

Originally Posted by jb335

That's lame and possibly a violation of their merchant account agreement. I definitely wouldn't pay a fee myself (likely 2-3%). I too, prefer to put purchases on my CC for points and then pay off right away.

If I really wanted the watch and I was playing the long game with this AD, I would swallow my pride and just pay in cash.

The above is correct, this is a violation of their merchant agreement with VISA/MasterCard, etc. They are just trying to get out of paying the processing fee.

[dnuggett]

Originally Posted by tvandevelde

^^^^I couldn't agree more. You cannot walk into a casino with $10K cash without filling out IRS forms in the US.

Umm…. Sure you can. Not only can you walk in, you can also walk out with 10k+ without IRS forms.

Happens all day every day.

[007timer]

This request is no more bizarre than the “bundling” demands. Think of it as a small premium. I don’t know if I would push too hard on this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[loftycomfort]

Seems to me this practice is somewhat more accepted in the US, but frowned upon (with questionable legality) in UK and Canada.

Let's all agree on hating AD's the same universal way - bundling and hiding good stuff in the safe lmao.

[JohnG168]

Had this happen as well. Long story short, they can get away with whatever they want right now. If you pass, they will just call the next person on the mile long list the have.

[904VT]

With all the negativity towards the AD, I want to mention the same happens elsewhere. Look at watch resellers/trusted seller. There is almost always an uncharge for using PayPal. We used to get discounts for paying debit bc the ADs didn't get charged as much for the transaction. It can't work only one direction. ADs can discount or charge whatever premium they want on watches on a per customer basis.

[Boaters]

Originally Posted by myporsche

Counter and say sure if you want to remove the tax!

Perfect

[joeboy]

We don't know what their margin is or the overhead to run the place. 2.5% saving for the shop is not to be sniffed at. Get your cash out and enjoy the watch or i'll come with a fistful of cash. :)

Looking forward to seeing the photo.

[scooba]

Originally Posted by Vivalas

In the U.K. retailers can pay the credit card merchant anywhere between 1% and 3% as a transaction fee so some businesses used to charge extra if you paid on a credit card. The U.K. government made this illegal a couple of years back so they can’t charge extra.

I know AD’s that want a bank transfer as the fee is practically nothing and especially if you’re selling a Daytona for example, why would you want to lose £300 on credit card fees if a customer is paying with an Amex.

I pay for anything I buy by BT . I think my AD mentioned it only costs £0.50p , They don’t take Amex due to the fees , They also have a £8k limit for cash due to Money laundering regulations as well

[dannyp]

Originally Posted by Marcjvr

Me thinks if an AD is this desperate for an extra 2-3% selling luxury goods might not be the best business for them

But across a year’s worth of Rolex sales? Improving an entire business’s margin by 2-3% is substantial (or at least an entire line of business).

[daOnlyBG]

Originally Posted by loftycomfort

What the OP's AD is demanding is rather strange, even downright fishy. Sounds like they're trying to evade the taxman.

...or they're trying to avoid incurring the credit card fee.