AD collected-can they hold order hostage?

[CAWatchLove]

Hi All,

Can an AD hold order after agreed upon?

Can they change conditions after ordering and agreeing on a deal? Even if it destroyed there reputation?

[S``]

Your only recourse is to pull out of the transaction...

What's to stop them from adding another stipulation before delivery?

Ps: why did you remove the bundling stories behind it... It adds context to why they are playing you...

We all know what an Aquanaut goes for in the open market, along with a 5905. That very same AD is doing a cost-benefit analysis and deems they want additional moolah to be compensated for "helping" you....

Is this the kind of AD you want to be dealing with?

[CAWatchLove]

I want to hear general thoughts first before context.

[CAWatchLove]

Very good points though.

If they are “playing me” which is obviously unethical, but obviously possible too. Then I have every right to respond a certain way to in this very public, digital, transparent day and age.

I’m optimistic it will go well though.

I do have several important people AD would view as important that I am communicating with throughout my transaction. I don’t think it would be worth there reputation to back out or be unethical

But just wanted to get peoples general thoughts here.

[S``]

Originally Posted by CAWatchLove

Very good points though.

If they are “playing me” which is obviously unethical, but obviously possible too. Then I have every right to respond a certain way to in this very public, digital transparent day and age.

I’m optimistic it will go well though, I do have several important people AD would view as important I am communicating with throughout my transaction. I don’t think it would be worth there reputation.

But just wanted to get peoples general thoughts here.

Unethical?Maybe... They are in a biz of making money...

Forgive me this may sound harsh, but this AD is ready to lose you when they asked for more sales from you pre-delivery...

Also, if you think this is a one-off story in this environment, it is mistakenly not, this happens more often than you think.

The best ADs would tell you honestly what would work/ they could do... This particular one obviously sees you as £$€¥¢ and not as a "forever" customer

[CAWatchLove]

Yup makes total sense about them in it to make money. I get that.

But the truth is before I begin acquiring several more pieces (and other brands truly do interest me too) at minimum I want to see them deliver on what was promised first.

Perception is reality though. So however they perceive me, I have no control over that. All I know is my personal intent, which is to build a significant collection of time pieces in various brands. It’s reasonable to wait and see them deliver on what has been promised to me.

And if they don’t, fair enough but I’ll make sure I do everything possible to expose unethical behaviors. As a consumer that’s my right too, just like they have there right to do what they want.

But again I’m optimistic. All should be fine

[S``]

Good luck. It is a seller's market, not a buyer's market for the aquanaut

[kzou]

I don't really understand. If you believe all is gonna go well, then why not post after the transaction completes or falls apart.
Of course it's your right to do whatever you feel you should do. Also it's their right to do whatever they like with their inventory until your cc goes through.
From what I can tell, you want to build a relationship for a collection. If that's the case are you sure this is the way to start a relationship? Might as well go to another AD.
They are here to make as much money as possible. You want a hot watch. I wouldn't call this unetichal either way.

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[Robine]

Some context missing...

But even without it I quickly understood that this must be about some SS piece.

[Tavi]

Highly informative thread, thanks for posting!

[ganiccus]

I feel like I'm missing the whole story to appropriately comment on your situation OP, you ask us to make a judgement based on very vague bits of informations without the full picture.

[David001]

Originally Posted by CAWatchLove

If they are “playing me” which is obviously unethical, but obviously possible too.

Even if you get the watch you want, if you've had to spend money on other things first then you've been played.

I only buy what I want and I like to see it first before I buy.
I've had to buy from grey dealers sometimes to maintain this position, but it's my money and my choice, I won't be played by a watch dealer, AD or not.

[AshAP]

There’s no doubt that an AD allocating an established client a hot watch is a ‘reward’ for money spent in the past.


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[Russell996]

Originally Posted by CAWatchLove

Hi All,

Can an AD hold order after agreed upon?

Can they change conditions after ordering and agreeing on a deal? Even if it destroyed there reputation?

You will need to give more information if you want any considered responses.

[MCMartiny]

Since you want a general view, here is mine.

Don't do business with less than honest people who "play games" and "re-trade" once a deal has been agreed. Your word is your bond. If the AD in question is not honouring verbal agreements take your business elsewhere, life is too short!

A good AD might not always be able to get you the SS pieces you want, but will make a point out of being upfront, honest and realistic with you. In this market this is really all you can hope for.

[HMHM]

Without a written agreement, any promise is as worthless as toilet paper

[GoingPlaces]

AD can do anything they want.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Russell996

You will need to give more information if you want any considered responses.

This ^^^

[azizu]

Not posting the full story doesn’t help
However based on other fellows reply I can see that you had a bundle deal and you are afraid it won’t go through after you pay for the 5905.
Here is my take: all pateks are great watches.
The 5905 is a great watch on its own, you happen to like the 5167 (I’m just guessing the ref) for whatever reason you have.
The AD convinced you to buy them both and you agreed.
If you agreed to buy both just to get the 5167 at retail. Then sorry to say that but you made a huge mistake. If you agreed on both because you are convinced they are both great watches and you need them both then when you get the first watch, you have already achieved 50% of your goals.
I don’t know what specific binding/non binding words where used in the agreement. But once you fulfill your side of the deal then it’s upon the AD to do their part of the deal. If they failed to do so then they are the party who didn’t owner their word (again I don’t know what specific words where said).
Even if the AD didn’t fulfill their promise there are ways I can think of to recover from that and still get the 5167.


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[Humble michael]

Huh? Ways to recover and still get 5167 ?

[CAWatchLove]

Hi All,

Thank you all for great comments and perspective, greatly appreciate you all.

For the record any PP I’m acquiring is because I LOVE the piece, it’s not a buy x to get y situation.

Also, it’s not a SS piece that they have committed but it’s an in demand piece that’s harder to get. Both pieces were agreed upon and written confirmation was given with partial payment given, I have records of this.

I just wondered “if” the establishment can try and make me buy more before releasing the pieces that have already been agreed upon.

My preference and intent is to purchase much more with AD but do it as leverage for my next desired high demand piece. Long story short here is I plan on building a collection of pieces and brands, but I simply want to see delivery of what’s been promised and confirmed first before I buy others, that’s all.

I feel optimistic and I have a lot of leverage in this situation and proof which can be catastrophic to the reputation of the AD. So I don’t see this going in the wrong direction. But I just wondered of anyone has seen AD attempt to back out of a deal after collecting partial payment and confirming.

They will have a lot at stake if they do. Just like the AD can “do what they want”....as consumers we can also respond in ways we make sure others do not get cheated either.

[AshAP]

Has the dealer given you any reason to make you believe that they might alter the terms of the contract? If not this all seems rather dramatic.


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[UmichNJ]

I think all relationships (AD or otherwise) are built on mutual trust. I am a loyal customer and I let them know when a piece is of real interest (not just something that is hot). A great example for me is the 5711 green, I passed on it since I’m happy with my blue and I just didn’t think it would get enough wrist time. In return, when something is a real priority of mine, I let them know and they work hard to get it for me. No written contracts, no bundling, and I never buy a piece that I don’t want. If you have a bad feeling about your ADs integrity, then it probably won’t make for a productive long-term relationship.

[CAWatchLove]

All great feedback thank you so much gents!

No they have not given me candid direct comments of attempting to alter or change conditions of the agreed upon deal. But just some passive aggressive comments and suggestions of adding to the order. But we are still in good communication and simply waiting.

I’m just being pro active with my questions and I value all experiences shared from a knowledge standpoint so thank you all for sharing.

And totally agree, relationships are two ways. I’m NOT the guy that would say yes to a hot piece simply because it’s a hot piece. Anything I request is because I want it, will remain in my collection forever. The intent here is to build a large collection of various pieces, not just hot ones.

[Texex]

Something similar happened to me. Wasn’t an order but I put dawn a $500 deposit on a 15500. When it arrived and I got the call they told me I needed a $10000 spend as the watch was much hotter than when I requested it. They also told me they were doing me a favor as the normal minimum spend was 20k. No granted I had no previous spend history here but they knew that when they took my $500 18 months ago. I understand it’s business but I feel they should have communicated the spending needed on the front end. I asked and they said no spending needed just a wait.


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[Robine]

How did it end?

[Russell996]

Originally Posted by CAWatchLove

Both pieces were agreed upon and written confirmation was given with partial payment given, I have records of this.

It is Patek policy not to take deposits on pieces until there is a firm delivery date (actual date) so I assume they are expecting them both imminently?

It seems clear the only parties to what is agreed for what pieces and when they are expected is you and your AD, if you are concerned something is not as you understood the agreement then the only person to ask is your AD.

[sensui]

Bottom line, ADs can do whatever they want. They told you/wrote down that they agree to some bundling deal etc but you would never have transparency on the ins and outs of their inventory....they could put you off indefinitely for higher spenders and just tell you they didn't get a watch yet etc etc....That's just the nature of things now. And I'm not surprised the dealer is trying to get you to buy more things in the interim....that's called doing their job in sales....I don't see anything wrong with that.

[Flex368]

Originally Posted by Russell996

It is Patek policy not to take deposits on pieces until there is a firm delivery date (actual date)

This is what I thought as well and I believe TS has stated this in an interview published a few years ago. IIRC he said that ADs never take deposits, not even when the actual delivery date is clear.

[martinr]

About the deposit, when I bought my 5711 in 2014 from a large long standing SF Bay Area AD I paid a deposit, in fact paid in full, and was told by the AD that they can start calling H.Stern and tell them they have a customer that’s paid in full so hurry up and send the watch. It took a couple months and the watch was delivered. I have no way of knowing if that’s what happened but in the USA AD’s take deposits.