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ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX
ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX
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#1 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: Texas
Watch: Submariner
Posts: 3
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Hello everyone,
I've heard people of people being able to purchase watches directly from AD's, what that process look like? Do I have to go to the store and express my interest in a specific model or can I give them a call? I'm just trying to understand what's the best way to go about it. I've never purchased one from an AD. Thanks! |
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#2 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Real Name: Knackers
Location: NI/Aust/USA
Watch: and wait
Posts: 3,221
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Welcome, someone more eloquent then I shall chime in. Stay tuned.
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#3 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: 'merica
Watch: tbd
Posts: 79
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what do you want?
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#4 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: TRF
Posts: 2,266
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Times have changed. You’re not going to get anywhere with a phone call in 2022, although that’s how I bought my first from an AD in 2015. I happened to be visiting Portland, OR and called Ben Bridge. They had a BLNR in stock. I wired them the money and picked it up first thing upon arrival. No purchase history.
Nowadays you need to show up regularly, maybe once a month, express genuine interest, and pray. Depending on the reference, you might get lucky and get something without purchase history. Then again, you might not. Depends on the reference and market you’re in. If there was a secret recipe we could share with you, we wouldn’t. Otherwise we’d all be doing it already.
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#5 |
2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: San Francisco, CA
Watch: Date & No Date
Posts: 10,862
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The process is luck but lightening can strike. Don’t invest too much, just wait and hope. It does happen. Trust me.
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"You might as well question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we'll die. If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die." Paul Henreid as Victor Laszlo in Casablanca |
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#6 |
2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Real Name: Randy
Location: Midwest USA
Watch: Blue Sky
Posts: 3,034
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The same thing as applying for a job, or asking a girl out on a date, all about coming across as genuine and sincere. Go in ask to speak to the manager, tell him or her, this is your first time in, looking to start building a Rolex collection. These are the watches I wish to purchase over this amount of time. Be honest and be yourself, put across the fact you are not a flipper only looking to build your personal collection. Then get creative and stand out from the other buyers waiting for watches. Why go through the trouble, you hope to gain thousands of dollars in market value over MSRP. You will gain back about as much as you can put into it. If you have the talent of winning friends and influencing people, you are more than halfway there. The other option is going grey, paying market value and getting any watch you want in 24 hours via FedEx. Choice is a wonderful thing, deep pockets also help. Good luck, keep us posted, and looking forward to seeing your incoming pics!!!
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#7 |
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2022
Real Name: bryan
Location: USA
Posts: 32
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I think the best is to check online,make sure you make up your mind for the type of watch you want before going to the store because if your mind is not made up and you go into the store trust me you will be confused as to which watch you would want to get,you know why? because there are a lot of bad ass watches out there man.
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#8 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2018
Location: NYC
Posts: 1,102
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I think money talks. Sales associates are sick and tired of people walking in, doing all the small chat. If a SA gives you a Rolex without spend history means they lose the opportunity to make more sales, which means lower bonus, less job security, etc. Just doesn’t make business sense
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#9 | |
"TRF" Life Patron
Join Date: Jun 2005
Real Name: Peter
Location: Llanfairpwllgwyng
Watch: ing you.
Posts: 52,766
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Quote:
__________________
ICom Pro3 All posts are my own opinion and my opinion only. "The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop. Now is the only time you actually own the time, Place no faith in time, for the clock may soon be still for ever." Good Judgement comes from experience,experience comes from Bad Judgement,.Buy quality, cry once; buy cheap, cry again and again. www.mc0yad.club Second in command CEO and left handed watch winder ![]() |
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#10 |
2024 Pledge Member
Join Date: Apr 2018
Real Name: Harry
Location: England
Posts: 10,290
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I buy white goods on the phone or online. For a Rolex (among other luxury things), I would go in for a chat, make my wants known and see what they say. Who knows what I might walk out with - Rolex or otherwise?
You can try phoning. I suspect you will end up visiting. |
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#11 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Canada
Watch: DSSD, CHNR, SUB
Posts: 1,681
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OP, there are plenty of videos on line and plenty of threads on the topic here and on other chat groups. Do your research and pack your patience. Best of luck!!
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#12 |
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2015
Real Name: Henry
Location: Rhode Island
Watch: Rolex
Posts: 990
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I think people confuse rare with affordable.
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#13 |
2024 Pledge Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Real Name: Travis
Location: FL / NYC
Watch: Yes..
Posts: 32,913
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Go in the store. Explain your interest and why. It'll be a long shot if you're a first time buyer but it can happen.
My brother recently walked into an AD with zero purchase history and expressed his interest in the new 36mm Explorer. He got the call 2-3 weeks later. |
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#14 |
2024 ROLEX SUBMARINER 41 Pledge Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: North Carolina
Watch: Rolex/Others
Posts: 46,362
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Welcome. Use the search engine here on TRF and YouTube and you will get the general feel of the market and what you are up against. Good luck.
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#15 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: NYC
Watch: 116500,116610,VCO
Posts: 847
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It also depends where you are located. There is no way in big cities like NYC or LA that you would be able to purchase from the AD with any history. I wouldn’t waste the time and just go grey if you really want a piece. Otherwise, look towards other brands.
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#16 | |
2024 ROLEX SUBMARINER 41 Pledge Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Real Name: Brian (TBone)
Location: canada
Watch: es make me smile
Posts: 75,972
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Quote:
![]() OP first, welcome to the forum. This little story above ^^^ should give you some hope. Just be genuine, be yourself and strike up a conversation with an approachable sales associate. Stay in touch, and good things will happen. Best of luck ![]() |
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#17 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Tejas
Watch: Various
Posts: 5,082
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I've had the best luck by just being myself. I consider a watch purchase to be purely transactional - I'm willing to spend up to MSRP, dealer either has product or they don't. (And I realize these days they're all in the safe.)
- Visit the AD occasionally - Be courteous, inquire about the models you want - Leave without buying anything you didn't want (eg. a TAG, Breitling, jewelry) I don't think this "relationship" needs to be anything complicated. Certainly the big spenders will always be at the top of the list but that's how life works in all areas. I can't drop 50k on other stuff just so I can get the 10k model I really want. I'll either wait or live without it. |
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#18 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: USofA
Posts: 322
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Nowadays ADs are very cautious selling Rolex watches to strangers due to flipping issues.
Around my aria several stores lost they licenses do to Rolex watches end up in GM. My AD selling watches only to very well established customers. So, if you walk in the store and nobody knows you, it's very slim chance that you'll get Rolex watch. But you may get lucky, worth trying. |
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#19 |
2024 Pledge Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: United States
Watch: Rolex and Patek
Posts: 10,983
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It's incredible the market has deteriorated so many that people are actually asking how to buy from an AD. I do not buy the demand is off the wall strong notion touted everywhere. There is no reason people cannot buy a 31or 36 mm TT DJ within a reasonable timeframe. The hype is over certain sports models and that is it. It wasn't that long ago when some posters here referred to non-sports Rolex models in less than positive terms when they went into ADs and that was all that was in the cases.
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#20 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2013
Real Name: Jack
Location: The Triangle
Watch: Several
Posts: 6,702
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Posts 2 through 18 - played
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Sub 116613 LN; GMT 116710 LN; Sinn 104R; Exp 214270; GS SBGM221; Omega AT |
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#21 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Oct 2021
Real Name: Steve
Location: NYC
Posts: 843
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Purchasing from an AD
I can simplify this for you and I promise this method will work….
Spend money. You can get on the famous wait list if you don’t want to spend money and get lucky. May take a few years but it happens Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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#22 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2013
Real Name: Jack
Location: The Triangle
Watch: Several
Posts: 6,702
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This is the first such post that I have seen.
__________________
Sub 116613 LN; GMT 116710 LN; Sinn 104R; Exp 214270; GS SBGM221; Omega AT |
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#23 |
2024 Pledge Member
Join Date: Apr 2019
Real Name: Brad
Location: Purdue
Watch: Daytona
Posts: 9,238
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Some good responses here already.
For sure you have to go in and will probably have to do that 3 times at least until their little visit note card fills up and the SA finally mentions you at a sales meeting. Money spent alone isn't enough. Quite simply it's a combination of that and how much they like you. Nowadays working directly with a manager is your best bet if possible. The individual SAs lobby management themselves to get a turn to sell a certain watch to a certain client. The product sells itself and they can use each steel piece to leverage additional sales. The "formula" for who gets what can range from dumb luck on certain pieces to formulaic for others. On the impossible to obtain items like Daytona it's closer to how much they like you. I've seen them turn down multi DD40 and ladies bundle plus Daytona. They have more customers like that than Daytonas.
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#24 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: The South, USA
Posts: 960
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#25 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Oct 2021
Real Name: It's not Tim
Location: EST
Watch: 126610LN
Posts: 1,144
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OP has a Submariner. How did you buy that one?
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#26 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Real Name: David
Location: New England
Posts: 1,888
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I wouldn’t waste your time calling at first. Go in person and start the conversation. Each AD will be different as far as lists. Etc.
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#27 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2005
Real Name: Mark
Location: Seattle-ish
Posts: 6,054
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#28 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Real Name: Keith
Location: Alaska
Posts: 221
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I think it depends on where you live to be honest. I walked into the only AD in Alaska a month ago looking for a Sub or an Explorer II. I had no history with them at all. A week later I picked up the Sub. The next day they called and asked if I wanted an OP. I turned it down but told them to keep me on the list for the Explorer.
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#29 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: USA
Posts: 4
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Would it be realistic to get a blue dial YM 40 with no purchase history?
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#30 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Real Name: Alex
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,612
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Quote:
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Submariner Date 116610LN | GMT-Master II 126710BLNR on Jubilee | Explorer Rolesor 124273 | Explorer II Polar 226570 |
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