I returned a watch, did I make a mistake?

[DougUSMC]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some opinions on whether I most likely made a mis-step at my AD or not?

Before I go into the story: My wife and I have a long standing agreement that all expensive gifts come with gift receipts. We'd both prefer the other exchange a pricey present for something they love, rather than hold onto something "because it was a gift".

My beautiful bride bought me a DJ41 for Christmas. It was a very nice jubilee bracelet, fluted bezel, white dial. I really liked everything about the watch except the dial - I tried it on several times and just couldn't see my self wearing it.

I wavered back and forth a few times over the last few weeks, and ultimately decided to bring it back. My wife is not very knowledgeable about how "getting a watch" works at the AD, which is why I had to explain that our SA "hooking her up" didn't mean a discount on price - it was the fact that the actually offered her a watch on the day of her shopping visit.

I visited last week, thanked my SA profusely for offering my wife a watch, but let her know that while I thought it was a beautiful piece the white dial just wasn't for me. I would rather exchange it for a different watch vs. just return it. I let her know the other dials I preferred, and several other watches I was considering putting on My List. She had a couple she could offer me that I wasn't interested in (Sea Dweller, RG GMT, and one other that I can't remember). When I told her my wishlist (Ghost, Pikachu, SS Daytona, Rootbeer, in descending order) she said she wished she had know because they'd had a Ghost before Christmas but didn't think I'd shown interest, and they didn't have any others from my list available. She knew that I was coming in before a vacation, and said that I should definitely come back after the trip to update my list. I told her I completely understood about availability, thanked her again for offering my wife the watch, and that I really hoped to have a chance to replace it with something else soon.

I felt that it was a great visit and I hadn't burned a bridge returning a watch, but was I right? What's the etiquette there?

[PNWBear]

Originally Posted by DougUSMC

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some opinions on whether I most likely made a mis-step at my AD or not?

Before I go into the story: My wife and I have a long standing agreement that all expensive gifts come with gift receipts. We'd both prefer the other exchange a pricey present for something they love, rather than hold onto something "because it was a gift".

My beautiful bride bought me a DJ41 for Christmas. It was a very nice jubilee bracelet, fluted bezel, white dial. I really liked everything about the watch except the dial - I tried it on several times and just couldn't see my self wearing it.

I wavered back and forth a few times over the last few weeks, and ultimately decided to bring it back. My wife is not very knowledgeable about how "getting a watch" works at the AD, which is why I had to explain that our SA "hooking her up" didn't mean a discount on price - it was the fact that the actually offered her a watch on the day of her shopping visit.

I visited last week, thanked my SA profusely for offering my wife a watch, but let her know that while I thought it was a beautiful piece the white dial just wasn't for me. I would rather exchange it for a different watch vs. just return it. I let her know the other dials I preferred, and several other watches I was considering putting on My List. She had a couple she could offer me that I wasn't interested in (Sea Dweller, RG GMT, and one other that I can't remember). When I told her my wishlist (Ghost, Pikachu, SS Daytona, Rootbeer, in descending order) she said she wished she had know because they'd had a Ghost before Christmas but didn't think I'd shown interest, and they didn't have any others from my list available. She knew that I was coming in before a vacation, and said that I should definitely come back after the trip to update my list. I told her I completely understood about availability, thanked her again for offering my wife the watch, and that I really hoped to have a chance to replace it with something else soon.

I felt that it was a great visit and I hadn't burned a bridge returning a watch, but was I right? What's the etiquette there?

You should own and wear what you like. No mistake here at all.

[mato123]

I think you were moved from The List to Black List... just kidding ;-)

[fsprow]

Personally, I would just have grown to love the white dial.

[Calatrava r]

What is your AD's policy on returns and exchanges? Many stores say sales are final. With secondary prices being what they are such policies are probably pretty liberal now.

[jb335]

How do you return a watch to an AD? I've never heard of an AD accepting a watch that was purchased and brought home, which is what you have described here. Can you clarify?

[KatGirl]

Originally Posted by fsprow

Personally, I would have just have grown to love the white dial.

This! Seriously, it depends on your relationship with your SA. If you’ve bought several watches already, and have a good rapport with the SA, and the GM, you should be fine. Make sure to update us on how your next visit goes.

Kat


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[joli160]

Expect to be on the bottom of the list.

Your AD is very generous but returning a watch will create all kind of problems for them. Stickers removed, warranty activated, probably sized, watch can only be sold as used on which they will take a hit.
They are not happy

[jb335]

Originally Posted by KatGirl

This! Seriously, it depends on your relationship with your SA. If you’ve bought several watches already, and have a good rapport with the SA, and the GM, you should be fine. Make sure to update us on how your next visit goes.

Kat


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Regardless of someone's close relationship to an SA, if the watch was purchased and brought home, then the warranty card info was completed and therefore the watch cannot be resold as new again. No SA relationship is going to change that.

And even if the AD has a CPO program and they could sell it for more the retail price they sold it for, they can't CPO a brand new watch. Has to be at least 3 year sold. And sans CPO, they are selling a used white dial DJ at a loss. And thats assuming they even sell used watches, which none of my ADs do.

[figb]

If you feel unsure about a watch you shouldn’t force it, always buy what you absolutely love.

[omar-rye]

Did she even confirm she would trade your used watch in?

[thesharkfactor]

It was a gift, a lovely gift too from your wife. I'd keep it.

[DougUSMC]

Originally Posted by joli160

Expect to be on the bottom of the list.

Your AD is very generous but returning a watch will create all kind of problems for them. Stickers removed, warranty activated, probably sized, watch can only be sold as used on which they will take a hit.
They are not happy

Oh no, I was NOT tracking this. As someone relatively new to high end watches, it's situations like these that make "we don't discuss the particulars in store" especially challenging. Thank you for the information, I really wish I'd known this before I made my decision.

Originally Posted by jb335

Regardless of someone's close relationship to an SA, if the watch was purchased and brought home, then the warranty card info was completed and therefore the watch cannot be resold as new again. No SA relationship is going to change that.

And even if the AD has a CPO program and they could sell it for more the retail price they sold it for, they can't CPO a brand new watch. Has to be at least 3 year sold. And sans CPO, they are selling a used white dial DJ at a loss. And thats assuming they even sell used watches, which none of my ADs do.

Again, thanks for the info, I wasn't even considering this!

Originally Posted by omar-rye

Did she even confirm she would trade your used watch in?

It wasn't really a discussion. When my wife bought it the SA told her that it would have to be returned by the 15th.
When she didn't have anything else I was interested in she said "Ok, I just returned it to the card your wife used".

[N&M]

Originally Posted by thesharkfactor

It was a gift, a lovely gift too from your wife. I'd keep it.

It's true.

It was her choice, and lovely memory of this date

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[omar-rye]

Originally Posted by DougUSMC

It wasn't really a discussion. When my wife bought it the SA told her that it would have to be returned by the 15th.
When she didn't have anything else I was interested in she said "Ok, I just returned it to the card your wife used".

That’s honestly unheard of in the luxury watch retail world. Was it a new Datejust with the card dated the day your wife picked it up, or could it have been a CPO watch?

[Andad]

An interesting situation.

[KatGirl]

Originally Posted by jb335

Regardless of someone's close relationship to an SA, if the watch was purchased and brought home, then the warranty card info was completed and therefore the watch cannot be resold as new again. No SA relationship is going to change that.

And even if the AD has a CPO program and they could sell it for more the retail price they sold it for, they can't CPO a brand new watch. Has to be at least 3 year sold. And sans CPO, they are selling a used white dial DJ at a loss. And thats assuming they even sell used watches, which none of my ADs do.

Since his wife was given a return by date, and they would not have sized it, since he wasn’t there, the SA may not have dated the card yet. Need this info from OP, to determine just how big a deal this is. If card was dated, then I agree with your concerns.

Kat


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[train-time]

Interesting indeed! It would be very unusual for an AD to accept a return on a Rolex in my experience. My local AD's receipts actually state "all sales final."

Many years ago I did return a Rolex at a different AD after speaking to the owner directly. The watch was unsized and still had all the stickers on it. In the end, he charged a 10% restocking fee and charged me a $75 fee for Rolex to replace the warranty card with a blank one so they could resell the watch.

[CarlOver]

I think Rolex gifts need to be 100% a certainty that the watch is on the recipient’s wish list otherwise all kinds of odd situations come into play. In this case, she could have brought you into the store for a surprise visit and you either buy it or not.

Someone posted on the forum a while back that they bought a new Rolex from AD. At some point, the watch needed a service and was sent to RSC. Rolex said the watch had non authentic parts or the whole movement was fake, I forget. How could that be? It was sold before to someone that returned it within a day. Obviously something was swapped after it left the AD. This is why dealers just don’t want to go through a purchase and a return.

[Rolexken]

So how is the returned watch presented to a new owner?

[Duke Nukem]

I think you should consider keeping the watch as you'll tank your chances of getting anything else in the future despite what the SA says. (The SA doesn't determine who gets allocations).

A return on a watch is a major PITA for the aforementioned reasons posted by others. Just sell to a secondary dealer once your desired reference arrives.

[Moondoggy]

A gift, id just wear it, who cares.

[watchwatcher]

I don't live in the same world, i.e., where any of my loved ones would give me a Rolex as a present. So...it's a foreign concept to me.

But I really think if I DID live in that world, I don't think I could bring myself to return it. Just my two cents...

[OTX]

Honestly I’m surprised they would let you return it. As far as I know, all sales are final with Rolex ADs as they would have had to activate the warranty card and take the stickers off. They will be taking a used watch back. Good luck with whatever you end up doing.

[jb335]

I think it would explain a lot if the watch was sold as a pre-owned watch to the wife. That would make all of this make sense.


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[GB-man]

She probably is judging you for returning a gifted Rolex lol

[soxfan39]

I'm on the fence on this one. On one hand it's a special gift from your wife and even though you don't love the white dial it could grow on you in the long term and hold sentimental value. On the other if you really hate the dial and can easily replace it with something that you do like by the AD by all means. But it sounds like now you are at square one, having returned the watch for a refund with no suitable replacement or time frame to get one.

[mpkRolex]

Originally Posted by fsprow

Personally, I would just have grown to love the white dial.

Ditto. And I would have grown to like it not just the dial but for the fact that someone (especially my wife) took time to select it for me. But that is just me.

[Bill2e]

You did the right thing

[DougUSMC]

Thanks for all of the comments, I was completely unaware of the potential misstep and I now have a better understanding.

To try to answer a few questions and concerns:
- This is all past tense, the watch was returned last Friday.
- I'm 99.9% certain it was new. I didn't check or ask, but I don't recall a CPO box or white tags, and I would've noticed if they were.
- I didn't check the card to see if it had been dated, I wish I had. The stickers had been removed.
- I understand the concerns with returning a gift, and would agree. It's my wife that made my change my mind over the years. She'd be annoyed with me if I *didn't* return it for something I preferred, especially given the cost of the item. She'll tell you that she didn't even select it, she asked the SA to help pick something. The SA also knows how we gift. I was in a couple of days before my wife (unbeknownst to either of us) buying some things for her. The SA helped me select some designer bags and some jewelry, knowing the odds were 50/50 at best that my wife wouldn't exchange them. I understand that jewelry and bags are different than Rolex, I only mention this to say that's how my wife prefers that we gift.
- Again, my wife had no idea which to get me, she had the SA choose. The SA told her (and she told me) that I had until the 15th to return it. Everything everyone is saying about the challenges that arise with a returned watch make perfect sense to me, but the only thing in my head was that I only had a few days left to return. Not if I *could* return.
- I was already planning to bring my SA something back from this trip, but now I'm going to have to make it a little more special. Not only as a huge thank you, but also with the hope that she'll help me understand the impact of the return.