T.O. newbie, advice from fellow Cdns?

[1 PGH 1]

Hey folks, I'm new to the forum ... great site, fantastic advice and beautiful time pieces!
Couple of years ago I bought my wife a TT Lady Datejust, so I'm thinking its my turn over the next while.
I bought her watch at Royal de Versailles in Toronto, but I'm looking at alternatives for mine and I'm hoping fellow Cdns could shed some light ... any other ADs or resellers in the GTA to recommend? anyone consider buying in Alberta to avoid PST? if buying in the U.S. is it better to pick up or have shipped?
Thanks for any help here or via pm.
Peter

[cdnwatchguy]

As far as buying in Alberta it is a bit of give and take. Yes you will only pay 5% GST no PST or HST to worry about. The down side is the economy here has not suffered as badly as other places and dealers are still not very generous with discounts. You might have to weigh the options carefully. Lightly used from a well known seller on a sales board might do you well, however you get hit with all the taxes once it comes through customs plus an extra 5% excise tax. If you buy one in the States, wear it home and mail yourself the box you are way ahead of the game, unless somehow the happy people at customs figure it out.
There you go, a long winded non answer.

[chris russell]

phone, so I think they are a good bet. And as cdnwatchguy said, you would probably lose enough on the discount to make buying in Alberta a waste of time.

[dgr8dude]

I usually buy used Rolex over at the For Sale section in the forums...The few times I bought from AD, is in the US...taxes here and MSRP is way higher...

[Rolesor]

Royal De Versaille can be ok depending on which sales associate you get. Personally I recommend buying through DavidSW on the forum.

I saved well over $1500 and that was compared to Royal De Versaille offering 22% off!

[cornerstore]

Try kayaker21 Paul a great guy to deal with.

[1 PGH 1]

Great suggestions guys. Thanks very much for your help.

[jeremyam]

You can PM me if you're interested, I have a AD here that I've worked with in the past and would be happy to introduce you to them.

J

[SUPERDOC]

What about Van Rijk on Eglington in Toronto
have never been, but looks interesting..

BTW I'm going to Be in Torinto this weekend
anyone up for a mini Toronto GTG??

-Martinis in the Distillery district??

[Sejanus]

Originally Posted by SUPERDOC

What about Van Rijk on Eglington in Toronto
have never been, but looks interesting..

Sadly the prices and attitude there are not really up to par from what I have heard/experienced. Probably best to go for some of the options above first.

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Sejanus

Sadly the prices and attitude there are not really up to par from what I have heard/experienced. Probably best to go for some of the options above first.

x2, I went there before when trying to buy my first Rolex and it is a waste of time, as the service was horrible when trying to call in before making the trip down to see what they had. I ended up leaving with nothing because of it but now it all worked out for the better with other sellers. A lot who have been there would agree most likely. They have A LOT of watches though and all pretty much in mint condition but for their prices your better off just paying a little more and going to an AD or finding a grey dealer locally I think.

[Rolesor]

Prices at Van Ryk are way out of line - I got a BNIB DJ with fluted bezel for less then his used No Date Oyster Perpetual!

[Tass]

I wouldn't waste my time at royal de versailles if I were you, maybe it depends on the associate you get but the guy I dealt with was terrible, place was empty and yet my wife and I couldn't get any straight answers from the guy behind the counter. Since last year I bought Omega, Panerai, Hamilton, Tissot and Rolex watches elsewhere.
I wouldn't even take my stuff there for insurance appraisal at this point.

If you're looking for a Rolex buy from the board here, I did and couldn't be happier.

Tass

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Rolesor

Prices at Van Ryk are way out of line - I got a BNIB DJ with fluted bezel for less then his used No Date Oyster Perpetual!

It makes me wonder how they even sell watches directly to the consumer (if they even do often). Hopefully as the years go on in Toronto we get more variety and sellers. It can be a pain searching at times but once you do find the watch you want and at a good price the feeling after that makes up for all the crap.

Originally Posted by Tass

I wouldn't waste my time at royal de versailles if I were you, maybe it depends on the associate you get but the guy I dealt with was terrible, place was empty and yet my wife and I couldn't get any straight answers from the guy behind the counter. Since last year I bought Omega, Panerai, Hamilton, Tissot and Rolex watches elsewhere.
I wouldn't even take my stuff there for insurance appraisal at this point.

If you're looking for a Rolex buy from the board here, I did and couldn't be happier.

Tass

I am sorry to hear that, Tass. Royal De Versailles is suppose to be one of the best but their staff (the majority of the time) do not reflect this. Even for stuff as simple as calling in to find out a price of a watch etc can be a pain (and get all sorts of attitude). Not sure of the guys name but likely the same one that answered the phone for me a while back.

Every time I search the for sale section here seeing all the outstanding deals world wide (USA mainly, but a few from Canada) it makes me wonder how many WIS's will continue to buy mainly from local AD's

[Tass]

Every time I search the for sale section here seeing all the outstanding deals world wide (USA mainly, but a few from Canada) it makes me wonder how many WIS's will continue to buy mainly from local AD's[/QUOTE]

I'd like nothing better than to support a local AD, I have no issue with paying a little more for good service. I'm in sales myself and believe in the fact that you are buying the person, not just the goods. Customer service is everything in my business, but not everywhere else it seems....

Tass

[RW16610]

I 1000% agree and in my line of work it is the same basically. I am puzzled after some of my bad experiences and stories seen online about similar issues. Hopefully that too can change in time but with the high turnover rate (so I have herd) it must be hard for them to keep decent staff. Back in 2007 they had one of the best working for them in terms of customer service etc and calling in with questions but now even finding out the price of a watch your interested in is a pain.

Their competition a few doors down now moved to Richmond Hill too so now they are pretty much the only Rolex AD in downtown Toronto.

[wrxsti]

Another vote for kayaker21 aka Paul he is from st.johns nf. I have had two flawless deals with him. I will only buy Rolex from him in canada.

[1 PGH 1]

Wow, really appreciate all the advice guys. Much appreciated.
Peter

[Titan1979]

Hi, 1 PGH 1...I have an AD in London Ont that my brother and I have dealt with many times.....we have received pretty good discounts over the years. Let me know if you want the contact info.

[Ski-patroller]

kayaker21 aka Paul is the best. Great person to deal with.

[rfknauss]

Peter, welcome to TRF!