Where and How do you Purchase a Rolex

[swiss_watch]

I purchased my Rolex at the Hour Glass, a brick and mortar retail store that sells luxury watches. However, it seems that a handful of people purchase their Rolex online, through eBay etc.

Having never purchased anything through eBay, yet alone, anything substantial over the Internet generally, just out of interest, do you purchase your Rolex:

• online through websites like eBay

• online through online watch retailers

• at a Rolex store

• at a brick and mortar retail store, or

• through any other method?

Further, do people purchase new or second-hand Rolex watches? Are there older Rolex watches which are more "valuable" or "sentimental" than the ones made now?

Thanks.

[tunes]

i'm pretty new here...but I've made all 3 of my purchases from 1 TRF seller. Others will chime in here but when looking for a rolex online you are shopping the seller more than the watch. The Who's who section here is great and full of reviews of sellers here. You can get a pretty good base on who to trust from there.

[tfly212]

I've done all three over the years...panerai on eBay back in 2004, Rolex from AD and another Rolex from a trusted seller here. I probably wouldn't ever use eBay again as the risk isn't worth it.

As for an AD versus a trusted seller I would definitely use either one again, depending on the model. For models with very little discounting available I would probably go to an AD. For pretty much anything else, a trusted seller is a great way to go.

From my Note 2 running AllianceROM 25

[ltmgeller]

Here from DavidSW or another trusted seller

[porschedude]

when i purchased my first rolex me and the owners son of the store kicked it off pretty good and became buddies, i will never buy a rolex from anyone but him. he takes very good care of me as a customer and in return i give him repeated business and send my friends his way! build a good relationship with a employee or if you can a owner of a boutique, i got lucky in my situation but it makes it really nice being on a friend to friend basis if i ever need anything.

[socalwatchcollector]

Bought many from here.. I stay away from Ebay I just don't trust it. My 2 cents..

[jjnd08]

I've bought and traded with Gold Watch Co (awesome customer service), one from a pawn shop on ebay, and I did one trade with a trusted Seller on here.

[Trouble15]

I purchased my first Rolex through a brick and mortar. It was before I found TRF, but I did get what some would refer to as the experience of an AD. From there I have purchased my last three watches (2 Rolex & 1 Tudor) from a trusted TRF seller. In the future I plan to continue purchasing from trusted TRF sellers. In my opinion you get better prices from the sellers here for great quality watches.

I would also suggest staying away from eBay for these type of purchases, but that's just my opinion.

[Jake B]

Brick & mortar, always. I have bought both new and 2nd hand, but with a purchase as important as a Rolex, it is a MUST for me to be able to examine the piece in my own hands, with my own eyes before buying.

[swils8610]

I text DavidSW or another trusted seller and within 24 hours the FedEx guy appears with a new Rolex!


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[thomaspp]

Rarely brick and mortar and almost as leafy from trusted sellers I have met here. Just compare the prices in the fire sale section here. That being said, congrats on your new rolex!

[adamlea]

eBay/Online Seller:

I wouldn't do eBay - too much risk, too many horror stories. Peace of mind is worth a premium and you can find much better - and safer - deals elsewhere.

I've never bought a Rolex from an online seller, so I can't speak to that experience. Even so, as far as Rolex is concerned, I can't help but think that you can get just as good - if not better - deal elsewhere. Personally, I'd prefer to buy from a fellow WIS anyway, someone who can talk watches, rather than entering an Amex on an online form, clicking confirm, and waiting for a box.

AD:

As others have mentioned, if you go the AD route, you may be able to negotiate a modest discount, depending on what model you're looking at. Use your local AD to see your options in person and try things on. It's very important, I think, to see it, hold it, and try it on before you buy because sometimes a picture doesn't tell you everything you need to know.

Once you've made up your mind, buy from an out of state AD and have them FedEx it to you. If you do it this way, you won't get charged sales tax - and that's a discount in and of itself. Lots of members can recommend an AD that will deal.

TRF Trusted Sellers:

The TRF classifieds are another great route. You'd be surprised what you can get from these folks - everything from vintage to brand new in box (BNIB), in every conceivable condition, at every conceivable price. I've seen high end Patek Philippe watches listed - and sold - on the TRF classifieds for north of $100k. TRF Trusted Sellers are not amateurs. You can read more about them in the Who's Who Section.

The search and the research is part of the fun of buying. Enjoy it and good luck.

[Cesium133]

In the past I've bought new and used "luxury" watches from ADs, mom and pop jewelry stores, EBay, and TRF. All have been great experiences. I'll probably stick with trusted sellers on TRF in the future. I like to pay by credit card or PP since it offers buyer protection. Although I have bought 2 new watches in the past 2 years, almost of my watches have been used. I figure I'm going to scratch them up anyways so I might as well save some money, too.

[Jack T]

From a very reliable AD jeweler here in Northern NJ, three Rolex's, an Omega and jewelry for my wife. A high level of personal service, personable, reliable, competitive. No need to go elsewhere.

[tunes]

while we are on the topic of ADs...has anyone been successful in negotiating an additional 3% off of negotiated price if you offer to pay cash and not CC so that they won't have the CC transaction fee?

[swiss_watch]

Originally Posted by tunes

while we are on the topic of ADs...has anyone been successful in negotiating an additional 3% off of negotiated price if you offer to pay cash and not CC so that they won't have the CC transaction fee?

In Singapore, I visited several ADs and all they could do was give a 10% discount off the marked price. They didn't give any further discount for a cash payment in lieu of a credit card.

I ended up going to a particular Hour Glass because the sales associate (despite being unable to give a discount >10%) offered me leather goods which were worth a few hundred dollars in themselves.

[skprd13]

All from this forum! 12 and counting! Thanks to all who have sold me my watches!!!

[tunes]

Originally Posted by swiss_watch

In Singapore, I visited several ADs and all they could do was give a 10% discount off the marked price. They didn't give any further discount for a cash payment in lieu of a credit card.

I ended up going to a particular Hour Glass because the sales associate (despite being unable to give a discount >10%) offered me leather goods which were worth a few hundred dollars in themselves.

I was in Singapore this week and none of the places I went would budge off of sticker price.

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk

[swiss_watch]

Originally Posted by tunes

while we are on the topic of ADs...has anyone been successful in negotiating an additional 3% off of negotiated price if you offer to pay cash and not CC so that they won't have the CC transaction fee?

Originally Posted by tunes

I was in Singapore this week and none of the places I went would budge off of sticker price.

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk

Which ADs did you go to in Singapore? The 4 or so I went to were willing to give 10% off their marked price upon asking.

[postalworker]

ADs out of state to save on sales tax and I got 20% discount.

[GradyPhilpott]

All mine were purchased through my local AD.

They're great folks and I haven't minded paying retail.

However, as my knowledge grows it is likely that I'll consider private purchases in the future.

[viper9669]

I buy mine from AD or retailers, so I may inspect the watch properly.

[RXAPPP]

Done ADs and boutiques until I found the trusted seller section on here. As someone else said unless it's a low discount model I.e Daytona I wouldn't go back to a bricks and mortar. eBay I wouldn't take the risk any day or any time

[HogwldFLTR]

So far I've only bought from eBay. I've had to return three, one of which was a fake which I didn't actually receive after TRF pointed out my mistake. I was able to cancel the shipment prior to it occuring. The forum provided great ammo for my case against the seller. Another two died shortly after receipt and were returned either voluntarily with the seller accepting their responsibility or with the aid or Amex as my negotiator. So ultimately that makes eight watches bought with three returns and two of the returns being bad experiences. Of the five that I've kept I've saved thousands off the cost of what it would have cost through the trusted sellers on TRF.

The bottom line for me is the ultimate cost of the watches. The most I've been out is the cost of shipping back two watches.

One note, make certain that aside from eBay and Paypal as protection, use a credit card and have that as a back-up if something with the deal goes wrong. On the one watch that died shortly after I received it, eBay gave me five days to get an estimate on a repair; that isn't even close to realistic. After trying to do things by email with ebay I finally cancelled the claim and went through Amex to resolve my problem. They were a bit more helpful. As with many support programs, I find that the support people at the other end of the email don't read and tend to want to send back preprogrammed responses that don't really pertain to the claims. Use phone calls to talk to people; it works better after the original claims have been made.

Ultimately buying on the forum through the better known sellers will likely save effort but cost dollars. Either way there is a cost either in effort or dollars.

[hchj]

Ebay is too risky. I bought mine from a local grey dealer who is trustworthy. He allowed me to examine the watch on the spot and promised to refund in full if I don't like the watch. I remember I managed to save 22% from list price.

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[Jake B]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

So far I've only bought from eBay. I've had to return three, one of which was a fake which I didn't actually receive after TRF pointed out my mistake. I was able to cancel the shipment prior to it occuring. The forum provided great ammo for my case against the seller. Another two died shortly after receipt and were returned either voluntarily with the seller accepting their responsibility or with the aid or Amex as my negotiator. So ultimately that makes eight watches bought with three returns and two of the returns being bad experiences. Of the five that I've kept I've saved thousands off the cost of what it would have cost through the trusted sellers on TRF.

The bottom line for me is the ultimate cost of the watches. The most I've been out is the cost of shipping back two watches.

One note, make certain that aside from eBay and Paypal as protection, use a credit card and have that as a back-up if something with the deal goes wrong. On the one watch that died shortly after I received it, eBay gave me five days to get an estimate on a repair; that isn't even close to realistic. After trying to do things by email with ebay I finally cancelled the claim and went through Amex to resolve my problem. They were a bit more helpful. As with many support programs, I find that the support people at the other end of the email don't read and tend to want to send back preprogrammed responses that don't really pertain to the claims. Use phone calls to talk to people; it works better after the original claims have been made.

Ultimately buying on the forum through the better known sellers will likely save effort but cost dollars. Either way there is a cost either in effort or dollars.

This sounds terrible ^^^^ I'd never put myself through that nonsense.

[T. Ferguson]

I've bought from ADs and sellers here. My most recent purchase was here and this will likely be the case going forward. The dealer network can't come close to competing on the all-in price. I simply don't buy often enough to pay retail several times in order to establish a "relationship" that may eventually get me near the discount I can get here to begin with.

I'm not concerned about seeing the merchandise first when buying BNIB. And with used pieces ADs in my area don't really deal in them. In any event my experience here tells me that, if anything, the best TRF sellers understate the condition, and provide high quality photographs. Besides, most of them will make sure the customer is satisfied before closing the book on a deal.

[Rags]

I purchase mine right here from any of the trusted sellers.

[mjclark32]

Through sellers here

[kleman]

2 Omega vintage from ebay. No problem with them. The models are not the most valued by collectors, hence not so much subject to be copied.

2 Rolex, Explorer and Cellini, from a brick and mortar dealer in Italy. I did go personally and would not buy if they were not well established. I could manage a package deal.