Average Age/Shelf Time for a Rolex

[rls77bronc]

To all, me again....

As you know from my post, I have a S/S GMT black bezel on order, with a three to five week waiting period. I was told by my AD the waiting list at their store for the S/S Sub Date was about three to four months (they are a good dealer, outstanding reputation in my area).

My question is what is the average time a Rolex stays on the shelf? Having to wait three to four months, means there are none in the states? the factory is backed-up? the distributor is out?

I guess I am asking the route the watch travels from the factory to the display case. How many times does it change hands? Also just for my knowledge, I asked her if she worked on commission-she said yes (there is a good story behind my question and I will post that later today or this evening), what would be her portion for a $4500 GMT? Is there a big markup in general on the Rolex?

Unlike typical me, I was so caught up in the moment buying my first Rolex, I did not even ask if they could move on the price. I am paying retail, should I have tried some negotation? I have always heard the Rolex dealers are like the BMW, MB and Lexus dealers, price is pretty firm. I guess they feel if you are in their showroom shopping for this high end merchandise, chances are a few dollars will not make-break a deal.

Remember the old saying: if you are buying a $100,000 motor home and have to ask about the gas mileage, maybe you should reconsider your purchase.

These are the details that intrigue me.....And thanks for all of your help the past few days...I may be calling and putting my name on the Sub Date list...

Thanks,

Richard
'77Bronc

[C.J.]

Bronc,
I just made a purchase last week. It did seem as though most AD's sports model stock was depleted from the holidays. Over the past week or so it for the most part has been replenished. As far as the Sub is concerned, it is a very popular model. My AD had several in the case, both 16610 and 14060m (date and no date). So it appeared to be fairly easy to get.
I was trying to get 12 to 15 percent off. Wasn't looking good though. One of the guys here from the forum set me up with his AD in North Jersey. He offered me a great price, much better than anyone else. While waiting for his stock to re-supply my wife went and bought the watch locally and surprised me with it. She ended up getting eight percent off MSRP, (not as good as Marks friend, but she had no idea and lets face it that was a pretty amazing thing for her to do!)
The saleswoman, just an employee, turned out to be a pretty cool lady. We had some mutual friends, so she felt comfortable talking. She says that her commission on the watch is 10 percent and that the dealer gets the stock for 65 percent of MSRP. If they pay the bill for the stock in a predisposed amount of time 5 percent more is deducted. She also added that the dealers are unable to order specific amounts of certain models from the factory. More or less, Rolex sends what they send, and that if a particular model was needed deals like that were made between dealers.
As I said before, I'm the new guy, so I'm not certain of any of this, but she did seem sincere. By the way, I got the GMT which is no where near as popular as the Sub. I did try on both at several AD's. Every one of them said they would not move as much on the Sub as they would on the GMT.
Hope this helps.

Craig

[JJ Irani]

Hi Richard,

You do ask some good questions, I'll give you that!

I spoke with a salesman at Mansor's I'm pretty friendly with and he says they don't get commission, just a fixed salary. All of them are very helpful there, but Mansor's also stocks a lot of high-end jewellery, including official dealership for MIKIMOTO.

What I have noticed there is some of the staff specialise in the jewellery part of it, while others deal with the watches. They are very attentive of the customers who walk in and the service and knowledge (on watches as well as on jewellery) is something you have to see to believe...not to mention the cleavage, of course!!

Your dealer obviously doesn't have a very good inventory that you have to wait that long for a GMT-II. Most dealers have them just sitting in their display windows. You should strive for at least 10-12% discount.

Good luck, pal.

JJ

[President Rolex]

How long do you think the leopard Daytona sits there?

[padi56]

Originally Posted by President Rolex

How long do you think the leopard Daytona sits there?

How long is a piece of string,its the same for the beach model Daytona the so called ladies models.I know a AD who has 3 of them in his window for nearly 3 years now.

[s7horton]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Hi Richard,

You do ask some good questions, I'll give you that!

What I have noticed there is some of the staff specialise in the jewellery part of it, while others deal with the watches. They are very attentive of the customers who walk in and the service and knowledge (on watches as well as on jewellery) is something you have to see to believe...not to mention the cleavage, of course!!

Your dealer obviously doesn't have a very good inventory that you have to wait that long for a GMT-II. Most dealers have them just sitting in their display windows. You should strive for at least 10-12% discount.

Good luck, pal.

JJ

Things are a little different in the states, and also probably vary by AD. However, the AD's I've been in, there are only a select group of employees that are allowed to open the Rolex case. So if you walk in not knowing any of the sales staff and happen to get the wrong person, they will get you a new sales person to open the Rolex case. They do this because the select group has been trained by Rolex on how to sell properly. That way they have an answer to the question: "How come it costs so much" from those not in the know.

I know that I have to push to get an 8% discount. Have yet to see a 12% or higher discount on a sports model. The others are easier to get a discount with. Someone else was exactly correct when they said that the dealers don't get to pick what stock they want. The Rolex rep gives them what they feel to be appropriate. My local AD strives to have 125 in the case at any one time. But... there were only about 10 sports models.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by President Rolex

How long do you think the leopard Daytona sits there?

Only until the next female Panthere strolls by!!

[Gedanken]

Hmm - interesting question indeed.

From what I've gathered from chatting with Rolex owners stateside, American dealers seem to be pretty thinly stocked in general, and their supply rates seem to struggle to keep up with demand. My guess is that it's probably a marketing ploy.

I've had an AD tell me that they only get one SD and one Sub Date per shipment of 100 Rolexes, but bear in mind that this was the same guy who would not budge on MSRP, so what he said could pretty much be exclusively used to make my garden pretty.

That said, Singaporean dealers generally acknowledge that the tool watches tend to move significantly faster than the DJs and DDs, so you're going to have to speak up if you tell the guy that that Sub or GMT is spoken for.

In my case, not having known about Rolex SA's 15% discount limit at the time, I slapped six $1000 bills on the counter before talking to my AD, and that made a pretty loud sound. We eventually settled on an 8.65% discount on my SD, and then he pulled out three SDs for me to try on and select.

From what I've personally experienced, my conclusion is that stocks of the tool watches do move very quickly. On the other hand, if your dealer tells you that your Rolex will arrive after your customised Lexus if you order both at the same time, he's having a laugh.

Now, as for the markup issue, John Brozek's Rolex Report has some retail and wholesale prices listed. Here's a sample of the 2002 figures:

_____________Wholesale_____Retail
SS Sub date:---2271.00------3875.00
Sea Dweller-:---2351.00------4000.00
SS GMT-II--:---2271.00------3875.00
SS Daytona-:---3231.00------5500.00

Not to break Brozek's copyright and list every model, but a random sampling of the models shows that the markup is about 70% of the wholesale price.