Buying from a grey

[Coopercitygator]

Hi! Pretty new here. Looking to add my first Rolex to my small collection. I did have an Explorer I many years ago, but thought it was too small and sold it.
Anyway, question is this- so, i found the watch i want from a very reputable on this board grey dealer- the watch is brand new. I was told the warranty would be from Rolex and be in my name, and that all i have to do is take the warranty card to an AD and they would swipe and all would be good.
How does this work? Does this make sense? I was always under the impression that an AD would be upset that i have a new Rolex from a grey dealer...and this might cause a problem.
If anyone has any input it would be appreciated. First time having to deal with this, as my current watch is a Breitling GMT-not that hard to come by!
Thanks-

[AK797]

The card should have been swiped by the AD before it went to the grey, then the grey just resells it like any used watch.

[ricardo-sf]

warranty travels with the watch .. should be ok as long as you trust the seller

[jcross]

Warranty Card should already be swiped with your name attached to the serial number before they issue the card. They simply write your name on the card after the fact. I hear they may be printing it on the card in the future.

I just recently purchased a DJ 41 from a Grey Dealer and also had my name put on the card as it was a new 2019 model. I'm yet to have an AD swipe the card for the very reason you mentioned.

[Coopercitygator]

Got it. The Grey is a very reputable one; based on the info i have seen here. I am going to have to pay over msrp, or wait 3 years for an AD to get it in!

[Gravity]

Originally Posted by Coopercitygator

Got it. The Grey is a very reputable one; based on the info i have seen here. I am going to have to pay over msrp, or wait 3 years for an AD to get it in!

I have bought all my watches grey and a good portion from fantastic sellers here. If you haven't already, just search the model # in the sales thread and compare prices and condition ect.

Time is by far the most valuable asset in our lives imo, so pay the premium if reasonable, enjoy your piece and never look back. Congrats in advance.

[Rolexoman]

The Grey dealers I have spoke with like Jomashop don’t offer a factory warranty on new watches, they advise they can’t due to the fact they sell for less than MSRP but do offer there own in-house warranty

As stated there are Grey dealers that purchase the watch new and already registered to the original owner, case in point my DJII was purchased from Bob’s and it came with the warranty card dated and filled out with the original purchase persons name on it but had never been worn but was only a year old so I was fortunate enough to get the remainder of the 5 year warranty from Rolex but Jomashop clearly, Authentic Watches both clearly state that all there new watches come with an in-house warranty

Chrono24 now is different as I believe they are kind of an in between, I think some on chrono24 are personal sellers and some are maybe brokers and the watches I have looked at on there state they come with factory warranty so not sure how that all works

[Calatrava r]

If what you are saying you can take it to any AD to have the card swiped. That is most likely wrong. An AD can only swipe the cards of watches allocated to them. You would need to go back to the AD whose name is on the card to have it swiped. As stated, that card was probably swiped when it left that AD.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Coopercitygator

Hi! . . .
Anyway, question is this- so, i found the watch i want from a very reputable on this board grey dealer- the watch is brand new. I was told the warranty would be from Rolex and be in my name, and that all i have to do is take the warranty card to an AD and they would swipe and all would be good.
How does this work? Does this make sense?. . .
Thanks-

No, this does not make sense and is not how the "Grey Market" works.

Grey Market watches are parallel imports and have bypassed the authorized distributor. They have also not been purchased by a retail customer before and so they have never had a warranty "swipe", or any other input. Grey Market watches do not have valid warranties.

If it is a re-seller, not Grey Market, then the watch should have a valid warranty period left since it was purchased on the open market. The card may be in somebody else's name, or unnamed, but should be dated. A re-seller may also purchase out-of-country and just put your name on cards.

Grey Market imports such as Jomashop, Alan Furman, Costo, etc., are distinctly different from Forum or other Internet resellers where a consumer has properly purchased the watch.

[Rolexoman]

Originally Posted by Tools

No, this does not make sense and is not how the "Grey Market" works.

Grey Market watches are parallel imports and have bypassed the authorized distributor. They have also not been purchased by a retail customer before and so they have never had a warranty "swipe", or any other input. Grey Market watches do not have valid warranties.

If it is a re-seller, not Grey Market, then the watch should have a valid warranty period left since it was purchased on the open market. The card may be in somebody else's name, or unnamed, but should be dated. A re-seller may also purchase out-of-country and just put your name on cards.

Grey Market imports such as Jomashop, Alan Furman, Costo, etc., are distinctly different from Forum or other Internet resellers where a consumer has properly purchased the watch.

I have seen new never worn on a few sites that have dated warranty cards but no name so guessing these are legit and only have the remainder of the factory warranty, not sure how the warranty cards are dated with no name as I thought when purchased the purchasers name was written/typed on the card ?

[77T]

If the dealer in question made that claim of having an AD swipe the card then ask him to add your name to the card and go have it swiped himself.

Then you’ll be sure.

The high volume dealers should have the leverage to get that done for you

You or I, on the other hand, would fail at having a random AD swipe a card for us...10 times out of 10.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Rolexoman

I have seen new never worn on a few sites that have dated warranty cards but no name so guessing these are legit and only have the remainder of the factory warranty, not sure how the warranty cards are dated with no name as I thought when purchased the purchasers name was written/typed on the card ?

I have been handed a dated card for my watch, but no name was entered. Likely it was just whoever the salesman was, and their reluctance to put their scrawl on your expensive card.

I understand that new procedures in place call for running the card through new machines, and it imprints name and date..

Perhaps somebody could verify that.

[Sprta]

No AD is going to swipe a warranty card for a watch they did not sell. Typically the buyer buys the watch, the AD swipes the card and has the buyer sign the card.
I would be surprised if any AD would sell a watch without first swiping the warranty card, at least here is the USA.

[Sprta]

Originally Posted by Tools

I have been handed a dated card for my watch, but no name was entered. Likely it was just whoever the salesman was, and their reluctance to put their scrawl on your expensive card.

I understand that new procedures in place call for running the card through new machines, and it imprints name and date..

Perhaps somebody could verify that.

Just picked up my new BLRO watch a few weeks ago and the new system was in place. They use an IPAD with a card reader attached and swipe the card in front of you. The watch information displays on the screen. But it does not imprint the buyers name, you still need to sign the warranty card.

[bobernet]

Originally Posted by Sprta

Just picked up my new BLRO watch a few weeks ago and the new system was in place. They use an IPAD with a card reader attached and swipe the card in front of you. The watch information displays on the screen. But it does not imprint the buyers name, you still need to sign the warranty card.

This. The “swipe” is just a warranty activation step so Rolex knows when the 5 year clock starts ticking. It is not a registration program collecting buyer information. The name on the card is irrelevant for warranty purposes.

[Likestheshiny]

Yeah, I don't know how you're going to get the warranty activated after the fact unless your grey dealer has an arrangement with a specific AD. You certainly can't just walk into any AD and get it activated.

But grey dealers selling watches with real warranties is relatively common. As other posters have noted, it just gets activated when it leaves the AD it was sourced from -- the name is on it doesn't matter.

Not that it needs proving, but I had no trouble getting my grey BLNR regulated under the active warranty it came with, and I'm not the fellow on the card.

[Rolexoman]

Originally Posted by bobernet

This. The “swipe” is just a warranty activation step so Rolex knows when the 5 year clock starts ticking. It is not a registration program collecting buyer information. The name on the card is irrelevant for warranty purposes.

I can attest to the name being irrelevant, I received my DJII hand dated and hand signed with the owners name and it was dated 11-18 and when I took it in to the local AD 3-19 to have it regulated they looked at the warranty card and then packed it up with the watch and sent it off to the RSC in Dallas and came back with $0 due and said all covered under warranty

[tjs00]

Originally Posted by Coopercitygator

Hi! Pretty new here. Looking to add my first Rolex to my small collection. I did have an Explorer I many years ago, but thought it was too small and sold it.
Anyway, question is this- so, i found the watch i want from a very reputable on this board grey dealer- the watch is brand new. I was told the warranty would be from Rolex and be in my name, and that all i have to do is take the warranty card to an AD and they would swipe and all would be good.
How does this work? Does this make sense? I was always under the impression that an AD would be upset that i have a new Rolex from a grey dealer...and this might cause a problem.
If anyone has any input it would be appreciated. First time having to deal with this, as my current watch is a Breitling GMT-not that hard to come by!
Thanks-

Usually greys are considered places like Jomashop. And then there are Trusted Sellers (DavidSW, Takuya for example) like on TRF. Greys do not have a warranty, Trusted Sellers do. You won't get a factory warranty with greys - they take the card out before they send it on to you. You get one of their third party warranties.

[Calatrava r]

Originally Posted by Tools

No, this does not make sense and is not how the "Grey Market" works.

Grey Market watches are parallel imports and have bypassed the authorized distributor. They have also not been purchased by a retail customer before and so they have never had a warranty "swipe", or any other input. Grey Market watches do not have valid warranties.

If it is a re-seller, not Grey Market, then the watch should have a valid warranty period left since it was purchased on the open market. The card may be in somebody else's name, or unnamed, but should be dated. A re-seller may also purchase out-of-country and just put your name on cards.

Grey Market imports such as Jomashop, Alan Furman, Costo, etc., are distinctly different from Forum or other Internet resellers where a consumer has properly purchased the watch.

I have brought this up also. Rolex watches bought on line are for the most part simply used watches (regardless if unworn or the stickers are still on) that were sold at retail and then flipped to the re-sellers. Since all Rolex watches are only sold through ADs, there is no gray market on them. Back door arrangements where an AD keeps the papers and swipes when the watch is sold by an on line vendor is actually a new sale by the AD and the online seller is technically acting as the agent of the AD.

[Wobbly]

Is there anyway to check if the warranty card has been swiped if you buy a grey supplied watch.

[subtona]

If it is going to have your name then it is going to be purchased after you make the deal with the gray dealer. You are taking advantage of the gray dealers buying power to get what you want when you want it. If it is or is not the right price is for you to decide.

[extra260]

Originally Posted by Tools

No, this does not make sense and is not how the "Grey Market" works.

Grey Market watches are parallel imports and have bypassed the authorized distributor. They have also not been purchased by a retail customer before and so they have never had a warranty "swipe", or any other input. Grey Market watches do not have valid warranties.

If it is a re-seller, not Grey Market, then the watch should have a valid warranty period left since it was purchased on the open market. The card may be in somebody else's name, or unnamed, but should be dated. A re-seller may also purchase out-of-country and just put your name on cards.

Grey Market imports such as Jomashop, Alan Furman, Costo, etc., are distinctly different from Forum or other Internet resellers where a consumer has properly purchased the watch.

Please explain how your post relates to Rolex. Does Rolex manufacture the watches then hire a 3rd party to distribute them to their Authorized dealers ? That is the only way a true "grey market" would work unless the watches were stolen in transit from Rolex manufacturing to their authorized dealers. I tend to think your definition of Grey market doesn't apply to Rolex specifically but perhaps it is accurate for other manufacturers. Rolex is either purchased from an authorized dealer or a Trusted seller that obtained the watch from a private party or an Authorized dealer partnership.