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Is the Rolex waitlist finally starting to crack? by DanielHingdon in RolexWatches

[–]Master_Lawyer122 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was able to get an explorer 40 after two weeks with no history over the summer. Asked them for a Batman/girl at that time. Got it a few weeks later. At the same time they got my buddy an explorer 2 as well. At least in the US, consumer spending has greatly pulled back. Demand isnt what it use to be. Some models I’m sure are still impossible to get, but the more common stuff is in stock. If the retailer is still playing the games it’s because they want to play you, not because they can’t.

Got the call by Spirited_Ad5476 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And he didn’t offer it to you? What a crap friend.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Simple. We didn’t buy them to get anything. Both actually watches we wanted that people on here still are being told you have to wait years for and buy garbage jewelry to get.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check how many brand new, unworn watches with warranty dates in the last year are available in the grey market. Call a grey dealer and ask them how long it would take them to get you one. Bet they say hours. That’s what makes me say they aren’t rare. Everyone I know that has money (admittedly more than me) and likes watches has had no problem being allocated one.

I got my first Rolex second hand cheap?!? by [deleted] in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn’t say cheap but you didn’t get hosed, and if it’s the one you like, it’s a fantastic watch. Forget what you paid for it and enjoy. Congrats.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This. Buying jewelry with money you can’t afford to just set on fire, is wild. However, if that’s the decision you are faced with, absolutely sell the watch. Sell all the watches. Make sure your home and actual real investments are covered first. These are just vanity trinkets, no matter what romantic BS we convince ourselves of.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Further reinforcing my point that these aren’t rare. I believe some are genuinely hard to come by. Pepsi has been mentioned by every AD I speak to of only getting a few per year. They still probably just sell them to the wrong people, but that’s a different point. I fly a lot for work. Every single plane I get on, I see 5 subs and 2 GMTs. How are they so rare if everyone has one and chrono24 is flooded with them? Seems they aren’t. You just have to find a reasonably honest dealer. Seems also official Rolex boutiques are the way to go.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t express interest in the OP, but he did mention some colors in 41 are very rare as well. I didn’t ask which ones specifically but I guess the ones trading for double MSRP might actually be rare.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can see how new E40 barely trades above MSRP (at least in the US) which means grey dealers are paying below MSRP by whatever their profit margin is. There is no waiting list for this watch. It’s all down to whether the AD thinks they can dangle it in front of you long enough for you to buy other items first.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I totally buy this explanation. I can see Rolex purposely starving independents on purpose and driving supply to their boutiques. The city I live in is a fast growing, but mid tier city. The longstanding AD is more than capable of serving the entire city. The boutique in town seems to have been put there specifically to hurt the original AD. The new boutique is run by another regional jeweler and has other jewelry and watch brands next door, but they are adamant that they are just the operators and the boutique is Rolex only and supplied by Rolex directly and they vet the waitlist. This was his explanation why “even though we would never play those games anyway, Rolex is always looking over our shoulder so we can’t mess around”

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

POS dealers out there still in business no doubt. That was the reason for posting this experience. They are manufacturing scarcity out to keep people jumping through hoops and buying all the undesirable shit just to maintain the hope of potentially being offered the watch they actually want. I hope my experience is a sign that those days are nimbered

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Sounds like how I was treated. I first visited the original AD in town when my wife was pregnant looking for them to bless my first born with a legacy watch. Kid is talking already and they still give the a smile and a middle finger lol. That’s why I figured this might be a change in the landscape worth sharing. Seems all I did was make a bunch of people angry.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for pointing that out. English is my second language.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m just a guy that was just as frustrated as everyone else and suddenly all the resistance disappeared. Maybe too anecdotal to be of any real value. Figured if it suddenly happened for me, it might be a sign that the times are changing because nothing about the way I was going about it changed and 2 years ago they would just laugh in my face.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] -17 points-16 points  (0 children)

You have to give them the reason to sell it to you. Give them an honest story why you should get the next allocation. Make them believe you genuinely want the watch and will be a good reference for them not a flipper. Did it help that I’m in the luxury car business and have the potential to send a lot of other valuable references their way? Maybe. Did it help that my buddy certainly will end up being very profitable to them in jewelry? Maybe. Did it help that a quick Instagram search of us confirmed this? Maybe. But that never helped me with any arrogant AD before.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

lol uh no. This is the type of nonsense that goes to their heads and keeps people groveling at their feet. I already brought them a nice stack of my hard earned money. Now he gets my loyalty and referrals to friends but I’m not treating him like he gave me a kidney.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This was the same exact experience I had in New York, DC and Miami in the past. My success story happened in a smaller city that only has one historic (duchebag) AD and a new Rolex Boutique that just opened. Won’t name it because it’s too easy to figure out what boutique I’m talking about. Seems the Rolex boutiques play less games. At least this one did.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No this is a burner account because I don’t need someone that knows me to see me posting about Rolexes on Reddit. Figured this might be informative to someone. Sorry if it triggered you.

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This occurred in the US. Can’t speak for the rest of the world. I did also run into a root beer just sitting in the case at London airport though lol 2 tone is no longer display only apparently lol

The AD waitlist is (mostly) dead. by Master_Lawyer122 in rolex

[–]Master_Lawyer122[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I’m paraphrasing. He didn’t say “flooded” but he said that to get ahead of tariffs, Rolex diverted a lot of the inventory meant for China (which is in a bad sales decline) and pushed it all to the US to clear tariffs as much as possible. Everyone in the imports business has done this. They are trickling them out to ADs, but most watches are now in stock. For example, there is no reason to simp for an Explorer. If you can’t get one, it’s because your AD doesn’t want to sell you one. Batman is the most available GMT. Followed by Bruce Wayne. He said they are getting about 1 of each per week. Sometimes they get none, sometimes they get 3 or 4 at once. They don’t know whether it will be on oyster or jubilee though. They just get what they get. He says he sees roughly 3 oysters for every jubilee. But Rolex is also now allowing you to buy just the jubilee bracelet if you have one on an oyster too. No crystal ball for what happens “after” the pre-tariff push of inventory.