Is this a "Buy"?

[DKRanger22]

OK - Quick update. I apologize for not replying sooner. The wife turned our little outing into quite the power shopping exposition. Not much time for me to hammer out a detailed response on my cell phone.

At the end of the day, I ended up passing on this GMT. My normal, go-to salesperson was not in the store today. He is a true watch enthusiast, and we have had many great conversations about our addicting hobby. The person that I was working with today was NOT a Rolex expert by any means, but I have worked with her in the past. I asked to see the service documentation that they claimed to have on hand, and this is where things slightly came off the rails. Turns out, the watch had NOT been serviced by Rolex. Rather, it had been sent out to a shop by the name of Zimbal's - a self-proclaimed "used Rolex" service shop for general inspection and authenticity verification. Just to clarify, no one was trying to pull a fast one on me by claiming that the watch had been "serviced". The girl simply was not well versed in the Rolex realm, and didn't know that there is a big difference between a Rolex service and a third-party service shop such as this. The watch came with a certificate from Zimbal's stating that the watch had been inspected and certified to be genuine (for whatever that is worth).

At the end of the day, it is a beautiful watch in very good condition with very little signs of wear. At $5,500 (that was out the door), I think it was a fair offer, but for me personally, as illustrated above, comparable deals can be found through our network of trusted sellers with proper documentation and fewer question marks.

So my search continues. That's not the end of the world, because I really enjoy the hunt. Thank you again to everyone who chimed in and provided valuable feedback. This truly is a great place to be.

[Muzz]

5500 from a dealer, serviced, great price. If it was serviced at an RSC then it has the service card as well. If I was in the market for a gmt I would pull the trigger.

Just read your last post, got you. Non RSC service. Eh okay deal but the RSC card would have been nice.

[DKRanger22]

Originally Posted by Muzz

Just read your last post, got you. Non RSC service. Eh okay deal but the RSC card would have been nice.

Absolutely agree. Fair deal for sure, but not such a screaming deal that I will lose sleep at night for passing it up.

[zama]

Its funny when I buy a 20+ year old Rolex the box/papers mean little to me, if I am buying a watch less than 5 years old I would ask where are they. Hardly a rare piece so sounds like a good move on your part but the deal itself sounds fine.

[AK797]

Originally Posted by tomcorkery

I would not do it. Will be hard to re sell without box and papers. I would not buy a watch without box and papers. Every time i trade in a watch they always ask if the set is complete.

I think without box and papers in general is for people who are prepared to re-sell privately, as to a dealer they will really beat you down on price.

[superdog]

There's a good deal.

I truly don't understand the mentality of get all you can get.

It has to be a win win. You buy from him often, don't get small over a few bucks.

If both people walk away satisfied, it was a good deal. 5500 is a good price.

[brandrea]

Sorry to hear you lost out on that. It would have been a great deal!

[ragingcao]

$5.5K out the door for 2010 GMT is a very good deal.

[Tan]

I would have passed on this as well. Good move

[DKRanger22]

Originally Posted by superdog

I truly don't understand the mentality of get all you can get.

It has to be a win win. You buy from him often, don't get small over a few bucks.

If both people walk away satisfied, it was a good deal. 5500 is a good price.

While I love the GMT, it's not my #1 pick at this time, nor is it a watch that I would probably keep forever. If this turned out to be a smokin', too-good-to-be-true offer, it would have been on my wrist this morning as I type this to you. For a few hundred more, I'd rather have a complete set from one of our trusted sellers that would make flipping down the road a bit easier.

I've never stated that $5,500 wasn't a fair deal. As stated multiple times, I believe that it is. I wasn't out on a mission for a GMT. Rather, we had just popped our heads into the store to get our rings cleaned / inspected, and this happened to be a new arrival in the case that would have been very tempting at the right price. $5,500 was close, but I chose to "pass" as to keep on my current path for 2015, which is to acquire a blue stick-dial DJII, a Pelagos and 116613LB.