Got my SD!!! Rumors, and NYC Inventory

[krism06]

I apologize in advance for the long post. After all of the rumors of a price increase and the potential changes that may or may not come on the sports line, I bit the bullet and bought an SD today. It is being shipped to my out of state address so I have to wait for it. I really didn't intend to buy, but Joel at William Barthman in NYC made it worth my while. I had never set foot in his store and he gave me 3 options just by me asking. 5% off with 12 month no interest, 7% with a CC, and 10% cash. I told him I wanted to think on it over night and we began talking other subjects (Yankees, etc.) As I readied to leave, he said if it made a difference he would go ahead and give me 10% with a CC, so I said OK and did the deal. He had both an M and Z series and said I could have whichever one I wanted, so I chose the M series.

While I waited for my sale to be completed, we talked about some of the rumors on the net. FWIW, he gave me his opinion that change to the SD and Sub line (ceramic bezel) would be slow in coming and totally discouted the 43MM SD rumor, but acknowledged that noone really knows until Baselworld in April. We also talked about the GMT II models in his case. He noted that he had received both Pepsi and Black and Red SS models in which the II was capped on top. I asked him what that meant and he said it was an his understanding that the markings meant that these were the last GMT II's being produced. He has both in his case if someone is interested. Once the sale had been completed, I asked about the rumored price increase. Again FWIW, he told me that he knew that prices would be changed this coming Monday as his rep had contacted him about 18 watches that he had purchased for a corporate customer that he would not get the new price on. At this point, he had no reason to lie to me as I had already signed the warranty card and CC slip.

Also, if anyone is interested he had a SS white meteorite Daytona in the case for sale along with several TT Daytonas.

If anyone is in the market, I highly recommend this store and Joel. The best AD experience I have had in NY.