Will We See Rolex AD’s discount in the near future??

[racerx]

No. In fact, if AD's could charge more they would.

[1William]

Maybe on less popular models and sizes. It will not happen on popular hard to get models.

[stevestil]

I can’t see any discounts happening on Rolex anytime soon. Even if PM pieces are becoming easier to get, and they’re not flying out of the AD as quickly, most AD’s are still holding on to the fact that you couldn’t get a Rolex 1.5 years ago. That’s been my experience at least.

Have to say the rudeness and snobbery from sales associates hasn’t gotten much better either


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[Krash]

I doubt it.


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[Marcjvr]

Yes. These things are mass produced in 4, soon to be 5, giant factories. Discounts will make their return

[avidflyer]

Originally Posted by Marcjvr

Yes. These things are mass produced in 4, soon to be 5, giant factories. Discounts will make their return

Keyword mass produced…great watches love all mine. What are the yearly numbers around 2 million watches a year (or soon to be). Maybe more

[D_Rolex]

No, I don’t think they will. I’m sure in the Rolex/AD agreement it clearly states that the AD cannot discount watches… especially now an AD wouldn’t want to risk losing their license to sell Rolex - it would just crush their revenue. Prob even bankrupt them.

If times get worse I can see ADs discounting on their other brands they carry Ie. Omega, JLC, IWC etc. just like the old days. Rolex doesn’t want to tarnish their brand. They want to keep the luxury persona.


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[Giovannibravo]

Originally Posted by stevestil

I can’t see any discounts happening on Rolex anytime soon. Even if PM pieces are becoming easier to get, and they’re not flying out of the AD as quickly, most AD’s are still holding on to the fact that you couldn’t get a Rolex 1.5 years ago. That’s been my experience at least.

Have to say the rudeness and snobbery from sales associates hasn’t gotten much better either


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Just wait until they start letting go some of their sales staff. This has started at my AD.


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[Oystersteel92]

There's been a paradigm shift in how Rolex is both seen as a brand and sold by ADs. Like any paradigm shift, proponents of the previous paradigm want things to "go back to normal" rather than accepting the new paradigm.

Could discounts happen again? Sure they could, but in my mind (and from a purely American perspective), it would take an unemployment rate of 10% to both slacken demand and flood the preowned market with safe queens being liquidated to raise cash.

There is clear evidence that they're getting easier to obtain, with waits coming down to months rather than years for many models. I'm quite certain I could get a GMT of just about any flavor this year from my AD if I asked, and the new TT on jubilee is FIRE...

[chris242]

Originally Posted by Oystersteel92

There's been a paradigm shift in how Rolex is both seen as a brand and sold by ADs. Like any paradigm shift, proponents of the previous paradigm want things to "go back to normal" rather than accepting the new paradigm.

Could discounts happen again? Sure they could, but in my mind (and from a purely American perspective), it would take an unemployment rate of 10% to both slacken demand and flood the preowned market with safe queens being liquidated to raise cash.

There is clear evidence that they're getting easier to obtain, with waits coming down to months rather than years for many models. I'm quite certain I could get a GMT of just about any flavor this year from my AD if I asked, and the new TT on jubilee is FIRE...

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[Scapegoat]

I don't need discounts.

I just want to buy a watch I want, off the shelf from the AD with no to little (1 month) wait.

[Hollie_Rollie]

Originally Posted by Oystersteel92

There's been a paradigm shift in how Rolex is both seen as a brand and sold by ADs. Like any paradigm shift, proponents of the previous paradigm want things to "go back to normal" rather than accepting the new paradigm.

Could discounts happen again? Sure they could, but in my mind (and from a purely American perspective), it would take an unemployment rate of 10% to both slacken demand and flood the preowned market with safe queens being liquidated to raise cash.

There is clear evidence that they're getting easier to obtain, with waits coming down to months rather than years for many models. I'm quite certain I could get a GMT of just about any flavor this year from my AD if I asked, and the new TT on jubilee is FIRE...

The TT on jubilee is absolutely fire!


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[JR16]

The short answer is highly unlikely. Trading prices on the secondary market are somewhat irrelevant as long as there are long wait times at ADs. Vast majority of those looking to buy a Rolex want to buy new from an AD.


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[brandrea]

I hope not.

Discounting is a bad look for a luxury brand

[lawyerdude]

I will say even 41 datejusts fluted/jubilee are still quite hard to come by. I put my name down at 4 AD’s in Q3 2023. I was able to get one at one of them in November, but not the bracelet bezel/combo I wanted. I walked in one day and someone had just rejected it. I took it to get the ball rolling with the AD towards a different watch, but the other 3 keep telling me it’s hard to get.

[SLWoodster]

I agree with a few people here. I think discounts will come back, but don’t know when or how much.

The demand is also still much higher than 2019, which should be considered the last year that was not an outlier.

There are healthy days-in-inventory but unless you were working in the back office 2019 and before, wouldn’t know.

Originally Posted by yuk0nxl1

Would like to think we will eventually return to the pre-bubble discounts but it's hard to say when. Another 2-3 years once the new plant is going 100%?

Pre Covid, I would see a 5-15% discount on most models with a few exceptions (I.e. SS Daytona, Batman, etc. ) Solid gold discounts would be all over the place.


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[Bxtek]

As others have mentioned, discounts could probably be had for slower moving/lesser demand pieces. I suspect if there was something like a full diamond set Day Date in the showcase, I bet you could get something off MSRP.

Back in the 80's and 90's, people would laugh if you walked out of the store and paid MSRP.

[Gmt+10]

Price increase more likely in the near future.

[Rolex1982]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I hope not.

Discounting is a bad look for a luxury brand

My thoughts exactly!

[173rdabn]

Don't hold your breath. However, if you buy at list you're still saving about 50% over grays. HMMMM, not bad.

[the dark knight]

My guess is they would backdoor them out to grey dealers first rather than sell at discounts to end users openly.

This is happening with Grand Seiko, which was way too aggressive with price increases while riding a pandemic sugar high. All the ADs around me have said they have a strict no discount policy that GS is enforcing, but more and more of the watches are ending up on the grey market at substantial discounts. Even formerly popular models. Obviously the stock is coming from somewhere.

[Hollie_Rollie]

Originally Posted by Rolex1982

My thoughts exactly!

Rolex has been sold at a discount a lot longer than they’ve been selling at list


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[tng11]

I wouldn't expect discounts to start happening soon.

What I do see returning are bundle deals. Offer to buy a DD40, ask for a GMT/SS Daytona with it. That was what was happening for a while before the craze where PMs that used to go for big discounts grey were over MSRP.

[airchitect]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I hope not.

Discounting is a bad look for a luxury brand

That’s a true, and often overlooked, story.


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[Mccall86]

Guys it’s happening!!




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[slide13]

I definitely don't think you'll be seeing discounts anytime soon. Maybe....long shot maybe...on some less desirable models or some PM models.

I think things could, over a longer time scale (5-10 years), go back to a place where more popular models could be discounted. Note I said "could" and not "will". If demand continues to decrease and watches start sitting in cases again then discounts will likely start happening. Will it ever get to the most popular models, Subs, GMTs, Daytonas....less likely but who knows what the future holds for Rolex demand.

So many people speak as if the current state is the norm, but it's only been the norm for the last 7 years or so. For decades upon decades before that it was common to walk in, find cases full of watches, and you had a good chance of getting 10-20% off. I've told my story before of shopping in 2017 for a Sub and getting no discount at one AD only to go to another where I was able to get 15% off an 114060 just by asking and got to examine the two they had in stock to pick the one I wanted. That was less than 7 years ago. That's when the current market situation was just starting to happen.

We shall see what the coming years bring. My hope is at least we'll start seeing watches in cases again and easy availability for all but the very most desirable watches. I miss those days, current situation kinda sucks.

[Yobber76]

Perhaps on watches that they struggle to sell, TT, MOP, 31mm Datejust. It would be a quiet unofficial discount if neccessary.

On the hard to get SS sports models, I don't think so.

[superpop]

Originally Posted by Oystersteel92

There's been a paradigm shift in how Rolex is both seen as a brand and sold by ADs. Like any paradigm shift, proponents of the previous paradigm want things to "go back to normal" rather than accepting the new paradigm.

Could discounts happen again? Sure they could, but in my mind (and from a purely American perspective), it would take an unemployment rate of 10% to both slacken demand and flood the preowned market with safe queens being liquidated to raise cash.

There is clear evidence that they're getting easier to obtain, with waits coming down to months rather than years for many models. I'm quite certain I could get a GMT of just about any flavor this year from my AD if I asked, and the new TT on jubilee is FIRE...

Unemployment is one small factor. The bigger factor by far is what I call "coolness factor" These are fashion baubles, not a security. Fashion has a funny way of being fickle in a big and unexpected way. I already smell a bit of coolness wearing off as people are fatigued with the whole experience and starting to question the need for these very expensive pieces of jewelry that can sometimes draw the wrong kind of attention. I would love to see the hype train continue but as someone else astutely said, Rolex could be had for a discount for a lot longer than they have commanded anything over MSRP.

[0nly5iv3Digits]

Not a chance. They aren't your typical "corporate" structure with shareholders the company would normally be beholden to.

[Uppersouth]

If an AD is sitting on 2 unsold white gold subs, the incentive is there. Simply unavoidable. That’s how one gets a discount.

I just want things to tighten to the point where I see proper customer service return with a need/desire to actually try to sell something. I don’t want a discount but I want them a little hungry.