Is it safe to buy from a non-authorized dealer

[radrak]

Hi Guys.

I have been lurking on this forum for a while soaking up all the rolex info I can. I have decided to to pull the trigger on a White SS Daytona as my first Rolex. Now I have been to 4 AD's in my area and due to a soft economy all have it in stock. However they won't do better than list which is $11,520 + Taxes. Which is about $13,000. (13% taxes here)

Now a local jeweler I have been doing business with for the last year for my wifes stuff tells me he can get me a white SS V series daytona for $11,520 taxes included. Which is a better deal. He says his brother purchases rolex's from a small AD out of province to resell and he has that one in stock. The watch is supposed to be brand new with box and stamped by the small AD on the warranty card. So I would get full warranty. This guy guarantees me its original, and if otherwise he will refund my money.

I discussed this with a friend, and he is telling me to be weary as I might get a fake or a rebuilt watch when dealing with non AD. Is this really possible, when it comes with box, warranty card and all? Could I tell by looking at the watch before I pay him as he has to bring it for me. Any suggestions you guys could give me.



Thanks.

[Tools]

Welcome to TRF..

Nobody can know your situation for sure..

But, if you are dealing with a responsible, legitimate, jewelery businessman, then I don't think that there is much to worry about.. They would not likely risk their business license for a single watch..

I think that your friend is making a broad general statement without basis....

[imono]

For $1500.00 more I'll go get it from the AD.
And sleep peacefully at night knowing it is for real.
Not worth the countless hours spent to doubt yourself.
And you are already having doubts!

[GerardoG]

Remember that you buy from the person, not the store. I have had bad experiences with ADs and fantastic ones with non ADs and vice versa.

[rfknauss]

Personally, if I were going to pay that much for a watch, I would definitely want the piece of mind that comes from purchasing from an AD.

By the way, welcome to TRF!

[ersnyder]

First off, welcome to TRF!

I bought from a non-AD and had a problem with the time regulation. Of course there was no factory warranty but the non-AD honored their own 2 year warranty and made the repair with no problems encountered. So, as it has been said earlier, you make a decision about the integrity of the person/business you're dealing with.

[robertneville]

get it from an ad. for peace of mind and a life of pure enjoyment, its not that much more money in relative terms.

[HL65]

I think it all depends. If you are dealing with a well known reputable watch dealer--it is fine. I have been doing so for years without ever having an issue. You have to do your homework and buying the person is everything!!!

[landroverking]

Welcome to TRF.

I would not have a problem at all...I have bought ...sold and traded thru grey dealers and have gone the AD route brand new. I have good feelings either way...As a banker once told me "know who you are lending to" in other words if you feel good about whom you are dealing with go for it.

[sakuraba]

Welcome to TRF!

I always buy the seller rather than the watch. I would buy from someone I trust, whether he's an AD or gray dealer.

If you personally don't know anyone, I would pay extra at an AD for peace of mind.

[Boopie]

If you think it's a reputable jeweler/watch shop, then go for it. I bought my Yachtmaster in 2001, before I even knew what an AD was. I just researched my watch, and found it at a reputable watch store in town. It was brand new, and had a box, papers, stickers, etc.

When it was time to service my watch, I got it serviced at a Rolex Service Center, so they have the watch in their database. There were never any problems servicing it at an RSC. They never asked where I bought my watch.

[smf721]

After several months of lurking, I decided that the certainty of an official two-year rolex warranty was worth the several hundred dollars more working with an AD.

[Wildwing]

Nothing wrong with buying from a non authorized dealer, if you do your research. And by the way, there are plenty of excellent sources here for new ones that are perfectly reputable.

[brkanand]

Buy from an AD. Have you by now completed the deal?

[radrak]

I haven't completed the deal. I am confused. My wife trusts the jeweler as she has been dealing with him for the last year for all her jewelry.

She doesn't understand why I would want to pay $1500 bucks more for the same watch from an AD, especially since the warranty card is stamped from the jeweler.

She just thinks I am getting overly paranoid about getting screwed over. :)

Still thinking......

[mmmmp]

Hi,
I'm in Toronto too and I'm wondering if you've visited the AD Royal York and Dundas. I looked at a Daytona as you described, and the sticker was 11.5K...however they were willing to talk. If you need more info, PM me.

Mark

[radrak]

Ok I spoke with the Jeweller today and expressed my concern about the fact that not dealing with an AD gives me doubts in mind.

I guess he is very satisfied with the business my wife gives him, so he gave me a very good option. He said he will bring in the watch, I can inspect it, take it for 2 days if I wish and get it inspected by whom I want. If in any way I am not satisfied just bring it back to him. If I am however satisfied then just come in and pay him.

So I guess its a no loss situation on my part. More risky for him...

[mach330]

bumping the thread for a bit.

i'm a bit confused as well. if you buy from the forums or grey dealers and they put your name on the card, how is that different from buying from a ad? so will rolex not service your watch unless your name is on the card? i saw this thread and was a bit puzzled.

http://www.watchtalkforums.info/foru...-warranty.html

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Wildwing

Nothing wrong with buying from a non authorized dealer, if you do your research. And by the way, there are plenty of excellent sources here for new ones that are perfectly reputable.

Have to agree and many grey dealers offer a warranty as good or better than Rolex them selves.And not many watches need any warranty work in the first two years any brand.If they do its just simple regulation that any good watchmaker could do, regulation is a very simple task.It takes only half a hour from start to finish with the aid of a timing machine.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by mach330

bumping the thread for a bit.

i'm a bit confused as well. if you buy from the forums or grey dealers and they put your name on the card, how is that different from buying from a ad? so will rolex not service your watch unless your name is on the card? i saw this thread and was a bit puzzled.

http://www.watchtalkforums.info/foru...-warranty.html

Your confusion comes from "service" and "warranty". On a Rolex in the USA, the warranty is not transferrable between owners.. Those sellers who buy second hand and get a blank warranty, putting your name on the card is like playing russian roulette. If "proof of purchase" is requested, you may be denied warranty work.. But, then again you may not be asked and your name on the card is enough........

As to "service" or non-warranty work........... it is irrelevant, Rolex will service any Rolex regardless of who takes it in..

[Johny]

HI i was faced with all these options as well. i went to the local ad...1st watch so i wanted it to be right.that was 16 days ago. if i have any problems in the next 2 yrs the ad is just a few miles away.

[lakerholic]

First time poster here (btw, I love this forum!), but I did want to give my .02 for whatever it's worth.

I have to agree with those who say buy from the person and not from the dealer. To me, Rolexes are such fine timepieces that the likliehood of a warranty problem occurring in the first two years of ownership is very low (again, just in my experience). Plus, if you are buying from a reputable person (i.e., not private party, but from a non-AD jeweler), you'll be getting some sort of warranty from them directly and should be able to work out whatever issues directly with that person.

Again, this just comes from my own experience:

I have a 1968 GMT Pepsi Bezel (given to me by my father, watch was given to him by the King of Iran in 1968) that had its first service ever in 1992. Ran like a dream for 24 years before it stopped keeping proper time

I also have a 1996 16613 that had its first service in 2009. Again, ran like a dream for 13 years before the crown wouldn't go to the second or third stops for adjustments

And my daily wearer is a D Serial GMT-II (also Pepsi in honor of the 1968) that's perfect.

By the way, I've learned my lesson -- the watches get maintained more often... though, the 24 years that passed before the first service on the GMT were my father's fault. ;)

Now, I realize that the above may come off as overly broad statements by a first time poster but this has been my experience. Buy with confidence. YMMV. :)

[mach330]

Originally Posted by Tools

Your confusion comes from "service" and "warranty". On a Rolex in the USA, the warranty is not transferrable between owners.. Those sellers who buy second hand and get a blank warranty, putting your name on the card is like playing russian roulette. If "proof of purchase" is requested, you may be denied warranty work.. But, then again you may not be asked and your name on the card is enough........

As to "service" or non-warranty work........... it is irrelevant, Rolex will service any Rolex regardless of who takes it in..

thank you. So I guess if grey dealers offer their own 2 yr warranty, then that should be piece of mind.

[InVision]

As stated know your seller. I have purchased several watches from Non-AD with no problems. Only problem I could image from a trusted dealer is more money left in your pocket...

Mike

[petesjag]

I have always bought from an AD. The last purchase was through a well known grey market dealer..The price is much lower because there is no overhead and the warranty card is already filled in (just a few days earlier)...otherwise its the same watch....A good deal and a big savings..

Research the dealer really well and you can rest at ease with your purchase. Dont just buy from a grey dealer because its in your city or town. Buy from one with good standing in the Rolex community. A well established dealer cant afford to make bad sales, it will effect his business. A few bad threads on the forums and its all over for him.
I traveled 3 hours to buy grey....
One thing is for sure its not as luxurious buying grey as from an AD. the AD experience is always nice...a nice store with nice sales people etc...The grey scene is different, atleast for me it was. Its more like a no nonsence buy then anything elce...no showrooms filled with watches to oogle...My dealer had a small office and all of his watches were in the safe. I could try them on but needed to specify which ones...it felt a bit like buying a gun or dope...that part was less fun!

[RLXSTR]

We are a non-authorized dealer as we carry pre-owned and unworn Rolex's and other high end watches. We've been dealing with pre-owned watches for 31 years. Our watch technician has been servicing and repairing Rolex's for 40 years.

I understand the skepticism of buying from a non-authorized dealer, but it helps when you do your homework, talk to friends to find out what type of service they have received.

[tattooedfagin]

when i bought my DSSD recently i had the option of buying pre-owned for £4995 from a grey market dealer or paying the £5880 from an AD for a spankin' brand new model.....i chose the AD route for the peace of mind plus after a bit of haggling the deal was sweeter with all relevant paperwork & warranty in place.

buy cheap, buy twice

[Timber Loftis]

Paying extra at an AD is tossing money down the trash. Go ahead if you like, it's your money.

You're dealing with a jeweler, not some random guy on Craig's List. I'd say you're safe. As an added measure, take it to a watchmaker and have them pop it open and check under the hood.

I've owned several high-end watches, and I've only ever bought one (a used trade-in) from an AD. I always find the watches I like at the AD, and then go beat their prices by 20% or more elsewhere. I don't like throwing money away.

Plus AD's tend to be any combination of (a) gossip mongers and scare tacticians (price hike is coming!!); (b) s.t.u.p.i.d. - so stupid it deserves punctuation; and/or (c) rude. Why pay more to deal with personality types that no one likes? I don't get it.

[iamthewatchman]

Iam a watch dealer DWT Toronto and get this all the time and i do the same thing i get from AD and sell to some customers and other dealers all the time, you can see where the rolex came from the card, he is saving you money and probably making 500 Bucks
if he does work for you guys he probably makes for money of jewellery then watches believe me, don't worry and buy it but when you go to AD dont tell them about the Gary market the actual AD can have headace form rolex for doing that, PM me if you need more help but dont worry and there is 4 rolex dealers that can tell you right away if its reall now you run the probalm beeing stolen this is the thing no one will know unless rolex runs the serial numbers and if it is they keep it make sure the watch is new

[iamthewatchman]

Originally Posted by HoustonGoldExchange

We are a non-authorized dealer as we carry pre-owned and unworn Rolex's and other high end watches. We've been dealing with pre-owned watches for 31 years. Our watch technician has been servicing and repairing Rolex's for 40 years.

I understand the skepticism of buying from a non-authorized dealer, but it helps when you do your homework, talk to friends to find out what type of service they have received.

great response i get this at my store all the time too