Negotiating with an AD

[gbo83]

Hi guys, was wondering if any one of you could give me some tips in negotiating with an AD. Thinking of getting either a submariner or submariner-date(16610). Whats a reasonable discount? How should I haggle with him/her?

[therolexguy]

Similar to buying a car. Don't be in a hurry. Keep in mind the new prices are so new that many of the prices were raised last month after the ADs already paid Rolex for the watch based on the old price. (the spread between what they paid and are asking for now is higher). I would start with 25% and go from there. You can always hang around here too and buy from one of the trusted sellers here. (I am not one of those sellers by the way). Good luck. You'll get lots of answers on this one.

[Shade]

Make sure you show that you're serious, but not willing to pay too much for it. And don't show them that you're drooling all over the place for it. :)

[sakuraba]

Might be difficult to haggle on a discontinued reference.

Good luck.

[Danand]

Ask for their price if you buy it right now. Show them you're serious but be willing to walk if they don't budge. Remember that unless you are looking for a seriously had to get watch there will be more, so you should be under no pressure to buy( realistically you want it badly but remember you already have a watch to tell time so you can wait if you have to). Try to be less emotional and more rational.

[gbo83]

thanks for tip. I'll be checking it out tomorrow

[Aspirin]

8% off normally here, but don't know over there in Canada.

[Maxtor]

Not sure where you are in Canada but Royal De Versailles in Toronto was a quick 22% off on a 31mm DJ but then held firm. Not sure how they work with Subs but I assume similar as both SS watches. Humbertown was the same. I did better going out of town.

[Mr. Greene]

you should be able to get a nice deal I was at an AD this weekend and even though he knew I was just loking and killing some time I almost pulled the trigger on a 16613 for 7400 which if i remember right is about 2K off the retail. he said they wanted to sell it since they had the new ceramic ones in. So the deal is out there

[cool-canuck]

Originally Posted by Maxtor

Not sure where you are in Canada but Royal De Versailles in Toronto was a quick 22% off on a 31mm DJ but then held firm. Not sure how they work with Subs but I assume similar as both SS watches. Humbertown was the same. I did better going out of town.

Maxtor - any idea how these prices after discount compare to US prices given the strength in the Canadian dollar? Pretty much everything from gas to cars to houses seems to be at least 20% cheaper in the US.

[dhh]

I have had great luck getting 30% of the non-stainless pieces and maybe 20-25% off the stainless watches.

The key to all negotiating - don't BS and be immediately ready to buy or call their bluff and walk. If you're not ready to go and waste the AD's time you'll never get a great deal next time.

Now the AD's that I deal with know when I call them I am immediately ready to pull the trigger.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by cool-canuck

Maxtor - any idea how these prices after discount compare to US prices given the strength in the Canadian dollar? Pretty much everything from gas to cars to houses seems to be at least 20% cheaper in the US.

Canada has a GST that is close to 20% on all goods and it is reflected in the price.. The US does not have GST, and does not show prices with any taxes applied.. (except gas, which has tax applied at the pump)

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by therolexguy

Similar to buying a car. Don't be in a hurry. Keep in mind the new prices are so new that many of the prices were raised last month after the ADs already paid Rolex for the watch based on the old price. (the spread between what they paid and are asking for now is higher). I would start with 25% and go from there. You can always hang around here too and buy from one of the trusted sellers here. (I am not one of those sellers by the way). Good luck. You'll get lots of answers on this one.

Sound advice.
dP

[gbo83]

Originally Posted by Maxtor

Not sure where you are in Canada but Royal De Versailles in Toronto was a quick 22% off on a 31mm DJ but then held firm. Not sure how they work with Subs but I assume similar as both SS watches. Humbertown was the same. I did better going out of town.

I'm from vancouver, but i've read about Royal De Versailles here in the forums, that they give discounts pretty quick. Maybe I'll give em a call and see if my AD here will match it or come close to it. Prices here are a lot more, when I was in NY, Torneau price tag was $6000 (before tax, and non-negotiable) for the sub-date, here in Vancouver its $6900 before the 12% tax. I'm not sure if they increased the prices already, hopefully not.

[1000ft]

I just bought a 14060m at Lugaro in North Vancouver for 5650 HST(%12) in, from a sticker price of 6320. Total discount of 1275. All I said was, how low can you go.. I assumed they knew I was serious, as I had been coming in on a weekly basis for a month..

Then last week I week visited Brinkhaus in Vancouver to see what I could see. The jeweler offered zero discount on the Milgauss.

Maybe It was because the 14060m is discontinued, but I was offered a similar deal on what I thought was a current Datejust.

That's my 2 cents

[Danand]

Originally Posted by Tools

Canada has a GST that is close to 20% on all goods and it is reflected in the price.. The US does not have GST, and does not show prices with any taxes applied.. (except gas, which has tax applied at the pump)

Taxes in Canada vary from province to province with Alberta being lowest at gst only (5%) to Highest in Nova scotia (15%). These taxes are NOT included in published prices ( unlike VAT in UK).

There does seem to be a fair amount of discounting in Canada at the moment for at least some models, but it is likely that the list prices were set with a weaker dollar in mind, as opposed to the near par situation ( compared to US$) that we have been in for a while now.

Nobody likes taxes but with a visible tax it is at least harder to raise taxes since every time you buy something you are reminded of it, unlike VAT.

[Danand]

Originally Posted by 1000ft

I just bought a 14060m at Lugaro in North Vancouver for 5650 HST(%12) in, from a sticker price of 6320. Total discount of 1275. All I said was, how low can you go.. I assumed they knew I was serious, as I had been coming in on a weekly basis for a month..

Then last week I week visited Brinkhaus in Vancouver to see what I could see. The jeweler offered zero discount on the Milgauss.

Maybe It was because the 14060m is discontinued, but I was offered a similar deal on what I think was a current Datejust.

That's my 2 cents

My dealer in Ottawa told me they aren't allowed to discount Milgaus GV, or SS daytonas, most others can be discounted at varying amounts.

[gbo83]

Originally Posted by 1000ft

I just bought a 14060m at Lugaro in North Vancouver for 5650 HST(%12) in, from a sticker price of 6320. Total discount of 1275. All I said was, how low can you go.. I assumed they knew I was serious, as I had been coming in on a weekly basis for a month..

Then last week I week visited Brinkhaus in Vancouver to see what I could see. The jeweler offered zero discount on the Milgauss.

Maybe It was because the 14060m is discontinued, but I was offered a similar deal on what I think was a current Datejust.

That's my 2 cents

Thanks for your input.

[gbo83]

Originally Posted by Danand

My dealer in Ottawa told me they aren't allowed to discount Milgaus GV, or SS daytonas, most others can be discounted at varying amounts.

A couple years back when my friend and i asked one of the dealers here about the daytona, she offered us a couple thousand above msrp if we want it right away.

[Andad]

I find the best way is simply to express a serious but not too excited interest and ask for their best price. As you express your acceptance or lack of interest they know where they stand and will usually ask you what if anything might be needed to close the sale.

Just my 2c.

[Flat4Boxer]

I have an AD that I've bought tons of stuff from over the years. I thought I had a good relationship with them and even bought my Tag from them a month prior to getting my first Rolex.

When it came time for me to get my Rolex, they would not even come off the tax that I'd have to pay vs. ordering and having it shipped to me from out of state.

I had other AD's offer me 15% off even though I've never spent a dime in their establishment in the past.

Needless to say, I held out, got better than 15% and won't be going back to the original AD for anything in the future.

Keep shopping around, be willing to walk and you will get a fair price.

[Casey VP-26]

On 3 or 4 occasions when I have received the best discount from an AD it turns out it was near the end of the month. This could be a coincidence, but I believe it might have to do with the fact that an AD once told me that his payment is due to Rolex at the beginning of month and is usually between 100,000 to 200,000. Dollars, depending on the time of the year and double or triple around the holidays. Best discount for me being 25%-30%. Good Luck

[Maxtor]

If I was going to buy from the US then I would do my comparision shopping via the TRF Trusted Sellers... go to the For Sale section and see the feedback. You can get BNIB or LNIB and they seem to ship to Canada no problem. Good luck with your purchase.

[Danand]

Originally Posted by gbo83

A couple years back when my friend and i asked one of the dealers here about the daytona, she offered us a couple thousand above msrp if we want it right away.

Must be a sign of the times but my AD says I could get a ss daytona for list.

[Danand]

Originally Posted by Casey VP-26

On 3 or 4 occasions when I have received the best discount from an AD it turns out it was near the end of the month. This could be a coincidence, but I believe it might have to do with the fact that an AD once told me that his payment is due to Rolex at the beginning of month and is usually between 100,000 to 200,000. Dollars, depending on the time of the year and double or triple around the holidays. Best discount for me being 25%-30%. Good Luck

Same with cars. Often they have sales Quotas they are trying to meet so they are very motivated. Especially so at the end of the year what wih bonuses, etc as well as the fact the distributors base their allocations for the next year on prior years numbers, so if a dealer wants first crack at "hot" items they need as much sales as possible.

[Roxas]

Thanks for every advice.

[Subdialler]

To be guided how to haggle will usually come across unnatural, just be yourself! What worked for me was approach the AD and say 'I'm prepared to spend £$x,xxx to buy the xxx model. Are you prepared to sell me one for that?'

Best of luck!

[gbo83]

Just got back from the AD, ended up buying the 14060m. Thanks for all the tips!!

[1000ft]

Cheaper than me!?

[Nairn1980]

Originally Posted by gbo83

Hi guys, was wondering if any one of you could give me some tips in negotiating with an AD. Thinking of getting either a submariner or submariner-date(16610). Whats a reasonable discount? How should I haggle with him/her?

If this is the old model non-ceramic, certainly in the UK there are no deals on these watches.

if any ADs have them left they will be full retail, and they also arent subject to the latest UK price increase so the ADs will use this further as a bargaining tool.

I would say if you want a 16610 go and buy one asap...because if the USA is anything like the UK these models will be disappearing fast!