Day-Date II Experience bejeweled Mandalay Bay Las Vegas AD

[Yachtmeister]

This is my first post as I am brand new to this fine forum. I am finally due for my first Rolex and in all likelihood it will either be a Day-Date II 218238 chdp or a Yachtmaster 16628 mopd. Earlier this month my wife and I stayed at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. They have a good size AD named "bejeweled" adjacent to their casino and after dinner we stopped by. We talked to a very nice sales person, assistant manager James Guilliams. James had both the President and the Yachtmaster in stock and I tried both on. Obviously both looked great but ultimately I liked the President better and we started to talk numbers on it. Initially he wanted full price for the watch ($34,500 if I remember correctly) however as soon as he had us qualified as being serious about a purchase and after some back and forth he came down to $29,450. That's about 15% off. I told him we would take the watch on the spot for $29,000, as I figured on a luxury item like this there is always some room left after the seller made their best offer. He had to call his boss about it and I witnessed part of the conversation, so I’m sure this phone call was not a mere closing tool of any kind. To my surprise he said that the discount I was asking for could not be authorized because of Rolex minimum pricing requirements and policies. We walked, but the more I think about it, the more James' final offer of $29,450 looks like a good deal on the watch. I was hoping to find out more about experiences other members of this forum have had with ADs and what kind of pricing can be expected. Also, is there a Rolex-enforced maximum discount on the Day-Date II or in general of around 15%? Is this watch really as hot as the salesperson claimed, because I remember that the original President was more of a slow seller, at least slower than the sport models. Thanks for all input in advance. This seems like a mighty nice forum and I am looking forward to interacting with all of you!

[dddrees]

There are so many things that go into discounts and how they are done, but typically you won't be able to get as large of a discount with a Rolex as you can alot of other manufactures. However with ones at that high of a cost the seller usually has more room to give better discounts.

Then again Vegas isn't usually the best place to get a deal as other places.

You could always call around and see what kind of deal tou can get somewhere else, but remember with a Rolex and ADs you have to go there physically to initiate the deal.

The other option would be to contact a trusted seller here and see what they could do for you. It's worth a try any way.

Good luck with your hunt.

[B. Doggy]

You can get a far better deal if you're not in Vegas. I visited more than 5 AD's and stated I'd buy a Daytona on the spot and they all balked. I knew at least two had one also. It's just Vegas, man..

[phampau]

I would say shop around if you are trying to get the best price. Of course, there is always a premium I am willing to pay for premier customer service, but i think you can do a little better. If that was 15% off out the door, you cannot forget to include the savings on tax. You could try to save tax by getting the AD to ship it to you in califormina and save a little more.

[ersnyder]

Welcome to TRF and good hunting! Be sure and check out some of the trusted resellers on TRF before making a final decision.

[Yachtmeister]

@Pham: Correct, shipping out of state and no sales tax were part of that deal.

Does anyone have a recommendation on an AD within about 500 miles of Los Angeles? I also talked to someone in person at the Baron & Leeds Rolex flagship store in Costa Mesa, but their price was actually worse than bejeweled's. Thanks.

[PatekSF]

Another AD in Vegas is located in the Wynn Hotel. Why not give them a quick call and see what they can do? If they have what you want at the price you want, have them charge it and ship to CA!

[Christiaan]

15% is nice but you can find a better deal from a TRF seller.

[MoosicPa]

There is no authorized Rolex Maximum Discount... Rolex doesn't aloow AD's to discount, but most do. On an all gold pice like the DayDate, the discount should be higher than on a SS model, between 20-30%. The reason being that the gold and TT pieces are harder for the AD to move than the SS pieces. On a SS piece bewteen 10 - 15%.

[sond86]

In northern Cali I've found 20% off on day dates is not super hard to find but not sure about day date 2. But in Cali having to pay tax, sounds like the Vegas deal would be more advantageous

Smaller dealers sometimes only special order dd2

[ktmd]

Absolutely crazy that they would let a $29,000 sale go over a lousy $450.

You could do better elsewhere, so it is probably just as well for you that they were dumb enough to let you leave without the watch.

[Stonedcl]

I can't believe that the guy let you walk aver $450 on a 30k watch either.. I think your offer was valid .. The guy should have said $30,500 and I bet you would have took it for $30k what a horrible sales guy that he did not leave himself any room.. Lol
I sell higher end Japanese cars and I always give myself room like if my manager says $41,500 is the best price on a 45,000 car I go in at $42,500 cuz no matter what price you say is the bottom the customer always wants a little more..