Benefits or Pitfalls of buying Gray

[garrye]

Hi guys, firstly, what a treasure trove of information this place is. Its been a great find for me.

I am looking at adding a Rolex Daytona to my existing couple of Cartier watches. I certainly dont have a collection by any stretch of the imagination, but i do have a strong desire for a Daytona, and i am ready to make the purchase.

Obviously my initial go to plan was to buy retail through the AD network, this being my first Rolex purchase. This idea was less about the 'experience' of buying through an AD and more about being assured of getting the genuine article, given the plethora of fakes out there. My Second option was to look at recently used models via authenticated resellers likes of Bobs Watches, and that seemed like my solution as they got good feedback from this community..... then i found the For Sale section in the Forum - and it seems like that is an even better option. My guess is that anyone attempting to sell anything other than the genuine article would be called out almost immediately.

I have found a couple of watches i like in the For Sale sections...one was already pending payment by the time i reached out to the buyer, but im really interested in the other one i have my eye on.

The watch seems perfect for me, and the seller has been nothing but professional, courteous, super helpful at answering all questions i have and has gone out of his way to assure me this is all 100% legit and above board, and has welcomed a face to face meeting to see the watch etc - so i have a high level of confidence in him, the product and would like to give the business to him.

It came from an overseas AD, and while that poses little issue for me, i wondered if there is any downside to buying a gray import. There seems to be some conflicting info on here vis a vis the warranty etc. It feels like a global brand like Rolex would honor any warranty anywhere in the world and regardless of where it had been purchased??? or not??

Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[autohorology]

They'll honor any waranty from any country so long as the watch is not stolen. There is nothing to be concerned about with a gray market purchase in general as long as you're buying from a trusted source.

For me it depends on the watch and what I know I can resell it for if I buy grey market or not. A Datejust II I have no problem buying grey market, because I know it resells to a dealer for 5500-6000 so I want to minimize my loss. A Daytona, however, can be resold for very close to its original retail value so I would buy that from an AD, but an out-of-state AD to save the tax.

Just my two cents.

[tkerrmd]

If your first Rolex it is nice to have a Relationship of an AD IMHO even more so if one and only

That said a trusted seller here will save you money and so if that is the bottom line you can buy from a Trusted seller here with confidence

Good luck post some pics!

[sturgeon123456]

Originally Posted by tkerrmd

If your first Rolex it is nice to have a Relationship of an AD IMHO even more so if one and only

That said a trusted seller here will save you money and so if that is the bottom line you can buy from a Trusted seller here with confidence

Good luck post some pics!

This

[Tools]

Originally Posted by garrye

. . .

It came from an overseas AD, and while that poses little issue for me, i wondered if there is any downside to buying a gray import. There seems to be some conflicting info on here vis a vis the warranty etc. It feels like a global brand like Rolex would honor any warranty anywhere in the world and regardless of where it had been purchased??? or not??

Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

You need to research what you are getting and who you are buying from. The Grey Market is a legitimate business, importing new watches from distributors into the country bypassing the authorized Distributor. They do NOT come with valid warranties. Grey Market outlets make this clear up-front. (JomaShop, Alan Furman, etc.)

Buying a watch from a reseller who bought it from an overseas AD is not a Grey Market watch and should have a valid warranty if it was properly filled out at the time of purchase.

(yes, I know that some Grey Market purchasers have managed to get warranty work done, or at least they claim they did. You were lucky)

[Nycturbovr6]

Welcome!

[iazrollie]

To get a 116520 as a first Rolex purchase, you almost always have to go through a trusted seller. But, if you can find an AD that will sell you the 116520, then jump all over it. The selling price will be very similar (give or take).

[AK797]

Originally Posted by Tools

You need to research what you are getting and who you are buying from. The Grey Market is a legitimate business, importing new watches from distributors into the country bypassing the authorized Distributor. They do NOT come with valid warranties. Grey Market outlets make this clear up-front. (JomaShop, Alan Furman, etc.)

Buying a watch from a reseller who bought it from an overseas AD is not a Grey Market watch and should have a valid warranty if it was properly filled out at the time of purchase.

(yes, I know that some Grey Market purchasers have managed to get warranty work done, or at least they claim they did. You were lucky)

Yes you want a reseller's watch, such as the trusted sellers here, not a grey market one, imported with no tax paid.

[GB-man]

My advice: contact one of the top trusted sellers on here and ask for what you want. There is nothing they can't track down within reason. Check the who is who section and realize who the top resellers are.

Personally, for rolex, Davidsw is my man. There are several others though but I will not comment as I have not completed deals with them.

[Kingair]

Originally Posted by GB-man

My advice: contact one of the top trusted sellers on here and ask for what you want. There is nothing they can't track down within reason. Check the who is who section and realize who the top resellers are.

Personally, for rolex, Davidsw is my man. There are several others though but I will not comment as I have not completed deals with them.

X 2 . . . pretty easy ;)

[adamlea]

I think the best advice when considering any route other than an AD is to buy the seller. To put it another way, don't buy from anyone you wouldn't feel comfortable sending your watch to and having them sell it on consignment. A good reputation is one that can be verified.

Everyone on TRF is a watch enthusiast, except for the occasional shyster/con-artist - and those folks get weeded out and banned pretty quickly. The reputations of TRF's trusted sellers speak for themselves. Those guys move a lot of very high-end watches, and they wouldn't be able to do that if they'd ripped someone off. In fact, I'd say if you're going to go grey market, go with a TRF trusted seller.

Other than that, like others have said: research, research, research. And ask lots of questions, regardless of where you buy or who you're buying from. And avoid eBay, like ebola. Happy hunting.

[unclesallie]

Originally Posted by adamlea

I think the best advice when considering any route other than an AD is to buy the seller. To put it another way, don't buy from anyone you wouldn't feel comfortable sending your watch to and having them sell it on consignment. A good reputation is one that can be verified.

Everyone on TRF is a watch enthusiast, except for the occasional shyster/con-artist - and those folks get weeded out and banned pretty quickly. The reputations of TRF's trusted sellers speak for themselves. Those guys move a lot of very high-end watches, and they wouldn't be able to do that if they'd ripped someone off. In fact, I'd say if you're going to go grey market, go with a TRF trusted seller.

Other than that, like others have said: research, research, research. And ask lots of questions, regardless of where you buy or who you're buying from. And avoid eBay, like ebola. Happy hunting.

I believe the above is excellent advice, and well stated. I would add that
the Daytona market is "soft" and not what it once was, unless you are buying that rare vintage Daytona, and I doubt that is the case. If you are considering vintage, you need to buy from a specialist, and the above advice goes triple, quadruple, because cases and dials can be faked, and there are expert forgers out there. I think it would be a good idea to educate yourself to the history of the Daytona as well, and there are excellent pieces here on that in our Library. Check it out. Familiarize yourself with dials, and movements. Spend a little time, it will pay off. And yeah, there are great sellers here, and all you have to do is go to the appropriate forum and you will quickly find out who's who....best of luck!

[Mfrankel2]

Originally Posted by GB-man

My advice: contact one of the top trusted sellers on here and ask for what you want. There is nothing they can't track down within reason. Check the who is who section and realize who the top resellers are.

Personally, for rolex, Davidsw is my man. There are several others though but I will not comment as I have not completed deals with them.

x2. David has taken very good care of me. First thing you do should be to PM him, tell him what you're looking for and see what he has