The Quest of Purchasing at Hong Kong Rolex ADs

[tony8154]

Hello all :)

I've been living here for around 8 years (2012-2019).

Bought a previous gen White OP39 for a friend a few years ago under my name, which began my purchase history at OWC. At this time, OP39s weren't that hard to get, and after a few phone calls, I had one put on hold and was able to buy it the same day.

I'm back in HK for a few days just for vacation this time, and wanted to buy a piece to commemorate a memorable 8 years.

Not knowing the actual purchasing system of Hong Kong nowadays and how they do business, I thought I'd drop by a few stores to start up a conversation.
the first AD I went to was in the IFC mall.

Pretty much all I got was an automated "no" from one of the sales reps who didn't even offer me a seat. All the "waiting lists" were full, so I can't even put my name down, including 2023 models, and there's nothing that they can do about it. Some models are occasionally available via walk-in, but those are the least popular two-tone datejusts.

Went back to OWC that I originally purchased from.

The lady that greeted me didn't speak English, so she had to call over another sales rep whose English was subpar at best.

Pretty much the same story. The only available model is an iced out Day Date. This store on the other hand claims not to have any wait lists, and did write down my information, and one model that I was interested in.

I already have a 124060 and a 126710BLRO, so I showed my interest in the Celebration motif as well as the OP Turquoise Blue in 36mm.

I'm not 100% sure what he was trying to say, but I think he meant that my bid of interest will last for 2 months, then it will automatically be cancelled, and in case within that time period they do get the watch, they will call me, but won't hold it for me (LOL WTF). He also said that '23 models won't be available until the end of the year, so my bid of interest in the celebration motif OP will be automatically cancelled, so there's no point in even writing it down.

So is this the norm in Hong Kong nowadays? Was I supposed to ask for the street price or a bundle deal? A few years ago I know there were rumors of ADs selling directly to gray dealers in bulk, so it was virtually impossible to get a popular model. I assume that's still true these days?

I only have a few more days in Hong Kong so I assume the chances of me acquiring a piece that I want is highly unlikely.

Oh well.

I think it's official. Korea is the best place to buy Rolex watches.

[cmc_tht]

This is the norm in Hong Kong.

If you want something from AD, negotiate a bundle deal.

[tony8154]

Originally Posted by cmc_tht

This is the norm in Hong Kong.

If you want something from AD, negotiate a bundle deal.

Then I suppose there's no point in visiting the many other ADs in the city?

Should I even bother stopping in the AD a few more times where they took down my information?