Quote:
Originally Posted by m j b
It's a shame that it has come to this. You guys are discussing how much extra, in the thousands of dollars, that you have to spend to buy a mass market commodity. There are sooooooooooooo many alternatives out there, and you don't have to wait a day or spend over MSRP to obtain it.
I really do like Rolex watches, but it has come to the point I fear, that once I sell my Daytona (and that's about to happen) that I may not return to the brand.
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I agree, and I have never paid a premium for a Rolex. It's unfortunate, but it's the state of the industry.
As to the 'mass produced/mass market commodity' comment I see in many threads now-- Rolexes have a fixed MSRP per reference (in each country), with no easy mechanism for ADs or Rolex to adjust price to reflect supply and demand in a timely manner.
Some of the largest sellers of commodities (to end consumers) worldwide-- grocery stores and gas stations-- do have this mechanism. Grains, livestock, coffee, oil, etc can fluctuate multiple % per day and can easily be halved or doubled over the course of a year (or less). These changes can typically be passed on to consumers.
So, I understand the sentiment and feel similarly, but don't really follow the suggestion that the supply/demand & price dynamic should be any different than it currently is. ADs feel like they are selling something at a discount to fair market value (which they are), and put themselves in a situation where they can maximize value to their firm.
It sucks, but it's just the way it is for now. Over time this will revert, save for a few references.