100% Down BLNR Within 6 Months

[Jmatik23]

They charged me only 8,900 instead of 8,950 and didn’t charge me sales tax. I was told I will pay the rest once the watch arrives.


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[Pay M3]

Originally Posted by Jmatik23

There’s a few points I’d like to touch on here:

Full disclosure - I did the same, and pre-paid for my BLNR through Tourneau back in August. Back then there were no rumors of a discontinuation, but it was still a hard watch to source from an AD.

I figured I’d get it in time for my 30th birthday this past October. I was also informed that if I did pre-pay, there were only two others ahead of me at that point and that would put me at about a 3 month wait given the amount of BLNR’s they receive. Now this is all speculation, because he did tell me that what we all already know - AD’s don’t know what’s included in a shipment until they crack open the crate. They have an idea when the next shipment is going to be, but no details about what they will receive.

I was ok putting down 100% (less sales tax) and walking out the door knowing that I just had to sit back and wait.

It is now December (about to be January) and still no watch. I stop in every few weeks to chat it up with the salesman, but same story - they haven’t received any BLNR’s in a while.

Last time I was there, I was told that they removed the other two people ahead of me because they looked at their purchase history and they looked to be resellers, so they removed them from the list and refunded their money. I thought this was great TBH.

Sure I can pay 4/5k above MSRP and enjoy the watch now, but I like my watches BNIB, and I want to peel the stickers off myself.

This leads me to my final thought - TRUSTED sellers.

The example provided above was NOT a trusted seller as others have pointed out. He was a scammer who successfully scammed a novice out of their money.

I understand your perception that the for sale section should only include “trusted” sellers as they are all given the title “pledge member” as in order to list an item for sale, you must pledge a minimum of $30.

But that’s just it. Any shmuck with $30 can pledge their support and scam someone out of a 20k watch.

You should ALWAYS do your research before sending a dime over to anyone.

While I’ve waited a few months for my BLNR, I also purchased my first Rolex from DAVIDSW, and I couldn’t have been more satisfied with the service I received. The watch was delivered as fast as could be, and it arrived with all of the stickers (which is better than today’s standard from an AD) IMO.

The term “trusted seller” means these individuals have literally HUNDREDS of successful sales and reviews from costumers who vouch for their business. Not some joe-shmo who has (at best) a few successful deals.

I can tell you now that the sellers someone else listed above are all top of the line in terms of trust and reliability and if I had the chance to buy the watch I want from any one of them - even at 1-2k above MSRP, I would do it before you could blink.

At the end of the day, Tourneau isn’t going out of business anytime soon. We will get 100% of the money refunded if we decide to pull out. If the watch is discontinued, we can transfer that money over to another watch, so really nothing to lose here for me.

10k is no small amount of money, but if everything else in your life is in line, it’s a small price to to pay for that feeling of getting what you want.





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I’m really hoping someone comes in that went through this with a watch to show for it. Thank you for all the helpful points though!

[Drake3287]

Not to add to the rumor mill but with both Tourneau and Bucherer removing the BLNR off it's web sites, my guess is the final batch of these watches is already in the being distributed through out the dealers. Hopefully you'll be one of them.

My guess like many is that it'll return later next year with a new movement and band much like the Pepsi. Who knows, you might score one of those instead!

[doboy007]

Originally Posted by Jmatik23

They charged me only 8,900 instead of 8,950 and didn’t charge me sales tax. I was told I will pay the rest once the watch arrives.


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I would remove your receipt with the order info.

[TimeToWatch]

Will they pay you interest on your deposit? You can easily earn 2%+ these days...

Just kidding...kind of...

[MTBer]

Kinda wonder if escrow services would make sense for this kind of thing...if the purpose of asking for a deposit is to ensure those on the waitlists are serious buyers and not just a crappy way of ransoming money by the AD, they should have no problem with this, and it would give the buyer piece of mind in the event the AD goes under or loses their status with Rolex.

[Rocket_Man]

Originally Posted by Pay M3

The thread I linked? Yes I read it that’s why I linked it. I guess this is my fault for assuming that anyone able to post watches for sale here is a trusted seller? Why in the world would somebody who’s not trusted be able to post watches for sale?

By all means the PM’s I get that offer a piece to me are not trusted but if they have gained the ability to post in the for sale section, to me that should be trusted.

As has been stated, only those who are Pledge Members can post in the For Sale section, but not everyone who posts in the For Sale section is a Trusted Seller. There is no definition, no special account, no official TRF vetting process to be a Trusted Seller. Trusted Seller is no more than a term that has evolved to mean a seller that can be trusted. No pun intended, that is all it means. The TRF community tries to police the sales process by posting feedback for both successful sellers, buyers and uncesseful sellers and buyers. But like all other on-line sales on forums it is Buyer Beware. As is constantly stated on TRF, always buy the seller before you buy the watch.

There are some Trusted Sellers who have such significant sales history and significant successful feedback that many do little or no vetting of these sellers... like DavidSW and Takuya (who I have purchased from face to face on 2 occasions and personally trust). There are others that have substantial history that I have not bought from but probably would. Then there are many others who are just normal watch owners who occasionally sell. You have to vet them. In the end it is you as the buyer that decides if the seller is trusted or not.

Many of the bigger Trusted Sellers post on multiple sites and their watch sales show up on WatchRecon under multiple forums which each give more opportunities to vet their histories.

The thread referenced earlier, which I read from start to finish, was 100% a scammer and the buyer in that thread did not do his due diligence to vet that seller. Scams do happen on both the seller side and the buyer side. The amount of vetting you need to do I think is in proportion to the value of the transaction and how much each buyer is willing to risk. That buyer risked $17K but clearly in hindsight he was not really ready to lose that amount of money. Several red flags there, but red flags are always easier to spot after the fact.

To the original post on this tread, I think you have a significant chance of getting your watch. But the Tourneau in Houston closed (they weren't a Rolex AD but sold used watches). Is your agreement with the store or the company? The terms of the deal are only verbal, not reflected on the bill of sale. Technically a 100% deposit is in fact a sale. I bet they registered this as a sale to help with their monthly sales quotas. Make sure you end up getting a new in box watch and not a used watch. AD's have buyers over a barrel. This would have been a more fair arrangement if they included a statement that if they didn't get you a watch in 6 months they would refund your money plus 2%. Or it it took longer they would reduce the sales price 1% per month until they provided the watch. Doubt they would be that fair in the process, they have your money. Hopefully they do refund it if you ask and promptly.

[Terrakot]

Wish I if all AD’s ask 100 % down payment. All these waiting lists with 95% flippers in list should be canceled

[ArtNouveau]

Note to Rocket Man, the Tourneau in Houston was very much a Rolex dealer as was the Ben Bridge in the Galleria until the Boutique (owned by Deutsch) opened. High bidder got the exclusive.
I think the closings of the Houston and Dallas Tourneaus was more a corporate redirection kind of thing versus poor sales, but losing Rolex had to be a big blow.

[ClamantJTV]

I think it's fine, what I don't like what my AD told me I that, "if the price of the model you ordered goes up, then you have to pay the difference." What a joke!

[crazymcmichael]

Originally Posted by jeffnnj

First of all if they go bankrupt you’re screwed and yeah stranger things have have happened. Second of all, you have zero buyer protection with your credit card after 3 months. I would suspect that business was slow and they needed your money to make their number for the day. You have no way of knowing how many other deposits they have or whether the manager will want to buy it himself when it comes in or sell it to one of his friends,etc. No way I would do that.


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yea true indeed perhap they will let there business ''go'' after a load of greedy ss Rolex customers .. who knows

[carfanatic991]

I have no problem doing this. I wish my AD offer this for their Rolex watch. I’ve done this for their Tudor BB58, waited for a month and when it arrived just didn’t like the bracelet so I returned it and they refunded my purchase.


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[mfm22]

Not something I would do , but your money hopefully your watch .

[SS Oyster]

Originally Posted by Pay M3

I'm told I can get a refund at any time.

What if they go out of business?

What do they owe you if they don’t produce the watch within 6 months?


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[lightingball2]

The only thing is, they got bought out by Carl F. Bucherer. I just wonder if their inventory status will change. I just have a really hard time parting with that much money and not knowing when I am going to get my item. They can't give you and exact date. They are just planning sometime in the next six months.

[InitialAndPitch]

Originally Posted by Juhuatai

I fail to see how this is a risk? If you don't get the watch, your deposit gets returned no? It's not as if Tourneau will just run off with the money, it's a legitimate company and you have all the documentation. Now, if some gray market dealer asked me to do this, then no way.

Edit: I guess there is a risk if you can't float the 10k but if you can't do that then you shouldn't buy a batman anyways.

We are currently in a pattern that preceded the GFC. AIG went bust, Bear Stearns (bailed out - too big to fail). Lehmann Bros went down and stayed down. Retailers who were cash cholked failed.

You’d be an unsecured creditor with no recourse if we have some kind of crisis while they have your money. This is like a trip to the casino in some regards.