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Old 11 January 2018, 12:11 PM   #31
lastshotkid
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Old 11 January 2018, 01:19 PM   #32
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Well written, that's a great choice..congrats!
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Old 11 January 2018, 01:58 PM   #33
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Originally Posted by Zakalwe View Post
Finally got the call today. Absolutely stoked. Deposit down. Pick up on Saturday.

I thought, since from time to time on here folk enquire about getting hold of popular sports Rolexes in the UK, I’d briefly relay my experience. I’m not an expert, and I’m not saying what I’ve done is the best or only way of getting hold of one. But it’s what I did. Bear in mind, this will be my first Rolex, albeit I have a few nice watches from other brands I had no kudos with any AD save for an Omega boutique. I’m not a VIP, nor a big spender on PM watches.

So the hunt began last Summer. Saw a BLNR in Watchfinder Canary Wharf and fell for it - this watch looks so much better in the metal and on the wrist than any picture. I went straight across to the nearest AD (WOS Canary Wharf) and got myself a place at number 140(!) on their waiting list (quoted 1 year). Then, with my wife for some unknown reason enthused about the hunt, I resolved to incorporate finding local Rolex AD's on our frequent weekend trips away. I added myself, always in person and never on the phone, to several more waiting lists being quoted anywhere between 1.5 and 4 years. I even tried to leverage the purchase of another watch (an OP39 for me or an OP31 for the wife) to try to sneak up the priority scale but to no avail. Every AD I spoke to told me the same thing: they don’t know exactly when they will get the watch in, nor exactly how many. I was told that stock is roughly proportional to how much business the AD does. I was told that there was a high attrition rate on the lists - they would often call up to 10 people on the list before getting a buyer. All seemed quite strict about sticking to the lists (though I have no doubt that VIP’s and the very rich could subvert them).

I bought the OP for the wife anyway, at my closest AD, and got myself on the list there too. They actually refused to give me details of their list size or prospective wait. That was in July.

After that I visited various AD’s in London and the South East and was either quoted years or wasn’t allowed on the list at all due to not being local. I figured I wasn’t going to find anywhere with a list shorter than a year so I didn’t bother adding myself to any more lists. I tried to forget about the watch, not to look on WF, where prices have gone mental and tried to not log on here every day, to make the wait less of a game of patience.

As it happens, the call today came from my nearest AD, and the one from whom I bought the wife’s watch. Whether or not that made a difference, I don’t know. But despite my expecting to wait over a year, I will be picking it up after “only” 5 and a half months.

So it is possible to buy Rolex sports watch without getting gouged by a grey. It just requires a small amount of graft.
Congratulations! I was fortunate here in Southern California. The Rolex Boutique in Costa Mesa had 7 BNLR models in stock when I bought mine in June. Not sure what that situation is now though. It is a beautiful watch and I am finding I wear it more than my 50th sub Kermit.

the waitlist in the UK seems similar to the waitlist for a Porsche GT3 here in the states! They are going for insane prices and depend on your relationship with the dealer etc etc. At any rate congrats. You will love this watch. I have had. A few and this is the best I have seen.
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Old 11 January 2018, 02:29 PM   #34
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Congrats! What a story! You're so lucky!
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Old 11 January 2018, 02:41 PM   #35
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Congratulations
That’s great new on many levels
My speculations based on your experience are:
1- Rolex is shipping again
2- BLNR isn’t discontinued (yet)
3- it’s a good sign that we will start seeing ss models at the AD displays again

HOPEFULLY :)
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Old 11 January 2018, 04:19 PM   #36
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That's a great shout. I often overlook them due to their exorbitant pricing. I'm back up in a few weeks so I'll see which boutique they have stock in and go from there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zakalwe View Post
Whenever you’re up in London, Watchfinder often have them in store. They look a hundred times better than in pics. Only problem with that plan is you might immediately want to just pay the 50% grey premium there and then.
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Old 11 January 2018, 04:20 PM   #37
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Congrats and that’s great news! Hope it starts to trickle down to the rest of us .
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Old 11 January 2018, 05:15 PM   #38
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Congrats! A stunner. Wear it in good health
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Old 11 January 2018, 06:23 PM   #39
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Definitely the way to do it, it’s what I did and got phone call from two dealers on same day,bartered them against each other and ended up with first free Rolex service!
Well done enjoy ��
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Old 11 January 2018, 06:56 PM   #40
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Congratulations!! I’ve had mine for 2 weeks now and couldn’t be more pleased with it. Seems like Rolex has catched up a bit and are getting them out to the dealers more frequently. I bought mine in Sweden, and just as you did I also talked to pretty much all the ADs available. Got quoted waiting times ranging from 6 months to 3.5 years. Put myself on the lists, and was very surprised when I got the call just 3 weeks later from an AD 2 hours away.
Enjoy the watch, it really is something extra to pick it up yourself at an AD
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Old 11 January 2018, 07:13 PM   #41
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congratulations, enjoy it
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116610lv, 126600, 116660, 116710BLNR, 116900 - whats next??
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Old 11 January 2018, 10:50 PM   #42
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You def qualify to buy your first Rolex... if only you didn't live in the UK...
Thanks mate- on the waitlng list now so I’ll patiently wait.
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Old 14 January 2018, 01:24 AM   #43
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Picked up the watch today.

Interesting chat with the saleswoman, some snippets of which I’ll share as they may be of interest to prospective U.K. buyers. Pretty much all of this has already been revealed at some point or other by Neil and many of the other knowledgable U.K. posters, so I don’t clam the status of a sage.

1) She confirmed what a couple of posters said on page one, that my status as a previous customer counted in my favour when getting the call for the BLNR.

2) Rolex are matching names to serial numbers to keep track of watches, the information being fed to them by the AD. AD’s fear losing their dealer status by allowing watches into the hands of flippers.

3) Aurum are blackballing any customer found to have bought the same watch more than once from all their stores, including outlets in the USA.

4) AD’s only get one day’s notice of a price increase from Rolex. So colour me sceptical when I see the weekly “my AD told me prices are going up next month” thread.

5) I got lucky, lots of people before me on the list turned the watch down, presumably due to liquidity issues following Xmas. So there is hope for those who are on lists that the call may come soon.

5) This particular AD, who bear in mind sourced my BLNR in less than 6 months, have closed their waiting list on every popular SS piece, aside from the Sub No-Date. She quoted me a six month wait. Sub Date is 2 years. She wouldn’t put me on the list for an LVc, but would do when their list reopens, possibly later in the year. She confirmed that Rolex have throttled supply across the board. She said they were getting one Hulk a year(!) which doesn’t seem quite right to me. Though it would explain the near D500-like grey mark-up on that particular piece.

6) Stickers left on! She said they don’t remove them to keep customers happy. COSC tag, price tag and bezel protector all included. She kept the coffin though to be fair I didn’t ask for it.

Pics to follow...
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Old 14 January 2018, 01:34 AM   #44
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It wasn't like this before Brexit, but paradoxically the more they can't see them, the more they want them... as we have the interenet now.
Not quite true, I can recall hunting for a SubC date black, in March 2016 before the date of the June Brexit Referendum.
I searched throughout London and the provinces. The average waiting list then was 6 months or ‘your number 12 on the waiting list’.
Eventually had a call in July from a provincial AD. The fall in the GB pound since Brexit has just made things worse.
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Old 14 January 2018, 02:25 AM   #45
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How could Rolex link the serial number to the name of the buyer? It’s written on the card and card is swiped, no electricial transfer of names. Unless the AD specifically share the name?

Thanks for your feedback too, I personally don’t believe it all but good to have the AD’s view
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Old 14 January 2018, 02:37 AM   #46
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Congrats and thanks for the info man!
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Old 14 January 2018, 02:38 AM   #47
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So it is possible to buy Rolex sports watch without getting gouged by a grey. It just requires a small amount of graft.[/QUOTE]

+1

Congratulations on your blnr
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Old 14 January 2018, 02:39 AM   #48
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How could Rolex link the serial number to the name of the buyer? It’s written on the card and card is swiped, no electricial transfer of names. Unless the AD specifically share the name?

Thanks for your feedback too, I personally don’t believe it all but good to have the AD’s view
I think the AD types the name in too, or maybe that’s just their internal system?
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Old 14 January 2018, 02:44 AM   #49
Zakalwe
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EmilA View Post
How could Rolex link the serial number to the name of the buyer? It’s written on the card and card is swiped, no electricial transfer of names. Unless the AD specifically share the name?

Thanks for your feedback too, I personally don’t believe it all but good to have the AD’s view
Didn’t discuss details. However there is no reason they couldn’t send the names in a variety of ways. They are seriously motivated to avoid flipping at all costs.
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Old 14 January 2018, 02:46 AM   #50
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Didn’t discuss details. However there is no reason they couldn’t send the names in a variety of ways. They are seriously motivated to avoid flipping at all costs.
Agreed!!!!
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Old 14 January 2018, 02:47 AM   #51
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So nice that I got a watch thrown in with my stickers. I’d read stories about people finding rogue stickers years after purchase and thought “yeah right”. But seriously, they’re everywhere. Ridiculous.




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Old 14 January 2018, 02:53 AM   #52
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Wow. Congrats and enjoy. I know that feeling!
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Old 14 January 2018, 02:57 AM   #53
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Congratulations
Mine says hello
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Old 14 January 2018, 03:06 AM   #54
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Big congrats Zak..
a gorgeous piece,,,
looks like you had exactly the same amount of links i had off my blnr and dj2,,,, 7in wrist?,,,,,,
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Old 14 January 2018, 03:09 AM   #55
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Your persistence paid off! May you & your wife enjoy your new watches for years to come.

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Old 14 January 2018, 03:12 AM   #56
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Congrats mate. I had a similar experience just before Christmas. Been told years by most ADs when I was enquiring late last year. Spoke to the manager of my local Goldsmiths in late November and he asked if I’d bought from them before so I showed him my Explorer bought 4 years prior and he added me quoting at least 6 months. Couldn’t believe it when he called 3 weeks later to say he has one if I’m interested. Literally ran down there to grab it there and then.
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Old 14 January 2018, 03:16 AM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zakalwe View Post
Picked up the watch today.

Interesting chat with the saleswoman, some snippets of which I’ll share as they may be of interest to prospective U.K. buyers. Pretty much all of this has already been revealed at some point or other by Neil and many of the other knowledgable U.K. posters, so I don’t clam the status of a sage.

1) She confirmed what a couple of posters said on page one, that my status as a previous customer counted in my favour when getting the call for the BLNR.

2) Rolex are matching names to serial numbers to keep track of watches, the information being fed to them by the AD. AD’s fear losing their dealer status by allowing watches into the hands of flippers.

3) Aurum are blackballing any customer found to have bought the same watch more than once from all their stores, including outlets in the USA.

4) AD’s only get one day’s notice of a price increase from Rolex. So colour me sceptical when I see the weekly “my AD told me prices are going up next month” thread.

5) I got lucky, lots of people before me on the list turned the watch down, presumably due to liquidity issues following Xmas. So there is hope for those who are on lists that the call may come soon.

5) This particular AD, who bear in mind sourced my BLNR in less than 6 months, have closed their waiting list on every popular SS piece, aside from the Sub No-Date. She quoted me a six month wait. Sub Date is 2 years. She wouldn’t put me on the list for an LVc, but would do when their list reopens, possibly later in the year. She confirmed that Rolex have throttled supply across the board. She said they were getting one Hulk a year(!) which doesn’t seem quite right to me. Though it would explain the near D500-like grey mark-up on that particular piece.

6) Stickers left on! She said they don’t remove them to keep customers happy. COSC tag, price tag and bezel protector all included. She kept the coffin though to be fair I didn’t ask for it.

Pics to follow...
Congrats, and confirms a lot of what ADs have been told from Rolex. We should make this a sticky for our American friends when things really get bad for them in the next few months.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter99 View Post
Not quite true, I can recall hunting for a SubC date black, in March 2016 before the date of the June Brexit Referendum.
I searched throughout London and the provinces. The average waiting list then was 6 months or ‘your number 12 on the waiting list’.
Eventually had a call in July from a provincial AD. The fall in the GB pound since Brexit has just made things worse.
Yes, London has always been tricky as demand is always high, but at least before Brexit you could ask far off towns and they would even post the watch down to you or a London branch, but now buying restrictions and profiling is so much tighter.
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Old 14 January 2018, 03:24 AM   #58
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I went to my local AD last year and asked about the Batman , 3 weeks later it was on my wrist 🤓
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Old 14 January 2018, 03:39 AM   #59
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How could Rolex link the serial number to the name of the buyer? It’s written on the card and card is swiped, no electricial transfer of names. Unless the AD specifically share the name?

Thanks for your feedback too, I personally don’t believe it all but good to have the AD’s view
The AD takes a photocopy of the warranty card with the purchasers name on it. This is kept incase Rolex want review it at a later date.
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Old 14 January 2018, 03:55 AM   #60
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Congrats
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