Do we like Rolex scarcity?

[pkincy]

What we don't know but some suspect is that the SS Daytona white dial bnib today is equivalent to bitcoin at $17,000. Don't know if it will hit $6,000 but would not be surprised to see it hit $9,000 before it again starts appreciating. And those that paid $24,000 will be most unhappy should that occur. Frankly a chronograph is not very useful to most of us even a pretty one.

[peterpl]

Funny people talking about scarcity yet every single incoming is a BLNR, BLRO or Daytona.

Literally 2 seconds on chrono24 or any other watch classifieds section will turn up 100s of ALL of these models available at a premium.

Scarcity and these watches being available everywhere and delivered to your door within 24hrs is an oxymoron and contradict itself. LOL

Lets break it down to basics.

1) Your buying mass produced watches
2) How many are available of hot models worldwide? 100s of thousands are in circulation worldwide.

Now ask yourself is that rare or are we all just getting taken for a ride by the ADs and Grays price gouging? LOL - I'll leave it at that. Its a fake sense of scarcity that has been artificially created. Compounded again to the gullible by flippers who continuously try to portray these are rare to ensure they can flip their watches for a profit and not be left holding the bag. Its all BS.

[exador]

Originally Posted by peterskinner

Yes, would members prefer a situation where all .....all.....models were freely available from the local AD? Or is scarcity, and the resulting high residuals, a thing to be desired and welcomed?

You'll get two answers. Those members who already have the hot pieces at MSRP just love the unavailability/scalping/price rises.
The rest of us think it sucks

[ALF61]

Originally Posted by peterpl

Funny people talking about scarcity yet every single incoming is a BLNR, BLRO or Daytona.

Literally 2 seconds on chrono24 or any other watch classifieds section will turn up 100s of ALL of these models available at a premium.

Scarcity and these watches being available everywhere and delivered to your door within 24hrs is an oxymoron and contradict itself. LOL

Lets break it down to basics.

1) Your buying mass produced watches
2) How many are available of hot models worldwide? 100s of thousands are in circulation worldwide.

Now ask yourself is that rare or are we all just getting taken for a ride by the ADs and Grays price gouging? LOL - I'll leave it at that. Its a fake sense of scarcity that has been artificially created. Compounded again to the gullible by flippers who continuously try to portray these are rare to ensure they can flip their watches for a profit and not be left holding the bag. Its all BS.

Try offering one of the above specimens to a grey and see what kind of cash they offer you. it will be somewhere in the middle of the MSRP and the grey price. Do you consider 167 BLRO´s on offer at chrono24 a huge amount for the whole world ?

It´s not so simple the watches are actually trading there.

[uhren917]

Originally Posted by greengold

Of course we like it. Means our purchase holds its value and long term is an investment.

This

[RL777]

Doesn't bother me, any model is available as long as your determined and patient or willing to pay a premium. A Rolex watch doesn't define somebody, it simply means you have good taste

[MinMay]

Originally Posted by exador

You'll get two answers. Those members who already have the hot pieces at MSRP just love the unavailability/scalping/price rises.
The rest of us think it sucks

True. The rest will love it once they get them down the road, especially the newbies.

[pepsiretail]

Originally Posted by peterpl

Its a fake sense of scarcity that has been artificially created. Compounded again to the gullible by flippers who continuously try to portray these are rare to ensure they can flip their watches for a profit and not be left holding the bag. Its all BS.

I tend to agree, except for the 126710 BLRO MK I Bezel Pepsi, which is an insanely rare and collectable watch

[TempoKing]

There is no scarcity....if you can pay the price
In 1992 I was selling all fine Swiss brands ...then I realized for every 3 Rolex I was selling ?
I only sold one of the other brands that I was carrying !!
Soon after ...That became 5 to 1...Then 7 to 1 ...Then 10 to 1
By 1996 I stopped buying vacheron, patek, IWC, etc etc
I only kept buying Rolex, Bulgari and Panerai in about 20 to 1 ratio..that was in 2000
After 2002 I stopped buying anything else but Rolex ...the “others” I would only buy
if they were absolute bargains....all in all I never felt there was ever a scarcity ..you got
to know where to look ...and pay the price....simple really...lol

[Etschell]

Scarcity at the AD? I don't care. When things were not scare I wasn't shopping there so why would I now?

You can get any Rolex you want. You just have to pay market value not suggested retail price.

Choice is still yours.

[GBD]

I don't like the current situation.

Partly it's because Rolex of today is not the Rolex of yesterday: an average aspiring person cannot walk into an AD an buy a Sub to celebrate a milestone. I get that today's Rolex is much more of a luxury trinket than it used to be, but it makes me sad.

I also don't like what it's done to the forums. Discussions that used to be about actual watches and the watches themselves have turned into unbelievably boring and tiresome threads on speculation and flipping. At this point we could be talking about any widget - the watches don't matter anymore.

Obviously the situation will change at some point: the economy will contract, tastes will change, fomo will move on to something else. I'm looking forward to talking about the watches again at some point, because they are great watches.

[oldman2005]

I'm perfectly OK but do feel bad for the newbies getting their first SS sport pro.

[yOyOYoo]

I don't mind the scarcity of a few hot Rolex models at my local AD, but to have almost ALL of the SS professional models missing seems kind of ridiculous.

[No SUBctitute]

Originally Posted by GBD

I'm looking forward to talking about the watches again at some point, because they are great watches.

Agreed. [Hijacking this thread to talk about watches.] I think the Sub is a good value for a robust dive watch. What other watch compares favorably to a Submariner when factoring in all of a Sub's great attributes?

-glidelock clasp
-bracelet
-accurate and robust movement
-bezel style and movement
-beautiful steel that wears well over time
-thin when compared to Planet Ocean

[Carry The Interest]

I get a kick out of the craze. Also, half the fun for me is the chase and anticipation of getting something new that I can't just do by pulling out my credit card (excluding the grey's here).

That being said, I think it's gone a bit overboard. What does it for me is a SS Sub. That's a staple piece in the Rolex catalog. I think it's a shame that those are now "difficult" to get at retail for first-time buyers.

[mjr24]

Like others have said.....it's nice they are holding value, but I won't pay $15k-35k for a watch that I don't even have any hope of ever seeing in person first.

I mean, come on......dealers need to have 1 of each model that they are not allowed to sell or something. THAT is bad for Rolex business. Make no mistake. If Rolex is requiring dealers to spend $100k on empty display cases.....then dealers should be forced to buy 1 of each model to have on hand and display. This would be good for business, good for Rolex.

[Andad]

If all Rolex watches had been sold direct from an AD to a customer would we have the same situation we have now?

[clb521]

I don't like what the scarcity has done to the market and making it difficult to almost impossible for getting ss sports watches. I hate AD's acting like they are doing you a favor when trying to buy a watch that costs 100's of dollars.

I hate the grey market with the super inflated prices for some of these watches.

Fortunately once my next watch comes in, my collection will be complete and I won't have to worry about trying to hunt for another hard to find watch again.

Unfortunately there is nothing any of us can do about it. unless everyone stops buying ss sports watches will this nonsense end but that will never happen.

[asiparks]

3 or 4 years ago, before this nonsense began, people didn’t seem upset that they could easily buy a watch and enjoy wearing it and hey, maybe it would lose a couple of grand over a few years of use and that was ok. And despite that Rolex, as a brand, was hardly in the shitter because of it.
I’m too old to waste life waiting for trivial shit when there are plenty of other great, available options, be it cool watches or ‘hot’ restaurant seats....

[myusernamez]

Originally Posted by Alex71168

If they were freely available then you’d be upset paying a lot for a watch and see the value falling!

if they were most would not have bought one because it was a bad "investment"

I can't wait for all these watches to come back on the market at half price, in the meanwhile, I am taking my money somewhere else.

And as for scarity -- there can't be scarity when its a mass produced watch which is still in ... production. A fool and his money .. buying an overpriced item which is still being produced which has zero history just begs for a loss of capital down the line. Rolex was known to hold value and slightly increase over time. Best case you lost a few grand but we were all ready for that. Nowadays they doubled in price in 12 months and 90% of the buyers are going to shit their pants once the price goes down 10% .. can't wait to buy it off all of you at MSRP. That's where I'll get my joy. Bring on that Recession, I'll expand my watch, house, car collection buying it off all these people living on credit.

[Edward leef]

I do not like the current situation! Before this all happend i was dreaming of owning a Rolex, for me it was the holy grail (was the black sheep of a IWC minded family).

due to different events in my private live (buying a house, marriage, buying an other house, etc.), i was not able to buy the watch i always wanted. Then finally the funds were available and the Rolex market turned crazy (how will i be able to buy the watch???).

Luckily i found a very good AD how was willing to help me, i placed an order and 3 months later i am the proud owner of a Rolex (this was during the first months of 2019).

I can imagine other people like me, but now it is even more difficult to buy one.

All in All this is not good and i hope the bubble will burst very soon!

[2001jesper]

Have started to associate Rolex with something negative rather than positive as a consequence

[WatchLurv]

Remember the time we could get a Black Sub with 25% off...From a grey? Remember the time when the Black Sub was available on display but dealers wouldn't offer you more than 15-20%? Seems like a lot of people suffer from amnesia.

Do you also remember how ADs were pulling in big shipments from Rolex vs now? Yes, the supply is real. Demand has gone up due to the FOMO-generation we live in and the opportunists who want to make a quick buck, however, the supply has gone down too.

[Pw92676]

IMO it’s like a buyers vs sellers market in RE. Both can be prosperous, just depends on which side of the line you are on. In re to watches and Rolex, I’m a buyer so im less happy with the situation.

[Harry-57]

Rolex was a popular, coveted, admired brand in the days when you could buy or order one just by walking in and pointing. I would like to still be able to do this. I fear that people like me are now in a minority, even on this forum.

[Turb0wned]

Originally Posted by Syed117

Nah. It's terrible.

Just look at this forum. The majority of threads are about people not be able to find watches or about nothing but money. So many people who clearly don't care about watches.

I'm not saying Rolex should flood the market, but a system should be in place where a normal person can walk into an AD, put down a deposit and receive almost any watch in a reasonable amount of time.

I agree, they don't have to be Omega flooding the market (fyi I love and own some Omegas) but some kind of system would be great. I've been trying to get, what is my favorite watch since it was announce (Daytona) and no dice still.

[thepress83]

Originally Posted by Largoshark

It used to bother me quite a bit. But now I am totally satisfied with what I have, so I'm impervious to the scarcity. I've gotta say, it feels incredibly liberating, and I can now focus on other, far more important things.

I really appreciate this post and couldn't agree more. I'm lucky in that I bought my first SS Rolex 12 years ago at a decent discount from an AD. I am still looking to add 1-2 more Rolex pieces to my overall collection of 5 but I have 30 years to do it and am not in a rush. In the mean time I got very lucky picking up a 116613LB Sub this month at an AD and am looking at my first Panerai to diversify my collection. I had the best experience at the Panerai boutique over the last few weeks and really enjoyed having so many watches in stock that I could try on and compare and the service was far superior to the Rolex boutique I visited. I still love my Rolex watches but I'm in this for the long haul, not the short flip.

[Flyoverguy]

Originally Posted by asiparks

3 or 4 years ago, before this nonsense began, people didn’t seem upset that they could easily buy a watch and enjoy wearing it and hey, maybe it would lose a couple of grand over a few years of use and that was ok. And despite that Rolex, as a brand, was hardly in the shitter because of it.
I’m too old to waste life waiting for trivial shit when there are plenty of other great, available options, be it cool watches or ‘hot’ restaurant seats....

This nails it. As solid as Rolex watches are - they are not a magical talisman. The only thing driving the frenzy is the herd instinct. Unfortunately, spending too much time on these forums just gets you thinking that way. I don't mind researching a reference and getting opinions and experiences but the overall tenor is a mutual admiration society which reinforces desire. It is natural to get sucked in when you spend too much time in a social bubble.

I enjoy the watches I have and that is enough for me.

[dtwer]

Originally Posted by Etschell

Scarcity at the AD? I don't care. When things were not scare I wasn't shopping there so why would I now?

You can get any Rolex you want. You just have to pay market value not suggested retail price.

Choice is still yours.

This is the truth.

Simply because one does not want to pay the going rate for something readily available doesn't make the thing "scarce."

The mechanical repetitions of "scarcity" on here is hilarious; it's the herd mentality at its best.

[RyanJ]

I really don't care either way. This situation could fix itself tomorrow or continue for years. At the end of the day, these are just toys.