Prices slump by up to 50% for discontinued Rolex watches (Watchpro)

[bmwsubmariner]

Originally Posted by Etschell

i have not bothered posting in a few months or logging in. this will be the last post i make in a long, long time. i am back to say prices are lower (as i said they would go which was not a shocking prediction at all). perhaps this post will prevent someone from once again buying into the BS that is spewed by the industry and dealers alike (maisons, ADs and secondary sellers).

the holiday bump that ALL dealers were hoping for is not happening this year. it's cooked. i feel bad for anyone who got conned into the hype of AP, PP, Rolex, GP, VC or other brands over the last few years. a lot of predatory practices have gone on including posting false sales and relisting same watches as a different watch and giving false and misleading "investment" advice. certain sellers even put the wrong box and "papers" with watches and/or changed dates on warranty cards (some of which sell here on this site).

the hottest watches are now in a lower price range from brands that deliver on availability and price offering. this is now the trend. if you have not realized it you should take a look around. the amount of people buying $10k dollar plus watches, especially modern in production references, is dwindling. if you are buying watches to make money stop doing it.

the watch market from 2020-2022 is akin to similar manic investment bubbles. tulips, beanie babies, antiques, tech stocks, housing, pot stocks, crypto, NFT, AI stocks, sports cards, solar stocks, etc. etc. etc. what you are left with is speculators leaving and enthusiasts remaining at the end of the day. there is still value. watches are not worthless but they are "worth less".

i think it is quite fitting that brand price reductions are coming. they screwed the enthusiast. they deserve to feel some pain and they will. even if you were top of the food chain and got nearly every watch you wanted they screwed you too. privately they laughed about it the whole way. when they shifted stock to other markets they did it intentionally to further drive the hype knowing full well the effect it would have. i don't blame brands for ethical business practices; this was not that. they got people to buy into the hype that other people actually cared as a mass society as a result. they lied about value proposition and inventory. people bought it. they fell for it. good luck to those still stuck in it and heed warning if you still buy what others are selling in terms of the above.

the purpose of buying watches is not about the money. collecting watches is not about the money. the monetization of watches ruined the hobby. i am not saying collecting high end watches hasn't always been about the money to some degree. it has been. however, the degree it was turned up to the last few years has been that if you buy a watch that isn't hype and going up in value people dismissed it. now, after reversion, i get to dismiss those whose businesses are in a down turn and who can't sell the BS story any more. good luck to them, they certainly earned it.

Thanks for the post - this is the first I've heard of sellers changing the dates on warranty cards. This is from the trusted sellers? Hope that it isn't from any of the big, long standing ones.

Hopefully in a couple of years we'll be able to walk into an AD and get a stainless steel sports model. It's what I was into long before the hype, not because of the hype.

[Kliminator]

Originally Posted by bmwsubmariner

Thanks for the post - this is the first I've heard of sellers changing the dates on warranty cards. This is from the trusted sellers? Hope that it isn't from any of the big, long standing ones.

Hopefully in a couple of years we'll be able to walk into an AD and get a stainless steel sports model. It's what I was into long before the hype, not because of the hype.

I wouldn’t expect any of the larger trusted dealers to be engaging directly in any of these practices. But it’s still possible that a watch with a modified card ends up in their inventory.

I’ve seen some sketchy looking cards when browsing various places online … ranging from ones where it looks like card has been altered/bleached and re-written or the more simplistic edit where someone changes a “1” from 2011 to a “9”. Stuff like that…

Definitely need to be cautious when you’re buying on the secondary market. Do your due diligence… if something looks weird, better to steer clear / safe

[Crown & Shield]

Well said

Originally Posted by Etschell

i have not bothered posting in a few months or logging in. this will be the last post i make in a long, long time. i am back to say prices are lower (as i said they would go which was not a shocking prediction at all). perhaps this post will prevent someone from once again buying into the BS that is spewed by the industry and dealers alike (maisons, ADs and secondary sellers).

the holiday bump that ALL dealers were hoping for is not happening this year. it's cooked. i feel bad for anyone who got conned into the hype of AP, PP, Rolex, GP, VC or other brands over the last few years. a lot of predatory practices have gone on including posting false sales and relisting same watches as a different watch and giving false and misleading "investment" advice. certain sellers even put the wrong box and "papers" with watches and/or changed dates on warranty cards (some of which sell here on this site).

the hottest watches are now in a lower price range from brands that deliver on availability and price offering. this is now the trend. if you have not realized it you should take a look around. the amount of people buying $10k dollar plus watches, especially modern in production references, is dwindling. if you are buying watches to make money stop doing it.

the watch market from 2020-2022 is akin to similar manic investment bubbles. tulips, beanie babies, antiques, tech stocks, housing, pot stocks, crypto, NFT, AI stocks, sports cards, solar stocks, etc. etc. etc. what you are left with is speculators leaving and enthusiasts remaining at the end of the day. there is still value. watches are not worthless but they are "worth less".

i think it is quite fitting that brand price reductions are coming. they screwed the enthusiast. they deserve to feel some pain and they will. even if you were top of the food chain and got nearly every watch you wanted they screwed you too. privately they laughed about it the whole way. when they shifted stock to other markets they did it intentionally to further drive the hype knowing full well the effect it would have. i don't blame brands for ethical business practices; this was not that. they got people to buy into the hype that other people actually cared as a mass society as a result. they lied about value proposition and inventory. people bought it. they fell for it. good luck to those still stuck in it and heed warning if you still buy what others are selling in terms of the above.

the purpose of buying watches is not about the money. collecting watches is not about the money. the monetization of watches ruined the hobby. i am not saying collecting high end watches hasn't always been about the money to some degree. it has been. however, the degree it was turned up to the last few years has been that if you buy a watch that isn't hype and going up in value people dismissed it. now, after reversion, i get to dismiss those whose businesses are in a down turn and who can't sell the BS story any more. good luck to them, they certainly earned it.