How much do you think ADs pay for their watches?

[ezwinner701]

I have relatives in Asia and a few of them have bought Datejust( they are popular with asian folks) TT watches for 20-25% off List with no tax.

I'm guessing ADs must make a killing on a watch, I know they have price restrictions, but i'm guessing they atmost get their watches at 50% of list.

[dman]

I am not positive, but have heard they are marked up around 60%. Not sure though.

[ezwinner701]

I wish we had an AD insider here. hehe

[dman]

Originally Posted by ezwinner701

I wish we had an AD insider here. hehe

Val works for an AD, but the problem is with Big Brother Rolex everywhere, I wouldn't want our mate to get in trouble. I have heard that number above from a very reliable source though.

[mike]

I think your pretty close Daren,I've heard around 55%.

[dman]

Originally Posted by mike

I think your pretty close Daren,I've heard around 55%.

Thanks Mike, yeah I heard it was always hovering around those numbers.

[ezwinner701]

Didn't one of the big name ADs lose their license because they were discounting the watches too much?

[High-Gear]

I have seen a list of Wholesale prices on a site, and will look for it later. All I can rmemeber is the wholesale price for the Air-King was approx $1400, which retails for $3,000. these numbers fall in line with dman's info.

Just a side note: I worked a case where one of the chain jewelry stores in a mall was robbed. They gave an itemized list of their "Loss" which totaled over $30,000. I was told this was a total of what the jewelry would have sold for. I explained I needed to know what they paid for the jewlery, as this was their true loss. they refused to give me the wholesale price, and I even got guff from the corporate headquarters. When it was all said and done, their actual loss was just over $6000, near 20% of retail. Its no wonder they can offer 50% off sales, THEY ARE STILL MAKING A KILLING!

Looked at a bracelet once which was for sale at one store for $899.00. Found it at another store for $299.00. It pays to shop!

[dman]

Originally Posted by ezwinner701

Didn't one of the big name ADs lose their license because they were discounting the watches too much?

I have heard that Rolex has the ability to pull the plug for a number of reasons, that being one of them. That being said, I know some of their big accounts give that preffered service to some and make up for it with newer customers.

[Rto]

Hi HG...I think they might have 40% off list price...with such a popular brand, demand and such restricted policy I don't believe they have more than that.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by ezwinner701

I have relatives in Asia and a few of them have bought Datejust( they are popular with asian folks) TT watches for 20-25% off List with no tax.

I'm guessing ADs must make a killing on a watch, I know they have price restrictions, but i'm guessing they atmost get their watches at 50% of list.

Good post, Eugene.....yes, profit margins are pretty high but would differ from brand to brand. On OMEGAs and TAGs massive discounts are available. However, not sure whether that's just 'cause the dealer is eager to push those brands. On Rolex, the older DJ models are now available for fabulous discounts to make way for the newer ones.

JJ

I believe Daren is right when he said around 60%. My AD hinted that the markup is in that 'hood. So if the AD pays only 40% of what the watch retails for, you can bet that Rolex is making a 100% markup when they sell to their country's distributor. And I'm sure the distributor marks up 100% to the AD.

So if an AD pays 40% of retail for the watch, then for example RUSA pays 20% of the retail price and Rolex sells for 10% of retail... and still makes a huge profit.

I'm no accountant, but that means the price of a Rolex to manufacture would be in the neighbourhood of a couple of hundred bux, max.

[dman]

Originally Posted by Atomic

I believe Daren is right when he said around 60%. My AD hinted that the markup is in that 'hood. So if the AD pays only 40% of what the watch retails for, you can bet that Rolex is making a 100% markup when they sell to their country's distributor. And I'm sure the distributor marks up 100% to the AD.

So if an AD pays 40% of retail for the watch, then for example RUSA pays 20% of the retail price and Rolex sells for 10% of retail... and still makes a huge profit.

I'm no accountant, but that means the price of a Rolex to manufacture would be in the neighbourhood of a couple of hundred bux, max.

Paying for marketing mate.

Originally Posted by dman

Paying for marketing mate.

That's why I have a Seiko BM. LOLOL

[C.J.]

I have a very close friend who is an AD for almost everything except Rolex and Panerai. He said that Omega, Tag, Breitling and alot of the other popular brands are what they call "keystone" pricing, which is 40% of retail if the bill is paid on time. if the bill is not, and a payment account is in place then it's 50% of retail. He thinks Rolex is the same way.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Atomic

I believe Daren is right when he said around 60%. My AD hinted that the markup is in that 'hood. So if the AD pays only 40% of what the watch retails for, you can bet that Rolex is making a 100% markup when they sell to their country's distributor. And I'm sure the distributor marks up 100% to the AD.

So if an AD pays 40% of retail for the watch, then for example RUSA pays 20% of the retail price and Rolex sells for 10% of retail... and still makes a huge profit.

I'm no accountant, but that means the price of a Rolex to manufacture would be in the neighbourhood of a couple of hundred bux, max.

Yes have to agree with you total cost,of making the Rolex Cal 3035 movement should not be any greater than say making a top spec ETA perhaps + 10% for the Brec/coil .I would say cost totally to manufacture about what they charge for a Daytona clasp retail.Now back to the question
how much do the ADs pay,for there watches,a hell of a lot less than us.