Availability in the UK

[SDG]

The Watch Gallery in Covent Garden have them in there shop window


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[steelman68]

My experience in norfolk U.K.
Myself and son went to local AD both wanting a sub and told the waiting list was closed as at current rates it will be 2 years before being available.
We then spent the next 90 mins trying on various tudor black bays and pelegos and while very tempted we both decided to try elsewhere.. shame as are local AD is very nice and welcoming and I feel a little bit like a traitor going somewhere else, but if Rolex can't supply enough then it's their loss and someone else's gain..
In the meantime we are still looking for 2 sub dates NIB.


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[makey]

I was told a 3 month waiting list for black sub back at end of may. Got call yesterday that was mine in stock, picked up yesterday. Asked about the ss sky dweller was told full year wait, as waiting list and deposit taken was full.And not taken anymore at present.

[JIMT8292]

Put my name on 2 shop lists and waited about 4 months for my Sub. Worth it though and I'm more than happy as an owner that you can't just buy them 'off the shelf' so to speak.

[OmegaJJH]

The whole thing is bloody ridiculous!!!!

Submariner - WAIT
Submariner date - WAIT
Submariner LV - WAIT
Submariner TT - WAIT
Sea Dweller - WAIT
Daytona - WAIT
Sky Dweller - WAIT
BLNR - WAIT

And I'm sure I've missed some.

PUT YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER ROLEX, YOU'RE JUST P!SSING US OFF!


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[AK797]

Originally Posted by OmegaJJH

The whole thing is bloody ridiculous!!!!

Submariner - WAIT
Submariner date - WAIT
Submariner LV - WAIT
Submariner TT - WAIT
Sea Dweller - WAIT
Daytona - WAIT
Sky Dweller - WAIT
BLNR - WAIT

And I'm sure I've missed some.

PUT YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER ROLEX, YOU'RE JUST P!SSING US OFF!


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And I'm hearing no discounts on Exp2 or Smurf! Things sure have changed here on Brexit's Mountain.

[zama]

Guys I know you love the brexit thing, and you are an island etc etc, but having just come back from France and UK, you really don't have to travel far to buy those sports Rolex. When I was in Nice for the Monaco GP the local AD had every sub / DSSD and most other sports Rolex in the window. Paris just about every store has something to tempt you. It really is not that far away, nor is Belgium, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece etc...... The UK & Rolex = SUCKS (ironic given its history), but rest of Eu not so bad (also Switzerland, non Eu). Eurostar or Easyjet can get you anywhere in a few hours. We Aussies are used to travelling 6 hours just to leave our land mass and 9 hours to a port with more than a dozen people or 10000 flies interchangeable in our currency. I plan to do Wimbledon next year as a day trip from our Paris apartment. A Rolex is worth the weekend trip rather than a waiting list. Based on all I have read Switzerland is a good choice. P.S. thanks for the hung parliament it dropped the currency 3c the day we arrived. I also took home a Black Bay Bronze from Harrods which in my place is harder to get than a Sub, damn convict, I will be gone now. See you for the Ashes..... if we still have a team by then.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by zama

Guys I know you love the brexit thing, and you are an island etc etc, but having just come back from France and UK, you really don't have to travel far to buy those sports Rolex. When I was in Nice for the Monaco GP the local AD had every sub / DSSD and most other sports Rolex in the window. Paris just about every store has something to tempt you. It really is not that far away, nor is Belgium, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece etc...... The UK & Rolex SUCK, but rest of Eu not so bad. Eurostar or Easyjet can get you anywhere in a few hours. We Aussies are used to travelling 6 hours just to lave our land mass and 9 hours to a port with more than a dozen people. I plan to do Wimbledon next year as a day trip from our Paris apartment. A Rolex is worth the weekend trip.

that misses the point of the currency situation entirely. France retail price is about what UK inflated grey market prices are for most watches anyway. Sure you can get them across the channel, but at higher prices (at retail).

If they just raised prices here, we could get watches, and buy them in our own cities again from AD's.

I like to travel as much as the next guy, but I'm not traveling hundreds or thousands of miles for a SS Rolex. Watches are an irrational hobby to begin with, but that is a bridge too far.

[Nairn1980]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

that misses the point of the currency situation entirely. France retail price is about what UK inflated grey market prices are for most watches anyway. Sure you can get them across the channel, but at higher prices (at retail).

If they just raised prices here, we could get watches, and buy them in our own cities again from AD's.

I like to travel as much as the next guy, but I'm not traveling hundreds or thousands of miles for a SS Rolex. Watches are an irrational hobby to begin with, but that is a bridge too far.

Despite the hundreds of threads on the issue , people don't get the exchange rate issue and VAT on arrival back to the UK....the daily posts of "come to Chicago" or "nip over to France"....NOOOOO!!!!

[FK77]

Originally Posted by Nairn1980

Despite the hundreds of threads on the issue , people don't get the exchange rate issue and VAT on arrival back to the UK....the daily posts of "come to Chicago" or "nip over to France"....NOOOOO!!!!

No VAT or customs duty to pay when returning to the UK from EU while we are still a member state. VAT is already charged in the EU country of purchase. That's my understanding anyway. FX rate/higher prices in Europe still an issue though.

My experience of availability in Netherlands and Switzerland (over several visits, last one in March '17) was very different to zama's. All desirable SS models difficult even after asking, let alone finding them on display. Switzerland slightly better but not to a great extent ... although I did find my BLNR there last year but that was after trying 3 cities and half a dozen dealers. I was happy to pay the higher CHF price as I was sick of being told the same thing by 20+ dealers that I personally visited/spoke to in the UK. At least it was bought from an AD, my name on the card and holiday memories associated with it.

PS: I know Swiss are not part of EU but still customs free zone.

[Mick P]

Originally Posted by OmegaJJH

The whole thing is bloody ridiculous!!!!

Submariner - WAIT
Submariner date - WAIT
Submariner LV - WAIT
Submariner TT - WAIT
Sea Dweller - WAIT
Daytona - WAIT
Sky Dweller - WAIT
BLNR - WAIT

And I'm sure I've missed some.

PUT YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER ROLEX, YOU'RE JUST P!SSING US OFF!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No it is not ridiculous, it is perfectly predictable.

Since the referendum our currency has dropped by over 10%.

Therefore why should an AD sell to a Brit who is going to get a strop on because he cannot get a discount when all he has to do is pass it on to a grey dealer and get a better price.

I have a friend in the tailor made shirt business and right now they are suspending supplying the UK and selling exclusively abroad because they make more profit.

Twelve months ago, Italian dealers sold to us and now we sell to the Italians.

I was recently in San Marco in Venice and a high proportion to the Subs came straight from the UK and their prices are much higher than ours whereas last year, ours were expensive.

We voted for brexit and this is one of the results. It is our fault, not the fault of Rolex.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by Mick P

No it is not ridiculous, it is perfectly predictable.

Since the referendum our currency has dropped by over 10%.

Therefore why should an AD sell to a Brit who is going to get a strop on because he cannot get a discount when all he has to do is pass it on to a grey dealer and get a better price.

I have a friend in the tailor made shirt business and right now they are suspending supplying the UK and selling exclusively abroad because they make more profit.

Twelve months ago, Italian dealers sold to us and now we sell to the Italians.

I was recently in San Marco in Venice and a high proportion to the Subs came straight from the UK and their prices are much higher than ours whereas last year, ours were expensive.

We voted for brexit and this is one of the results.

its more than that over the past couple of years. i remember when i first moved here it was 1.60ish USD i believe to the pound . It got as low as 1.19 dollar per pound.

But, yes point taken. Mick is always the voice of reason

[Nairn1980]

Originally Posted by FK77

No VAT or customs duty to pay when returning to the UK from EU while we are still a member state. VAT is already charged in the EU country of purchase. That's my understanding anyway. FX rate/higher prices in Europe still an issue though.

My experience of availability in Netherlands and Switzerland (over several visits, last one in March '17) was very different to zama's. All desirable SS models difficult even after asking, let alone finding them on display. Switzerland slightly better but not to a great extent ... although I did find my BLNR there last year but that was after trying 3 cities and half a dozen dealers. I was happy to pay the higher CHF price as I was sick of being told the same thing by 20+ dealers that I personally visited/spoke to in the UK. At least it was bought from an AD, my name on the card and holiday memories associated with it.

PS: I know Swiss are not part of EU but still customs free zone.

Yep, I meant VAT outside EU (although not sure how that will change with Brexit etc).

Most suggestions are to come to the USA but for a UK person, that's about the most expensive option.

[FK77]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

i remember when i first moved here it was 1.60ish USD i believe to the pound . It got as low as 1.19 dollar per pound.

I even remember £1 = $2.01 but that was about 10 years ago IIRC.

[FK77]

Originally Posted by Nairn1980

Most suggestions are to come to the USA but for a UK person, that's about the most expensive option.

Ah OK ... understood now. Agree, no point in doing that.

I have been on 'the list' for Daytona C at my BLNR supplying dealer in Switzerland and at another one for a while but I am not at all hoping/waiting for 'the call'. I'm sure they would prefer to sell to domestic customers (and rightly so). I guess I just got lucky with the BLNR ... right place right time.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by FK77

I even remember £1 = $2.01 but that was about 10 years ago IIRC.

before my time, but the fall has been happing for a while, Brexit just made it worse. Then Rolex, just to rub salt in the wound, only raised prices 10% to ensure we get no watches in stock by creating a price imbalance so the world would come pillage the UK supply.

[haberdashery]

Originally Posted by FK77

No VAT or customs duty to pay when returning to the UK from EU while we are still a member state. VAT is already charged in the EU country of purchase. That's my understanding anyway. FX rate/higher prices in Europe still an issue though.

My experience of availability in Netherlands and Switzerland (over several visits, last one in March '17) was very different to zama's. All desirable SS models difficult even after asking, let alone finding them on display. Switzerland slightly better but not to a great extent ... although I did find my BLNR there last year but that was after trying 3 cities and half a dozen dealers. I was happy to pay the higher CHF price as I was sick of being told the same thing by 20+ dealers that I personally visited/spoke to in the UK. At least it was bought from an AD, my name on the card and holiday memories associated with it.

PS: I know Swiss are not part of EU but still customs free zone.

What's a "customs free zone"? Watches brought into the EU from Switzerland must be declared on entering the UK (or EU) and the appropriate duty and VAT paid.

[FK77]

VAT ... yes. Swiss AD takes their VAT off the price and it is paid in the country of arrival so as not to be double charged.
Duty ... none to be paid as far as I personally explored and was told the same by the AD. It may be called something other than "customs free zone" but I don't remember the exact terminology.

[Mick P]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

its more than that over the past couple of years. i remember when i first moved here it was 1.60ish USD i believe to the pound . It got as low as 1.19 dollar per pound.

But, yes point taken. Mick is always the voice of reason

Tyler

Thanks for the compliment, it makes a change from the usual slaps.

I think a few Brits around here have got to realise things have changed.

Last year the presumption was that ADs were expensive and grey dealers offered bargains. Also they thought it was cheaper to buy in Italy, Greece and Spain or even the States.

Today Rolex does not like supplying British ADs because they, in turn, sell on to grey dealers and this results in the same grey dealers selling at a higher price so the AD is effectively just a warehouse in an extended supply chain.

Also flying abroad is pointless, because the Italians and Spanish are coming over here to our grey dealers whose price is cheap to them and expensive to us.

The rules have been turned on their heads.

The new rules are :-

British ADs are struggling to get Rolex.

British ADs will sell whatever popular model they get to a foreign grey dealer on a commercial basis because it is quick and profitable and he does not have to worry about stroppy customers asking lots of questions and complaining when things go wrong.

British grey dealers are no longer cheap because they can no longer depend on British ADs selling to them anymore. They cannot afford to buy from foreign ADs.

So the message is clear, expect shortages for a long time to come or pay over the odds if you want it now.

This is, unfortunately, the new reality.

Regards

Mick

PS There is no need for our American friends to feel sorry for us because our equities are flying up like a rocket. We are making a small fortune over here and we got to start spending the profits sometime. Expect to be invaded by hordes of Brits who will be pinching all your watches because we can't get them here. Every cloud has a silver lining. I believe Boston is quite pleasing during the autumn, lot of leaves etc. The wife and I may well pop over soon.

[hugs]

Originally Posted by Mick P

PS There is no need for our American friends to feel sorry for us because our equities are flying up like a rocket. We are making a small fortune over here and we got to start spending the profits sometime. Expect to be invaded by hordes of Brits who will be pinching all your watches because we can't get them here. Every cloud has a silver lining. I believe Boston is quite pleasing during the autumn, lot of leaves etc. The wife and I may well pop over soon.

Good point add to that the fact that all our equities in foreign currencies went up proportional to the GBP drop and personally am better off now even with my currency being worth less..

Originally Posted by Mick P

We voted for brexit and this is one of the results. It is our fault, not the fault of Rolex.

Though..speak for yourself here Mick

[AK797]

Originally Posted by Nairn1980

Despite the hundreds of threads on the issue , people don't get the exchange rate issue and VAT on arrival back to the UK....the daily posts of "come to Chicago" or "nip over to France"....NOOOOO!!!!

TBH I think a lot of members just want to meet up and they know their wives love the British accent so extra Brownie points after we have long gone.

[Nairn1980]

Originally Posted by AK797

TBH I think a lot of members just want to meet up and they know their wives love the British accent so extra Brownie points after we have long gone.

Haha exactly, and the Scottish accent is even more popular

[AK797]

Originally Posted by Nairn1980

Haha exactly, and the Scottish accent is even more popular

Apparently Irish is the sexiest...

[AK797]

Just a heads up the Watchfinder in Leeds was robbed so if you see any popular SS in particular going for lower than usual prices be extra weary.

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...-armed-robbery

[Hollister]

Originally Posted by Mick P

..our equities are flying up like a rocket. We are making a small fortune over here and we got to start spending the profits sometime. Expect to be invaded by hordes of Brits who will be pinching all your watches because we can't get them here. Every cloud has a silver lining. I believe Boston is quite pleasing during the autumn, lot of leaves etc. The wife and I may well pop over soon.

LOL. The only reason equities are up (in GBP) is that our currency is now Monopoly money. Go abroad and your small fortune will become microscopic.

Brexit. What can I say? Gullible uneducated electorate taken advantage of by politicians.

[locutus49]

The Brits gave the world civilization and this is what they get in return.

Originally Posted by tyler1980

before my time, but the fall has been happing for a while, Brexit just made it worse. Then Rolex, just to rub salt in the wound, only raised prices 10% to ensure we get no watches in stock by creating a price imbalance so the world would come pillage the UK supply.

[locutus49]

Too bad you can't pop over to La Jolla California, where it is sunny and near the beach. As one pensioner to another, we would welcome you, Mick. Sensui, VTC Guy, and some of the other locals would be glad to meet you as well.

Originally Posted by Mick P

Tyler

Thanks for the compliment, it makes a change from the usual slaps.

I think a few Brits around here have got to realise things have changed.

Last year the presumption was that ADs were expensive and grey dealers offered bargains. Also they thought it was cheaper to buy in Italy, Greece and Spain or even the States.

Today Rolex does not like supplying British ADs because they, in turn, sell on to grey dealers and this results in the same grey dealers selling at a higher price so the AD is effectively just a warehouse in an extended supply chain.

Also flying abroad is pointless, because the Italians and Spanish are coming over here to our grey dealers whose price is cheap to them and expensive to us.

The rules have been turned on their heads.

The new rules are :-

British ADs are struggling to get Rolex.

British ADs will sell whatever popular model they get to a foreign grey dealer on a commercial basis because it is quick and profitable and he does not have to worry about stroppy customers asking lots of questions and complaining when things go wrong.

British grey dealers are no longer cheap because they can no longer depend on British ADs selling to them anymore. They cannot afford to buy from foreign ADs.

So the message is clear, expect shortages for a long time to come or pay over the odds if you want it now.

This is, unfortunately, the new reality.

Regards

Mick

PS There is no need for our American friends to feel sorry for us because our equities are flying up like a rocket. We are making a small fortune over here and we got to start spending the profits sometime. Expect to be invaded by hordes of Brits who will be pinching all your watches because we can't get them here. Every cloud has a silver lining. I believe Boston is quite pleasing during the autumn, lot of leaves etc. The wife and I may well pop over soon.

[hugs]

Originally Posted by Hollister

LOL. The only reason equities are up (in GBP) is that our currency is now Monopoly money. Go abroad and your small fortune will become microscopic.

Brexit. What can I say? Gullible uneducated electorate taken advantage of by politicians.

They are up relatively. I.e. no change in real value. Your larger numbered fortune has the same buying power as it did before.

Think of equities as a hedge in this respect..

Those of us who held cash (probably the same people who voted leave as they naturally wouldn't understand economics)..bad luck!

Speaking generally of course -- some companies have done well.

[OmegaJJH]

Originally Posted by Mick P

Therefore why should an AD sell to a Brit

I'm sorry Mick I simply don't agree. Rolex sell in brick and mortar shops in the U.K. and have taken the decision to sell their products to us. Therefore the products they offer should be made available for sale at full RRP. I don't give a toss about discount I just want the opportunity to go in to the store, browse their entire product range and purchase the product I like most.

They have already raised their prices at the last price rise to compensate for the Brexit result.

It's like Starbucks deciding they are no longer going to sell coffee because they aren't making quite as much profit as they used to.

To me, the current Rolex stance is utterly ridiculous

Originally Posted by Mick P

We voted for brexit

Not all of us...





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[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by OmegaJJH

I'm sorry Mick I simply don't agree. Rolex sell in brick and mortar shops in the U.K. and have taken the decision to sell their products to us. Therefore the products they offer should be made available for sale at full RRP. I don't give a toss about discount I just want the opportunity to go in to the store, browse their entire product range and purchase the product I like most.

They have already raised their prices at the last price rise to compensate for the Brexit result.

It's like Starbucks deciding they are no longer going to sell coffee because they aren't making quite as much profit as they used to.

To me, the current Rolex stance is utterly ridiculous

Not even close. Rolex in the UK is 12% cheaper than US prices including tax. 30% cheaper after a vat refund. When i first moved here 6 years ago Rolex was about the same as US RRP+tax, slightly higher. There is a LONG way to go to compensate for the falling pound.

Related to that look at swiss franc vs GBP. Rolex makes less money on every single watch they send here vs the US as the margins are lower. Why would they flood the UK market with watches as sure they will all sell but at a lower profit margin. A price rise is imminent as the situation is not sustainable.

Until rolex figures out what to do with prices, as they seem to be taking a wait and see approach as far as the GBP, there is no value in increasing supply. The low prices actually "devalue" the brand as their watches end up being much cheaper than they intend. Its never a good sign for any luxury company to have prices seen as "cheap". Relative to other brands which raised prices even more than Rolex, that is the impression it leaves. Im not saying a five figure watch is "cheap" at all, I'm just saying in context to other luxury watches, it looks that way.