Is the Rolex Gray Market Slowing Down?

[TempoKing]

Unfortunately it is

Rolex watches until a few months ago were easy to get and on offer at considerable savings
so you could avoid the unethical mark-ups the manufacturer has applied to all of them.
So the marque we love will become a lot more difficult to buy at a less "painful" price.
Until recently I was able to offer 30% discount or more ..But not anymore, ...with that said
of course the gray market probably will NEVER go away entirely.

Rolex sport watches are now harder to find from non-authorized dealers at no discount
, many Rolex watches found on the gray market in the United States were meant for sale
overseas, but were sold to gray distributors who sold them to unauthorized distributors in North America.

In this way, an individual consumer can buy a high-end piece not only at a discount, but considerably faster
than he or she could get it from an authorized dealer.

Rolex make efforts to ensure their product isn’t getting into gray market
channels, the gray market is likely to get even tighter in the future
- Rolex supplies my friendly authorized dealer with one Daytona every
2-3 months - understandably he will not sell it to me but to a stranger
via a proxy for an unethical premium....he uses the proxy to make the
3-4 thousand premium so the "gray" either will pay the higher price
or he does not get the watch...the question is ...do you want to buy
a Ceramic Steel Daytona for $18,000 so you can make 500 ?
Or... do you want to buy 9 used Datejusts and make $5,000..?

Recently One high priest of gray Rolex watches said ....the internet is the
“biggest disruption” of the watch industry, adding that most brands don’t
have a strategy for protecting authorized retailers from gray goods !
.....really (?) ...

I believe soon Rolex will find a way to offer their products online
and it will have a further negative impact on the gray dealers
because their "friend"... the authorized Rolex dealer... will be unable
to sell them anything... not even the unsalable stock.

[S-F]

If anything the grey market is about to explode. They seem to be the only source to get most of the watches that everyone wants.

[Armyguy03]

Nope.

[Mystro]

Just the opposite.
I follow the Gray Market through our many trusted sellers in detail over the last year. The Gray market is on fire (at least SS watches are) and speeding up even with watches being offered at all time high prices, they are selling.

[Art 1]

You call the mark up unethical lol ha ha. I find your post very distasteful. Do you understand business?

[Naples09]

I’d rather pay Msrp at my Ad then buy from a grey dealer. No grey dealer will put me on a list to purchase the new hot Basel watch at MSRP. They are going to want a premium. Building a relationship with a small AD is the way to go.

[envuks]

Slowing down? They seem busier than ever.

[123Blueface]

Originally Posted by Art 1

Do you understand business?

Considering he is a Grey market, trusted seller, I would think he does and his perspective not be readily dismissed.

[Lime]

i have seen more price drops on stainless skydwellers than there used to be

[haberdashery]

I think first and foremost Rolex need to address the oversupply in certain countries and the chronic undersupply in others.

In the UK there’s a problem with watches being bought at ADs then flipped to greys. But what Rolex UK and their ADs seem to overlook, when demanding they keep your warranty card for 12 months, is that a lot of the watches sold by big UK greys aren’t even from the UK. Many are from Southern Europe. There’s also a lot of watches from Italy in particular on the grey market in the US.

Why supply so many sought after references to countries where as soon as they hit the AD, they’re exported to a grey dealer in the UK?

[Car32]

Not sure I quite follow the OP's post. Is the point that Rolex has slowed supply so that grey dealers arent charging discounts so customers should be going to ADs to buy instead?

If so the flaw in that logic is that there is NO supply at ADs (witness the recent thread where and AD quoted 7-10 years!!) so customers who want a watch now must go to a grey. The grey knows this and not only doesnt offer a discount but charges a premium. So I dont see how this current environment is supposed to slow the grey market down.

I also dont see how online sales will solve the problem as long as supply is severely restricted. The greys will simply order online en masse and again re-sell at a premium. It would be like trying to get a popular concert ticket. Good luck, seats gone in second but available on stubhub for a 50% mark up.

The only way for Rolex to choke off the grey market is to bring supply more in line with demand. Note I dont mean OVER-supply - but if a regular joe WIS can walk into an AD and be told the watch they want can be ordered and received in a few weeks to months, to me that's reasonable, and many would do that all day long vs. buying from a grey at retail or even a small discount. The grey market would not go away entirely, but it would not be as it is now.

[Car32]

Originally Posted by Naples09

I’d rather pay Msrp at my Ad then buy from a grey dealer. No grey dealer will put me on a list to purchase the new hot Basel watch at MSRP. They are going to want a premium. Building a relationship with a small AD is the way to go.

Unfortunately, I suspect building a "relationship", e.g. buying many luxury watches a year, is not realistic for a lot of people, even on this forum. So their only alternative is to go to a grey dealer for the hot new watch.

[123Blueface]

OP, curious as to how the recently reported warranty card process changes will impact you and others in your business?
Is there validity to what’s been posted about that on forums?

[Paul_I]

Originally Posted by 123Blueface

Considering he is a Grey market, trusted seller, I would think he does and his perspective not be readily dismissed.

This is why we need like buttons on this forum.

[Naples09]

Originally Posted by Car32

Unfortunately, I suspect building a "relationship", e.g. buying many luxury watches a year, is not realistic for a lot of people, even on this forum. So their only alternative is to go to a grey dealer for the hot new watch.

I don’t buy many watches a year. Only have 3. But spent many years building a relationship with the AD. building a relationship doesn’t always involve spending crazy amount of money each year.

[Mystro]

One could say you build a relationship with the forums trusted sellers and they go way out of the way to take care of forum members. We are a tight community and reputations are earned and guarded.

[RationalPragmatist]

From my point of the view, the grey market reflects why you should be getting a Rolex. Unlike nearly every other brand (Omega, Breitling, JLC, etc.,) you can buy almost any given Rolex model from an AD and not worry that you'll see it 20%-65% off on a grey market site. The only reason to use the grey market to buy Rolex is when you desire key sports models, and lack patience to the point that you're willing to pay a huge markup to avoid being on an AD waiting list. It's another win for Rolex and a win for those own Rolex.

[MorningTundra]

Originally Posted by Naples09

I don’t buy many watches a year. Only have 3. But spent many years building a relationship with the AD. building a relationship doesn’t always involve spending crazy amount of money each year.

Grey Dealers are just as interested in "building long term relationships" as any AD. They too understand the value of a long term repeat customer.

GD's tend to be more technically knowledgeable than snotty sales staff, more willing to Trade and Deal and just as concerned about the sales experience and their reputation (yes, I'm generalizing).

The AD experience IMO is overrated and the business model antiquated.

[Carry The Interest]

Just going to say this...I have a hard time believing Rolex will start to offer an option to order pieces online, at least any time soon.

[mahefa]

Rolex gray market is the busiest watch market in the world.

[123Blueface]

Originally Posted by MorningTundra

The AD experience IMO is overrated and the business model antiquated.

Funny you should say that.
Went to my local AD.
A very large well known chain in malls.
Tried on a watch.
Had to spend minutes trying to explain they quoted me a wrong price, $1,000 higher, even after she looked at tag.
Apologized and said I was correct.
Walked out.

[WS9D]

Originally Posted by RationalPragmatist

From my point of the view, the grey market reflects why you should be getting a Rolex. Unlike nearly every other brand (Omega, Breitling, JLC, etc.,) you can buy almost any given Rolex model from an AD and not worry that you'll see it 20%-65% off on a grey market site. The only reason to use the grey market to buy Rolex is when you desire key sports models, and lack patience to the point that you're willing to pay a huge markup to avoid being on an AD waiting list. It's another win for Rolex and a win for those own Rolex.

Yup. This . Every other watch brand I have bought brand new from an AD has been at a minimum 25% discount. This isn't the case with Rolex. The Rolex I did get at a discount all came from TS pre-shortage era. Not so much now.

As much as I dislike what Rolex is doing, I think it is smart. They are maintaining brand value, unlike what Harley did as mentioned by someone else in another thread.

Again, as much as I dislike it, Rolex is smart and knows what it's doing. This is why they came out better post-quartz than pre-quartz. They see things in a way we don't. I applaud it and hate it at the same time.

[Soleless Shoes]

Consistent with the OP, I've also heard that Rolex has intentionally limited supply of SS sports models specifically to hinder the grey market.

[Colin G]

Cheaper for me to buy at an AD here in Canada than a US Grey market seller.

Prices are nuts down there in the USA.

[Jacobson]

Originally Posted by Colin G

Cheaper for me to buy at an AD here in Canada than a US Grey market seller.

Prices are nuts down there in the USA.

Nuts in the USA?

You should see the prices in Europe. It's mental.

I've noticed a considerable pricing difference in the grey market pricing between US and Europe.

Prices in Europe are anything from 10% to 30% higher than USA.

[Fleetlord]

Rolex supplies my friendly authorized dealer with one Daytona every
2-3 months - understandably he will not sell it to me but to a stranger
via a proxy for an unethical premium....he uses the proxy to make the
3-4 thousand premium so the "gray" either will pay the higher price
or he does not get the watch...the question is ...do you want to buy
a Ceramic Steel Daytona for $18,000 so you can make 500 ?
Or... do you want to buy 9 used Datejusts and make $5,000..?


Maybe it's my brain shutting down, but I'm not following this..

So your AD won't sell you a SS Daytona, but they will sell it to ANOTHER grey market "proxy" who in turn, sells the Daytona to a stranger for an "unethical" premium?

Is this "proxy" splitting the "unethical" premium with the AD?

Why would the AD sell the Daytona to a "proxy" instead of you if they aren't getting a kickback?

How is "unethical" premium defined?

[Art 1]

Originally Posted by Soleless Shoes

Consistent with the OP, I've also heard that Rolex has intentionally limited supply of SS sports models specifically to hinder the grey market.

That's why that poster is upset.

[Art 1]

Originally Posted by 123Blueface

Considering he is a Grey market, trusted seller, I would think he does and his perspective not be readily dismissed.

Not someone who thinks mark ups on hot selling luxery items are unethical. He's more upset that it's tougher for greys to obtain watches.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by MorningTundra

Grey Dealers are just as interested in "building long term relationships" as any AD. They too understand the value of a long term repeat customer.

GD's tend to be more technically knowledgeable than snotty sales staff, more willing to Trade and Deal and just as concerned about the sales experience and their reputation (yes, I'm generalizing).

The AD experience IMO is overrated and the business model antiquated.

Then your doing it wrong or have the wrong AD then.

Thats great that the grey dealer is interested in building a relationship. How much is he selling you that SS daytona for? A good AD relationship although maybe hard to find is better than the alternative IMO.

[AK797]

Anastasios is right and I'm sure he is feeling it as Rolex are trying hard to limit their sources of supply and are monitoring ADs, their main conduit. In the UK it looks like the warranty withheld for 12 months will become the norm, and I agree with this as nothing else has worked for a year and a half so drastic measures are needed. Of course it might mean even higher prices as greys try to squeeze every last bit of margin from their shrinking supply line, but at least more watches will go to real buyers and not flippers.