Bad Form?

Depends on the seller, I think. 

A brand boutique? Yeah, I think they'd take offense. 

And AD? the higher end ones? Same. 

General retail like Macy's? Probably not. 

As always, this is my opinion and YMMV. 

MTFBWY

That’s kinda what I was thinking too.

Definitely.  I just read a review of a new Rolex Sub “LV” that was running at -2.3spd, which appears to be (slightly) outside the “superlative chronometer” window.  I suspect that if I ”got the call”, I’d be expected to act appropriately grateful for their benevolence In choosing me as a prospective owner….but I would wonder until I had a chance to check it.

Never crossed my mind. 

I've bought a boatload of automatics over the years and ,with only 1 exception, all have run within spec. If you're looking for chronometer accuracy in a non chrometer you'll be disappointed more often than not. Plus the reading you get from the brand new unworn watch at the AD might change after having wound and worn it for awhile. 

Not that hard to go back after a couple weeks if you're not satisfied. If it checks out great at the shop and you buy it and it later changes a bit you'll have egg on your face when you go back. 

I remember the good old days when you bought a watch and wore it without fretting about "to the second" accuracy.

Just call the number on Sunday (the time at the tone will be...) and reset your watch-usually without even noticing how far it might have strayed.

Those were the days.

Damn internet.

Not at all mate. You test drive a car before you lay down the cash so why not test the watch before you walk out the door with it.

Like you said it's your money 💰🤙🏼

If you were to "get the call", take advantage of it, and if the watch isn't running within their Superlative Chronometer specs, send it for warranty repair. I did that with one of my wife's OPs. It was off by between 4-5 SPD, and the AD happily sent it in to Rolex for repair. At -2.3 they may have balked a bit, since it would only be .3 SPD out of spec, but who knows, it's still out of spec. My feeling is that since one of their marketing pitches is the Superlative Chronometer accuracy, they should be backing that up via the warranty, and my personal experience bears that out.

Also, since the rate varies based on position, I'd be more concerned with actual measured deviation on the wrist over a 24 hour or longer period.  My GMT Master gains at most 2 seconds over about a week, but my Sub consistently loses about 1SPD, and my OP gains 1-2 SPD.

I often test a new watch's accuracy for 6 hours or so before removing any tags, stickers, unwrapping and sizing, etc. So if I do get a crazy out of spec lemon, I can return it without any hassle. I've only ever had to send a watch back for out of spec accuracy once, and it was quartz, and I had already unwrapped and resized it.

Im a simple man , if it looks great and tells the time I dnt really notice or worry about it running to spec. Not planning to sell anything so that may account for my view.

As long as my watches are within a couple minutes a week after a few years — I’m happy. I want my watches to make me happy, not stressed. 

I don't know if I'm off here but youre buying a luxury product and can expect the appropriate service. Its your good right to receive a mint condition if you're paying for it and if you want to check do so. If you don't want to come across as rude you can always check at home and come back if its not okay.