PRICE! How to negotiate?

Hello,

i m always asking myself… what is reasonable reduction by brand? What is reasonable final price by model? should we refer to Chrono24 to estimate the best price?

>>> can you share your experience? Tell us which brand, model, reduction and where you get your watch!

Reply
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I think this is very watch/brand dependent. For "entry level" watches, jomashop or other gray dealers might be the best way to go. I hear a good rule of thumb is to find out the servicing cost of the watch and see if you are still under or come even. Worked with my Hamilton (started at 65% off retail, now about 50% off retail after service).

For more expensive brands, for me personally, buying the watch from a brick and mortar store was part of the experience and thus even 10% discount I considered lucky to get (if any at all). Got my Cartier this way.

Some brands have outlets where the discounts start at 10%, usually more. I got over 60% off my Citizen.

MSRP, gray markets are a good place to start to find out the "going price" I think. I don't dabble with vintage but I would imagine gathering information on forums would be a good place to start!

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I’ve always just researched and then researched more, patience is the key as you will always find a better deal somewhere else, especially when buying new. Second hand is much the same, known what it is you want, service costs or has it been serviced so you want receipts. Vintage is a mine field and you need to well inform yourself before making any purchases. Ask a lot of questions and I mean a lot of questions, to the point of being annoying, it’s your money at the end of the day and if their an honest seller they shouldn’t mind.

I’ve never purchased anything from the gray market as the warranty could be an issue if it’s required. It also depends on the price bracket, under $500 let’s say, while it’s still a decent amount of change to loose and risk your not going to feel as bad as if you sunk over 1K into a watch that turns out to be a lemon 🍋 or you have buyers regrets.

There is a lot of great bargains out there and it’s easy to get impatient and buy on impulse, I learnt from my mistakes over the 40 years of collecting that knowing what you want and doing your research and then being patient is the key and the best watch for the right price will always present itself.

Good luck on your search my friend 🍀

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nytime

I think this is very watch/brand dependent. For "entry level" watches, jomashop or other gray dealers might be the best way to go. I hear a good rule of thumb is to find out the servicing cost of the watch and see if you are still under or come even. Worked with my Hamilton (started at 65% off retail, now about 50% off retail after service).

For more expensive brands, for me personally, buying the watch from a brick and mortar store was part of the experience and thus even 10% discount I considered lucky to get (if any at all). Got my Cartier this way.

Some brands have outlets where the discounts start at 10%, usually more. I got over 60% off my Citizen.

MSRP, gray markets are a good place to start to find out the "going price" I think. I don't dabble with vintage but I would imagine gathering information on forums would be a good place to start!

Thks for sharing! Have you ever buy watch abroad with tax free? Or are you building relationship w your AD?

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TonyXXX

I’ve always just researched and then researched more, patience is the key as you will always find a better deal somewhere else, especially when buying new. Second hand is much the same, known what it is you want, service costs or has it been serviced so you want receipts. Vintage is a mine field and you need to well inform yourself before making any purchases. Ask a lot of questions and I mean a lot of questions, to the point of being annoying, it’s your money at the end of the day and if their an honest seller they shouldn’t mind.

I’ve never purchased anything from the gray market as the warranty could be an issue if it’s required. It also depends on the price bracket, under $500 let’s say, while it’s still a decent amount of change to loose and risk your not going to feel as bad as if you sunk over 1K into a watch that turns out to be a lemon 🍋 or you have buyers regrets.

There is a lot of great bargains out there and it’s easy to get impatient and buy on impulse, I learnt from my mistakes over the 40 years of collecting that knowing what you want and doing your research and then being patient is the key and the best watch for the right price will always present itself.

Good luck on your search my friend 🍀

Thks for sharing, i m also focusing on official AD and trying to build a relation for future opportunity… but sometime prices are more interesting abroad with the discount and tax free. I heard that buying in switzerland is a great deal… someone confirm?

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Yelowman23

Thks for sharing! Have you ever buy watch abroad with tax free? Or are you building relationship w your AD?

I did buy a Tag Heuer at a duty-free shop for my father-in-law, it was still cheaper to pay taxes on return. 

Not really interested in the "hype" watches so I haven't built any relationship with any ADs ... yet. If it's of any help, my father did not ever buy watches for himself (until recently) but he took all his clients to one AD, so they give his clients good discounts from what I hear.

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Yelowman23

Thks for sharing, i m also focusing on official AD and trying to build a relation for future opportunity… but sometime prices are more interesting abroad with the discount and tax free. I heard that buying in switzerland is a great deal… someone confirm?

Never actually purchased from Switzerland, close with a couple of micro brands located there