Rolex waiting list

I would like to know the same. Any experiences in Switzerland. I called a retailer and he told me that there are hundreds of people on the waiting list for Rolex Explorer 36 mm. And they did not know when the delivery time could be !!! 

I am affraid I should buy the 39 version from second hand ...😕

It's real and best to avoid.

Look for pre-loved (you'll still over pay) or move on.

I , personally , wouldn't play the game. Plenty of high quality high end watches out there.

I figured if I can survive , as a collector, for 50 years without a Rolex I don't really neeed one.

There is a waiting list for Rolex watches at every AD. 

A friend of me works for a retailer and she told me that they get a certain amount of Rolex watches per year but don’t know when.

Usually there are lots of people waiting for a specific model (like I did for the Datejust 41) and when they get the watch they go thru the waiting list and when you are “lucky” you get the call. But of course they prefer customers they know or already bought watches in their store before. 

There are no waiting lists like first comes first served. My AD has a wish list for Rolex professional models and the Sky-Dwellers. If they get one of them in, the sales persons are "fighting" with each other who will get it and the one that gets it will give it to one of his costumers. It is a mixture of buying history, buying outlook (young urban professionals preferred), relationship and time of waiting. My Air-King and OP39 white I got straight out of the window (how times are changing), my Pepsi took me one month to wait after I offered my interested, the Hulk one year later also one month and 1.5 years later I got my Panda Daytona. But, I am very loyal to my AD and I buy not only Rolex, I buy also JLC, Cartier, Glashütte, Nomos, Oris and Omega. 

In Germany that's normal for ADs independent if you are costumer of Wempe, Bucherer, Rüschenbeck, etc. 

If you are a costumer w/o buying history they will maybe write down your name, but they will never call you back. My AD is not even writing you down.

For Datejusts it's different, there you have a chance to get one.

I don't know how it works with Rolex boutiques, there you cannot build a buying history with other brands...

I am not the kinda person who likes waiting, neither would i pay premium for a watch that i am supposed to be able to get with retail price tag, so i would move on. 

Still live in the days when i could walk in an ad and pick what i like, rolex wise 🙇🏻‍♂️

I think it really depends on the AD. I think a waiting list in terms of “you talked to us the longest ago, so you are next“ does not exist. I think that they get a bunch of flippers and for the most part they are trying to figure out who actually wants to enjoy the watch. I started talking to my AD in July about an explorer, but they are about 50 min away from me so I mostly communicated by text after the first time stopping in and meeting the rep. In November I was around that side of town a few times so I stopped in and chatted for a while each time. In early December I got the call that it was available for me. It is frustrating playing the game, but I think just making sure to come across as a genuine enthusiast who will cherish it helps a lot

I use to think that the waitlists were all fake and that all the ADs were selling to friends and/or out the back door, but I went to a Rolex AD, absolutely no history whatsoever (they sell only Rolex), told them i would love an Airking or OP41. I left thinking nothing of it, having registered my interest elsewhere as well to no result. But after 3.5 months I got a call and got my Airking.

I could not tell you why they decided to sell to me, I did not say anything remarkable or particularly funny / memorable. I did say I was not a flipper and that this was to be my first Rolex, I was wearing a Tudor GMT at the time, but besides that no idea why I got the call. 

Rolex wants you to beg them to sell you a watch. Meanwhile other manufacturers are asking, "Through innovation, design, and art -- how much can we give our customer for their money?"

I refuse to play the Rolex game. It's insulting.

Depending on the AD, seems like it's a combination of history and outlook:

I was able to get the 124270 from an AD with very limited purchase history by stopping in every so often and just chatting about the watches. I have heard that they are trying to prioritize younger customers. They want the watches to go to people who are enthusiastic about them and will wear them.