Grey Market...Who's against it and why?
Personally I'm against the grey market and believe in supporting your AD. People are buying up brands and immediately flipping/ dumping them on the grey market for huge profits. This in turn makes near impossible to obtain watches by the average buyer.
A guy saves for years to buy his dream watch, Rolex Submariner No-Date. A $8950 watch. BUT the AD won't sell him the watch because they've been burned by "FLIPPERS" and only sell to known truste collectors. So our guy must now resort to the grey market and now pay $15000+ for the same watch "NEW"with Original box and papers.
Also if an AD is caught contributing to the grey market they lose their AD privileges.
Something has to be done to regulate the industry.
Watches that are serial numbered should be logged and tracked through manufacturers and services/watchmakers. When you buy a watch you sign an agreement that you will not sell that watch for a minimum of one year. The AD will retain the Service/Warranty Card and Papers during this time. If you were to sell your watch prior you would be banned from buying any others from that AD and brand. If you bought a watch prior to this year agreemen endin it would be registered and could not be serviced. This would ensure an equal playing field for everyone buying watches.
I know this sounds brutal, but the industry won't survive unless something changes.
Now of course I'm speaking of the luxury watch market and not all brands.
Lover of Knives, Pens, Watches and Fly Fishing. Husband, Father, Papa Diver, Waterman, SOF Veteran
Not a fan of grey market. Watches are, for the most part, luxury items. Clicking on a screen and then receiving a postage satchel at the front door a few days later is not a luxurious buying experience. Why even bother?
I think it is important to distinguish types of greys. To me, it is grey vs. flippers. IE; Jomashop is a grey dealer; Luxury Bizarre, CRM, etc are flippers. I also mostly disagree re ADs; I think there are some bad ones sure, but I'd argue most are upstanding and would not risk their status. I primarily buy AD for much of my stuff, particularly Rolex & Tudor. I am lucky enough to have a great relationship my AD and get the pieces I want.
However, if I want (for example) an Omega, I am not going to an AD for that, I'll go to Jomashop and save the money (granted not so much for hot models these days). I would never give a cent to the other type of shops.
The industry will continue to thrive as long as people are willing to spend, it has been that way for many luxury goods for decades (Hermes, Porches/Ferraris, etc). Part of the allure is exclusivity, whether we like it or not.