Thinking of going grey for (almost) good
Now hear me out. I'm not chasing every hype piece (the only modern Rolex I really like is the Pepsi GMT) nor have I given up on ever buying pieces from ADs. I don't have the money for high horology, nor do I necessarily care about them.
I will say that my tastes have changed and matured, and I've become more discerning about the watches that I absolutely want. As a result, I'm buying less frequently (rather than buying/selling to learn my tastes).
So all of the above has led me to this conclusion. Given my situation, perhaps buying from a reputable grey dealer should be the plan from now on. If I reach out to the right ones, then perhaps leveraging their contacts might make sourcing easier. The market value of the pieces that I want are selling over and under RRP, so it might even itself out in the end.
All I want (as do most enthusiasts) is to buy what I want in a reasonable time (waiting is fine if it has to be sourced), without feeling like I have to perform 'extracurriculars' each time I visit an AD.
Anyone else in the same boat?
Adventures of a watch tragic.
Let me know if you the contact info for my grey dealer. He’s got a network of ADs he works with. I’ve bought and traded back maybe something like 30 watches with him over the years.
Are you talking flippers (secondhand dealers) or grey dealers? There are rarely any good flippers. The likes of Bobs, Crown and Caliber, etc are a little different than all the shady youtube/MODA dealers in the flipping category. Grey dealers would be Jomashop, World of Watches, Prestige Time, etc. They buy unsold new inventory from ADs and sell to you at a discount. I will always buy from a grey dealer if they have a watch I want and the AD will not match. There are also those ADs that also happen to buy used inventory, which I also do not mind giving business to if they have a watch I want and it is under MSRP. I will never pay some flipper based dealer over MSRP for any watch. The sooner those dopes go out of business, the better the hobby will be, but I do not see that happening soon.
Are you talking flippers (secondhand dealers) or grey dealers? There are rarely any good flippers. The likes of Bobs, Crown and Caliber, etc are a little different than all the shady youtube/MODA dealers in the flipping category. Grey dealers would be Jomashop, World of Watches, Prestige Time, etc. They buy unsold new inventory from ADs and sell to you at a discount. I will always buy from a grey dealer if they have a watch I want and the AD will not match. There are also those ADs that also happen to buy used inventory, which I also do not mind giving business to if they have a watch I want and it is under MSRP. I will never pay some flipper based dealer over MSRP for any watch. The sooner those dopes go out of business, the better the hobby will be, but I do not see that happening soon.
Less of the TPG types. More in terms of being in business for many years (if not decades), have a strong reputation, bricks and mortar operation. Bob's, C+C, Analog Shift, Watchbox all come to mind (but have not dealt with any).
Don’t sweat it I’ve traded and bought from the grey Market more than I care to admit. Some may have void warranties from NEW but some don’t. For me you have to price out the warranty and what it means to you. Most of the time it Dosent mean fuck all and a service will usually cost less than the savings