Can you get Discount on Rolex Watches? What you Should Know
If we would have written this article back in 2015 or so, the answer would have been yes absolutely. You could get a discount on most models at most Rolex retailers if you asked kindly. But today, the market looks a lot different.
Before we begin, we need to clarify that we will focus on official Rolex retailers in this article and not other types of resellers of Rolex.
So can you get a discount on Rolex watches when buying from an official retailer today? The answer in most cases is no. And to understand why, we need to understand the reason for a discount.
Discounts are generally given on items that are hard to sell and that the seller has a hard time getting rid of. This is why stores have clearance sales and end-of-season sales. They lower the prices to make the products more attractive and ultimately sell more.
But as you may know, the current state of the Rolex market is very interesting and different from most other markers. There are countless discussions about the scarcity of Rolex watches and just how difficult it is to buy a popular watch. For the most popular Rolex models, there are year-long waiting lists – if you even are added to the list. With this said, the availability of a lot of Rolex models is extremely low and the demand far surpasses the supply.
Because of this, a lot of Rolex models sell for more than the recommended retail price on the secondhand market. With that said, Rolex retailers are basically selling watches for less than they are actually worth.
Having all of this in mind, do you think that discounting Rolex watches is actually necessary for Rolex retailers to get them sold? If one client requires a discount in order to buy a watch, they can simply say no and inform the next customer on the waiting list who will happily buy it without any discount at all.
Think about it, why would a Rolex retailer discount a product that they could easily sell for the full price to someone else?
Exceptions
The bottom line is that getting a discount on Rolex watches is extremely popular in the last couple of years. But It’s also important to point out that this has not always been the case. Getting discounts on other watch brands like Omega, Breitling, Jaeger-LeCoultre is quite common and if you ask, you’ll most likely get one.
This is on a basic level due to supply and demand. Unlike with Rolex watches, the supply normally surpasses the demand. And this has also been the case for Rolex back in the days. The scarce situation with Rolex watches and the fact that they are so difficult to get hasn’t always been the case. 5-10 years ago, there were plenty of Submariners, GMT-Masters, and Daytonas in the windows at every retailer, readily available. Basically, all and any sports watch was immediately available without any waiting lists. When this was the situation, it’s easy to understand that you were able to negotiate a discount with the retailer. But when they have tens and maybe even hundreds of customers waiting, it’s easy to see why a Rolex retailer would not be inclined to offer any type of discount.
Due to the fact that Rolex retailers can sell the most popular models immediately to one of the hundreds of people who are on the waiting list, they may only have the less popular models left. The result of this is that the popularity of other models increases. When people cannot buy a certain watch, they look at the second next best thing. And when this model becomes hard to get, they look at the next best thing, and the next, and the next… In other words, Rolex’s scarcity is contagious. Just 5 years ago, the two-tone Submariner, for example, was not regarded as a popular model in most places. You could frequently see them readily available in the storefronts at the retailers. Because of this, it was possible that you could receive a discount for this model. But today, the two-tone Submariner has waiting lists in most places and so getting a discount for this model today is highly unlikely.
As long as the availability is far lower than the demand, getting a discount on a popular Rolex watch will be very difficult. In most cases impossible.
There are some exceptions, however. Because whilst it is unlikely that you’ll be able to get a discount on a new Rolex watch, it’s not completely impossible. Whilst the number of models that are popular grows each year, some Rolex models are less popular. In particular those with a lot of diamonds or some watches in solid gold. Therefore, if you ask for a discount on an unpopular, hard-to-sell watch, you may be able to get one, if you are lucky.
But the thing is, Rolex retailers know that basically all Rolex watches are extremely scarce. It’s also an issue that all Rolex retailers experience. That they have far too few watches than they would be able to sell and that they need & want. So why would they give a discount on the few watches they have, even if it’s slightly less popular than other models?
It also depends on which retailer you ask. The first response that many retailers have when they hear someone say “Rolex” is “sorry, not available”. They simply regard any Rolex, regardless of the model as something that is a privilege for the customer to buy. Therefore, they do not give discounts on any Rolex watch, regardless of the model, and regardless of whether it is a popular or less popular watch.
But in countries where discounting is more common and stores that are less formal and bureaucratic, you may be able to negotiate with them, if it’s a less popular model. Furthermore, if you’re already an existing customer with good purchase history, it can be easier to get a discount if you ask. The store may give you a symbolic discount as a token of gratitude. But the catch is that it may, as mentioned, do more harm than it will benefit you.
For more popular models, just forget about any discount. It does more harm to the relationship than saving a few hundred may benefit you in the short term.
Buy on the secondhand market
Whilst the price on many Rolex watches is higher on the secondhand market than the retail price, that’s not the case for all models. But the list of models that this is the case for is getting short and shorter each year due to the reasons discussed above.
But with that said, it can be good to compare prices on the secondhand market that you are looking to buy. If you’re looking for a model that is “less hot” you may find that prices are lower on the secondhand market than the retail price. So even if a retailer will say no to a discount for this model if you ask, you are still able to buy it for lower than the retail price on the secondhand market.
Furthermore, negotiating with a seller on the secondhand market may be much easier than negotiating with a Rolex retailer because they work a lot differently than what a retailer does.
Tax-free- the only real way to get a discount on Rolex watches from ADs
As discounts are getting rarer and rarer, the best way to get a Rolex watch for lower than the retail price is to buy it tax-free. This of course requires that you buy from a country that offers tax-free sales. If you, for example, buy as a non-EU citizen in the EU, you can get a tax refund of up to 25% depending on the VAT rate in the country, and whether the tax refund company charges a fee.
When you shop tax-free, you don’t even have to ask for a discount. You just say that you are eligible for tax-free purchase, and if the store accepts tax-free sales, they will happily be able to help you. This is because when you shop tax-free, you’re not reducing the store’s margin. It’s just that you’re not paying the tax, which they don’t get to keep anyways.
