![]() In the past 12 months, however, the availability of anything in a retail store has dwindled to nothing. (authorized dealer), the sales associates were initially excited to be meeting with potential customers in person, even if they had little to offer for purchase. From a personal perspective, when you could once again walk into a Rolex A.D. Like most brands, Rolex had to shut down for a period of time, which caused less supply during a period when mechanical timepieces seemed to pique many more people’s interests than ever before. Then, pandemic lockdowns took hold all over the world. At that time, the sales staff still had something to sell and, therefore, largely had a positive, welcoming attitude. Display cases were largely filled, even if a semi-premium watch like a polar dial Explorer II was the exception and Datejusts were the rule. and find an in-demand model you’d like to purchase, but there was still a slim chance for success in a right time/right place scenario. Prior to the pandemic, it was still nearly impossible to walk into an A.D. Scott Star: My personal interaction with Rolex Authorized Dealers has changed pretty dramatically in the past couple of years. Solutions to the larger issues are still hard to come by.Īriel Adams: Scott, what has your experience been over the last year or two when it comes to attempting to get some of the more in-demand watches from Rolex? How do you feel your experience compares with that of watch-collecting friends in your area? ![]() In other words, the problems associated with the unavailability of luxury watches are more than just an irritant for people with high disposable income - it threatens the short- to mid-term performance of the watch industry because a lot of consumers are becoming turned-off or disillusioned with the status quo. This deprives our community of new members, and it also deprives the watch industry from the business that new consumers offer over the course of years of collecting behavior. In some instances, at least, otherwise long-term watch hobbyists and buyers are turned off from the hobby early on, given the frustration involved in getting a watch they want. Many argue that this is just a normal manifestation of supply and demand in an unregulated commercial environment, but the outcome is a real source of serious negativity for many would-be watch buyers. Often retailers or gray market dealers who have watches in stock will demand extra money or other purchases prior to agreeing to sell high-demand inventory. Retailers will not discuss when new pieces will be in stock or offer assurances to consumers that they can be placed in line to purchase new watches when they are in stock. A common scenario is that the purchase of most new Rolex watches, along with a large variety of pieces from other brands including (but not limited to) Audemars Piguet, Omega, and many more is met with a dead-end. His recent experiences are all too common with fellow timepiece hobbyists around the world, many of whom feel particularly lonely and frustrated with the status quo. To discuss the matter of luxury watch availability today, I spoke with watch collector Scott Starr from Chicago, Illinois. It is my hope that by encouraging a long enough conversation about the problem of wristwatch availability, solutions will eventually be prompted into effect. This complex situation is one which we have frequently discussed on aBlogtoWatch, if only because it continues to be a thorn in the side of parts of the watch industry, including many members of the aBlogtoWatch audience. At the outset of 2022, one major topic is on the minds of many watch lovers out there: Will buying watches still be so difficult this year? Unfortunately, for many people, 2022 will probably still prove challenging when it comes to purchasing the most-hyped timepieces.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |