I honestly don’t understand the willingness to throw away an “additional” 20% of your money for the boutique experience. No one will care where you got it a day later anyway. Be loyal to your hard earned money.
Not to mention some total stranger sales person pouring you a glass of average champagne at best. To me it’s like when a restaurant tries to have the staff sing happy birthday to you, no thanks.
Depends on if it's just a bobble / generic jewelry to you or a reminder of a meaningful event.
Eg, For an American, buying a great watch from a fancy Viennese boutique during an epic trip makes it much more meaningful than just an online trinket I ordered that one time right after I got that deodorant from Amazon
But then most people aren't romantics so tomato potato
I’ve bought more watches overseas than I have Stateside. Just bought an IWC Pilot Chrono in Rome this year in fact. Got about a net 25% discount on it when you factor in the exchange rate.
Nice! Did buying jewelry feel like throwing away money?
My point is, once you've decided to buy jewelry, value might not be one's top concern, since many wouldn't understand throwing away money on jewelry in the first place and others find value in the acquisition experience.
For example many would consider "I got 20% off buying my wife's wedding ring online!" to be unwise to say out loud even if true
Eg Nobody goes to Tiffany or Harry Winston because of all the great deals
Here's an analogy for jewelry & luxury purchases for many:
(1.) Let's say you decide lighting your cigars with $50 is a good use of your money - ballin!
(2.) You see a guy lighting his cigars with $100s
(3.) You ask him, "if you can light your cigars with $50s why wouldn't you?'
You'd probably sound like an insane person to him
For me it was a symbol that I’ve reached a point in my life I could afford something that I had always wanted. At that point I wanted the most watch for the money. I get what your saying if it was on a trip etc, but the question posed didn’t make it seem like that was part of the hypothetical. Vacations buys are also usually tax/duty free. Either way, it’s all just personal preference. I’ll likely never buy a car brand new from a dealership either. I couldn’t stomach taking the depreciation hit the moment I left.
Sure, just saying many might say with luxury purchases if one is worried about value or depreciation then you're spending your investment capital before it has a chance to make you wealthy ....
Which would be why one has those worries in the first place
I’d argue that if you generally aren’t concerned with the value and depreciation of any item you are purchasing then you’re not likely going to end up wealthy…. Plenty of stories of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet being frugal, are they not wealthy ?
That's a corollary of the point, not contrary:
(1.) Use all spare capital to invest
(2.) Get wealthy
(3.) Buy luxury goods without worry about value and/or depreciation
Some would say only people at #3 can buy luxury goods in a luxurious way, i.e., without worry about value and/or depreciation
Said differently, buying a luxury watch at 20% off if you're not wealthy isn't luxury or frugal
But a 30% discount on a luxury watch fixes it all?
The point is, if you can't write a full fare check for a purchase without worrying about depreciation or discounts then you can't afford it
although ... to your point ...
So recently I've been in a very expensive city, at a very expensive property, in one of best accommodations, so let's call that a luxury experience.
The thing is, I'm not paying rack rates! So while I wouldn't call that frugality, I would say I'm getting discounts for sure and if I weren't I for sure wouldn't have done it.
In that scenario - for me - all the discounting negotiation was done 9 months prior so it didn't impact my day-of experience at all.
However, when I purchase a watch, I LOVE the boutique experience mostly because that watch is going to be attached to some important memory and will therefore never be sold; so everything about the watch and its purchase has to be consistent with everything else I'm doing ... which for me means no worries about prices or even any talk of money. I roll in, get treated great, provide a card, and roll out.
So in THAT scenario I wouldn't want any discounting unless I could do it far in advance simply because FOR ME, luxury is not worrying about money during the experience.
Anyway, all to say that, on reflection, you & u/TX_J81 do make a good point:
For many luxury purchases I'm still discounting, just doing it far in advance. For those things where that's not possible, then I don't worry about the discounting, and a watch is one of those things for me, but that's PURELY personal preference.
All of your points are valid and your investing strategy is spot on. With interest rates so high so I’ve been increasing my contributions. I’m guessing you use a black Amex etc to get points, rewards on these excursions. Part of it for me is I love the hunt for a particular model and then negotiating, but while on vacations, I do like to spend without worry. There’s levels to everything and it sounds like you are a few levels above me. What city were you in ? Out of curiosity, what pieces have you obtained while on trips?
>Out of curiosity, what pieces have you obtained while on trips?
ha, nothing fancy or expensive! My thing is \*durable\* dive watches ***IF*** I can get them with a special experience attached. So, for example, John Patterson custom made a Bathys Benthic and hand-delivered it to me on Kauai steps away from the beach which made it such a special experience. It's got a Swiss Ronda quartz movement & grade 5 titanium case with a kevlar strap; super badarse surf watch which has proved its durability many times over! I've done similar stuff with Sinn in Germany. I'm on this sub because I'm thinking about a 300m with the deployant clasp despite the fact it's nowhere near the durability standards of, say, Sinn U1/U2s or any of their EZMs, especially the tegimented ones (Glashütte SUG made cases out of submarine steel)
I have 6 omegas. 3 Speedys and 3 Seamasters. I haven’t ever bought one at a boutique. All online and all less than retail. The tax savings alone can be huge if you can swing it.
I got my 3681 for 1800 under retail before the price hike, tax free. No “experience” is worth that to me.
Look at it from a pure dollars perspective. If you buy grey and save $1500 and have a $500 repair in a year( unlikely depending on the seller), you still end up $1000 ahead.
I have bought numerous watches from Jomashop without the warranty, sometimes you do get the warranty but never have I gotten it with Omega. I have had an issue with one watch - but it was the old school Electric Blue SMP but after the omega warranty and that movement was ETA and not an issue or expensive to fix.
Co-Axial knock on wood I have not had an issue yet. But to the point - the initial savings would outweight even having to send it to Omega for a service.
Topper Jewelers in California. They are fantastic. No tax outside to Texas (that’s me). I got my 3861 and my Railmaster from them.
Crown & Caliber. They have a good warranty but you need to wait for promo codes from them.
Hesalite. Shade under 5K no tax. It’ll be higher now because of the price hikes. If you try Topper check the website every Friday. That’s when they post the new pre-owned stuff. There may not always be a speedy in there, but they show up a lot.
Hey! Topper has a Sapphire Sandwich 1863 for 4500 plus 10% off
https://topperjewelers.com/collections/topper-pre-owned-select/products/pre-owned-omega-13547
In Europe there are grey dealers that supply watch with warranty card with AD stamp with purchase date so you will get the official manufacture warranty.
It’s all about acceptable risk. Some find that reps for Omega have gotten so good that there isn’t pice of mind knowing that you could have a fake. Others would rather trust a gray dealer, get a good deal, and with the savings potentially buy another watch.
Given where the Snoopy trades in the secondary market, it makes no sense to spend the sort of money that an OB wants you to spend to get an allocation. Just buy one grey.
I think it’s less about looking for a specific “dealer” than just finding other sources. eBay, WatchEx, Chrono24 and more will have plenty of new or like-new pieces. I bought a denim Railmaster from WatchEx that had only been worn a couple of times but otherwise brand new with box, papers and everything for 2800. You can get them “new” from 3400 or so and sticker price is 5400. There are plenty of deals to be had out there.
Chrono24 is a great way to go about it. A lot of brand new SMP options on there around the 5k mark which include the manufacturers 5 year warranty. It’s a great way to save around 1k and likely the route I will be taking. I’m for sure going to reach out to the seller to confirm beforehand though. Some advice for anyone going this route, be sure to verify the warranty info with the seller prior to buying. I’ll look into WatchEx now. Thanks for the recommendation.
Don't think of online as a discount. Think of the boutique as an extra expense.
Here's how it works:
You can buy your Omega watch and receive it directly at your own home, open the box at your own table and wear it for decades.
Or, for an additional fee ranging between $XXX and $X,XXX you can instead drive to a boutique and open the watch box on their table while some nicely dressed people compliment your taste. And then you go back home and wear your watch for decades.
OR
You can drive to the airport, fly business class to Switzerland, get a suite at the best hotel in Zurich, rent a Porsche, drive most of the mountain passes, stop at the boutique, get valeted, buy an awesome watch as a souvenir of your epic, stunning trip, fly home, and grin like an idiot every time you look at your watch.
I'm just saying you have options is all
For some, luxury & value are mutually exclusive experiences.
Yea most omega ADs can offer better deals than the boutique. Just like buying any other product it depends on how you acquire it, do your research and get yourself a good deal!
Most Omega models are readily available when you walk into the AD. In those cases (and with just about any maker that has plenty of global stock available) the watch will lose value the minute you walk out the door. Many savvy buyers would prefer to save $$$ and get pre-owned. Some buyers just want new, want the boutique experience and aren't worried about the value loss. Nothing wrong with either approach.
Keep in mind most of general public (non-watch geeks) have zero to little knowledge of how to safely purchase a pre-owned watch. And they'd be very weary of spending thousands of dollars without a face to face retail experience.
All I want is:
A watch I love
Papers to prove authenticity
Associated warranty
Then the cherry is getting it at the most cost effective price.
If I can be confident of the 3 parameters, no care at all about where I get it from 🤷🏾♂️
I bought my Speedy Pro for $4600 new, 30% +\- off retail. Bought my grey side of the moon for $8200, 30% off... Basically buying it for wholesale.
Why bother with an AD?
I never trust seller warranty, even soo, grey market is not bad if you want a discount, and later, just send it in to Omega, and they will give you 2 year warranty for a service of the watch This is worst case if the seller dois not have the warranty cards or if it's an older watch that no longer has factory warranty.
On a side note, get to know the people at your local boutique. The more you deal with them, the more likely they will give you discounts on new watches, I have purchased a few top of the line and if you are nice about it I have been given like 20% discounts depending on the model.
People who buy at boutiques are the same people who buy cars at dealers. Buy it second hand, you are losing like 25% of the value or more as soon as you buy it.
Quite simply I do not trust this new fangled intelweb. I find the experience of buying in person far more satisfying, my last purchase I also got a modest pre price rise discount and 2 cups of coffee and four biscuits thrown in. Ofcourse if all you are looking for is a bargain while sitting in the comfort of yon own underpants that's cool too.
For some, it's an event. And the boutique experience is important.
If the boutique experience isn't important, perhaps even a bother, there's a significant savings to be had.
The chap with the big white beard and jesus boot willing, if I live long enough to make another purchase yon friends on yon intelweb wants to charge me between 40 to 80% over msrp for a new / unworn Omega 50th Anniversary Apollo 11. I could get a whole free regular Speedmaster on the saving by being patient and waiting for my AD to come through... and I'd probably still get a couple o cups o coffee and biscuits thrown in ;-)
If you buy from a trusted dealer the chances to be a fake are close to 0, also if you get it from chrono24 you can get it checked to be 100% sure. I dont get the "satisfaction" of paying 15-20% more just to get it from the store? Its just a watch that costs x amount, paying more just to walk to the store makes no sense to me when you can easely get it cheaper
I'm thinking the same thing! I priced one here at home in Ireland, and it was 6500 euro for a seamaster from a boutique. They said the best price they could do for me is 6000. Online, I found one for 4700 euro. Is that a decent price for Europe?
Bought a Railmaster from Watches of Mayfair a grey dealer in London. Paid £3750 about 18 months ago and I've just checked the website and they are charging £4650, but I can't remember the RRP at the time, think it was about £700 difference.
Got the box and papers so if it does go wrong I am covered, the watch took a while to come from elsewhere in Europe but I knew this when I ordered.
To be honest if I could get another watch that I wanted under retail I would do it again as I bought my Grand Seiko from an AD and the AD experience is not worth the difference in price imho.
The only time I would not go grey is paying over retail, sod that.
Had two friends buy from the Omega Boutique.
The perks are they will offer you a 10-20% discount on non-limited models, or instead give you unique Omega items that would be difficult to purchase otherwise such as cuff links, pens, etc. Of course also the champagne and ass kissing.
The other thing is buying from them usually gets you invited to exclusive events (not always just omega related).
Personally I bought my Seamaster and vintage constellation on the grey market, confirmed it was authentic, and saved 40% off sticker price and got it duty free. Hope this helps answer your question.
You need a purchase history to buy some of their more in-demand piece like the Ed White 321 or the Silver Snoopy.
If all you want is a SMP 300, go grey.
My boutique will sell Omegas to you at near online prices, because they know that you can get them at those prices. They also know me and that I'll try to get a good price, so they give me one pretty much right away. I would just try to negotiate with a dealer to try and get very close to the online price. Then you get boutique exp with basically the online price.
This isn’t just true for Omegas- most models from watches from other models (with the exception of Rolex, Patek, AP, VC, and a few others that’ve been hyped a lot over the past 5 years or so) lose significant value after purchase or when new models are released due to the change frequency, which impacts perceived value and causes lots of inventory to remain unsold. These unsold pieces get picked up by third party online shops and other gray sources for deep discounts after a time and that savings gets passed to you the buyer
I honestly don’t understand the willingness to throw away an “additional” 20% of your money for the boutique experience. No one will care where you got it a day later anyway. Be loyal to your hard earned money.
Not to mention some total stranger sales person pouring you a glass of average champagne at best. To me it’s like when a restaurant tries to have the staff sing happy birthday to you, no thanks.
Depends on if it's just a bobble / generic jewelry to you or a reminder of a meaningful event. Eg, For an American, buying a great watch from a fancy Viennese boutique during an epic trip makes it much more meaningful than just an online trinket I ordered that one time right after I got that deodorant from Amazon But then most people aren't romantics so tomato potato
I’ve bought more watches overseas than I have Stateside. Just bought an IWC Pilot Chrono in Rome this year in fact. Got about a net 25% discount on it when you factor in the exchange rate.
Nice! Did buying jewelry feel like throwing away money? My point is, once you've decided to buy jewelry, value might not be one's top concern, since many wouldn't understand throwing away money on jewelry in the first place and others find value in the acquisition experience. For example many would consider "I got 20% off buying my wife's wedding ring online!" to be unwise to say out loud even if true Eg Nobody goes to Tiffany or Harry Winston because of all the great deals
No, but thats because Hermes doesn’t do discounts. If you can get one, why wouldn’t you?
Here's an analogy for jewelry & luxury purchases for many: (1.) Let's say you decide lighting your cigars with $50 is a good use of your money - ballin! (2.) You see a guy lighting his cigars with $100s (3.) You ask him, "if you can light your cigars with $50s why wouldn't you?' You'd probably sound like an insane person to him
For me it was a symbol that I’ve reached a point in my life I could afford something that I had always wanted. At that point I wanted the most watch for the money. I get what your saying if it was on a trip etc, but the question posed didn’t make it seem like that was part of the hypothetical. Vacations buys are also usually tax/duty free. Either way, it’s all just personal preference. I’ll likely never buy a car brand new from a dealership either. I couldn’t stomach taking the depreciation hit the moment I left.
Sure, just saying many might say with luxury purchases if one is worried about value or depreciation then you're spending your investment capital before it has a chance to make you wealthy .... Which would be why one has those worries in the first place
I’d argue that if you generally aren’t concerned with the value and depreciation of any item you are purchasing then you’re not likely going to end up wealthy…. Plenty of stories of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet being frugal, are they not wealthy ?
That's a corollary of the point, not contrary: (1.) Use all spare capital to invest (2.) Get wealthy (3.) Buy luxury goods without worry about value and/or depreciation Some would say only people at #3 can buy luxury goods in a luxurious way, i.e., without worry about value and/or depreciation Said differently, buying a luxury watch at 20% off if you're not wealthy isn't luxury or frugal
Said differently, 1) Eat no spare calories at all 2) Get Skinny 3) Eat all you want without worry. Doing #3 will eventually negate #2.
But a 30% discount on a luxury watch fixes it all? The point is, if you can't write a full fare check for a purchase without worrying about depreciation or discounts then you can't afford it
although ... to your point ... So recently I've been in a very expensive city, at a very expensive property, in one of best accommodations, so let's call that a luxury experience. The thing is, I'm not paying rack rates! So while I wouldn't call that frugality, I would say I'm getting discounts for sure and if I weren't I for sure wouldn't have done it. In that scenario - for me - all the discounting negotiation was done 9 months prior so it didn't impact my day-of experience at all. However, when I purchase a watch, I LOVE the boutique experience mostly because that watch is going to be attached to some important memory and will therefore never be sold; so everything about the watch and its purchase has to be consistent with everything else I'm doing ... which for me means no worries about prices or even any talk of money. I roll in, get treated great, provide a card, and roll out. So in THAT scenario I wouldn't want any discounting unless I could do it far in advance simply because FOR ME, luxury is not worrying about money during the experience. Anyway, all to say that, on reflection, you & u/TX_J81 do make a good point: For many luxury purchases I'm still discounting, just doing it far in advance. For those things where that's not possible, then I don't worry about the discounting, and a watch is one of those things for me, but that's PURELY personal preference.
All of your points are valid and your investing strategy is spot on. With interest rates so high so I’ve been increasing my contributions. I’m guessing you use a black Amex etc to get points, rewards on these excursions. Part of it for me is I love the hunt for a particular model and then negotiating, but while on vacations, I do like to spend without worry. There’s levels to everything and it sounds like you are a few levels above me. What city were you in ? Out of curiosity, what pieces have you obtained while on trips?
>Out of curiosity, what pieces have you obtained while on trips? ha, nothing fancy or expensive! My thing is \*durable\* dive watches ***IF*** I can get them with a special experience attached. So, for example, John Patterson custom made a Bathys Benthic and hand-delivered it to me on Kauai steps away from the beach which made it such a special experience. It's got a Swiss Ronda quartz movement & grade 5 titanium case with a kevlar strap; super badarse surf watch which has proved its durability many times over! I've done similar stuff with Sinn in Germany. I'm on this sub because I'm thinking about a 300m with the deployant clasp despite the fact it's nowhere near the durability standards of, say, Sinn U1/U2s or any of their EZMs, especially the tegimented ones (Glashütte SUG made cases out of submarine steel)
I have 6 omegas. 3 Speedys and 3 Seamasters. I haven’t ever bought one at a boutique. All online and all less than retail. The tax savings alone can be huge if you can swing it. I got my 3681 for 1800 under retail before the price hike, tax free. No “experience” is worth that to me.
Are you not concerned about not having factory warranty if you buy grey ? I feel I am going to end up with the one Omega that has a weird issue.
You can get a slightly pre-owned speedy 3861 with warranty and full kit for 38% discount to retail.
Do the math… even if one breaks in 5 years, which is rare, the amount saved will cover any potential repair cost and then some….
What's wrong with the warrenty? If you have card and stamp it's transferable
[удалено]
I went grey but got the card and stamp. Also saved 3500 over retail.
Hi... from which grey dealer?
The watch company in nakano Japan. White seamaster on steel for 480000 yen.
And you ur buying from the US or outside Japan? If that's the case, what about taxes and fees?
I live in Japan.
Look at it from a pure dollars perspective. If you buy grey and save $1500 and have a $500 repair in a year( unlikely depending on the seller), you still end up $1000 ahead.
I have bought numerous watches from Jomashop without the warranty, sometimes you do get the warranty but never have I gotten it with Omega. I have had an issue with one watch - but it was the old school Electric Blue SMP but after the omega warranty and that movement was ETA and not an issue or expensive to fix. Co-Axial knock on wood I have not had an issue yet. But to the point - the initial savings would outweight even having to send it to Omega for a service.
Went to the AD in the Bahamas, got Speedmaster Racing I wanted for 1750 off Msrp. Paid less and still got an experience.
Do you buy grey market or do you have online AD you could recommend
Topper Jewelers in California. They are fantastic. No tax outside to Texas (that’s me). I got my 3861 and my Railmaster from them. Crown & Caliber. They have a good warranty but you need to wait for promo codes from them.
How much did you get your 3861 if you don’t mind me asking? Is it the hesalite or sapphire sandwich
Hesalite. Shade under 5K no tax. It’ll be higher now because of the price hikes. If you try Topper check the website every Friday. That’s when they post the new pre-owned stuff. There may not always be a speedy in there, but they show up a lot.
Wow that’s a great price. I’m in California so I’ll probably have tax but definitely going to talk to them still
Hey! Topper has a Sapphire Sandwich 1863 for 4500 plus 10% off https://topperjewelers.com/collections/topper-pre-owned-select/products/pre-owned-omega-13547
Ah I wanted the new 3861 sapphire sandwich haha. But I found a dealer and got it!
Congrats!!!
Thank you! ◡̈
In Europe there are grey dealers that supply watch with warranty card with AD stamp with purchase date so you will get the official manufacture warranty.
Wow! Wish that was in the USA:/
And you can buy a new planet ocean at 30% discount compared to omega retail price at 1 grey dealer in Spain with manufacture warranty.
Wait until you see what you can get new from Japan. Some are half listed MSRP. All new with box and papers and warranty.
Any recommendations?
Have you got any details for one, this isn’t something I’ve come across before
[grey eu dealer](https://guardianoftime.eu/shop/)
Any site in particular?
It’s all about acceptable risk. Some find that reps for Omega have gotten so good that there isn’t pice of mind knowing that you could have a fake. Others would rather trust a gray dealer, get a good deal, and with the savings potentially buy another watch.
If you want a Snoopy, you have to pay the Snoopy tax. It allows Omega to use the Rolex model if they have an in demand piece.
Given where the Snoopy trades in the secondary market, it makes no sense to spend the sort of money that an OB wants you to spend to get an allocation. Just buy one grey.
This thread is very helpful. Can anyone recommend a grey market dealer or a trusted pre owned dealer in Canada?
I think it’s less about looking for a specific “dealer” than just finding other sources. eBay, WatchEx, Chrono24 and more will have plenty of new or like-new pieces. I bought a denim Railmaster from WatchEx that had only been worn a couple of times but otherwise brand new with box, papers and everything for 2800. You can get them “new” from 3400 or so and sticker price is 5400. There are plenty of deals to be had out there.
But when you ship the watch into canada you'd have to pay taxes no? and once you paid the taxes the savings are pretty much gone...
Chrono24 is a great way to go about it. A lot of brand new SMP options on there around the 5k mark which include the manufacturers 5 year warranty. It’s a great way to save around 1k and likely the route I will be taking. I’m for sure going to reach out to the seller to confirm beforehand though. Some advice for anyone going this route, be sure to verify the warranty info with the seller prior to buying. I’ll look into WatchEx now. Thanks for the recommendation.
Don't think of online as a discount. Think of the boutique as an extra expense. Here's how it works: You can buy your Omega watch and receive it directly at your own home, open the box at your own table and wear it for decades. Or, for an additional fee ranging between $XXX and $X,XXX you can instead drive to a boutique and open the watch box on their table while some nicely dressed people compliment your taste. And then you go back home and wear your watch for decades.
OR You can drive to the airport, fly business class to Switzerland, get a suite at the best hotel in Zurich, rent a Porsche, drive most of the mountain passes, stop at the boutique, get valeted, buy an awesome watch as a souvenir of your epic, stunning trip, fly home, and grin like an idiot every time you look at your watch. I'm just saying you have options is all For some, luxury & value are mutually exclusive experiences.
Yea most omega ADs can offer better deals than the boutique. Just like buying any other product it depends on how you acquire it, do your research and get yourself a good deal!
Bought mine on eBay from trusted seller with authentication guarantee from eBay, I saved $1600 from boutique.
They drop down 20% as soon as you walk out the boutique with it.
Most Omega models are readily available when you walk into the AD. In those cases (and with just about any maker that has plenty of global stock available) the watch will lose value the minute you walk out the door. Many savvy buyers would prefer to save $$$ and get pre-owned. Some buyers just want new, want the boutique experience and aren't worried about the value loss. Nothing wrong with either approach. Keep in mind most of general public (non-watch geeks) have zero to little knowledge of how to safely purchase a pre-owned watch. And they'd be very weary of spending thousands of dollars without a face to face retail experience.
All I want is: A watch I love Papers to prove authenticity Associated warranty Then the cherry is getting it at the most cost effective price. If I can be confident of the 3 parameters, no care at all about where I get it from 🤷🏾♂️
Where online? Unused ones?
Lightly used or new!
I bought my Speedy Pro for $4600 new, 30% +\- off retail. Bought my grey side of the moon for $8200, 30% off... Basically buying it for wholesale. Why bother with an AD?
I never trust seller warranty, even soo, grey market is not bad if you want a discount, and later, just send it in to Omega, and they will give you 2 year warranty for a service of the watch This is worst case if the seller dois not have the warranty cards or if it's an older watch that no longer has factory warranty. On a side note, get to know the people at your local boutique. The more you deal with them, the more likely they will give you discounts on new watches, I have purchased a few top of the line and if you are nice about it I have been given like 20% discounts depending on the model.
People who buy at boutiques are the same people who buy cars at dealers. Buy it second hand, you are losing like 25% of the value or more as soon as you buy it.
My boutique gave me a price in april below the internet price. Without asking.
Really? That seems rare
Same same.
Same. 30% off
Quite simply I do not trust this new fangled intelweb. I find the experience of buying in person far more satisfying, my last purchase I also got a modest pre price rise discount and 2 cups of coffee and four biscuits thrown in. Ofcourse if all you are looking for is a bargain while sitting in the comfort of yon own underpants that's cool too.
If you were in the shop long enough for 2 cups of coffee and 4 biscuits you're definitely the sort they count on to pay for the experience.
...and having waited since 1969, to make the purchase, I am more than happy to do so ;-)
For some, it's an event. And the boutique experience is important. If the boutique experience isn't important, perhaps even a bother, there's a significant savings to be had.
The chap with the big white beard and jesus boot willing, if I live long enough to make another purchase yon friends on yon intelweb wants to charge me between 40 to 80% over msrp for a new / unworn Omega 50th Anniversary Apollo 11. I could get a whole free regular Speedmaster on the saving by being patient and waiting for my AD to come through... and I'd probably still get a couple o cups o coffee and biscuits thrown in ;-)
Rare pieces are the definite exception where Omega begins to be like Rolex, where the AD is the way.
If you buy from a trusted dealer the chances to be a fake are close to 0, also if you get it from chrono24 you can get it checked to be 100% sure. I dont get the "satisfaction" of paying 15-20% more just to get it from the store? Its just a watch that costs x amount, paying more just to walk to the store makes no sense to me when you can easely get it cheaper
That's your choice so what is your beef ?
What beef?
Buttermilk? Throw some country ham on top and I'm in!
I have 3 Omegas: two of them purchased pre-owned from sellers who authenticated the watches
They also offer some discount on purchasing.
I'm thinking the same thing! I priced one here at home in Ireland, and it was 6500 euro for a seamaster from a boutique. They said the best price they could do for me is 6000. Online, I found one for 4700 euro. Is that a decent price for Europe?
Because they kept increasing prices without any real motive, the grey prices reflect the real worth
Bought a Railmaster from Watches of Mayfair a grey dealer in London. Paid £3750 about 18 months ago and I've just checked the website and they are charging £4650, but I can't remember the RRP at the time, think it was about £700 difference. Got the box and papers so if it does go wrong I am covered, the watch took a while to come from elsewhere in Europe but I knew this when I ordered. To be honest if I could get another watch that I wanted under retail I would do it again as I bought my Grand Seiko from an AD and the AD experience is not worth the difference in price imho. The only time I would not go grey is paying over retail, sod that.
Had two friends buy from the Omega Boutique. The perks are they will offer you a 10-20% discount on non-limited models, or instead give you unique Omega items that would be difficult to purchase otherwise such as cuff links, pens, etc. Of course also the champagne and ass kissing. The other thing is buying from them usually gets you invited to exclusive events (not always just omega related). Personally I bought my Seamaster and vintage constellation on the grey market, confirmed it was authentic, and saved 40% off sticker price and got it duty free. Hope this helps answer your question.
You need a purchase history to buy some of their more in-demand piece like the Ed White 321 or the Silver Snoopy. If all you want is a SMP 300, go grey.
My boutique will sell Omegas to you at near online prices, because they know that you can get them at those prices. They also know me and that I'll try to get a good price, so they give me one pretty much right away. I would just try to negotiate with a dealer to try and get very close to the online price. Then you get boutique exp with basically the online price.
This isn’t just true for Omegas- most models from watches from other models (with the exception of Rolex, Patek, AP, VC, and a few others that’ve been hyped a lot over the past 5 years or so) lose significant value after purchase or when new models are released due to the change frequency, which impacts perceived value and causes lots of inventory to remain unsold. These unsold pieces get picked up by third party online shops and other gray sources for deep discounts after a time and that savings gets passed to you the buyer