Are you on a “Wait List” or “Wish List?”
It wasn’t too long ago where you can walk into a Rolex Boutique, AP Boutique, or even a Patek Philippe Boutique to pick up the latest sport watch. It wasn’t too long ago where during the recession, each dealer had plenty of inventory of the hottest watches to sell. Makes you think, “I should have!”
Social Media Influence
Now a decade later, along with the rise of the digital age and social media, the watch game has changed. The reality is that watches like Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet are demanding such high premiums on the secondary market, flippers around the world are here to stay and are the new norm. For those who actually are interested in purchasing watches to keep, Instagram and Facebook are shaping opinions about what to buy with who is modeling them.
Unfortunately, retailers are constantly being asked by phone, DM, email, text, and Whatsapp, for the latest popular stainless-steel sport watch. For some reason, they all want steel! Whether its the latest soda or pop-culture super hero in the Batman, Pepsi or Coke, Nautilus or Submariner, people simply want all the sport steel watches. But the dealers simply do not have them.
What can you really do?
These lists that people are constantly referring to have no order to them. The wait lists are simply a list for dreamers because most Rolex dealers are removing the “waitlist” from their vocabulary because its impossible at this point to track who wants what. But how can you obtain the sport watch of your desires?
Building a Relationship
One way you can look at it is simply is to build a relationship! Relationships, shopping the entire store in other departments, referrals, all speak to the relationship you have with any shop. In simple terms, wouldn’t it be advantageous for any boutique to take care of their clients, rather than see one transaction for a flipper to get rid of a watch, and never hear from them again? Visit your retailer, let them know you’re not a flipper and you’re a genuine watch buyer. Purchase other goods and services! Repair your watch or service your watch with your local dealer, like Watch Expo!
