> Even expert negotiators struggle with airport Rolex purchases. You might get 30-35% off other luxury watch brands at airports, but with Rolex, expect 20% or less – “probably less” as industry experts say. Many frequent flyers say they’ve never seen any Rolex discounts at airports.
I wouldn’t have realized you could negotiate price on anything sold in the airport. I didn’t know you could negotiate on new, high end watches in general, though, to be honest.
And yeah, I’ve never understood the people who buy duty free booze, etc. The prices never looked particularly good, and it’s going to be another thing to wrangle and schlep home when you land. I always assumed it was targeted at people from other countries with higher prices.
If they won't negotiate on price, consider negotiating for upgrades. Ask for an extra year on a license, or to be certified for commercial trucking.
...I joke, but in Thailand, where driving schools can administer the driving tests, not just the DMV, people do shop around for driving schools for various reasons.
Even then: Things can be negotiable. Haggling can be rejected, but that's not a hard-and-fast rule.
(It's anecdotal, but: During my brief time in big-name department store retail, one of my duties was operating a cash register. All cashiers there were able to discount anything by up to, IIRC, 30% -- without getting any special approval. It just took a few button presses.)
I think we were allowed to discount products up to 10% when I was a computer technician in a big retail store. I always felt it would be frowned upon, it wasn't something we did often.
Services, though, were very flexible. Nobody was looking at the receipt, just the work order. 80% of something beats 100% of nothing every time.
Rolex is notorious for artificially creating scarcity by not allowing you to buy most of their watches seen in store and instead put you on a waitlist.
The Rolexes you can buy on spot are typically lower (undesirable) models.
If you thought that was bad look at what hoops Hermès puts you through. In fact a lot of luxury retailers are like this. I think the buyers actually like the song and dance to a degree. Merely buying it isn't nearly so satisfying as being granted access. It becomes an even bigger status symbol.
Datejust is one of the most popular models. If you're desperate for a watch just ask for the 40k precious metal version of a watch and they'll sell you one without a fuss.
If you’re buying a Rolex watch you’re already making a blunder, trying to optimize it at an airport is like finding the least painful way to beat yourself in the head with a hammer. The best move is to not do it in the first place.
Like all fashion items you are paying an extreme premium on form for very little relative function. A $20 Casio digital watch keeps better time. The only reason to buy a Rolex is because you think it will improve your social standing or because you have extra money to burn.
You really believe anyone buys rolex to keep a good time? This argument I hear over and over. Buy $20 Casio sell it wear cheap watch, sell for $2 5 years later. If you bought datejust rolex for 4.5k in 2018 you'd sell it for 8k today minimum.
You made money and you've been wearing rolex all the time.
Being paid €500 per year for wearing rolex vs. speding money for wearing casio easy choice if you can afford it ... btw. I do wear casio too and I love it - because yeah to keep time you buy casio.
Why wouldn't you just invest the money in a mutual fund and not deal with owning a valued asset that could be stolen, damaged, or lost? Especially if you actually wear it around, I just don't see it.
It's fine to wear it for the purpose of being a status symbol, but I just don't buy that its anything but.
"Duty free" is a huge trap. I haven't looked at watches (I will never understand the desire for a Rolex or other 4-figure watch), but I once checked out a duty free liquor store. I spot-checked a few bottles I could get at home and found that the "duty free" store was easily 25-50% more than what I'd pay at home.
Just went through travel that had special duty-free exception. Alcohol against expensive alcohol taxes was cheaper. But stuff like candy was more expensive. Even without horrendous 25.5% VAT or other possible taxes...
Makes you really think where have these prices gone.
I guess duty-free stores were a thing decades ago when international trade was actually constrained by duties. Right now free trade is the default (or was, until Trump)
Many countries apply VAT for products bought in their domain, but they also have thresholds for products bought overseas and taken into the country by their residents who were travelling (otherwise I imagine even a bracelet bought at a beach in Bali would have to be declared and taxed, and there'd be long queues at customs). For things like cigarettes and alcohol they have a quantity limit, beyond which taxes do apply.
A Rolex certainly goes beyond the threshold in many countries, but maybe the thought is the buyer might be willing to risk "smuggling" it in.
When it comes to such brands, isn't the big cost a feature? Wouldn't discounts ruin the point / the brand? Wouldn't these things carry worse status for all the customers of the brand if you can have an item with a discount? Why would the brand allow this to happen?
No, you are partly correct. But given that brands are status symbols, the cost is only one part of the status game. There are some other things which societies consider: Do you know which models are the "best" (high resale value / rarity / age / anything else) - sometimes the price isn't the only indicator. Also, do you know where to get the biggest bang for the buck? Do you know which places/markets/etc can have better models for lower cost? Do you know the right people so that you can get new information the quickest? Getting a rare model for a relatively lower price sometimes be a bigger social win than getting it for the standard price.
Where I live, you are a chump if you pay the sticker price - getting a valuable thing for much less than that is one of the indicators of how people judge your status. The fact that brands try to control pricing only makes the "game" more interesting.
> Even expert negotiators struggle with airport Rolex purchases. You might get 30-35% off other luxury watch brands at airports, but with Rolex, expect 20% or less – “probably less” as industry experts say. Many frequent flyers say they’ve never seen any Rolex discounts at airports.
I wouldn’t have realized you could negotiate price on anything sold in the airport. I didn’t know you could negotiate on new, high end watches in general, though, to be honest.
And yeah, I’ve never understood the people who buy duty free booze, etc. The prices never looked particularly good, and it’s going to be another thing to wrangle and schlep home when you land. I always assumed it was targeted at people from other countries with higher prices.
> I’ve never understood the people who buy duty free booze, etc.
Presumably you come from a country with low taxes on alcohol.
Come to Norway, but do yourself a favour and stock up on duty free fags and booze first.
If an item isn't being scanned by barcode by a cashier, then it can probably be negotiated.
The DMV really doesn't appreciate my attempts
If they won't negotiate on price, consider negotiating for upgrades. Ask for an extra year on a license, or to be certified for commercial trucking.
...I joke, but in Thailand, where driving schools can administer the driving tests, not just the DMV, people do shop around for driving schools for various reasons.
Even then: Things can be negotiable. Haggling can be rejected, but that's not a hard-and-fast rule.
(It's anecdotal, but: During my brief time in big-name department store retail, one of my duties was operating a cash register. All cashiers there were able to discount anything by up to, IIRC, 30% -- without getting any special approval. It just took a few button presses.)
I think we were allowed to discount products up to 10% when I was a computer technician in a big retail store. I always felt it would be frowned upon, it wasn't something we did often.
Services, though, were very flexible. Nobody was looking at the receipt, just the work order. 80% of something beats 100% of nothing every time.
True, I think I could do up to 5% when I worked as a cashier ("team leads" could do 10%, and managers for anything more than that).
No ever asked me, but I probably would have tried if I knew it was under 5%.
The real savings are on the cartons of cigarettes.
Rolex is notorious for artificially creating scarcity by not allowing you to buy most of their watches seen in store and instead put you on a waitlist.
The Rolexes you can buy on spot are typically lower (undesirable) models.
If you thought that was bad look at what hoops Hermès puts you through. In fact a lot of luxury retailers are like this. I think the buyers actually like the song and dance to a degree. Merely buying it isn't nearly so satisfying as being granted access. It becomes an even bigger status symbol.
Yet to find a Rolex store that let you buy models. Even Datejusts can not be bought.
Datejust is one of the most popular models. If you're desperate for a watch just ask for the 40k precious metal version of a watch and they'll sell you one without a fuss.
still kicking myself for not buying a stainless steel daytona when I had the chance.
otoh it's now only x3 the price I would have bought it for, and I probably would have worn it to death, so maybe it was money well not-spent.
If you’re buying a Rolex watch you’re already making a blunder, trying to optimize it at an airport is like finding the least painful way to beat yourself in the head with a hammer. The best move is to not do it in the first place.
Why?
Like all fashion items you are paying an extreme premium on form for very little relative function. A $20 Casio digital watch keeps better time. The only reason to buy a Rolex is because you think it will improve your social standing or because you have extra money to burn.
You really believe anyone buys rolex to keep a good time? This argument I hear over and over. Buy $20 Casio sell it wear cheap watch, sell for $2 5 years later. If you bought datejust rolex for 4.5k in 2018 you'd sell it for 8k today minimum.
You made money and you've been wearing rolex all the time.
Being paid €500 per year for wearing rolex vs. speding money for wearing casio easy choice if you can afford it ... btw. I do wear casio too and I love it - because yeah to keep time you buy casio.
Why wouldn't you just invest the money in a mutual fund and not deal with owning a valued asset that could be stolen, damaged, or lost? Especially if you actually wear it around, I just don't see it.
It's fine to wear it for the purpose of being a status symbol, but I just don't buy that its anything but.
Betteridge's law of headlines applies [0].
"Duty free" is a huge trap. I haven't looked at watches (I will never understand the desire for a Rolex or other 4-figure watch), but I once checked out a duty free liquor store. I spot-checked a few bottles I could get at home and found that the "duty free" store was easily 25-50% more than what I'd pay at home.
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headline...
Counterpoint: I came home with a 1L bottle of Sipsmith gin for like $20 thanks to the combination of duty free and post-Brexit GBP crash.
You should have looked at the cigarettes.
Just went through travel that had special duty-free exception. Alcohol against expensive alcohol taxes was cheaper. But stuff like candy was more expensive. Even without horrendous 25.5% VAT or other possible taxes...
Makes you really think where have these prices gone.
I guess duty-free stores were a thing decades ago when international trade was actually constrained by duties. Right now free trade is the default (or was, until Trump)
Many countries apply VAT for products bought in their domain, but they also have thresholds for products bought overseas and taken into the country by their residents who were travelling (otherwise I imagine even a bracelet bought at a beach in Bali would have to be declared and taxed, and there'd be long queues at customs). For things like cigarettes and alcohol they have a quantity limit, beyond which taxes do apply.
A Rolex certainly goes beyond the threshold in many countries, but maybe the thought is the buyer might be willing to risk "smuggling" it in.
Alcohol duties are still a thing in some countries.
I'll stick with my $500 VFS clone. Nobody in my social circle can tell the difference anyway.
Rolex movement isn't any more accurate than a seiko 5 anyhow.
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I think it’s the only place where you can actually buy Rolex watches.
If these are Rolex-owned boutiques, might they still require you to have a spending history with your local Tourneau/Bucherer?
When it comes to such brands, isn't the big cost a feature? Wouldn't discounts ruin the point / the brand? Wouldn't these things carry worse status for all the customers of the brand if you can have an item with a discount? Why would the brand allow this to happen?
Am I perceiving things horribly wrongly?
No, you are partly correct. But given that brands are status symbols, the cost is only one part of the status game. There are some other things which societies consider: Do you know which models are the "best" (high resale value / rarity / age / anything else) - sometimes the price isn't the only indicator. Also, do you know where to get the biggest bang for the buck? Do you know which places/markets/etc can have better models for lower cost? Do you know the right people so that you can get new information the quickest? Getting a rare model for a relatively lower price sometimes be a bigger social win than getting it for the standard price.
Where I live, you are a chump if you pay the sticker price - getting a valuable thing for much less than that is one of the indicators of how people judge your status. The fact that brands try to control pricing only makes the "game" more interesting.
I see, makes sense, thanks!
Somehow linked: I found Lego sets more expensive in Denmark's airport than in the US retailers.
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