FabR
[Senior Patek Moderator]
26166
I do sympathize with your feelings and I'm sorry for the situation you are in, as you appear to genuinely desire a watch (the Odysseus) and to be a determined collector. (Plus, I enjoy reading well-written posts on our fora, irrespective of content! ;-)
But no matter how hard I try to phrase a reply, it always comes down to one simple (and belated) piece of advice: Keep away from a brand that, *as official company policy*, is willing to manipulate a collector's genuine interest in its product, in order to sell more stuff it is entirely incapable of moving on its own! 
For many of us in this beautiful hobby, including myself, that crosses a big red line. My sincere apology if it's not what you'd like to hear, but we are also on this forum to express blunt opinions, when we believe they will benefit our readers.
Conversely, let me close by saying that Burdeen's Jewelry, which from what I read is the other main player in this story, is a company that should be commended for its actions. Offering to take your watch back deserves even more praise in relation to the current market, for I cannot imagine Burdeen being under any serious legal (or even commercial) pressure to assist you any further. My best advice, Sir: accept their generous offer and move on!
Cheers, FabR
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Welcome to the current reality of buying watches.
Had unpleasant experiences with allocations from AP and Grönefeld after they became sought after. Everyone has to find their own way to deal with it. I myself think of the purchase experience being an important part of me spending money on luxury items, s...
Watch buying
is a nightmare at the moment. The idea of having to bundle at the outset just to buy a watch should be repulsive to everyone. Your choice is to play the game or buy brands/models you can get. I have a Lange on order, not a hard-to-get piece. Hopefully, it...
If they were willing to buy it back
(A pretty solid upstanding move) then I think the entire issue here is Lange is short of Odysseus and so be it. I could understand if you got stuck with the other piece that you might feel ripped off but otherwise this is just a disappointment (I sympathi...
I’m surprised of the length people go to get this unnecessary luxury items!
I have and head my name on this “lists”, however I never expect delivery, furthermore during my years of collecting I learned to stay as far as possible from Richemont brands for the exact reasons you stated above… Good luck with the allocation, hope you’...
Switch Horses
If I am reading this correctly and that the Miami boutique is part of the ALS group then I think that is where you'll have the best chance of getting a sought after piece as all of these brands prioritise their own boutique. I assume own boutique sales mu...
I sympathize but that’s the problem with transactional relationships
By all means, do get your name on a list for the Odysseus if you like it. If you get your allocation, be happy. If not, move on. No offense, this is just reality for items in limited supply and high demand. You can’t change that, you can only change the w...
Read carefully
The thread owner bundled for an Odysseus. It was not merely name on the list because he liked it, he bought another Lange to qualify for the Odysseus, therefore he deserves receive his watch as stipulated since he already has an allocation.
I had a very similar experience in Germany!
If you are not a customer of a L&S boutique you are not a customer - regardless what you’ve bought at ADs in the past. I have never ever experienced such an arrogant brand. Now - I would never buy an Odysseus anymore. After the latest price jump it co...
I'm not sure blame lies anywhere although you could point to the economy in turmoil, COVID, "the way things are", etc.
I'd sell the watch back in a heartbeat, and get on with life and collect some other brand. I'm not sure going from forum to forum will do anything productive - it won't surprise people (as you can tell from the responses here), and you have no leverage to...
Thank you for all the responses so far
I appreciate all the responses. Wanted to clear few things. The offer to buy back the Lange 1815 AC was by the Burdeen’s family that owns few Richemont’s boutiques in Chicago area including Lange, not by Lange itself. Yes, a very generous offer indeed it ...
I wrote an email directly to the CEO and got no response at all.
And it has been an honest mail explaining my entire history with the brand including purchases at ADs and personal visits in Glashütte etc. No response - neither from the CEO nor from his assistant or customer service. And I sent the mail twice to be sure...
It deeply saddens me to read these stories.
Decades ago you'd never read this. Ok, maybe a long service time, but that was quite rare. The 'market' may have changed, and maybe this is now the 'marketplace', yet remember back in the days how friendly and personal it all felt. Almost like a fun 'club...
I do sympathize with your feelings and I'm sorry for the situation you are in, as you appear to genuinely desire a watch (the Odysseus) and to be a determined collector. (Plus, I enjoy reading well-written posts on our fora, irrespective of content! ;-)
But no matter how hard I try to phrase a reply, it always comes down to one simple (and belated) piece of advice: Keep away from a brand that, *as official company policy*, is willing to manipulate a collector's genuine interest in its product, in order t...
It's probably a Richemont problem
Other than Cartier, which is doing everything right, every Richemont brand is being mismanaged. It's a shame.