patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
33677
MAJOR Detail MISSING!
Thommy, I feel your pain, but you didn't mention some pertinent details and I don't want to make assumptions. You say you have five Lange watches! Very impressive! That's more than I do! BUT! You didn't mention how many were specifically bought from the boutique you went to... Obviously, buying all of your five watches from the grey market, WILL NOT GET YOU preferential standing at the boutique. Now I don't want to assume you bought any watches from the grey market - I presume you bought them all from Lange ADs and Lange boutiques. But it's critical that you mention this. In fact, in the future, WatchProSite may need this specifically mentioned on these kinds of posts - as these kinds of posts without this detail mentioned and left to incorrect assumptions by our readers (and even our readers will make assumptions that you bought all five from the boutique) does harm to the brand.
Hypothetical scenario: I go to Rolex Boutique of San Fransokyo and let's say you want a steel Daytona - they're going to laugh at you and ask you, "why should I give you an arbitrage opportunity to double your money when I have other clients who want this watch who have supported me for years?"
I say: "But I've already got five Rolexes, I don't want to support your store by buying generic models - I've already got the generic ones, I now want a Daytona."
Salesperson says: "Please go to the dealer you bought those five pieces from and ask them to find a Daytona for you - they're indebted to you because you've supported their business over the years."
I say: "They were all bought at different stores. One was even bought on the grey market."
Salesperson says: "I don't know what to tell you, but sometimes loyalty to one store does have its benefits."
And that exchange would be totally fair. I didn't support that specific store. This Rolex of San Fransokyo has not seen consistent support from me, and thus they should not feel obligated to sell me a high-demand model. As this is not scalable.
And then let's say hypothetically, I go to the internet and complain, I write a bad review of the Rolex of San Fransokyo on WatchProSite and complain... This would not be a legitimate complaint! However, let's say you bought five watches, all from Rolex of San Fransokyo, over a period of a few years, and have built a relationship with them, and supported Rolex of San Fransokyo, then YES, the store SHOULD RETURN THE SUPPORT BY GETTING YOU A HARD TO GET WATCH! And if the store tried to coerce you to buy another one, then that'd be a legitimate complaint!
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How could this Happen?
THREAD TEMPORARILY LOCKED: I dislike doing this. WPS is not about censoring threads and complaints. HOWEVER, in the fairness to Brands, Dealers, Our Readers, and all; this thread is missing a major detail and leading the average reader to make an assumpti...
I think this is not new
Maybe passionate collectors on here who are true horolgy connoisseurs are being treated this way. Sad because those are the people who carry your brand, not Instagram journalists. Maybe I'm wrong. Move on to another, maybe a moser streamliner or LF or cho...
We're making too many assumptions here...
You might be making a huge assumption here... You might be assuming Thommy has supported this store in the past - when Thommy mentioned he has five Lange's, we automatically assume that he bought some of these watches from this store. A judge has to instr...
Going on for ~2 years now
They do not care at all about the people that bought the brand back when it was unpopular and was guaranteed to lose you money. I posted about this the other day, but they literally told me I'd get an Odysseus if I bought a Zeitwerk, and then didn't give ...
Agreed, ALS has been forcing package deals for the past few years.
Am curious about the legality of this sales structure in various countries. I'd insist on a signed and notarized contract should you choose to enter such an agreement.
We're making a huge assumption that Thommy bought all five of those watches from the same store he's not happy with.
We don't know where Thommy bought those watches. A judge in a courthouse would instruct a jury to not make such assumptions. The argument you made about the fact that Lange prices have been less than stable is not entirely fair - YOU bought a watch that a...
Reuven Malter, that's unfair to Lange...
You're automatically assuming that Thommy has supported this store by buying multiple pieces. A judge would instruct the jury not to make this assumption. A lawyer from Lange would then cross-examine Thommy and ask him if he actually bought all five piece...
They all come from the same Richemont group
And I see no reason to stick with companies like that. let them play by themselves..
MAJOR Detail MISSING!
Thommy, I feel your pain, but you didn't mention some pertinent details and I don't want to make assumptions. You say you have five Lange watches! Very impressive! That's more than I do! BUT! You didn't mention how many were specifically bought from the b...
Boutique
The Boutique Strategy is new - about one year. I bought the watches from AD and collectors. Last year two from the local AD.
I understand what you’re saying, but…
buying grey or second hand can equally be considered supporting the brand. Because there are people willing to buy used or grey a secondary market is created for the product, which in turn leads to sales on the primary market. While the effect may be more...
Okay. I see your argument...
I see your argument - but the dealer or the boutique will not see it that way. They'll say, "you've supported the grey market, not our boutique or our Lange franchise, please ask the grey market to help you find an Odysseus."
I am not a fan of their strategy either
I'm not a customer, but this sort of behaviour doesn't encourage me to purchase a watch from them in the future. It seems like the only Richemont brand that is being properly managed is Cartier.