Just the thought of all the tramps and lepers coming in off the street and being allowed to try on a £35K watch is enough to put me off.
If you're that delicate and sensitive why not simply ask for a watch that's not been used in the window display and pay full price ?
..
As Raffe points out, what the dealer will pay for the strap is VERY different what he would pay.
Surely an accommodation where the dealer offered you a new strap at cost to him could have been reached? I'm guessing it'd more like £100-150 or so judging by the price o the public of a Camille Fournet croc at £180-200 or so (resold with a JLC stamp for £300).
This ^^^^Originally Posted by andy tims
Maybe he wouldn't have had this problem with Patek, but he wouldn't have got a discount like this either.
I am just a bit fuzzy about straps and bracelets. I change all my straps once a year, chances are the Zeitwerk will have had less wear on my wrist when I will change the strap again than it had now from an unknown quantity of total strangers.
I also clean all my bracelets once every three months with my ultrasonic cleaner.
That is how I do it and it's important to me.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
But you don't want to pay for it?
when i think about it from luxury brand perception, no one reasonable is going to spend 35k on a watch. Hence it should include new strap no matter what discount you are getting.
So, if I spend £100K on an ex-demo Ferrari, I should demand brand new tyres, even if the existing ones show no wear? What about a new seat of seats, steering wheel and paddles, because someone else has touched them?
I probably wouldn't pay £3.5K for a watch, let alone £35K, but that's not the point. List price here is WAY over £35k, so the buyer was already getting a hefty discount for the imperceptible wear the watch (including strap) had received.
M
Exactly, and a good salesman to me, obviously, hence my remark, would factor it in and make the deal happen. Why lose such a huge sale over a strap. Put it this way, look at the bad press already, the worst to try and come back from and yet, if the strap had been forthcoming, think of the positive feedback and referals that could come from it!
EDIT: To the question above re new tyres, I would say yes, if it means closing the deal, the rest you have suggested is unreasonable.
Last edited by stix; 9th February 2016 at 16:13.
They'll sell it to someone else for more cash.
I can understand that this is one of your "things" and that you feel very strongly about it but, on that basis, do you not agree that it should really have been factored into to your initial negotiations? By the sounds of things I would have thought it would be top of your list.
No of course not, that would be silly.
You first negotiate a great price for your ex-demo Ferrari, agree the price, then demand the new tyres, seats, steering wheel and paddles to be installed in a hermetically sealed garage, have the car delivered by robot so no human hands and those pesky germs can get in when dropped off inside your hermetically sealed garage.
"Wow my perfectly sterile car is here, I think I'll take it for a spin down the country lanes"..................... OH SH!T!!
Exactly! I suspect they felt they'd gone a long way to make a deal and felt the OP was a bit of a tyre kicker or just got tired of him, knowing they could sell to someone else.
Even as a private individual I've been on the receiving end of people who just keep wanting to ask for a bit more, have some more photos, want to know what I paid originally, if I still have the paper bag it came in and the name and address of the person who I bought it from, to check my story... At that point you're just tempted to say "You know what, forget it..."
M.
PS ETA, no slight on the OP intended, as I don't know him from Adam, but I can see how the situation COULD arise with the best intentioned customer.
surely just ask for a completely new watch straight from the factory. What I do
Am with you on this onesurely just ask for a completely new watch straight from the factory. What I do
Because he probably wouldn't get the same kind of discountsurely just ask for a completely new watch straight from the factory. What I do
Thanks for the good advice, next time I will just pay list price so I can get the new watch without other people's DNA.
By the way, the shop called today and have offered a compromise which I will accept unless one of the two grey dealers I had asked in the meantime will come back with a better offer until tomorrow.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
It's always bad news when you need a new strap on.
Good news Raffe - is he going halves or you're getting it at cost?
I'm sure they didn't actually expect you to walk out :)
Haven't read the whole thread, but I would've likely done the same thing and walked away. The request is a tiny and reasonable one. It is not easy to find customers buying £30k+ watches.
The correct protocol would have been to say to the guy; "How much for the watch with a new strap supplied?" Then negotiated ....
If you negotiated a price for the watch as it was ... agreed a figure and then asked for a new strap that would be taking the piss IMHO ...
Define what you want then strike a deal ... don't strike a deal then try and add more value as the buyer as that will just annoy the seller ...
I don't know what you did but if it was the latter I may have been inclined to refuse the deal as you are changing the terms once the price has been agreed.
This, 100%
Cheers
Foggy
I used to work in retail, and the idea of letting a 35k watch leave the shop not on a box-fresh strap makes me feel icky.
Head office must have sent the manager a stern email. Hope it works out for you Raffe.
can you share details or not yet? I am not sure why you are having such hard time over a reasonable request!. This is a fraction of total cost and they will make huge profit on a watch regardless.
if wonder if a forum police would be such understandable if they were buying such expensive item :).
Last edited by stateless; 9th February 2016 at 22:09.
I'm the first to acknowledge that we do suffer from unappointed forum police on this site but this is a thread where Raffe asked for opinions upon the reasonableness of his actions. It's a bit unfair to tarnish those whose opinions differ from his with the forum police brush!
I'm not sure that Raffe is getting that hard a time. He asked a question and is getting mixed responses. Exactly what I'd expect on a forum with many different characters and views. Not sure "forum police"really applies here, but you may see it different.
All in, though, I doubt Raffe will lose too much sleep over responses on an internet forum - he's got a posh new watch to look forward to;-)
Cheers
Foggy
I wrote about forum police only because certain answers are really too harsh, even if someone has asked for an opinion.
More reader than writer but I have seen a number of cases where people were not treated respectfully.
To answer the original question , " yes" .
The harsher comments will be in the BP,for a WT "what do you think"post, this is quite civil.
Personally such things don't bother me - I'd happily wear a well worn, pre-owned watch without even a moments concern.
But that said, I understand such things do concern some people and ultimately we're all different. Given the price they were charging you, I'm staggered they didn't just agree to a replacement / new strap. Agree with the comments that say the manager of the store was a fool to lose a sale on something like that, and that I can fully understand why you walked away.
That said, if you had indeed obtained a substantial discount over list after some haggling, then perhaps I can understand their decision to refuse you - perhaps they had very little margin left in the deal. Impossible to say without knowing all the factors in the deal.
Last edited by chicaneuk; 10th February 2016 at 00:07.
Way too late to this party, all the beer has gone and there's a girl in tears on the stairs, but anyway...
If I'd been the sales guy, I'd have complied with your wishes.
And offered you the second cheapest strap in the store.
For the record: I asked the question because I wanted to hear opinions - not as a guide for how I should proceed, but because I was seriously interested how the members think about this. I am not the least bit offended that some people do not share my views and find it quite funny that some seem to think that a discount means I need to accept other people's DNA under my shirt cuff.
I will expect a new strap again next time, and I won't ask for it upfront.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
As I’ve already said, straps can be cleaned/sanitised, if shed skin cells are a major concern.
Presumably you wear gloves then when entering and exiting public toilets, as well as when greeting people with a handshake?
Oh, and a face mask to save breathing in all the detritus that’s in the air?
Don’t forget, pics of the Zeitwerk or it didn’t happen – cremated remains of your birthday cake/fire extinguisher (in use mid-blaze) in the background, is entirely optional.
Last edited by PJ S; 10th February 2016 at 04:38.
I've always worked on the phrase "don't ask, don't get" but the attitude of the answer can always make a major difference.
In all seriousness, why not? Surely, that would save you a lot of hassle as evidenced by this thread.
When were harsh opinions ever a police matter?
How will you know for certain that the strap has never touched human skin. :D
Ahh, so lovely to see, even though you've had a heck of a time getting to a compromise, almost losing out on getting the watch you want.
You've managed to learn nothing.
Expecting and/or assuming something is no guarantee that it'll happen, don't ask, don't get most of the time, so why put yourself in that situation when it can be easily avoided?
A decent jeweller will happily oblige I can assure you. If not then find the jeweller who will. If the jeweller is happy to discount one new watch and not another new identical watch then simply head butt the nearest wall until they change their minds.
Made and sold by chimps.
A lot have commented as to the dealer being foolish in losing the sale. However the customer also lost out, over a strap... If it was a good deal and unless the strap was obviously tarnished I would have taken the watch and tried to work out a new deal on a strap, or would have had Camille Fournet make it to specification. To my mind both parties lost out on this on what, in the big picture, is a relatively trivial item.
Nothing like a bit of bloodymindedness on both parts to spoil the birthday party. I do feel for the OP, but I am sure the salesman has long forgotten about this.
Those of us who have read the thread will know that the AD called the op the following day to try and save the deal, and that the op has other options open to him, potentially at a lower price, with a new strap... Doesn't sound like the sales team have forgotten or that the op is losing out to me.....
Yeah I don't know why some folk spend the time to post when they haven't taken the time to read.
First i thought was that the ad was a fool, now that i get the amount of discount, you should have included that into the first deal, not in the form of strap but extradiscount. That said, brand new Camille croc is 200£... Hope you get the watch for your b-day.
God you're patronising.
Nail on head, I'd say.
Whilst perhaps the style and tone of your post could be improved - the gist of what you are saying is correct.
If having a new strap is so important to the op then make this clear at the start and avoid any issues on the assumption that you will get a new strap. Not doing so smacks of being deliberately obstinate and asking for the sort of issue you experienced.
God bless you. In the future, I will make sure to ask for your advice before I conduct any business.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
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