Reply With QuoteBuy a stainless steel sports Rolex and it will almost always be the display model.
Same with most relatively expensive watches. AD's are not going to tie up hundreds of thousands of pounds in stock that they don't intend to sell.
Is it normal for for an AD to sell you the display model as brand new?
I've been in the situation of nearly buying a watch but when it becomes clear that it will be the display model it has put me off.
Was very close to buying a Longines Hydro Conquest last year. Then a Citizen Grand Touring a few months ago. Not like I'm buying high end watches so maybe I'm being too picky? But the way I'm thinking is how many people have handled the display model and tried it on etc.
Buy a stainless steel sports Rolex and it will almost always be the display model.
Same with most relatively expensive watches. AD's are not going to tie up hundreds of thousands of pounds in stock that they don't intend to sell.
Last edited by andy tims; 15th December 2016 at 17:37.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
My Explorer was the display model.
I asked if the AD had another that hadn't been out in the shopfront, but the display model was the only one they had. The assistant explained that the bezel protector is kept on most of the time, and that it was fully stickered up. Plus it had only been on display for a short period of time.
I looked it over and there weren't any marks, so I was happy to accept it there and then rather than wait for possibly weeks to get a fresh one in. Buying the display model may also have contributed to the size of the discount they offered.
I've not bought a lot of new watches.
A sizeable portion of those have been bought from the web, but may have been on display before they were sold to me.
I've bought a couple of cheap watches (< £150) from out of the display case.
I might feel differently if I KNEW my reasonably expensive watch was displayware before, but as I often buy used, I don't think it'd bother me that much, as long as the condition was genuinely 'new'.
M.
It really doesn't bother me, most of them are in perfect condition and stickered anyway.
Wow you got a discount on a Rolex from an AD. RespectOriginally Posted by sean
Every new watch I've bought in person has been in the window or glass display.... never bothered me enough to even ask if they had another through the back.
Doesn't bother me. They're usually stickered and I wear them anyway so within a few days a swirl will
appear.
I did use a swirl on a display model to moan about a discount once though. Got an instant 10%
Didn't really give this a second thought when buying my speedy. Was immaculate so didn't mind
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anything display for me requires a discount, if not then no sale, even if its only a couple of percent, but I would expect 10% as standard.
Always ask for a discount for the display model. It might work. Sometimes this has even snagged me quite good discounts on SS Rolex models :)
It's just a matter of time...
New is new, you wouldn't not buy a new car because some has sat in it beforehand would you?
No, but would you pay retail price for an ex demo car?
Only ever bought 1 watch from an ad. It was from the window but already on sale.
Never been a problem for me.
Just check the watch first.
As someone said, they aren't going to tie up large sums of money on multiple examples.
I always ask for a brand new watch rather than a display model. I purchased a Raymond Weil many years ago for £275 and requested that it is brand new and not display. I have since purchased other watches and requested a new watch direct from the manufacturer. I have not had a problem.
The only exception has been a Rolex AD in India who stated everything goes on display and it sells very quickly. I did not doubt this and it was the first time I had seen a steel Daytona. I did not buy it (even with the discount offered).
Same here. Especially where a leather strap is involved. How many sweaty wrists have transferred their DNA?
I'd say the only time I was worried about buying a display model was when I was looking to buy my Reverso. I looked in quite a variety of ADs and virtually all the examples of the one I had my eye on were covered in swirls that could be seen from several feet away in the display case/window display. Thankfully the one I ended up with, though also a display model, was spotless. And they ordered a free extra strap without me even asking despite the fact that the original was perfectly fine.
I was in John Lewis at the weekend looking to buy some sunglasses...I asked them if I'd be buying the display model or some fresh ones from the stock room...he said the display normally, though they'd just had some more in so I did have 'fresh' ones, from a deep drawer full of glasses in individual plastic bags...he said the glasses I had in my hand at the point had only been on the shelf for three days. Well he would do, I suppose. While he was giving mine a wipe down he said it was just like when you buy a shirt, you end up buying one several people have already tried on.
my possible concern about display items, it might have been screwed / unscrewed and subject to direct sunlight.
No long ago, I saw some shops deliberately wound all display watches to ensure they're running...
I think thats the correct term that should be adopted. Ex demo watch.
Ask for new, seen the way shop staff shag the crowns when showing customers it works...
Returned an aquaracer the same day with shredded threads...
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Experienced this once in a Rolex AD. Threads were not 'as new'. Be thorough in your examination and you should be okay.
Ad must give you a price of second hand on all the display watches. People wear them especially with leather strap and it's not new in any way
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yes always be careful with direct sunlight. Watches are meant to be worn only in the shade, inside or in the dark, hence the use of luminous material. If a watch has been subjected to direct sunlight, and or the crown has been screwed and unscrewed it's more or less abused.
No but you certainly pay retail price for cars sat in fields and showroom windows.
Ex demo is still a used car. One sat in the showroom, unregistered is not.
Personally, I would ask for a discount then see where the conversation goes from there.
The decision to purchase, or not, will then depend on the usual factors like availability / rarity of the watch, any freebies thrown in etc...
Its a great into to ask for discounts. I personally dont mind if its an SS piece. Gold I may mind more. If its an SS piece and there are no "dings" and just minor swirls and scratches, its puts me in a position to ask for discounts based on facts haha
As i would do in a clothing/shoe/car store/dealer, if the product has a flaw of some kind - be it a scratch, dent, scuff, grease or thread (that i could live with) i would only buy when getting compensated fairly.
Who are these people swirling, scuffing, dinging .... and Goddammit winding watches under the careful supervision of the salesman?
If you're asking for a "fresh" one from the back, like its a loaf of bread, it just shows you're a beginner, a difficult type and not really worth the hassle. Stick to watchfinder or ebay, I say.
Watches are like loafs of bread.
Advice from a pro.
i feel it's the opposite. I feel the "pros" like us are the picky ones ask for "seals, tags, stickers and what not." and the average joe will just buy it pay it and leave.
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....and actually wear it, and put it into proper daily service and come to depend on it and feel undressed without it and never contemplate selling it for a quick profit and ...
Last edited by forpetesake; 17th December 2016 at 12:44.
The rolls are pocket watches?
I'd buy a display model (and have) if it's fine. I spotted my SubC years ago in an AD windows and purchased right there and then. It was stickered and fine, no issue with it having been in the window.
I always demand a fresh watch not ex display, (which more than likely comes from another AD's window after a quick rub with a duster).
Live with it or be prepared to travel to the factory.
How many of each model do people think AD's carry?
Maybe a Seiko or a Citizen you'll have a duplicate (straight after an order maybe), but with a standard Rolex display costing maybe £250,000 do people really think there are a dozen "spares" in the back room?
I did used to get asked (very very rarely) if there was a brand new one, and of course they can always be ordered, but people would usually rather take the (also brand new) "display" model than wait a month or so.
It all sounds a bit mental to me. Do you also insist on new and never displayed items when clothes shopping? Food shopping? And does it work? I only wish I was that special...
If it's in the window it's a display model.
Ive always asked for and got a discount, including harder to find models.
Gray
If the watch is fine and stickered I wouldn't have a problem. Whenever anyone asks for advice on here the usual answer is to go and try the watch on..... If all those tried on watches warranted a discount I am sure that lots of ADs would have a problem. Having said that, I was in the Trafford Centre last week and the Omega AD had the new Moon phase Chrono which is absolutely gorgeous. I had a look and tried it on and it was full of fingerprints with stickers hanging off. As the fella was handing it to me he actually pulled a few stickers off. I wasn't impressed with the way the watch was handled, nor the fact that it was covered in greasy prints and now has a few stickers missing.
Chris
When I bought my Breitling that I suspect had been a display model, the first thing I did was check the operation of the Crown, it was my only concern really!
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I think the earlier comment about car showrooms was apt. If you are buying a Seiko or Casio then they probably have display models and stock, new and boxed. If you are buying a Rolex or IWC they may not have both - their only model in the exact spec. you want may be on display in a case or on the window. So if you want this model, today then your only choice is to buy the "display" model (you can ask for discount if you want but in some ways convenience and immediacy are the trade off). If you want a brand new, never been out of the transit box then ask the dealer to get you one.
Similarly, your Toyota dealer wants to sell you the Yaris in the showroom that's been sat in (BUT not driven - that's a demo not a display car and as it's registered is pre-owned and financially supported and depreciated) but has 30 others in a pound nearby so if you want a fresh one, he'll prep. it for you or get one in a few days. If you walk into Mclaren Knutsford and want a 570s and they happen to have a floor model for immediate delivery then it will have been sat in but they aren't going to discount it £1 - getting it now is what's special about it. If you want a fresh one, they'll order it from the factory and it'll take x months to come, never having been sat in by anyone but 50 or so workers, transit drivers and dealer staff while it was being built and prepared.
That's my view on display. Yep, I like it and as long as it's 'like new" and has no signs of having been on display, wrap it up and I'll take it. Even on leather - pop me a new strap in the bag or on the watch and I'm happy too.
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