Buy rolex in GERMANY

[Choo Yao Chuen]

Germany is cheap. In fact, any country in Europe in cheaper. Singapore really isn't a cheap place to buy luxury watches.....

[giggss]

just came back from Germany. Checked out a few shops selling Rolex there. Half-Gold Sub costs Euro 10,600. Exchange rate at 1.62, the cost of the watch in SGD is about SGD 17,334. Which is same as the retail price here (before discount).

Tax rebate in Germany range from 11% to 19%... different tiers depending on total amount on the receipt. Assuming no discount in Germany, only get back tax refund... it's almost same price as buying in Singapore with a 17% discount.

I never bother to go in to check with the shops after doing the above calculation on my own.

Just sharing my experience and thoughts from what I see and own calculation. don't flame me pls

[Wenda]

I don't think you can get 17% off a half gold brand new Sub here in Singapore. If so, please let me know where. In Europe, it is not as easy to bargain at the big dealers such as Wempe or Bucherer as you mentioned but there are other smaller private dealers out there too. In which city you will be making the purchase?

An interesting case is actually to travel out to Poland or Czech Republic. Many NOS items over there.

[Choo Yao Chuen]

just buy it from grey market here. Save money on going over to europe

[Jean Ramon]

just came back from Germany. Checked out a few shops selling Rolex there. Half-Gold Sub costs Euro 10,600. Exchange rate at 1.62, the cost of the watch in SGD is about SGD 17,334. Which is same as the retail price here (before discount).

Tax rebate in Germany range from 11% to 19%... different tiers depending on total amount on the receipt. Assuming no discount in Germany, only get back tax refund... it's almost same price as buying in Singapore with a 17% discount.

I never bother to go in to check with the shops after doing the above calculation on my own.

Just sharing my experience and thoughts from what I see and own calculation. don't flame me pls

11% Tax? If a dealer told you this then he was trying to screw you! On all non-food goods it`s 19% Tax so also on Watches! 11% Tax maybe from the time before the Wall in Berlin but these days you get 19% back if you export it to SG!

[Babolat]

11% Tax? If a dealer told you this then he was trying to screw you! On all non-food goods it`s 19% Tax so also on Watches! 11% Tax maybe from the time before the Wall in Berlin but these days you get 19% back if you export it to SG!

I think you refer to cash payment.
For what I know, most merchants charge additional 3% for payment with credit cards, and after bank currency conversion; it's probably 4-4.5%....

And I am sure, after all the service and admin fee at tax rebate counter, you probably get back slightly lesser than 19%...

Singapore AD gives more discount on gold watches, least on sports and new models. That again depends on how well you know them.

[Babolat]

I don't think you can get 17% off a half gold brand new Sub here in Singapore. If so, please let me know where. In Europe, it is not as easy to bargain at the big dealers such as Wempe or Bucherer as you mentioned but there are other smaller private dealers out there too. In which city you will be making the purchase?

An interesting case is actually to travel out to Poland or Czech Republic. Many NOS items over there.

I am going to Czech...care to PM me some details to do my hunt?
Anyway, what is NOS?

[Wenda]

NOS is new old stock. Was able to score an IWC 3536 Aquatimer at an AD in Wrocław, Poland just a year ago.

To which city will you be travelling to? If it's in Prague, go to Maiselova Street. They should carry quite a lot of used pieces. Just opposite the Jews cemetry, you can find an old shop. You can find more in Bratislava.

Best to settle the transaction using credit card whenever possible or bring the money not in Euro but already exchanged to koruna (not there, rates are very bad for money exchange in Europe).

Good place to hunt for new in box pieces is major cities in Germany or Austria. For used pieces, expand your search to Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. For some reasons, I rarely seen good pieces in France and have not purchased any watches from France.

[Babolat]

Thanks Wenda!
Will do my hunt tomorrow....
But what are the chances of getting fakes from used watches stores?

[Wenda]

I would still suggest you do your due dilligence when buying the watch(es). Fakes are kept to minimum numbers in Europe as the copyright law is pretty strict there.

You can always ask politely for the shop to open the caseback (especially for Rolexes) to check on the movement. First is examine the exterior then proceed with the movement.

[Babolat]

Actually the tax rebate depends on the amount.....
Different price tier, different rebate.
Like my wife bought a bag at €179, SE look at the global chart and the rebate is €20... Effectively only 11-12%...
So it doesn't mean all goods at 19% rebate....
Grreetings from Salzburg!!

[Wenda]

@Babolat, as I mentioned earlier, for full amount you cannot go the Global Tax Refund route. You need to fill in a different form in German (in Austria, it's also Antrag).

[Choo Yao Chuen]

Is it checaper to buy rolex in germany now? i going there next month

YES!
Rolex in Singapore is not cheap.

[giggss]

11% Tax? If a dealer told you this then he was trying to screw you! On all non-food goods it`s 19% Tax so also on Watches! 11% Tax maybe from the time before the Wall in Berlin but these days you get 19% back if you export it to SG!

What I meant for the 11% - 19% is that it's based on the amount one paid in a receipt. Eg.. buying few hundred dollar item, rebate maybe 11%.. few thousand dollar... it's more than 11%.. not all items are 19%. But for 5 figure items such as a Rolex watch, then yea.. probably the full 19%/

I don't think you can get 17% off a half gold brand new Sub here in Singapore. If so, please let me know where. In Europe, it is not as easy to bargain at the big dealers such as Wempe or Bucherer as you mentioned but there are other smaller private dealers out there too. In which city you will be making the purchase?

An interesting case is actually to travel out to Poland or Czech Republic. Many NOS items over there.

brand new half gold sub still can get if you are very good and give regular sales to your regular sales person..?

I didn't visit the smaller dealers when I was there last month.. visited Poland and Czech and Austria too. But didn't visit their shop retailers there either. No bullet, better don't see =P

[giggss]

Actually the tax rebate depends on the amount.....
Different price tier, different rebate.
Like my wife bought a bag at €179, SE look at the global chart and the rebate is €20... Effectively only 11-12%...
So it doesn't mean all goods at 19% rebate....
Grreetings from Salzburg!!

ya that's what I meant in my previous posts..

Must be very cold in Salzburg now! I went there mid-Nov already very cold with the winds blowing...