Guide : Buying Rolex in Europe

[PorkyPig]

Usually ppl trade at Rolex Service Centre in Orchard Road.
Heard the Cost of verification of Rolex is S$ 107 inclusive of GST, though i never tried before.

Like i said, do your hunting in Singapore first.
Do note that Rolex increased prices worldwide in June2012.
Price increased varies with the models.... And can vary quite abit around that time.
E.g.in Singapore, DSSD increased from 14100 to 15780, but GMT only increased from abt 10500 to 10980.

Then Have a look here in sg-roc.
That will give u a good guide on how much ppl are bringing in the watches from overseas AD.
Bear in mind u probably cannot beat their prices cos it is an effort to bring in at low cost.

Then shop around in Europe, that way, u will know when u come across a good deal.
Note that Switz may not be the best place to buy rolex although the Swiss made them... Due to a varied of reasons i mentioned in my earlier email.
On the other hand, Euros is quite low now compared to early this year.

I do hope u get what u are looking for
Most impt, enjoy the hunting journey.
Cos the Hunting journey can be more enjoyable than getting the product itself.... Good Luck and have fun!!

[dezy]

Bro Porky, just PM you.... thanks

[Saggice]

its a better deal in europe now because of the currency. =)

[lufu]

Buying from AD in Singapore or overseas directly it's always better than buying it off Grey Dealer (personal opinion)
After all one is spending $10k easily. I won't trust Rolex Service Centre to do a good authenticity ver. for $100 over dollars.

They may not even open up the watch to check. Maybe just visual inspection. Furthermore do they issue a authenticity cert after that. I gaurantee not

Sometime you may get good prices in SG too. E.g the recent ANZ cash rebate and DBS cash rebate.

Credit card Euro rate can be very bad unless you pay in cash

[lufu]

So, u need to ask the shops. U will be surprised that some shops are quite willing to discount.
Then again, they might be clearing their old stocks so u need to check the serial numbers or batch numbers.

correct me if I am wrong.
you won't be able to tell the year of manufacturer. Only G that tells you it's from 2010 onwards

[PorkyPig]

Bro lufu, check this out....

http://www.watches.co.uk/watches/inf...erial-numbers/

[Otar]

will be good to email the overseas AD to enquire about the stock availability, price, discount etc before your trip.

this is how i manage to get my green sub when i was in UK last month. not the cheapest, but still alot cheaper than in sgp. the difference in price is due mainly to the VAT rebate.

[lufu]

Bro lufu, check this out....

http://www.watches.co.uk/watches/inf...erial-numbers/

Thanks. What I meant was, we can't actually tell if the stock is 2010, 2011, or 2012 manufacturered

[Nichmenichyou]

Buying from AD in Singapore or overseas directly it's always better than buying it off Grey Dealer (personal opinion)
After all one is spending $10k easily. I won't trust Rolex Service Centre to do a good authenticity ver. for $100 over dollars.

They may not even open up the watch to check. Maybe just visual inspection. Furthermore do they issue a authenticity cert after that. I gaurantee not

Sometime you may get good prices in SG too. E.g the recent ANZ cash rebate and DBS cash rebate.

Credit card Euro rate can be very bad unless you pay in cash

What do you mean by "furthermore do they issue a authenticity cert after that. I guarantee not."?

[pegasi]

Hi Glowboi,

Buying watches in Europe is a tricky business and it is not a simple task for holiday makers to grab good deals off the shops unless you are very very lucky. Let me explain further...

1. VAT Refund. This is the most obvious.
Different euro zones have differing VAT refunds.
Some as much as 17-20% refund! This one easy google info.

2. Discounts. Different shops provide different discounts, even for the very popular sports models (yeap, i got discounts for DSSD and GMT2c). Especially for frequent travellers and buyers, they do get preferential discounts.... 5-10% some models even more!!!
So, u need to ask the shops. U will be surprised that some shops are quite willing to discount.
Then again, they might be clearing their old stocks so u need to check the serial numbers or batch numbers.

3. Exchange Rates. Unless you are a Forex Expert, u probably cannot predict that wat u are getting is at a all time LOW. A case of example for me and my fren. He got his GMT2c in Jan12 and i got mine in May12 - same shop, same watch model and series, same discounts. Yet, mine was almost s$500 cheaper becos the euro started to drop! And it is still dropping until Rolex increase their price to even out things. Forex will wipe out any discounts u can squeeze out from the shop.
Do note tat swiss francs, danish kroner, english pounds, and the Euros have slight exchange fluctuations too.

4. Stock. Having said all these. Even u are at the right place, lowest exchange rate, best discounts, etc, there is no point if there is NO STOCK! Usually, good prices = no stock.... Becos ppl do their homework and snap up good deals
When i was in Paris for holiday in July, i walked into at least 10shops, yet i cannot find a single GMT2c for a fren.
So, .... Popularity of the Models and brands do play an important part.
Then again, Perhaps they might be holding them.

As there are alot of dealers here, i am not a liberty to reveal my source.
But for your reference....
In May2012, i have seen DSSD at 11700sgd, ...
and i got my DSSD (g series) at 10980sgd and GMT2c (alpha numeric) at 8150sgd.... Which i am proud owner of both now.
I have also seen my fren got his expII at less than 8300 sgd.
Nevertheless, these prices might not be the lowest then but they are definitely amongst the lowest at that time.
Post June12, these prices are of course not possible anymore becos Rolex increased their price.

In sum, my advise to u is that u must do your homework locally in Singapore.
If the europe shop can give you good discounts and the VAT refund is good, get it u calculate it to be cheaper.
Do Note that credit card rates are usually higher though.
U might not get the BEST deal but most likely it is cheaper than Singapore.
Becos if u travel to the next city, mayb no stock? No more good price?

Put it simply, the grey markets and dealers can sell here at a good price (and still make a decent profit), possibly becos they have done alot of cooordination, waiting time, and bringing back the item.
Hence, it might save u alot of trouble getting one overseas youself.... Except authencity of the watch is always a concern.
I am not advocating buying here is better than overseas as i am neither a dealer, nor a collector.
Just a simple watch admirer at all the nice watches here

I do hope you find the above useful to your shopping.
Happy shopping and enjoy your honeymoon!!

One should also consider the poorer exchange rate when you purchase with credit card. Don't compare the prices by converting the price from Euro to SGD based on money changer's rate and then pay by credit card. My recent experience: money changer's rate 1 Euro = 1.58 SGD approximately, but when I booked the hotel rooms online and paid by credit card, the exchange rate in my credit card bill was 1.63 somthing. That means if you buy a watch say cost 5k Euro, you could end up paying 250 SGD more if you use credit card (as compared to cash).

So do your maths carefully and consider whether it is worth the trouble and risk in buying big money items overseas.

[Rolex116613]

Legally, u need to declare the watch to the Singapore customs and pay GST.
But most of the people don‘t do it.
But if caught, be prepare to paya fine of GST x 10.

[eastsider]

Generally speaking, buy rolex using pounds or euro will be cheaper ah?

So can i assume that
Option 1 - bring sgd cash over there n exchange the currency to pay for the watch will be the cheapest option.

Followed by
Option 2 - make sure enuf cash in posb account n withdraw cash using posb card there to exchange (add the withdrawal fee as compare to option 1?)

The option that saved u least money as compare to 1 & 2 is to pay by credit card.

Is my conclusion correct? Thx

[pegasi]

Generally speaking, buy rolex using pounds or euro will be cheaper ah?

So can i assume that
Option 1 - bring sgd cash over there n exchange the currency to pay for the watch will be the cheapest option.

Followed by
Option 2 - make sure enuf cash in posb account n withdraw cash using posb card there to exchange (add the withdrawal fee as compare to option 1?)

The option that saved u least money as compare to 1 & 2 is to pay by credit card.

Is my conclusion correct? Thx

Yes option 1 gives you the best deal, that is if you don't want to bring too much foreign currency there and end up not using them. Take into consideration too that some countries restrict you from bringing too much of their money out of their country. There are money changers in some countries that gives good rates if you do your homework and have the time to run around.

Option 2 is not good, coz when you withdraw from overseas, the exchange rate is the bank rate. I think it might even be double conversion (I am not 100% sure so maybe some expert who work in the bank can confirm/correct this) - for example if you withdraw HKD from HK via your POSB account, the local bank covert the amount from HKD to USD, and then POSB convert from USD to SGD. Even if the conversion is directly from HKD to SGD, or from Euro to SGD for that matter, I doubt it would be much better than credit card rate if at all.

[pegasi]

Did a google and found out that overseas ATM withdrawal uses interbank exchange rate.

Still no clue how exactlly it works though

[blueysmurfy]

I bought GMT2 recently in Swiss mid Oct. The price was about the same as in Sgp. I used a Singapore credit card and was given the choice to pay in CHF or in SGD. I calculated that the SGD equivalent was higher than the time I exchanged SGD for CHF in Sgp, so I chose to pay in CHF. When I saw my card bill, the SGD equivalent was even higher than the SGD I saw in the shop in Swiss.

But, I still prefer buying in Swiss as there is more assurance that the watchmaker is in Swiss, hence assembled in Swiss.
Tag Heur is assembled in HK if you buy in Sgp, not sure about Rolex.